An Unexpected Invitation Read online

  An Unexpected Invitation

  Ceillie Simkiss

  Contents

  Part One

  Part Two

  Part Three

  Part Four

  A Knight To Remember Excerpt

  Also by Ceillie Simkiss

  About the Author

  Part One

  Several fast-paced knocks sounded on my door, breaking me free of the reverie that always came with my charm work. From my workbench, I could see the outline of a tall person against the bright light of the evening sun. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but being the island of Maredudd’s resident witch, I knew to be prepared for the unexpected.

  Before I could even get out of my chair, the person at the door pounded on it again in rapid succession.

  “Miss Beatrice!”

  The voice that came through the door was familiar, but younger sounding than I’d expected from the height of the outline and was followed by yet more knocking. I pulled myself away from my work with a groan.

  “Miss Beatrice, are you there?”

  “I’m coming,” I called. “No need to break the door down.”

  The knocking halted. I knew that I would have to restart the fertility charm that I had been working on all afternoon, but it was not the end of the world. I pulled a warm shawl around my shoulders as I picked my way around the mess on the floor of my workshop. Selfishly, I hoped that whatever was causing this youngling so much distress would not require me to get on the pony that I’d purchased the year before. Sunset was a lovely pony, but my stomach was difficult on the best of days, and today had not been anywhere near the best of days.

  I yanked open the door, then yanked again when it got stuck in the doorway the way it always did. The effort nearly knocked a portrait of my family off the wall. Peering outside, I found Molly, Graham’s 16-year-old daughter staring down at me.

  She had her parents dark skin and hair that had been braided with colored threads this month. I would swear that every time I saw her, she got taller, and I saw her at least twice a week. I suppose that that was the way with children. She also had a rather panicked expression on her face, which accounted for her sounding younger than usual.

  “Pa needs your help, Miss Beatrice. He got bit by something up on the mountain and doesn’t know what. It’s already looking pretty nasty. Please, can you come quick? You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

  “You know where I keep Sunset?” The girl nodded at me. “Go saddle her for me. I’ll meet you out front with my kit.”

  I whirled around, ticking the boxes on my mental list of everything I would need for an animal bite as I tossed everything into my worn leather shoulder bag. It always included a charmed ointment to ward against infection and a gentle soap that would hurt as little as possible on the open wound. Other items on the list - bandages of varying sizes, rolls of gauze, some pain medicines, my sewing kit. I also grabbed a few vials of the antidotes for some of the more common beasties on the mountainside. Those I laid in gently, cushioning them with the rolls of gauze and bandages. For good measure, I grabbed a thermometer, my signature anti-itch cream and an antihistamine cream. I tossed those bottles on top of the padding and pulled the bag closed.

  Grimacing, I pulled a vial from my cabinet for myself. The often-used black powder was a preemptive strike at the nausea that was sure to strike as soon as Sunset began to canter. I would need more of the disgusting medicine once I arrived at Graham’s home, but it was the only thing that would allow me to make the journey without spewing my guts out all along the road. Tossing the powder back, I swallowed it without tasting it any more than I had to. It was supposed to taste like candied ginger, according to the which you had taught it to me, but I was fairly certain that she had only said that to convince me to try it the first time. The ginger really only made it taste sickly sweet on top of having the texture that would be appropriate for charcoal.

  I heard my pony’s signature roiling snort from outside the door and sighed.

  Let’s get this show on the road, I thought, taking a deep breath to fortify myself. Time to do my job.

  My thighs gripped Sunset’s russet flanks tightly and my medical kit bounced slightly on my back as I swayed with each of her strides. I was grateful for the cool salt wind on my face, which felt as though it were on fire. It also helped that Sunset was as good a follower as she was, because I was in no state to guide her anywhere. Molly, like always, had expected this and she had tied a long lead from her gelding’s saddle to my pony’s halter.

  I had no idea how long we’d been riding, but I could tell from the changing crunch of the gravel under Sunset’s hooves that we were getting close to the mountain. I couldn’t bear to open my eyes to see where we were. The wind rushed around me, whistling through my clothing and loose hair.

  I should have braided my hair before the nausea kicked in, I berated myself. I would have to do it once my feet were on the ground again. I hated how useless I became as soon as I began to travel on anything other than my own two feet.

  “Almost there, Miss Beatrice.”

  Molly’s voice was kind.

  I tried to take a deep breath and reply to her but nearly vomited. One would’ve thought that I would have been used to it by now, having experienced it constantly for more than 30 years, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t remember ever having traveled without being sick, even as an infant. My mother used to make jokes about it when I was younger, hoping that I’d grow out of it. Unfortunately, I never had. It was part of the reason that I had taken the posting on this island. It was close enough that I could get to the mainland if needed without needing much in the way of recovery time, and that we could get supplies for my work regularly, but far enough away that people didn’t generally ask me to travel to them. Maredudd was a vacation spot for many, so I got to see my noble friends when they came on holiday.

