Blood of the White Witch (13 page)

When the moment passed he continued to feed
me until I told him I couldn’t eat another bite. He took the tray
and placed it by the door, before returning to climb in next to
me.

He actually fell asleep quickly, and I felt
a little more at ease. Maybe he was just really tired.

I watched over him for a very long while
before I finally relaxed enough to go to sleep, too.

A couple of hours had passed by the time I
ventured back out into reality, and I awoke to find him gone from
the bed again.

This time he was fully dressed and pacing
the floor at the end of the bed, holding both of his hands against
the sides of his head as if he were in agony.

“What is it?” I asked, watching him, my eyes
wide in concern.

He yanked his head over to look at me while
I spoke, as if I had caught him totally unaware, dropping his hands
instantly back to his sides, though his fists remained clenched
there.

“You’re awake,” he said, coming over to the
side of the bed. “Do you want to go for a walk with me?”

“Right now?” I asked, and I looked over at
the fading light in the window. “It’ll be getting pretty cold
outside.”

“I need some air,” he said, standing up and
resuming his pacing at the end of the bed. “I think I’m getting
cabin fever.”

I could see that he did indeed need to get
out and do something. He was acting very strangely.

“Just let me get dressed real quick,” I
replied, swinging my legs over the edge of the massive bed.

I walked into the closet and pulled on a
heavy sweater and jeans, as well as some good walking shoes. I went
into the bathroom and brushed through my hair then snugged a knit
hat over the top if it for warmth.

He had his coat and hat on when I came back
out. He helped me into my coat and picked up my red scarf, wrapping
it around my neck.

We went down the stairs, passing Colin on
our way to the front door.

“We’re going on a walk,” he said brusquely
to him when we passed, pulling me behind him.

“Please tell Douglas and Fiona we’re sorry
that we haven’t had the chance to visit with them yet today,” I
called over my shoulder, since Vance didn’t pause in his stride for
the door.

It wasn’t like Vance to not be polite.

We stepped out into the brisk evening air,
and I immediately hunched my shoulders up in protection against
it.

Vance didn’t let go of my hand as he pulled
me along. I had to step up my pace to keep up with him.

He turned out of the driveway and headed off
across the immaculate property.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” he replied shortly.

We had probably walked for about a mile at
the rapid pace he had set before he finally slowed a little, though
he still didn’t speak to me.

We wandered on until the land opened up into
a very large pasture, and I noticed that a herd of sheep was out in
the middle of the field.

“Do you care if we go to see the sheep?” I
asked him.

He shrugged indifferently.

“Go ahead,” he said.

Letting go of his hand, I turned to walk out
into the field. I noticed that he was kind of hanging behind, just
watching me.

Slowly, I made my way up to the small group
of sheep that was nearest to me, trying not to startle them.

I had always loved sheep as a child. My
parents had a touch-and-feel book they used to read to me. The
sheep in it always looked and felt so soft and fluffy. I just
wanted to see if they really were as soft as they looked.

A few of them made some gentle bleating
sounds as I approached, and some shifted nervously at my presence
the closer I got. I stretched my hand out and spoke in soft
soothing tones, allowing my magic to flow through me in an attempt
to communicate with them.

As it turned out, they allowed me to walk
right into the center of them. I petted one of them on the head,
and several others came over to nudge at me, awaiting their turn
for attention.

I laughed softly, crooning over them.

The texture of their coats was much rougher
than I had expected it to be, but they were very thick.

I played with them for several minutes
before turning to look at Vance, who was leaning up against a fence
post with his arms crossed over his chest, watching me in the
rising moonlight.

“Why don’t you come and join me?” I called
out to him while I scratched one of the bigger ones behind the ear.
“They’re very friendly.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment before
he finally pushed away from the post and began walking toward me.
He had only gone a few steps before the sheep suddenly started
bleating and running.

I stood and watched in amazement while they
scattered in every direction, except for the one closest to
Vance.

“What’s happening?” I asked and I looked
carefully at him. “Why did they all run away like that?”

“I guess they don’t like me.” He laughed in
a slightly uncomfortable voice.

“That’s not possible,” I replied watching
him. “I remember how the dolphins responded to you. You’re a
natural with animals.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t know what
to tell you.”

I marched over and grabbed his hand, turning
to move back toward the herd, determined to prove him wrong, but
every time I tried to approach one of the sheep, it would run
away.

I turned to him in frustration. “This is
weird,” I said, biting at my lower lip as I pondered this.

I let go of his hand and tried walking back
into the group by myself. The sheep easily let me approach.

“Why won’t you let Vance touch you?” I said
squatting down in front of the largest one. “He’s a nice guy.”

I reached out to rub the sheep around the
neck with both of my hands.

“Now come over,” I said, not willing to let
this go. “Only this time call out to them with your magic like you
did with the dolphins.”

He gave a sigh, shaking his head, as he
started toward me again.

The instant he began to walk forward the
sheep ran off again, even though I tried to hang on to the one I
was petting. The big male bucked against me until I fell over onto
my rump, and then he took off to join the others.

I threw my hands up in frustration.

“Just forget about it,” Vance said coming up
next to me. “They just don’t like me.”

“But why?” I said asked, feeling completely
perplexed. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

He laughed at me then, reaching out to turn
my face to look at his.

“They are sheep, Portia. It really isn’t a
big deal. Everything in the world is not attracted to me the way
you are. That’s perfectly normal,” he said, and I could see the
light dancing in his eyes.

“Well, they should be, because you’re
wonderful,” I replied with a little pout and a scowl.

He really laughed then, and he came to wrap
his arms around me in a giant bear hug, leaning his head against
mine.

“You’re too good to me,” he said with a grin
that warmed my heart, and I snuggled in closer to him.

