Like magic, if love is meant to be,
it will not be ignored.
Grandma Lucy's Rules to Magic and Dating
Nestled against a forested backdrop, the little stone cottage with its thatched roof and overgrown garden had an untamed, whimsical quality to it that remained even in the dead of winter. If this place still existed two hundred some odd years from now, it was undoubtedly a very popular tourist stop. Cassy could easily see people circling it to find just the right place to take their selfies.
At the moment, though, all Cassy wanted to do was get inside and shove her feet close to a roaring fire. Well, maybe that wasn't all she wanted. She also wanted to find out what had happened to Alice. Considering how scared the woman had been when they'd first been stopped on the side of the road, she was remarkably relaxed about the whole thing by the end of it.
The driver carried their trunks inside the little house, then started a fire in the hearth. When he moved to leave with the carriage, Cassy stopped him.
"I'm fine, ma’am," he said. "I have my own place to stay, I promise. I will return to pick you up for the ball."
Who was this guy? Had he really travelled through time with them just to end up as a servant? That sounded like a terrible way to spend the holiday, but there wasn't much for Cassy to do except let the man leave.
Alice was the bigger priority.
Cassy managed to wait until they were settled in the small parlor with a cup of hot tea before she pounced.
"Okay," Cassy said. "Out with it. What happened with that guy in the carriage?"
Alice blinked at her. Her forehead wrinkled as if she didn't understand what Cassy was asking. Right. Like Cassy was going to believe that.
"Hmm? I don't know—"
"Cut the crap, Alice. Who was that guy?” She narrowed her eyes at her companion, whose cheeks were getting redder by the second. “Oh, wow. You know him, don't you?"
Alice squeaked. Actually squeaked.
"I didn't see that coming," Cassy said. "Tell me about him." Did Alice know the other highwayman too? Was there a way for Cassy to see him again?
"I really don't know what you are talking about." Alice sipped daintily at her tea, but her calm façade wasn’t fooling Cassy.
"It must be someone you've met before, which means you've crossed paths with him on some of your other travels."
"No comment."
"That's as good as a confirmation, you know.”
Alice frowned.
“But you'd said you'd never been in this era before." Cassy rubbed her chin. What did that mean? Was the guy another time traveling witch? Or someone who lived a really long time? What other types of paranormal people were out there in the world? Her grandmother had told her stories, if only she could remember them. "Is he a vampire or something?"
"How did you figure that out?" The tea in Alice's cup sloshed over the side as she dropped it on the side table. The cup clattered against the saucer.
"Vampires are real? Wow. I don't even know why I'm surprised at this point. I'm mean we're hanging out in another century. It's just… yeah. That's something."
"Why don't you know this stuff?" Alice asked. "You’re a witch. I tested your magic. And yet you act like a mundane who doesn't know magic exists."
"I have magic?"
Alice snorted. "Like you don't know."
"Actually, I don't," Cassy said quietly. She stared into the flames dancing in the fire. "I was raised by my grandmother, but she died when I was just a kid. She…" Cassy swallowed. "She used to talk about magic, but as I got older, I thought her stories were just fairytales."
"Gina is going to kill me for this. I was so sure…" Alice's words trailed off as she groaned and slumped in her chair.
"Yeah. I guess you shouldn't really drag people through time unless they are in the know about all things supernatural, hey?"
"Something like that," Alice muttered.
"And the guy?"
Alice dropped her head back and stared at the ceiling. "He… I don't even know what to say about him. I've known Duncan since I was eight when I traveled through time for the first time. It was an accident. I had no idea what had happened, but there he was, all scraped knees and ginger hair, ready to protect me and take me home like a stray cat he'd found on the side of the road. I knew in that moment we'd be friends. Of course, that was before he was changed."
"Changed?"
"Into a vampire." Alice rubbed her arms. "I guess I should have known he'd be here. He's always around when I travel some place."
Cassy leaned back in her chair and stared at the fire. "So, you're friends with one of the highwaymen. Interesting."
"He isn't usually a thief. I don't know what he's doing with those men. He is one of the most morally black and white people I know." Alice's cheeks darkened as she defended him. "But, yeah, I guess we're friends." She sighed. "It isn't like we can be anything else. It isn't like we can build a life together. Witches and vampires. Yeah. Our kind don't mix."
"Romeo-and-Juliet kind of don't mix or are there compatibility issues that I don't understand."
"I mean his whole life is in a different time. But then there is my family too. They just wouldn’t accept someone like him." Her mouth turned down and tears glistened in her eyes. She blinked them away quickly. "I'm going to turn in for the night."
Family sucked sometimes. As much as Cassy wanted to urge Alice to not let other people dictate her life, she knew it wasn’t always that easy.
"Yeah, okay," Cassy said. "You know if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you."
Alice nodded, then left to find her room.
Well, that would suck. Being in love with someone and not knowing how to find a way to be together? It was probably just as well Cassy didn't know how to find the highwayman again. Not that she believed in love at first sight, but her intuition, which she now thought might be her magic speaking, said that by getting to know the highwayman, she'd be risking far more than a few pieces of jewelry.
And she wasn't sure her heart could handle being broken again.