McCann's Manor (46 page)

"Thanks, Joel. We'll need it. I
will
talk to you soon,” she promised.

"Good bye,” Joel said. He wanted to lecture her on all the reasons he could call to mind why she shouldn't be doing this thing. He opened his mouth to do just that, thought twice about it, pursed his lips, crossed himself as he sent a silent prayer skyward.

"'Bye. And thanks again."

Joel hung up the phone, wondered if God would hold him to his promise to tell no one. He was a
priest
, for heaven's sake. He was accustomed to keeping other people's secrets, wasn't he? Yes, of course he was, but if Liz had asked his advice he most certainly would have tried to dissuade her. This was a secret that could cost her and Kim their lives. He wouldn't be able to get there in time to keep them from going and he was late to confession. It was a mistake for John to have left town just now. What had the man had been thinking?

"I'm confused, Ben,” Kim said. “After what Liz told us about Moira and Sean—and Moira's
dogs
—why are we going to Tarrh's house at a time when Moira and Sean are there?"

"That is when Tarrh has already seen both Elizabeth and myself. We must convince
him
to help us, not the man he
was
before he married Moira,” Benjamin explained.

"I don't think that will work, Ben,” Liz said. “I already talked to him about Moira and the havoc she will wreak. He doesn't believe in changing what is meant to be."

"
Truly
? Did he say that? Why, then is it he changed what was
to be
by binding Moira and Sean in the first place?” Benjamin asked.

"A good point,” Liz conceded.

"The man is a wizard, lasses,” Benjamin said. “He has spent his entire life manipulating events and never being concerned whether he changed what was meant to be or not. Perhaps when he started facing death he started to question, and even rue, his earlier actions."

"What if Moira and those monster dogs of hers intercept us?” Liz asked.

Benjamin smiled. “Moira can't hurt me, nor either of you when you are with me. Besides, I plan on going directly to wherever Tarrh is; Moira will have no chance to intercept us."

"That ought to be a good trick,” Kim said.

"Skeptical, are we? Right, then; well, it
is
a bit tricky, I admit. In fact, I have never done it before, exactly—but in
theory
, it should work,” he said as he rubbed his chin.

Liz and Kim looked at each other, waited.

Benjamin continued, “What I need each of you to do is to take one of my hands and don't let go, no matter what, until I tell you. Next, think of nothing other than going with me to wherever I will take us. Can you do that?"

Kim and Liz nodded.

"Because if either of you think of anything other than going with me where I lead, even for an instant, it could significantly
alter
our destination,” he continued. “It might even split us apart in time and space, and I would have no control over your fates. So if you have any doubts about doing this, now is the time to say."

Kim shrugged. “Doubts? Why,
no
, Ben. It sounds like a piece of cake to me."

"Piece of cake?” Benjamin asked, a blank look on his face.

"She means it ought to be easy—she's being facetious, Ben,” Liz explained.

"Aye,
'twill
is easy, no matter how it turns out. You yourself saw how easy it was to go through the portal, by
accident
,” he said pointedly. “And if your thoughts are not collected and centered on what they need to be, ‘twill also be easy for you to get lost from the group."

"I apologize, Ben,” Kim said. “I didn't mean to make light of anything you were saying. Liz and I are both fairly good at concentrating on a set thing, at least for a period of time. Is there anything else we need to know?"

"You will need to continue to
stay
with me—that is, keep your thoughts on being where we are, because if you start wondering about your animals or other things, it could draw you back here,” he said.

"That makes sense,” Liz said.

"Aye, makes sense, but can you do it, lass?"

"All I can do is try, but I
think
I can,” Liz said.

"I think
I can
, as well. At least I know what I need to be working on,” Kim said.

Benjamin nodded, smiled. “Well, that makes three of us with a good idea of what we need to be
trying
to do; now to put it to the test. Are you ready, ladies?"

"Ready as we'll ever be, I guess,” Kim said.

"Then take my hands and let us be off."

