Read Online Dark Mirror 2 - Dark Passage by M.J. Putney - Free Book Online
Authors: M.J. Putney
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“The ginger cakes were particularly fine today, Mrs. Lane.”
Mrs. Lane looked up from the sauce she was stirring with a broad smile. “’Tis fine to see you, Lady Tory! But you’re looking too thin. Don’t be shy about coming down here for a bit to eat between meals. You need fattening.”
“I shall take you up on that,” Tory promised before heading down the flagstone passage to the stillroom. She opened the door and stepped into a chamber warmed by a fire and redolent with the scents of herbs.
Thick bunches of sage and savory and lavender hung from the ceiling, along with braids of onions and garlic. Cecilia was perched on a stool by the worktable and carefully measuring a dark liquid to add to a bowl of some waxy substance. “Cecilia?”
“Tory!” Her sister-in-law looked up with pleasure. “I’m so glad you made it here safely.”
Before she’d even finished speaking, her two-and-a-half-year-old son, Jamie, buzzed around the corner of the worktable. “Aunt Tory!”
She scooped up his warm, solid little body. “Goodness, how you’ve grown since I last saw you!” Which had been on the fateful day that had made her an outcast. But as she held her nephew, she couldn’t be sorry for what she’d done.
“I won’t be able to lift him much longer.” Cecilia came around the table and gave Tory a hug. Fair and soft-spoken, she wasn’t a great beauty, but she had a quiet charm that had captured Geoffrey’s heart the first time they danced at a London ball.
Tory set her wriggling nephew on the floor. “Did you mind when Sarah asked if the wedding could be held here with my scandalous self as a guest?”
“I was the one who suggested it,” Cecilia replied. “Sarah wrote about how difficult Lord Fairmount was being, so I told her she could be married from Layton Place.” She lifted a bottle from a shelf behind her. “Would you like to taste my elderberry cordial? This year’s batch turned out well. It’s very good for coughs and colds, so you should have a few sips after your long journey.”
“I’d love some.” The cordial was sweet and tangy, with a strong kick of alcohol. As its warmth curled through her, Tory held Jamie in her lap and chatted with her sister-in-law. Lackland Abbey seemed a very long way off.
Relaxed and happy, Tory headed upstairs through the main part of the house. The enclosed staircase led up to the ground floor, and she found herself behind two women she didn’t know, presumably Hawthorne relations. They were chatting about the weather and activities planned. Tory didn’t pay attention until the older of the women said in a hushed voice, “My maid tells me that Lord Smithson has invited the other sister, the mageling. She was sent to Lackland, you know.”
The younger woman squeaked with delighted horror. “He didn’t ! I hope she has the decency to stay at Lackland rather than come here to ruin the wedding!”
Tory gasped, feeling as if she’d been drenched in ice water. The warm reception from her family had made her temporarily forget how deeply most aristocrats despised mages.
“If she comes, I don’t suppose we can give her the cut direct since she’s sister to our host,” the first woman said with regret. “Her parents aren’t coming to Lady Sarah’s wedding because they refuse to stay in the same house with a creature like her.”
“Very proper of them,” her companion said. “Do you know the girl’s name?”
Tory’s icy shock turned to hot fury. Controlling her voice with effort, she said brightly, “Lady Victoria Mansfield. Alas, I didn’t have the decency to stay away.”
Startled, the two women swung around to stare at her. Tory spent an instant thinking of the various ways she could justify their opinions of magelings before giving them her sweetest smile. “Don’t worry. Magic isn’t contagious.”
Head high, she swept past the women, glad that she hadn’t embarrassed her family by misbehaving.
But, oh, she’d been
Mrs. Lane looked up from the sauce she was stirring with a broad smile. “’Tis fine to see you, Lady Tory! But you’re looking too thin. Don’t be shy about coming down here for a bit to eat between meals. You need fattening.”
“I shall take you up on that,” Tory promised before heading down the flagstone passage to the stillroom. She opened the door and stepped into a chamber warmed by a fire and redolent with the scents of herbs.
Thick bunches of sage and savory and lavender hung from the ceiling, along with braids of onions and garlic. Cecilia was perched on a stool by the worktable and carefully measuring a dark liquid to add to a bowl of some waxy substance. “Cecilia?”
“Tory!” Her sister-in-law looked up with pleasure. “I’m so glad you made it here safely.”
Before she’d even finished speaking, her two-and-a-half-year-old son, Jamie, buzzed around the corner of the worktable. “Aunt Tory!”
She scooped up his warm, solid little body. “Goodness, how you’ve grown since I last saw you!” Which had been on the fateful day that had made her an outcast. But as she held her nephew, she couldn’t be sorry for what she’d done.
“I won’t be able to lift him much longer.” Cecilia came around the table and gave Tory a hug. Fair and soft-spoken, she wasn’t a great beauty, but she had a quiet charm that had captured Geoffrey’s heart the first time they danced at a London ball.
Tory set her wriggling nephew on the floor. “Did you mind when Sarah asked if the wedding could be held here with my scandalous self as a guest?”
“I was the one who suggested it,” Cecilia replied. “Sarah wrote about how difficult Lord Fairmount was being, so I told her she could be married from Layton Place.” She lifted a bottle from a shelf behind her. “Would you like to taste my elderberry cordial? This year’s batch turned out well. It’s very good for coughs and colds, so you should have a few sips after your long journey.”
“I’d love some.” The cordial was sweet and tangy, with a strong kick of alcohol. As its warmth curled through her, Tory held Jamie in her lap and chatted with her sister-in-law. Lackland Abbey seemed a very long way off.
Relaxed and happy, Tory headed upstairs through the main part of the house. The enclosed staircase led up to the ground floor, and she found herself behind two women she didn’t know, presumably Hawthorne relations. They were chatting about the weather and activities planned. Tory didn’t pay attention until the older of the women said in a hushed voice, “My maid tells me that Lord Smithson has invited the other sister, the mageling. She was sent to Lackland, you know.”
The younger woman squeaked with delighted horror. “He didn’t ! I hope she has the decency to stay at Lackland rather than come here to ruin the wedding!”
Tory gasped, feeling as if she’d been drenched in ice water. The warm reception from her family had made her temporarily forget how deeply most aristocrats despised mages.
“If she comes, I don’t suppose we can give her the cut direct since she’s sister to our host,” the first woman said with regret. “Her parents aren’t coming to Lady Sarah’s wedding because they refuse to stay in the same house with a creature like her.”
“Very proper of them,” her companion said. “Do you know the girl’s name?”
Tory’s icy shock turned to hot fury. Controlling her voice with effort, she said brightly, “Lady Victoria Mansfield. Alas, I didn’t have the decency to stay away.”
Startled, the two women swung around to stare at her. Tory spent an instant thinking of the various ways she could justify their opinions of magelings before giving them her sweetest smile. “Don’t worry. Magic isn’t contagious.”
Head high, she swept past the women, glad that she hadn’t embarrassed her family by misbehaving.
But, oh, she’d been
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