Witchfall (37 page)

‘No, I just . . . well, yes, maybe a little,’ I admitted, and was rewarded with a brief but intense kiss. My lips tingled pleasantly as he raised his head. I felt myself blush and struggled to sound coherent, still imprisoned in his arms. ‘Not every problem can be solved with a sword. But I
still need you by my side, Alejandro. Never forget that.’

I laid my head against his chest, revelling in the warmth of his flesh, his steady heartbeat. I was so glad Dent’s men had not killed him as I had feared they would. Perhaps Marcus had kept his word over that. Hard to imagine the witchfinder suddenly possessing a sense of honour. But then, there was still so much I did not know about Marcus Dent – and ought to find out.

‘I think I’m safe enough for now though,’ I added when Alejandro did not reply. I worried that I had offended him or left him more concerned for my safety. ‘That is, I don’t think Marcus will be coming back for a while. I won this par ticular battle. But not the war.’

His arms tightened about me. ‘War . . . yes, now that is something I can understand. So this is a war to the death between you and Marcus Dent?’

‘He thinks I am the only witch who can destroy him. So he will keep coming back until either I am dead or he is.’

‘Then you will need a strategy to defeat him,’ Alejandro said thoughtfully, and glanced at Richard, whistling a few feet ahead of us as he limped up the steep path up the ravine. ‘And soldiers to watch your back.’

Dusk had fallen while I was on top of the tower, and was darkening to a cold winter’s night now. The moon would be rising above the ravine soon, I thought, and found myself grateful to have survived to see another moonlit night, another day tomorrow. I had been determined to sacrifice
myself for Alejandro, if that was what it would take to keep him safe. But I was glad that sacrifice had been avoidable. Death, as I had discovered, was not as simple a matter as it looked from life.

‘And someone to love me while I am out there, fighting?’ I whispered daringly, and saw his brooding look descend to my eyes, then my lips again.

‘I thought there could be no love between a witch and a priest? Only “hatred and fear”,’ he said ironically, quoting my parting remarks at Hatfield. ‘As I recall, you said you wished me to leave England, marry some Spanish noblewoman and have a dozen children with her.’

‘I don’t remember the dozen children,’ I countered, but smiled at the hurt in his eyes. I had struggled so hard to keep him at arm’s length, yet here we were together again. Was it worth fighting such an indomitable bond? ‘Fool, I said all that to keep you from ruining your chances in the priesthood. You are already reading forbidden texts. Next you will be making magick yourself. I do not want to change you, Alejandro. I just want you to be happy and out of danger.’

Alejandro slowed on the path, holding me close in his arms. Over his shoulder I could see the dark rise of Dent’s tower, looming ominously out of the shadows, a reminder that we had both just narrowly escaped death.

‘I must indeed be a fool then, for being with you seems a dangerous position to uphold, and yet I am only happy when
I am with you,’ Alejandro said deeply, and bent his head to kiss me more lingeringly.

By the time he raised his head, desire had licked along my veins and left me breathless, my eyes staring up at him in longing. I could see by his darkening gaze that his nerves were not quite steady either.

‘I should have returned to Spain when I heard that my brother Carlos had died,’ Alejandro told me. ‘I could have had my pick of the noble ladies at the Spanish court. Instead I only have eyes for a wild-blooded English witch, half faerie, half temptress. Meg Lytton, are you ready to marry me yet? Because I am more than ready to marry you. Indeed, I fear my life may never be complete until I marry you.’

‘You gave me a year and a day to make my answer,’ I reminded him softly, not yet willing to give up my power in exchange for a husband, however much I loved him. Besides, Alejandro was still under obligation from his King to watch over the Lady Elizabeth, and marriage to me would make that oath impossible to fulfill. If he was not so wildly impulsive by nature, he would be able to see that obstacle himself. ‘By my reckoning, I still have five months left.’

‘I pray God you do not make me wait that long. I promised myself I would not hurry your decision, Meg, but you would try the Holy Father’s patience himself.’

‘Then it will be a good test of your own patience,’ I murmured. ‘Now, hush and kiss me again.’

First of all, my grateful thanks to my agent Luigi Bonomi and his wife Alison, who are always there when I need them. Then the marvellous team at Random House Children’s Publishers who have been so supportive and enthusiastic about the Tudor Witch series, especially my lovely editor Lauren Buckland (and her cat Stanley), Harriet Venn, Natalie Doherty, Bronwen Bennie, Clare Hall-Craggs and Annie Eaton.

Family-wise, a huge ‘Thank you!’ to my family for being there and for egging me on, which includes my father, Richard Holland – who I suspect is itching to write his own paranormal Young Adult novel – my long-suffering husband Steve Haynes, and my large parcel of kids: Katie, Becki, Bethany, Dylan, Morris and Indigo, plus grandson Ciaran.

I must also thank all the incredible and fascinating bloggers and tweeps who keep me company every day on Twitter, and who occasionally tell me to go away and do some actual writing. (This is much needed.)

And lastly, thanks to Meg and Alejandro, who keep whispering in my ear and asking me to tell their story!

While studying Elizabethan playwrights at university, Victoria Lamb always dreamt of writing a series of novels set in Tudor England. Now a busy mother of five, she has finally achieved that ambition after many years of research. Victoria lives in Cornwall.

For adults

The Queen’s Secret

His Dark Lady

WITCHFALL

AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 12022 2

Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

A Random House Group Company

This ebook edition published 2013

Copyright © Victoria Lamb, 2013

First published in Great Britain by Corgi, 2013

The right of Victoria Lamb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S PUBLISHERS UK

61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA

www.randomhousechildrens.co.uk

www.totallyrandombooks.co.uk

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.