Melody waited in the recess behind the curtain, listening to the story the strangers were telling Tarrh. Indeed, what a strange tale they spun. They had come to ask for his help in undoing some unknown mischief in Moira's past. But Tarrh was so weak, what help could he be to them? Further, was there any hope at all that changing Moira's past would change the bitter wretch for the better? Melody doubted it, but if there was even a glimmer of a chance to stop the woman's evil before it devoured them all, she had to hear of it, had to help somehow.

Yet if Melody stepped out of her hiding place at this moment, would she not be leaving herself open to her master's scorn? She loved Tarrh with a passion that consumed her to her very core. She would have done anything for him, would have endured any torture to save him. She would even risk his learning the truth about her son—
their
son—if it would save the man from Moira and Sean. Even now, she couldn't understand why Tarrh had resigned himself so easily to death at Moira's hands. He was so much more powerful than she; he had more power than a dozen sorcerers; he could have saved himself, had he wanted. Could it be he really loved the woman enough to allow her to rip the life out of him without even so much as a struggle? If he knew little William was his child, would it make the least difference, or would it only jeopardize William's chances of living to adulthood if Moira found out? What was she to do?

She had kept her silence long enough. Tarrh had to know before he died that she loved him and always had; he had to know William was his own son. She owed them both that much. At the very least, she wanted to hold Tarrh and love him in his final hours. There were so many things she needed to tell him. Perhaps this
was
the time. She took a deep breath, brushed her shiny brown curls back from her face and pushed the curtain aside, then entered Tarrh's chamber.

Tarrh stared at her furiously when she appeared from behind the heavy curtain. “What are you doing here, woman? You are interrupting important business,” he spat.

She lowered her gaze to the floor but a moment before she took another deep breath, squared her shoulders and met his fierce glare with a fiery gaze of her own. “I have come to help you and these strangers, Tarrh McCann!"

"You cannot help us any more than they can help me. Now, be gone!” he shouted.

"You are wrong. I have been listening to what has been said and I believe I
can
help as much as anyone can,” she started. Tarrh opened his mouth to protest, but Melody shushed him, her green eyes aglow with a passion Tarrh had never before seen. She stomped her foot on the floor, struck a recalcitrant pose, hands on hips. “Enough of your self-pitying, sanctimonious haughtiness, Tarrh! You act as though you believe you are the only one who has anything at stake here when if you would but open your eyes, you would see ‘tis not the case. Have you no consideration for anyone but yourself? What about me? What about our son?"

Tarrh stared at Melody, obviously stunned. “Our son—
William
?"

"Aye, William. Who else?"

"Y-you told me he belonged to the stable boy—” he stammered.

"And what
was
I to tell you, seeing as how you were so fetched with that black
witch
? Should I have told you I was in love with you; that I was with
your
child?” she spat, the others in the room temporarily forgotten.

"In
love
with me?"

"By
Angus Mac Og
, are ye totally blind? I have loved you ever since I first knew you. Why else do you think I gave myself to you willingly? Certain ‘twas
not
your winning charm caused me to submit so eagerly to my deflowering,” she indicted.

Tarrh gazed on Melody as one seeing the light for the first time, a slack-jawed amazement replacing the pallor of sickness with a ray of illumination. He smiled at her after a long moment and reached for her hand.

Melody stood her ground, neither approaching Tarrh nor backing away, her head held high in defiance. “Nay, ye shan't touch me unless you intend to cooperate with these people who have asked for your assistance."

"Melody, my dear, ‘tis too late. I am far too weak to do anything. ‘Tis a magic potion of poison they have brewed against me, and I no longer have the power to fight it,” he said wearily.

"It always comes down to you and your
power
, does it not? Do you really think yourself to be the only one who has magical powers? Aye, were that the case,
you
would have died months ago,” she scolded.

Again Tarrh looked at Melody as though he had never seen her before. “You have been using magic to keep me alive?” he asked.

Melody's gaze met his and softened as big tears sprang from her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks. “What a fool you are! Why do you give in to death when you have so much reason to live? I would be an even bigger fool not to try to save the only man I have ever loved."

