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“Like what you see?” he teased.
His words turned up the temperature in my cheeks and I spun around. I quickly undid my shirt and was glad for a thick bra, if only for the warmth it gave me in the chill forest air that surrounded the isolated farmhouse.
A sigh escaped my companion. “Would that we were anywhere else. . .”
I snorted as I tossed my shirt close to the door. “Maybe next time you can ravish me.”
Ben’s pants flew past me and landed atop my clothes. I heard his footsteps come up behind me and his arms wrapped around me, pinning me to his muscled chest. He leaned down and his whispered words floated over my ear. “I would like that very much.”
Sounds from the hall made him retreat to the fireplace and Mrs. Gebur popped her head into the room a moment later. Her attention dropped to the clothes on the floor and she smiled. “Wonderful.” She bounced into the room and revealed a pile of clothes in her arms which she dumped on a nearby chair. “I’m not sure if these will fit you, but you’re more than welcome to them. When you’re of a mind, feel free to find me in the kitchen. It’s just across the hall and in the back of the house. I’ll be sure to have a good warm cup of coffee waiting for you both.” And with that warm invitation she scooped up our clothes and slipped out of the room.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
I walkedover to the pile and began rummaging through it. “The people around here are pretty nice when you get to helping them, aren’t they?”
Ben joined me at the pile with a smile on his face. “They pride themselves on their hospitality, once you’ve proven you’re not an evil spirit.”
My eyes twinkled up at him. “I’m not so sure about you.”
“I prefer to be considered a mischievous spirit,” he countered as he picked out a simple but clean pair of pants. “All the better, as some of the charms around here would certainly work against evil.”
I lifted an eyebrow and a shirt out of the stack. “Really? They’re not all just for show and comfort?”
He hopped first one leg and then the other into the pant legs. “Well, belief is half the workings of magic, but the effigies and icons they place about their homes do work as intended. I once witnessed a little girl ward off a bogey by merely clutching an effigy she had adopted as her doll.”
“You watched that when you were visiting here?” I wondered as I slipped into my shirt and wandered toward the fireplace.
“Yes,” Ben confirmed as he joined me at the warm hearth. He draped one arm over the mantel and smiled into the fire as his eyes took on a faraway glint. “Wynn was one of the local farmer’s daughters and her father had come to Rookwood to sell his vegetables to my aunt as he did every year. A bogey had made its way onto the grounds and attacked us as we played together.”
“So what happened to her after the bogey adventure?” I asked him.
His good humor faded a bit as he shook his head. “I don’t know. That was my last summer here as a child.”
“Maybe she’s still around here,” I mused as I plopped myself into one of the chairs. “We could find her.”
“I wouldn’t wish to bother you with my memories,” he objected.
I snorted. “Why not? She might have some juicy stories about my betrothed that I could use to blackmail you with.”
A crooked grin slipped onto his lips. “She does have one dark secret.”
My ears perked up. “What?”
He pushed off the mantel and turned to face me. “That’s for if we meet her again.”
I cocked my head to one side. “Do you even know her name?”
Ben cupped his chin in one hand and furrowed his brow. “I can’t seem to place it, but I’ll remember it in time.”
A loud knock came from the door and Cip’s voice floated through the wood. “Miss? Sir? Ma says there’s some toast ready for you if you’re hungry.”
“We’ll be right there,” Ben called back. He offered me an arm and a smile. “Shall we?”
“An offer of fresh bread?” I mused as I accepted his arm and let him help me to my feet. “I’m not about to let that go.”
We slipped out of the room and soon arrived at the kitchen. The space was small but cozy, with a warm fire in the cook stove and a small table in the middle of the room around which were positioned four chairs. Cip sat in one of them with a plate of toast smothered in jam. A stack of toast sat in front of him.
Mrs. Gebur was busy at work in front of the stove but turned at our coming and nodded at the table. “Feel free to help yourselves.”
