“Ye have one day to make yer decisions,” she said. “Return tomorrow and give me yer answer.”
Thunder boomed again, and the wind whipped down from the mountains. The fire seemed to flicker and leap, and when Rory looked again, the witch was gone.
“I hate how she does that,” he muttered. “I know it’s some sort of illusion, but it’s unsettling.”
“You’re the only one of us who met her before today,” King said. “Henry and I had our parts of the spell passed along by others.”
“I can’t say I’m honored to be singled out,” Rory said, looking up at the sky and the fast-moving clouds. “My head is pounding. If you two weren’t here, I’d have given myself up for mad hours ago.”
“You’re not mad,” Henry said. “At least, not any madder than King or me. If what she says is true, we need to decide before this time tomorrow what to do.”
“I still don’t know that I believe any of this,” King said. “How can she stop my father from committing treason or the Lords from voting on the bill of attainder?”
“And how will she convince the Marquess of Shrewsbury to give me back the title to Carlisle Hall or my town house, not to mention the dozens of other men to whom I’ve lost hundreds of pounds?”
“Hundreds?” King said, one eyebrow raised.
“Thousands, then.”
“Hundreds of thousands,” King said, pretending to cough.
Henry ignored him. “Rory, you’ve always believed in these curses and witchcraft more than we. Do you think she can bring Harriet and your son back?”
Rory looked at the sky again. “I don’t know. We three doubted the witch could curse us to lose everything we cared for when we turned thirty. Can it really be only coincidence that that’s the day Harriet died?” He looked at King. “Or your birthday was the day your father was found guilty, or your birthday was the day you lost the last of what you owned? That’s an incredible coincidence.”
“I suppose we could assume anything is possible,” King said. “If what she says is true, I’d give up Violet and the boys and my title and lands would be returned to me.”
“Would you want to give them up?” Rory asked.
“I suppose I won’t even know that I did give anything up. Violet will not remember me, and I won’t ever know about her.”
“Which means we can’t seek them out after our old lives are restored,” Henry said. “I won’t remember Katie, so I can’t go find her and make her fall in love with me.”
“I’d never be able to make Violet fall in love with me again,” King said. “It was practically impossible the first time.” He looked at Rory. “What about you? Do you think Genevieve is your true love?”
“Are you even in love with her?” Henry asked. “You swore after Harriet that you’d never fall in love again.”
Rory sighed. “I wish that I’d kept that vow, because then I wouldn’t have to make this decision. If I didn’t love Genevieve, there would be no chance for me. But I do love her, and yes, I do think she’s my true love—whatever that means.”
The fire was dying now, and the sky was growing darker. Stars appeared, a new one every time he looked.
“This decision is not that difficult for me,” King said. “As much as I’d like to have my titles and my lands returned, I don’t care for them half as much as I do for Violet and Joshua and Georgie. My answer is no.”
Rory glanced at him. “What if I hadn’t promised to give you money so you might leave Seven Dials?”
King narrowed his eyes. “It would still be no, but I’d be annoyed enough to plant you a facer.”
Rory held up a hand. “Just speaking hypothetically. I’ve already written to my solicitor on your behalf.” He looked at Henry. “What about you?”
“I rather enjoyed my life before. Now I have tenants and crops and leaky roofs to worry about.”
“At least you’re still a duke,” King pointed out.
“That’s a definite advantage, but I’ll be an impoverished duke if I don’t make a go of things at the keep in Carlisle. And yet…” He stared off into the fire, and Rory met King’s eyes. King made a face indicating he had no idea which way Henry would go. But Rory thought he knew. Yes, Henry had a title and money, but he’d been consumed by his addiction to gambling. For the firsttime in years, Rory could see that something other than cards or the rattle of the bones mattered to his friend.
And that something was his wife.
“I can’t give up Katie,” Henry said, confirming Rory’s assumption. “I may sound like some lovesick poet, but I’ve never felt love before. And she’s given me more than love in return. She gave me back my dignity and the chance to earn back my pride. I’d be a fool to go back to my life before.”