Her words left him speechless for a moment as he studied her obvious display of the love she professed. How could he not have seen it before? “Aye, lass, I
am
a fool, and blind as well, just as you have said. I never imagined you loved me or that you even cared for me much. I thought I was merely the master of the manor and whatever attentions you allowed me to visit upon you were because of who I was. Why did you not tell me before?"

"I had no right to love you, Tarrh. I was simply your servant and content to be so because it meant I could be near you. But we have a son, and Moira and Sean are killing his father! What's to become of William? How can I simply let it happen? I
have
to fight it and so do you!” she sobbed.

"I must confess I have no idea how to fight this, dear Melody,” he said.

Benjamin, who had been listening in silence to Tarrh and Melody, cleared his throat, stepped forward. “Excuse me for intruding on this rightfully private conversation you two are having, but I feel the need to inform you both of who I am."

Tarrh and Melody fell silent, stared at Benjamin, Liz and Kim. “Aye?” Tarrh asked.

"I am Benjamin
William McCann
—the great-great-grandson of Tarrh McCann and Melody McDonald."

Tarrh and Melody stared at Benjamin, then at each other. At last Melody looked long and hard into Benjamin's eyes, then circled him, taking in every detail of his appearance. “Aye,” she confirmed, “ye could well be blood of my blood, Benjamin
William
, and you certainly have the presence of a McCann."

Benjamin smiled warmly. “I inherited something else from the two of you as well. I am a very good sorcerer,” he said, more to Tarrh than Melody. “I venture to say between the three of us, we could very likely whip up a magical potion to rival anything Moira and Sean could have put together. When you are stronger, you can help us to discover why Moira is so
bent
on ruining all the McCann clan, and perhaps we can undo some of the damage she has done. That is, unless you really do just want to
let
her kill you,” Benjamin said.

"And how do these two ladies fit into the plan?” Melody asked sharply.

"These two ladies are the
reason
I am here. They convinced me to come with them into the past to try to contain Moira. Elizabeth here has the idea something in Moira's past made her very angry, angry enough to try to destroy all of us. Elizabeth believes if we can learn what that event was and change it, we can render her harmless to hurt any of us by taking away the
reason
for her hatred,” Benjamin explained.

Melody scrutinized Kim and Liz. “And do the two of you also have magical powers?"

"They have access to what I know about magic,” Benjamin said. “They can be a great deal of help. They are seers."

"Seers, is it? What need have
we
of seers?” Melody sneered.

Liz fixed Melody with a cool stare, smiled. “I am not sure you have any need of us at all, Melody, but we have great need of
you
—all of you—in order to change what has happened because of Moira and what she and Sean are trying to do to Tarrh. Have either of you any idea what made Moira hate the McCann family and magic so much?"

"
Hate magic
?” Tarrh echoed. “You think she hates magic? Why, it is her one achievement in life. Why would she hate it?"

"I'm not at all certain
why
she hates it, but I believe she does. It seems to me she blames magic for all her miseries—magic, that is, and the McCann clan.” Liz said.

"
She
has miseries? That is a laugh,” Melody said.

Tarrh was deep in thought. “Aye, she might well hate the McCanns. Yet again, she seems to have a true fondness for Sean,” he mused.

"Perhaps that's because Sean is not truly your half brother as he professes.” Liz speculated.

"
Not
my brother?” Tarrh asked. “What do you know about him?"

"Not much really, but could it be possible Moira and Sean knew one another
before
she married you?” Liz asked.

"Aye, I suppose ‘tis possible, why?” Tarrh asked.

Liz shrugged. “Suppose they cooked up a scheme to move in on you. In the event something should happen to you, Sean, as your half brother, would be the only heir to the family holdings; Moira, by her devotion to Sean, would still profit in the end,” Liz suggested.

"To what purpose?” Melody asked.

"All I have to go on is speculation, but suppose Moira and Sean were in love and Moira was promised to Tarrh—” she began.