Authors: Eve Paludan,Stuart Sharp

2 Witch and Famous (24 page)

“You’re going to stay up here with us,” I said. We settled in around the kitchen table, starting to eat. Niall seemed so relaxed there, so natural. Marie and Fergie sat next to one another, close enough to touch. With Marie that close, Fergie didn’t even think about complaining that we were about to acquire a thief for the business. Or maybe, he had a softer side in there somewhere, too.

It would have been so simple to just sit there, eat, and talk. To just pretend that things were done with, but there were still a few things that needed to be settled.

“Have you decided what we’re going to tell the insurers in the morning?” Fergie asked.

Niall raised an eyebrow at that. I knew what he meant. That we could hardly put the real circumstances of Jessica Hammersmith’s death in an insurance report.

“We have to put something,” I said. “Jessica has a little sister. One she was helping to support.”

“I could see that she gets money,” Niall offered, and it was a generous offer. Just to reach out and offer enough money to help bring up a girl he’d never met. “It would be right, my paying for something that has come out of my past to hurt her family.”

I put a hand on his arm. “And that’s one reason why I don’t want you doing it.” It wasn’t Niall’s fault, it was Victoria’s. “Fergie, tomorrow, tell the police and the insurers that Victoria plied Jessica with a cocktail of drugs before putting the noose around her neck. That she murdered her, and now she seems to have made a run for it. It’s the closest thing to the truth we can give Jessica’s sister.”

“Is a murdered sister better than one who killed herself?” Niall asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but the truth will be better than a lie. It should give her the insurance money, at least. It will tell Jessica’s sister that Jessica didn’t abandon her like that. It will also mean that the police are looking for Victoria.”

“You said you were certain that she was dead,” Niall pointed out.

“And you
weren’t
certain. Consider this a part of learning to trust you. I figure that the police will let us know if there is ever any sign of her surfacing. Plus, they’ll do a little digging into Victoria’s affairs for us.”

“Is that a good thing?” Marie asked. “I mean, if she’s like you…” She stopped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s all right, Marie,” I said. “And yes, it’s a good thing. She had my mother’s name on the wall of her oubliette, so I want to know all about what she has been doing for the last few years.”

“A good move,” Niall said from beside me, reaching out to take my hand.

“And if anyone knows all about manipulating people, it’s you,” I said, but for once, I said it with a smile. It was a part of Niall I could learn to accept. A part I would have to accept, if it wasn’t going to tear us apart.

Niall nodded an acknowledgement of that. “But do not assume that Victoria had your mother as her prisoner, or even that she was there. Victoria lied as naturally as breathing. She always had a knack for the things that would hurt people the most.”

“If she
didn’t
have my mother, then I want to know that, too,” I said. “I just want to know what’s going on, Niall.”

Niall nodded. “And we will find out. All of us.”

The others nodded too. Fergie took a bite of food. “It occurs to me that while I’m pointing the police at Victoria, I could mention the coven’s assassination attempts to them, too.”

“That wasn’t the coven,” I pointed out.

Niall seemed to be in a mood to agree with Fergie for once. “The four at the castle were.”

I shook my head. “And they were hardly trained battle witches. I think they were probably just the first people Rebecca could find. Victoria wanted to set us against one another. We shouldn’t let her succeed, and we
don’t
want this out in the open.”

“Which is why I wouldn’t bring up anything officially,” Fergie said. “Certainly nothing about magic. I’d just… happen to mention a few things to a friendly detective or two.”

At which point, the Lothian and Borders police force would start paying more attention to the coven. Forcing it to keep a lower profile. Just generally making life more difficult for it. Even so…

“I don’t know,” I said.

Niall smiled across at me. “I do. Excellent thinking, Mr. Black. And now, I think we have spent far too much time talking about business, when we should be enjoying our meal.”

He had a point. We could have discussed the potential threat from the coven forever, along with the risks of the goblins coming after us, the possibilities of the future…but there came a point where it was enough just to enjoy dinner among ourselves. The immediate threat was done with, Niall and I were okay again, and the coven wouldn’t come after us until at least tomorrow. It was enough.

So, we sat there and ate, and talked, and occasionally laughed. We talked until it was obvious that Niall was getting impatient to take me back to bed, and by that point, frankly, I was getting a little impatient for it, too. Thankfully, it seemed that an enchanter and an enchantress wanting to go to bed together was an acceptable excuse for wanting to run off from the dinner table. At least from this one. We said our goodbyes and started to head upstairs.

Siobhan caught up to us just as we reached the stairs. She’d been quieter than the others through dinner, but now she looked at me urgently.

“Elle, can I talk to you for a minute?” She looked over to Niall. “Privately?”

Another time, I might have asked her if it could wait, but after everything she’d been through, I guessed that she deserved better than a brushoff. Besides, the last time I’d been too busy to listen to her, things hadn’t exactly turned out well.

“I’ll wait for you upstairs,” Niall said gently. “Don’t be too long.”

“I won’t. What is it, Siobhan?” I put a comforting arm around her shoulders as Niall headed upstairs. “Is it Dougie? I know that you must miss him.”

Siobhan nodded and her face fell. “I do.”

“I’m truly sorry for your loss. It will get better.” I squeezed her tighter. “I know it doesn’t feel like it will, but it will. I promise.”

I thought back to how I’d felt after my mother died, and I knew that I would do everything I needed to do to make sure that Siobhan was happy. She was stuck here with us above ground. She’d lost the goblin she loved. Despite that, I would find a way to make it work. I owed her that, but it was more than that. I’d thought of Siobhan as my informant for a long time, but the truth was…she was my friend.

Siobhan shook her head. “It’s not that. I mean…it
is
that. I know you didn’t like Dougie. I get that. There were times when…when I didn’t like him much either.”

“It’s complicated, isn’t it?” I said. “Loving someone. You don’t get to choose.”

Siobhan nodded. “But at least you have Niall. I had Dougie, and…and I
knew
what he was like, but I loved him. Now…now that he’s gone forever, I’m not sure what to do.”

“About what?”

“Everything. Where to live, how to live…” Her voice trailed off as she started to cry.

How had my life changed to the point where I could possibly consider standing there comforting a crying goblin girl normal? I didn’t have an answer to that, so I just held Siobhan. She was so thin and her hands were so cold. I brushed that white-blonde hair from her eyes.

“I’m sorry you lost him. Cry if you need to, Siobhan,” I said. “It’s okay if you need to grieve. I will try to be there for you. We all will. It will be okay, I promise. Whatever it is, whatever’s going on, we’ll find a way to make it okay.”

“It’s not okay, and it’s not going to
be
okay,” Siobhan said, looking up at me as I held onto her. Goblin features looked odd enough without adding the puffiness from crying to them. “It’s…”

“What is it, Siobhan? Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“It’s…” Siobhan took a deep breath. “I think I’m pregnant.”

The End

***

Elle and Niall will return in

Witch Way Out

(The Witch Detectives No. 3)

BOOKS BY EVE PALUDAN

SINGLE TITLES (non-series)

Finding Jessie: A Mystery Romance

Chasing Broadway

Letters from David