  Sunset’s hooves hit wet clay, and I knew it was almost time to dismount. I could smell the woodsmoke from their hearth and hear the chatter that always came with Molly’s younger siblings. My pony slowed to a halt and I felt Molly take her halter.

  “It’s safe to get down now.”

  Grateful for the help, I dismounted with my eyes closed. Molly’s hands were at my back ensuring I didn’t fall over. She was well used to my motion sickness, having grown up with me on the island, but it was still embarrassing.

  “Thank you, Molly.”

  I heard a door open from behind me and turned slowly. I open my eyes and the world spun around me. I clamped them shut again, but not before I could tell that it was Graham’s wife that had come out to greet us.

  “Shit. She looks worse than Graham does.”

  I wanted to glare at Aislinn but I was still trying to find my balance and avoid vomiting all over her home. I could feel her concerned gaze on my back as she guided me into her front room.

  “I’ll be… fine. Give me… five minutes.”

  I worked to steady my breathing, adding the count of one heartbeat to each breath in and out.

  “You told me to come quick, so we came as quick as we could,” Molly defended herself.

  “I know, lass,” her mother said. “Go put the horses in the barn and fetch her some water, please. It’ll help.”

  “I’m fine, Ash,” I reminded her. “I’m not the one in need of medical attention here.”

  I cracked one eye to glance at her and found the tall, dark brown skinned woman still watching me with concern. I took a deep breath and opened the other eye to meet her gaze squarely. It was nice that the room was not spinning as I’d expected.

  “Really, I’m all right.”

  Surprisingly, I felt almost like myself again. Apparently, the pre-empti
ve medicine had helped with the length of the attack, if not the severity. I took a few more deep breaths and pulled myself upright. My head was no longer swimming, and it was a wonderful change.

  I looked around their wooden home, trying to find Graham amongst the gaggle of children. I heard a groan, and my head snapped towards their bedroom at the back of the house.

  “Kids, clear a path for Beatrice please!”

  All four children did as they were told, to my surprise. They were not particularly obedient children, and the fact that they obeyed their mother without question in this moment worried me.

  “Have you done anything to treat him yet?” I asked Aislinn as I picked my way through the home.

  “I’ve only cleaned it as best I could. I sent Molly to you as soon as he came in the door bellowing like a bear.”

  I nodded. That was unusual for the usually stalwart man.

  “Did you notice anything unusual while you were cleaning it? A strange bite pattern or an odd coloration?”

  “He was bleeding quite a lot, but it slowed now. It has the pattern of a mongoose bite, but it’s far too large and far too puffy for that. I don’t like that it’s so puffy so quickly, or how torn away his muscle is.”

  She pressed her lips together in concern, and I chewed the inside of my lip.

  “And Graham didn’t see what bit him?”

  She shook her head. The metal beads woven into her braids clicked each other with the movement. I spend my pace up as much as I could. I was still a little wobbly on my feet. Graham was a skilled hunter and gatherer. It was unlike him to be caught by surprise by anything in the woods that he had grown up in. We walked into their bedroom and I had to blink back my shock.

  I could see why Aislinn was concerned. What I could see of Graham’s normally dark legs were ashen from blood loss, and already a third larger than usual. He had a rodent-like bite that spread longer than the width of my hand and looked like something had bitten him and tried to drag him away. There were two deep puncture wounds that I could see at the narrow tip of the bite on his calf, and half a dozen shallower - but still deep - wounds that were wider than I’d have liked. I could see the striations of his calf muscle where I shouldn’t have been able to. I could guess that the other side of his calf was the same.

  “Okay, I’ll need a pot of hot water and several pieces of cloth you don’t mind getting bloody. I’ll need to sanitize all of this and stitch up some of these gashes where I can. You might want to bring a piece of leather for him to bite down on. I have medicines that will dull the pain, but he’s going to be in quite a bit of it.”

  Aislinn and Molly left the room at nearly a sprint to do as I’d requested. I’d treated all six of Aislinn and Graham’s children at one point or another for some childhood scrape or illness, so they knew what I needed, more or less. Rummaging in my rucksack, I pulled out a short ribbon, which I used to tie my hair into a bun that did little for my looks, but would keep my long dark hair out of my eyes while I worked.

  Mere moments later, Molly came hobbling in with a heated pot of water, placing it on the bedroom fire so that it would stay warm.

  “Mama had it started already. It should be hot enough to work with soon. The cloths are in the basin on top of the mantle,” She told me.

  “Thank you, Molly. Can you keep your siblings away from here? I suspect your father will be roaring soon and I don’t want to scare them.”

  She dipped me an entirely unnecessary curtsy and nodded before fleeing the room herself. It had to be difficult to see her father like this. I hoped she would heed me, for her own sake.

  As I pulled out what I needed - an antibacterial ointment, a cleansing oil, and needle and thread - Graham stirred. He shifted the leg that wasn’t shredded with a groan.

  I cleansed my hands and got to work. There was no need for Graham to be in this much pain for any longer than necessary.

