Belmary House 5

  Table of Contents

  Belmary House Book Five

  Chapter 1 - Winter 1825

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Stay tuned for Book Six!

  Belmary House Book Five

  By Cassidy Cayman

  Visit at cassidycayman.com

  Never miss a new release! Sign up for the mailing list.

  More books by Cassidy Cayman

  Lost Highlander

  Reunited

  Revenge

  Sam & Evie

  Reckoning

  Smitten by the Spinster

  Wild about the Witch

  All for the Heiress

  Belmary House Book One

  Belmary House Book Two

  Belmary House Book Three

  Belmary House Book Four

  Valhalla Cupcakes

  The Marquess Mess

  The Lost Heiress

  Endearing (Knight Everlasting book 1)

  Enchanted (Knight Everlasting book 2)

  The White Christmas Inn

  Chapter 1 - Winter 1825

  Tilly sat in the large, cheerful drawing room. She was close enough to the fire to have to move her feet every time she heard a loud snap or crackle, but wasn’t willing to give up the warmth on the icy February day in Scotland. She resettled the mass of satin on her ever-growing lap and looked down at the shimmering folds of pale green. It was one of Ashford’s favorite colors on her. At the moment she felt very Countess-like, something that still struck her as an oddity every now and then, even after ten years.

  The gown she was putting the final touches on was to be for the semi-annual ball her charity held. It was an event that she was proud (maybe too proud) had become one of the most popular parties of the London winter season. She felt slightly guilty escaping up here to Scotland to get away from the bustle and nagging of all the ladies who wanted to help out, and subsequently have their names be bandied about as being part of such a prestigious event. Though she’d grown used to London life over the years, she still always longed for the tranquility of the Scotland farm. The gorgeous, peaceful views and the company of her beloved friends, now long since considered family.

  Family. She shifted her weight again, having forgotten what it was like to be pregnant, thinking the twins would be her last. She smiled smugly as she patted the small bump, thinking of her recent clandestine visit to her cousin Dexter’s time. She rarely got to see her family, having made her decision to dedicate her life to Ashford’s time. A new quiver of sadness came over her that this last visit might have been the actual last, now that Liam Wodge had passed away from a heart attack. It seemed all the times she hinted he eat better or possibly take up jogging hadn’t stopped his family health history from catching up to him. She missed the mad old fool.

  She knew her grandmother was bereft as well, having been in love with him and spent the last ten years gallivanting all over time with him, soaking up history as it was being made. Her sadness turned to a shameful little stain of envy, wishing for perhaps the millionth time over the years that she and Ashford could have traveled so easily. Visited her family more, involved the children. Yes, Dexter had made it back a few times to meet them, but her mother had only seen her grandchildren once, as time travel didn’t suit her at all and she was sick the entire visit.

  The thought that they might never know about this surprise fourth child of hers made her eyes prickle with unshed tears. She gazed into the fire, letting the dancing flames blur her vision. She wished she had known about this new little blessing at Christmas so she could have told them. Rubbed it in Dexter’s face just a bit that he didn’t know everything about her life before it unfolded for her.

  This last visit had finally been the year in which she’d mistakenly ended up after a stupid fight with Ashford had her trying to flee back to her own time. Back then she ended ten years too far forward of her mark. Dexter had been desperate at the time to get her to return to Ashford. He knew her marriage would turn out brilliantly happy, that they’d have three children, and about her charity that gave her so much fulfillment.

  She always assumed after the twins were born two years ago that she was done and everything in her life story had already been written, but now here she was with a fourth on the way. She wanted more than anything to share the glee and surprise with her loved ones who were now lost to her in the future.

  Serena breezed into the room, as beautiful as always and as if time couldn’t seem to touch her. Her petite frame might have been a tiny bit fuller, but her blonde hair and clear aqua blue eyes were as bright as ever, filling the room with an extra bit of cheer. Tilly liked to think it was because she stopped having children after her only son Owen was born, and lived in this peaceful oasis full time.

  She knew that while Serena didn’t have the constant flurry of London society battering at her, the woman worked hard helping to keep Ashford’s huge farm running. He himself couldn’t be bothered. It was enough for him to come up twice a year and enjoy the benefits of their hard work, and she knew Serena and Kostya wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Kostya Povest had lived on the land since he was a young boy. He had once been married to Ashford’s twin sister, making Ashford and Kostya brothers by marriage for a time. When Ashford’s sister tragically went off the deep end and died after too much tampering with their magical legacy, they were no longer related by law. But they would always consider themselves brothers. Just thinking of all that made Tilly struggle less with the regret that she might never see her family again. She prayed it would be worth it to keep her children safe from that terrible legacy.

  “Tilly, are you well?” Serena asked, settling herself in a chair across from her and reaching for her own sewing basket. “Shall I ring for something? Have you eaten yet today?”

  Tilly smiled at her best friend’s solicitousness. Tilly considered her a sister, just as Kostya and Ashford considered themselves brothers. Their children called each other cousins and whenever Owen called her Aunt Tilly, her heart almost burst with happiness. Being an only child, she never thought she’d hear such a lovely way of being addressed.