This was the Vance I knew and loved.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked, and I
nuzzled my cold nose in against his warm neck.

“Yes, much better,” he said. “You always
know how to cheer me up.”

“Good,” I replied, feeling relieved at his
words. “Then do you want to continue on, or can we please get out
of this freezing air?”

He nodded his head in the general direction
of the manor house.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking me by the hand
once again.

Colin met us at the door, almost as if he
had been expecting us, taking our coats and hats for us.

I followed as Vance led me by the hand down
the hall, then into the grand salon, where Douglas and Fiona were
sitting in front of the fireplace.

“Well, there they are!” Fiona said when she
spotted us in the doorway, waving us over to join the two of
them.

“Sorry we’ve been such horrible guests,” I
spoke up, feeling really sorry that we hadn’t socialized with them
before now. “Last night really wore us out!”

“Not a problem!” Fiona replied. “I slept in,
too.” She smiled softly, as if she were telling us some dreadful
secret. “Douglas, however, was up and at the offices early this
morning, managing the estate.”

“The party was wonderful, by the way,” Vance
added with a polite smile, looking between both of them.

“Everyone was so excited to meet our
long-lost grandson,” Douglas replied with a smile. “And of course
you too, Portia,” he added cordially, almost as an
afterthought.

“I was just the side show,” I laughed,
shaking my head slightly. “Vance was the main event.”

“Whatever,” Vance said, squeezing my hand
tighter as he looked over at me.

Fiona changed the subject then.

“I told Colin to serve dinner in here
tonight. I thought we’d all enjoy a more relaxed environment after
last evening’s formal affair.”

“That sounds nice,” Vance agreed, and I saw
he was being truthful when he allowed his posture to relax and lean
back into the furniture a little bit.

“So let’s visit,” Fiona said brightly as she
watched him.

“All right. What do you want to know?” he
replied with a small smile.

“Well, for starters, how long are you
planning on staying in Scotland?” she asked.

“Actually, we’d been thinking of leaving in
a day or two,” Vance said, surprising me since the two of us had
never discussed any such thing. “We came here specifically on the
hope of finding my mother, but it seems that’s no longer an option.
Portia and I are still in the middle of a school year, so it would
probably better for both of us if we were to hurry and get back to
that.”

“So soon?” Douglas replied looking a bit
downtrodden at the idea. “We had hoped that you’d stay much
longer.”

“What if we had a tutor come here for both
of you?” Fiona piped up. “That way you could both finish your
studies on time, and we could enjoy having you here for a
while.”

“We don’t want to be an imposition,” he
said, and he turned to look at me, slightly raising an eyebrow.

“That wouldn’t be the case at all,” Douglas
spoke up. “We want you to stay. We want to get to know you. In
fact, I’d be willing to teach you about running the estate if you’d
stay. Why not even make Bell Tower your permanent home? It’ll be
yours someday anyway.”

Vance seemed very surprised at this comment,
and he faltered as he searched for the right words.

“Thank you for your offer, but I’d
definitely have to discuss a decision this big with Portia and her
family first.”

“Whatever you need, son,” Douglas said
kindly. “Feel free to use the house phone for any calls you might
want to make.”

Vance nodded his head, the surprised look
still on his face.

Colin arrived in the room rolling a large
cart with dinner on it then. He served each of us our food on small
trays for our laps.

The meal was simple, crusty bread bowls
filled with steaming hot potato soup. After the cold walk we had
been on this evening, it was the perfect thing, warming us from the
inside out.

We enjoyed small talk, mostly about the
running of the estate and the charities that the Cummingses were
involved in, just getting to know them a little better.

When we were finished with our meal, Colin
magically reappeared to clean up after us and then returned with a
fresh bottle of chilled champagne.

I refused any when he came to pour my glass,
and Fiona looked at me with a questioning gaze.

“It doesn’t agree with me,” I explained at
her look.

“Would you care for something else then?”
she asked me.

“No. I’m fine thank you.” I smiled.

I noticed that Vance had several glasses
throughout the night, and Colin seemed to magically reappear every
time a bottle ran dry. Vance seemed fine, though, so I tried to put
it at the back of my mind and enjoy the rest of the evening getting
to know his family.

When we finally retired to our bedroom,
closing the door behind us, Vance turned to me immediately.

“So what do you think about the offer they
placed on the table this evening?” he asked.

“About staying here?” He nodded his head. “I
don’t know,” I answered honestly, going over to sit cross-legged on
the bed. “I was kind of looking forward to getting that cozy little
place in Flagstaff we’d talked about.”

“Me too,” he said with a smile, coming over
and flopping backward onto the bed next to me, resting his head on
arms. “I just never imagined this as a possibility.”

“Would you like to stay here? I know how
much you’ve wanted a family connection in your life. How do you
feel about all this?” I prodded.

“I honestly don’t know how I feel about it.
I’ve never really had a place to call home before I met you. I
think Sedona has been more my home than anywhere else in the world.
Even when I was a child with both of my parents, we traveled a lot.
Now, I find out that I have this whole history and heritage I was
never aware of. The idea is intriguing to me, I guess.” He looked
over at me to gauge my reaction.

I reached over to place one of my hands on
his chest, and he covered it with his own.

“I just want you to be happy,” I said, as I
watched him. “As long as I’m with you, I’ll be fine.”

He looked at me seriously. “I don’t want you
to do something just because it’ll make me happy. I want to make a
decision based on both of our needs and desires. You know, whatever
is best for us.”

I nodded my head in understanding.

“So would you like living here or not?” he
asked me again.

I sat back for a moment and really thought
about it for a minute before I answered him. “I don’t know. I’ve
been having a wonderful time here on our honeymoon, but I’m really
missing Sedona.”