Tea, Lycanthropy and Other Virtues

Chapter Six

Hugh's visit with his sister had left him tired and on edge. Even after attending to all the business in London, her request to come home haunted him. He was glad to be back in Bunsall.

He'd left his valet in the special room the Huntsman siblings always kept ready for him. It was the reason he felt safe staying with them on his way to London from Scotland and vice versa. It was the reason he felt safe making the trip at all. This time, his travels coincided with lady Mary's spring ball. He had almost decided not to stay because of it, but she had a way of convincing people to do what she wanted. Plus, it wasn't safe for him to be traveling this time of the month.

He meandered through the Manor looking for something to take his mind off of Hannah. The house had gone through quite the transformation since he'd stayed on his way to London a few weeks before. With Mary's initiative and Edward's fortune, he guessed there wasn't much the siblings couldn't accomplish.

"We have the eight-hour candles. That ought to be enough." Mary's voice drifted down the hall.

He followed it, thinking he'd find out if there was anything he could do to help. Anything to keep his mind busy. They were in the ballroom with their backs to him, Mary, the housekeeper, and another young woman. The housekeeper was making notes on a piece of paper, but she looked a little lost. He wondered why they hadn't brought their head housekeeper from London. She had been a formidable force.

"I hope we have enough chairs for the chaperones," Mary said, surveying the edges of the ballroom. "What do you think, Constance?"

"I'm not sure how many people will be here, but there're more chairs stored in the back of the stables."

His heartbeat stuttered. He knew that voice.

"Are there?" Mary said. "Wonderful."

"I'm sure they'll need to be cleaned," Constance said, turning to take in the entire room.

Her eyes widened when she saw him.

"It's you," she said. "I didn't get to tha—"

"Why the devil are you here?" He said, without thinking.

Her cheeks blazed red, and she crossed her arms defensively.

Mary was suppressing a smile. "I wondered if it was Hugh that pulled you from the river."

The young woman's eyes were stormy. His palms had started sweating.

"Lord Connor, this is my cousin Constance Anne Allen. Constance, this is our good friend, Hugh Connor."

"Pleased to meet you," she said with a wooden curtsy.

"Miss," was all he managed as the feeling that she knew him washed over him again.

Mary raised a brow at him. He was being rude. But it was suddenly terribly hot and his head was spinning a little.

He turned on his heel and left, making his way back to his room as quickly as possible.

Mr. Carlson looked up from the boot he was polishing. "Is everything alright sir?"

"I'm fine," he said as he latched the door, locking it to be safe. "Just too close to full moon."

"Full moon is more than half a week away." The old man said dismissively.

Hugh paced the room. Carlson was right his wolf should not be skulking right under his skin like this.

"What happened?" Carlson got up and poured him a finger of burgundy. Handed it to him and then waited.

He'd been attending to Hugh since his mother and all the tutors had left. He'd even gone to university with him, though they'd had to keep rooms off campus as a security measure.

"The girl I pulled out of the river is here," he said after he'd taken a gulp.

"It's a woman that has you this riled up? Lady Mary is a woman, a beautiful one, and you don't seem quite this brooding when you've been around her."

"This isn't like that. I don't know why? Maybe because I saved her out of the river, maybe—" it had been a foolish thing to do, to go in after her to rescue her. He'd had to change in order to do it. Hugh never changed outside of a full moon because he refused to give the beast any more of his life than he had to. He could have been putting her life in as much danger as the rushing water had. He felt the water now as if it were happening, the way it pressed against him, the way her body had pulled away from him because of the current once he'd had her.

"You saved her life. That seems admirable, and yet here you sit as if you did something wrong." The valet really was too practical for his own good.

Hugh downed the rest of the drink. "I can't think straight when she's around. It's like she brings out the monster in me. I feel it trying to break free." Except he remembered rescuing her out of the water in a way he shouldn't. Full moon memories were usually hazy, half-formed instinct and images. Of course, it hadn't been a full moon. It had just been a regular afternoon. Maybe that had something to do with it. He certainly didn't train to shift the way his father had. He could see her in his mind's eye, laying on the bank, that stupid watch clutched in her fist.

"Not a monster, sir," Carlson corrected.

"It's like I'm not me, when she's there."

"All of you is you. Both sides. You'd have an easier time if you accepted that truth."

"I will not give in to my baser instincts and hurt anyone else just because it's easier."

The valet sighed. "It's not all violence, or it doesn't have to be. You know this."

"We should leave."

"And be god knows where on a full moon? You are not the first man to lose his wits over someone of the fairer sex, and you won't be the last. Might I suggest, Lord Connor, that you get ahold of yourself. Take the time to get to know her. She's a human, real like you. Take the mystery out of it and calm the hell down."

"Sometimes, Mr. Carlson, you really annoy me." He flopped down on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Very good, sir."