  With a sigh she said, “I was just wondering if we made the right decision.” She paused at Serena’s confused look, not sure if she should go on.

  The merest mention of magic upset Serena more than any of them. All those years ago, when Serena was pregnant with Owen, she meddled with Ashford’s family spell book. It was an ancient grimoire full of both benign and helpful spells, but also rich with disturbing and evil ones. Unfortunately, just reading the book caused her to become severely ill, making her have crazed notions that something was wrong with her unborn baby.

  Ashford promised to destroy the book and they all formed a pact that they were done with magic in all its embodiments, swearing never to use it again. Liam Wodge had once again closed up the time travel portal in Belmary House, scowling and grumbling the entire time. Except for allowing Liam to use the spell that got them to Tilly’s time in the future once or twice a year, they never again used magic. Not even when Owen had taken a spill off his horse and broke his leg three years back.

  The incident scared the holy hell out of
Kostya. He worried the curse he’d been under since birth might not have been broken and he was destined to lose another child. They banded together, renewing their vows to not sink to magic use. They would leave things up to fate just as every non-magical person had to do. The boy had healed fine and they all breathed a sigh of relief, glad they hadn’t tinkered with things that they knew were beyond their control.

  But now with Liam gone, Tilly had second thoughts. If they never used magic again, she wouldn’t get to see her family again. Her mother would be left to wonder what had become of her daughter. She’d never know about her fourth grandchild. Tilly would never get to see if Dexter and Emma got married and had children of their own. The list went on and on in her mind, making her sadder and more confused.

  “The right decision? Do you mean about the gowns?” Serena asked. “I know that shade of green isn’t exactly right for the season, but it looks so becoming on you, and no one would dare think anything untoward about Lady Ashford.” Serena smiled as she said Tilly’s title.

  To this day it jarred her, but she couldn’t get anyone besides Serena and Kostya to call her plain old Tilly anymore to save her life.

  She knew she should let it go and agree that her worries were about not being stylish enough at her important society function. But the anxiety gnawed at her more than it usually did. For the first time in ten years, she couldn’t blithely pretend everything was fine.

  “It’s not the dress,” she blurted, pushing away the piles of glossy fabric without a care for dust or snags. “Don’t you ever feel guilty lying to the kids?” At Serena’s shocked look, she forced herself to calm down. “I suppose it’s not as bad for you,” she said. “But we’ve had to make up so many stories about my mother living too far away for them to ever visit, and oh my gosh, the letters! I can’t bear to throw out all the letters they write to their grandma and great-gran, and all the pictures they draw for them, so I have this big locked chest up in one of the attics. And their heartbroken little faces when of course no one writes back, so I have to make up lies about that as well.” She balled her fists in her lap.

  Serena scooted her chair closer, leaning over to pat her arm. “It’s worth it,” she said firmly, almost harshly. “We’re safe. And happy.” She paused before adding, “You and Ashford are ridiculously happy.”

  For the most part this was true. They were over the moon in their daily lives. And even though she had the occasional pang at deceiving them, the children were safe.

  “I know,” she agreed. “It’s just Liam’s passing that’s got me all worked up. I miss him of course, and I feel guilty because now he’s gone I’m mostly upset about never seeing my family again. They’ll never know about this one.” She patted her belly and Serena gasped, the full understanding of what had Tilly so upset hitting her.

  “Oh, Tilly, I hadn’t thought of that. I’m so sorry.” She stopped abruptly and pulled away. “You don’t think— you’re not thinking of— you mustn’t. You know no good can come of it. You made your choice, remember? Just like when Owen was so badly hurt. We had to carry on like everyone else.”

  The sharp words stung Tilly. She was hoping for compassion and understanding, not a shrill reminder about their long-ago pact. It hurt her feelings that Serena thought she’d be so weak. She most definitely wouldn’t use magic again. The last time she fiddled around with it, she almost lost Ashford for good. He nearly died trying to find her when she went missing in time, and they might have never had the wonderful life they were now lucky enough to enjoy. Serena was right. Tilly’s silence while thinking all this must have led her to think she didn’t agree, so Serena continued, her voice growing more strident with every word.

  “Have you forgotten what you learned the last time you tampered with it?” she hissed. “About Ariana? Do you want to risk that happening?”

  Tilly felt like she’d been slapped. Ten years ago, while she bounced around in different times trying to find her way back to either her mother or Ashford, she ended up in 1889. She found out her grown daughter Ariana had time traveled and set up a coven of witches, with Ariana as their beloved leader. Ariana had then gone back to a time shortly before she was born and taken up with an acquaintance of Ashford’s, the brother of his best friend, in fact. It turned out Nick Kerr wasn’t as faithful and trustworthy as his brother. The man had either started out bad or his greed and desperation for riches and respect had caused him to go bad. He cruelly murdered Ariana in order to gain control of the coven.

