If He's Noble (Wherlocke #7)

Lilybet shook her head and then sipped at her tea. “She will be at Willow Hill before you no matter when you leave here so best to be prepared for that. She has plans. I just do not know what yet.”


“You seem to be getting a lot of information about her,” said Bened, curious as to what gifts this woman had and how they worked.

“The evil wretch is stuck in my head. I do not know how or why, but she is there. I wish I could scrub her out for it is wearying to deal with so much anger and evil, especially when it is not your own.”

“I could not bear it,” said Primrose.

“That is why I am staying close to you, because I need to be there to make sure she is ended. Harsh though it is to say that, she has earned hanging several times over by now.”

Everyone nodded their agreement and turned their attention to finishing their meal. Primrose was just heading to her bedchamber when Bened caught her by the arm and led her outside. She had to admit it was a beautiful day. Such sunny days were rare and meant to be enjoyed. She rather hoped it would raise her spirits, which had been low since she had recovered another horrible memory and made such a scene at Elderwood.

“I am sorry for causing such trouble at your cousin’s,” she said.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Bened said firmly, and kissed her on the cheek. “One thing my family understands, in far too many ways, is the cruelty adults can inflict upon children. Modred has his share of bad memories from his childhood and probably has wished that he could forget them from time to time.”

“You do not have any, do you?”

“Nay, but I was one of the fortunate ones in that my mother accepted all that my father was and what gifts her sons ended up with.” He smiled. “Bevan’s was the only one she complained about.”

“Oh, yes, I can see that. A child who can hide so well would be a sore trial to a mother.” She grimaced. “I obviously also know how to hide but not in a particularly good way. Now I worry about what else has been hidden inside my memories.”

“I just find what Modred said about your own mind protecting you fascinating. It shut it in a box and sealed it.”

“That is what he thinks and in a strange way it makes some sense. Something I did not have much to do with hid those memories from me. It troubled me when I thought on what I could not recall because I recall so much so easily. Then I even thought it might be when I hit my head after my first horse tossed me down. That suited, was a sensible explanation, so I let it stand even though now I realized the times do not match.”

“It is a good thing that you did not hurt anything when you hit your head. That sort of wound can cause all manner of troubles.”

“It did destroy my eyesight, which had been perfect up until then.”

“It did?”

“Yes. When I woke up everything was a blur. At first we thought it would ease and return to normal as the wound healed but it did not so the physician decided something had been broken and I have worn glasses ever since.”

“Did you know we have healers in our family?”

“Truly? That is wondrous and, I suspect, very convenient.”

“What I am trying to say is that, perhaps, one of them could do something. If the matter is a natural weakness, they cannot fix it, but you seem to have suffered an injury and many of those they can fix.”

Hope stirred to life in her chest but she beat it down. “It is a pretty old injury, Bened. I could not have been more than ten or eleven years of age when it happened and am now three and twenty.”

“And scars may have formed over the injury. I know. That, too, would mean it could not be fixed. But what is the harm in having one of them at least see what they can see?”

“None, really, save for the pain of disappointment when they cannot do anything. Yet, I lived through that many times before with physician after physician coming to look at me. I can live through it again.”

“As soon as matters are back to normal, I shall ask around amongst the healers in the family. Each can be just a little different, you see.”

Primrose had to think about it for a moment and then sternly told herself not to be a coward. If there was even the smallest of chances one of the family healers could fix the problem with her eyes, she would have a whole new life. It would not only be cowardly to refuse such a chance but stupid.

“If you find one who thinks it worth a look, I believe I can do it.”

“Just think of it as a trial but one with no big consequences if it fails. An experiment, if you will, one in which our healers can test the reach of their gifts. Nothing will have changed or grown worse.”

“True and that is just how I will think of it.” She looked around and realized they were walking to the edge of the hill, to the side that would give a beautiful view of Modred’s castle. “This is not one of those walks like we took in the woods, is it, because I see no shelter here.”