Threatened [W&W Book 2]

Chapter 20

The next morning was almost as chaotic as the day before.  There was a large informal breakfast for the guests, and Anya was pressed into service again by Lady Daphne and many of the other ladies.

She received two more offers of employment and again she had wished she had known the high demand for such a skill before her brother had descended into darkness.

She decided not to send a message to Thorne, because she feared that she would be out of the range of upholding her spells.  Having all the spells fail at once would bring terrible attention to a visit to the woods that she wanted to remain unremarkable.

Surely, Thorne could wait one day.

Anya spent as much of the day as possible away from everyone.  Keeping the spells on so many people was beginning to wear her down.  She lazed around the most isolated parts of the castle.

"What are you doing?" a sharp voice asked.

Anya held in her sigh and turned to face the housekeeper.  She was not in the mood to tolerate the nasty hag's nonsense.  "I'm maintaining dozens of spells, actually," she said, looking right in the housekeeper's eyes.  Anya did not bother to stand up.  She almost hoped it would annoy the housekeeper.  She knew that she needed to keep a low profile, but she had enough of the bullying.

"You can do something else while you are doing that," Missus White snapped back.

"No, I can't. I'm exhausted by it.  Are you a wizardress?  Do you know how wizards are affected by maintaining multiple spells?" Anya asked evenly.

Missus White narrowed her eyes and Anya suddenly understood.  The housekeeper consistently dedicated her life to Wildwood estate, yet she could not be the thing that the lord of Wildwood prized above all else.  The housekeeper probably had no natural affinity for magic.

Even more likely, she had probably attempted to learn with little success.  It would explain why she was so angry and resentful, especially to Anya.

Since Anya was just a maid the woman obviously felt free to bully her.  Anya would not have it any longer.  She felt sorry for the woman if her intuition was correct, but it did not give Missus White a right to be so nasty.

However, Missus White seemed to have decided to leave Anya alone without any further encouragement.  She harrumphed and spun on her heel.  Anya watched the stiff back as it walked away.  Anya hoped it was the start of a trend.

* * * * *

Anya wearied of being idle and decided to go to the library.  As she opened the door she could hear several of the wedding guests carrying on animated conversations.  As Anya allowed the door to slide shut she heard an excited tone of voice that caught her attention.  She paused and listened.

"Did you hear about what happened to Lord Reid?" said a female voice Anya vaguely recognized.  It was a lady whose hair Anya had done the previous day.  Anya thought that her name was perhaps Lady Amelia.

"Lord Reid?" asked the voice of a different unfamiliar woman.  "Wasn't he that peculiar old man who never managed to sire an heir?"

Lady Amelia laughed and Anya thought that she sounded nasty.  "He was indeed.  You might recall hearing that a decade ago or so he was desperate to continue his line.  Two wives and not a child between them, let alone a son."

"Poor blighter," said a man Anya did not recognize.

"That's not the worst of it, though," returned Lady Amelia.  "He was murdered a week ago."

"Murdered?  Are they certain?"  The second woman asked.  She sounded excited and the thought that the woman was excited by the idea of someone being killed revolted Anya.