The Libertine (Taskill Witches 2)

Where was Chloris? Tamhas wondered if Fingal had got to her already. Tamhas didn’t say anything, but he and Gavin exchanged glances.

“Alert me as soon as she returns.” Gavin shooed the girl out. When she shut the door, he returned his attention to Tamhas. “And you believe they have followed her here?”

“At least one. Perhaps more. Gavin, I fear they may have attempted to influence her with their evildoings. We need to be rid of them in order to protect her.”

Gavin’s eyes lit. “Influenced, yes. That would make sense of it, for she came back different, emboldened.” His eyes narrowed and he glanced away. “She is no longer the woman that I married.”

This was not the way Tamhas thought Gavin would react. “We must be rid of this vermin,” Tamhas insisted again. “Then your good wife will return to you in body and soul.”

Gavin grew silent and thoughtful. He paced up and down his study. His lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes flickering as he thought through what had been revealed.

Tamhas wondered what was going through his mind. A plan of action, he hoped. Gavin had many friends in high places in Edinburgh and could easily rouse expert witch finders, the ministers, the bailiff, soldiers and more, people who were willing to hunt this man down.

“We must protect Chloris from them,” he repeated, willing Gavin to begin the witch hunt.

Gavin paused on his pacing and looked at Tamhas. “I fear we may be too late for that.”

Tamhas frowned. “I do not understand your meaning.”

“She is a changed woman, Tamhas. It is clear to me now that they have meddled with her soul.” Gavin’s mood was as self-assured as it was venomous. “If my wife has been influenced by these witches, and it seems that she has, then perhaps it would be better if she burned with them!”

Tamhas struggled to maintain his composure, for he was taken aback by Gavin’s swift and harsh verdict on the situation. Did he really believe that was just, or did he perhaps see this as a convenient way to get rid of a wife who was no longer useful to him? Was it because she was barren? Tamhas worked through his thoughts quickly, trying to find the appropriate thing to say. He needed to gauge the depth of Gavin’s conviction. “It would be a harsh thing, to oust her with them, but I suppose you have the burgh to think of. The capital must be protected.”

Gavin nodded. “The people of Edinburgh will not respect me if my wife is in league with witches and I spare her.”

Gavin’s eyes were alight, as if he were excited by the uproar this might cause.

Tamhas wondered if he had judged the situation wrongly. He had not envisaged Gavin’s fervor, nor his will to determine how involved Chloris had become. What worried him most of all was that he might be about to lose his most important agent in commerce. “However you decide to approach this, I will step behind you.” He paused, stared at Gavin. “The good standing of our friendship and our business arrangements are foremost in my mind at this time.”

Gavin looked at him with an assessing glance, his eyes shrewd and calculating. “You did well to come here so quickly, to warn me. I am indebted to you. You have always made good sense of how things are between us. If I must sacrifice my wife in order to protect Edinburgh, it will be done.”

He walked over to a bureau against the far wall and opened a drawer, withdrawing a bundle wrapped in a cloth. He carried it back to Tamhas and placed it on a nearby table.

When Gavin unwrapped it Tamhas saw that the cloth covered a pistol.

“Our business arrangement will remain strong if the situation is dealt with quickly and tidily. If you understand my meaning.” He polished the pistol with the rag it had been wrapped in, loaded it, and then set it down on the desk between

them. “You have the evidence from Saint Andrews. I will send for the witch finder general and his men. You must point the finger. If Chloris attempts to deny it or escape, make sure it does not happen.”

Tamhas stared down at the pistol. He did not need the weapon, for he had his own, but Gavin’s message was clear. However, Tamhas suddenly found himself remembering those evenings back at Torquil House, when he had sat with her and lusted after her, and he wanted to back away and deny this bargain. He forced himself to be sensible about the matter. Chloris had gone to Fingal. Chloris had not come to him.

Besides, would it be so great a sacrifice to make if he was finally rid of Fingal?

There was a part of him that did not want to relinquish his hold on his cousin, but if it meant he could smite Fingal that way, then perhaps Gavin was correct in his assumption.

For Gavin it appeared it was the only way. Gavin was set on it.

It was not the outcome Tamhas had hoped for, but if he had to sacrifice Cousin Chloris in order to be secure in his commerce, so be it.

* * *

“Mistress Chloris, you are home.” When Mary opened the front door and took Chloris’s cloak, Mary looked at Chloris with a disturbed expression in her eyes.

“What is it, Mary?”

“There are strange goings-on. Master Gavin has been asking for you.”

“He is here?”