  That was all Tilly had been able to learn, but she knew she had to keep her daughter from being killed in another time. The best way it seemed to go about that was to keep the fact that she had the ability to time travel from her in the first place.

  Remembering this made Tilly feel even worse that she momentarily regretted their decision. The fact that Serena didn’t trust her enough to know that she wouldn’t really go against their pact hurt almost as much as losing her family.

  Her head snapped around to face Serena, causing her best friend to recoil. “Of course I didn’t forget,” Tilly hissed. “Don’t you know I think of it almost every moment?” She slumped in her chair. Her anger was gone as fast as it appeared and was replaced with the old fear of losing Ariana.

  “I’m sorry,” Serena said, reaching once again to pat Tilly’s arm. “I do know. I live in fear for Owen every day as well. Both our children possibly face curses that could take them from us, but I know with all my heart that we’re doing our best to protect them. Not knowing will save their lives, Tilly. Even if it means you have to lie to them about other things. Isn’t that pain less than the pain of losing her would be?”

  Tilly nodded vigorously, and reached down for her discarded gown, gathering it to her like a security blanket. The feel of the rich fabric soothed her and brought her back to the moment, out of her reverie of the past and future. She hated knowing what might happen, but Serena’s firm grip on her arm and the assured look in her eyes grounded her in the here and now.

  She was absolutely right, and the more Tilly thought about it, the more she felt as sure as Serena looked. When they first returned from their harrowing jaunt across the ages ten years ago, they arranged for Liam to go back and fix things with Nick Kerr so he wouldn’t have money troubles. They also kept him at arm’s length so Ariana wouldn’t know him as well as she seemed to in that hazy future Tilly had glimpsed. He didn’t have debts, and Ariana didn’t know him well enough to have a childhood crush on him and want to go back in time to meet him as an adult. There was no possible way any of what Tilly had experienced could happen.

  “You’re right,” Tilly finally sighed, feeling warm and calm once again. “I was being silly and selfish. Of course we made the right decision all those years ago.”

  Nothing had gone seriously wrong in the ten years since she’d devoted her life to Ashford and his time. She loved him as much as when she first fell for him. She adored her children and her London life. She rang for refreshments and busied herself once again with the final embellishments to her gown. After a few moments of companionably quiet sewing, she completely forgot she nearly had a meltdown. The future wasn’t fixed, she was certain of it. What she saw in 1889 had been an anomaly of time travel. A nightmare she’d awakened from to find she was safe in her own bed.

  A clatter in the hall made her look up, thinking the servant must have dropped the tea tray. Instead of a servant, Owen raced into the room. His face, a perfect mix of Kostya’s delicate handsomeness and Serena’s rare, golden beauty, was red and smudged with dirty tears. Both women stood up, the expensive gowns forgotten underfoot as they ran to the door to see what was wrong with him.

  “Where’s Farrah?” Serena cried, grabbing her son and inspecting him for injuries. His coat was torn at the sleeve and he was muddy, but overall seemed unharmed.

  “Where’s Ariana?” Tilly asked, pushing past them.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her daughter trudging down the hall. Ariana held her
arm as if it pained her, but looked more angry than hurt.

  “Ariana’s been bit,” Owen said breathlessly, having run ahead to get help. “She’s in the woods near the raspberry bushes.”

  “I’m right here,” Ariana grumbled, scowling at Owen. Tilly laughed with relief to see they were both fine, but then Owen’s words sank in.

  “Where are you bit? What bit you?”

  She grabbed her daughter and pulled her closer to the fire where there was better light. Both children’s faces were not only dirty but red with cold. As she helped Ariana out of her coat, she could see the small-framed child was shivering even under the many layers of clothing.

  “What were you doing in the woods anyway?” she demanded. “It’s freezing outside. And where is Farrah?”

  The relief that they both seemed all right made her irritation with them rise. No doubt they tricked Ariana’s nanny and ran away from her, getting into trouble as usual. She was glad the two children got along so well, being less than a year apart in age. They reminded her of herself and her cousin Dexter at that age, but when they got together, shenanigans almost always ensued.

  “I’m fine,” Ariana insisted, pulling her arm close to her body and struggling away from Tilly.

  “She got bit by a wild rabbit,” Owen said, earning himself a filthy glare for tattling. “A huge, nasty one.”

  “Oh my God,” Tilly breathed, momentarily stunned by the words.

  She let her hands drop from Ariana’s arms for a second, almost allowing the girl to get away. She quickly grabbed her hand, trying to keep from feeling dizzy. With her free hand, Tilly rubbed her own arm, just under the inside of her elbow. As a child, she’d been bit by a rowdy guinea pig she’d been warned not to pick up in a pet store. It chomped clean through her sweater and due to subsequent picking had left a small, raised scar. She never gave it a second thought until in 1889 she was mistaken for Ariana— even now they looked remarkably alike. Her mother often marveled at the drawings Tilly made of Ariana, saying how they were practically identical as babies and small children.