  I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, but I talked him through what I was doing anyway, step by step. He had given me a standing consent order to treat him early on in our friendship, just in case of situations like this one.

  I’d hoped I’d never have to use it, but I would do my job to my best ability for my friend.

  The first thing I noticed when I woke was that I was extremely uncomfortable. My neck and shoulders were stiff, my head was pounding, and my knees hurt.

  Moments later, I opened my eyes and realized why. I had fallen asleep hunched over the bed. Someone had put a blanket over me, and a pillow between me and the tops of Graham’s legs. I tried to lift my head, but soon realized the folly of that when my neck and shoulders protested. I must have let out a groan because Graham stirred.

  “Aislinn? That you?” he whispered, voice hoarse. “What are you doing down there?”

  “Nope. It’s Beatrice.”

  I watched, waiting for my words to make it to his brain. Sure enough, after a moment, his eyes popped open and he stared at me in bewilderment.

  “Beatrice? Why the devil are you asleep on my leg? And why do I hurt so much?”

  I was about to reply when the door swung open behind us with a loud creak. Aislinn stood in the doorway with a tray with two cups balanced on her hip.

  “That would be because you got bit by an unusually sized rodent, dear,” she said dryly. “Beatrice was stitching you up again. I’m just glad I didn’t have to do it this time.”

  Even in his sleepy stupor, Graham smiled at her. She smiled back at him, her smile lighting up her entire face. Even after seven children, they were still ridiculously in love with each other. After a minute, I had to interrupt. It was getting far too sentimental in here.

  “Did I fall asleep or did I pass out?” I asked, lifting the pillow to smother my yawn. “What time is it?

  “You don’t remember?” she asked. I shook my head. “You called to me and told me that he was as healed as he was gonna get, falling asleep moments later. I could tell that you had used too much magic to be able to move, so I brought you a pillow and blanket and arranged you so you wouldn’t crush the stitches you just finished putting in. And it’s mid-morning.

  “Thank you, Ash. I really appreciate it. I would’ve been in much more pain if you hadn’t. I’m getting too old for spending all night stitching people up.”

  Graham laughed loudly, making both of us jump.

  “Beatrice, you’re barely thirty-five. You’ve got plenty of time to be spent yet stitching up me and my family.”

  “I’d prefer it if she didn’t need to stitch any of you up, thank you very much,” his wife informed him with a stern look that faded into a smile. “Now, I brought some tea for both of you. Green rooibos with some toasted caramel and coconut on top, perfect for recovering from strenuous activities.”

  She laid the tray across Graham’s lap. I reached for my cup of tea when I noticed there was a thick envelope on the tray, and it was addressed to me. I snatched it from the tray and looked it over. It was addressed to Lady Beatrice Driscoll, a title I hadn't used purposefully in years.

  “What’s this?” I asked. “Why is my mail here?”

  “We were going through the mail that came through yesterday, and we found this envelope stuck to one of our letters. I wanted you to have it right away. It’s awfully fancy for mail coming this way.”

  It had to be from Ambrose. There was no one else left in the world who would address me as a lady, or that would send me mail here. Turning over the envelope, I saw the forest green wax seal that confirmed my suspicion.

  I felt the wax crack as I slid my finger under it to open the envelope. It felt like there was cloth inside, which would explain the lack of weight to it.

  Sure enough, I dumped the envelope out and a thick piece of embroidered satin fell into my lap. I lifted it and gasped at what I saw. Graham stared at me, his cup of tea still halfway to his lips.

  “You okay?” Aislinn asked, resting her hands on my shoulders.

  I nodded and took a deep breath. A smile on my face, I re
ad the embroidery aloud, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of using gold thread for mail.

  “Sir Ambrose of Bryn Eirian and Mx. Oriol Bartoli humbly request the honor of your presence at their wedding…”

  “Oh, a wedding! How exciting!” Aislinn exclaimed. Graham slurped his tea.

  Happiness flooded through me. Finally, Ambrose and Oriol were getting married! Then my eyes flicked down to the remainder of the cloth’s embroidered text. My eyes nearly popped clean out of my skull as I read the date. There were less than three weeks until the wedding, and I was not prepared at all! I had no gift for them, though I had been working on something that would do once I finished the charm on it and… there was less than a month to the wedding.

  “When is it?” Graham asked. The happiness fizzled into crushing disappointment as I realized that there was no way that I would be able to reach Ambrose’s duchy in time for the wedding.

  “It’s in three weeks,” I whispered, struggling to get the words out past the lump in my throat. “I can’t go.”

  I could feel both of their eyes on me, knowing that my face had betrayed the rise and fall of my emotions. I had gone from being thrilled for my friends to being on the verge of tears in a matter of minutes. It was nearly a weeks journey to Bryn Eirian by boat in good weather. Even if I left today, I knew I wouldn’t have good weather, due to the storm season starting up. It was nearly two weeks of hard travel if you took horseback from the port. I could barely ride across the island without being ill, let alone for a week or longer. They both knew the distance as well as I did, and I watched as understanding dawned on their faces.

  “Oh, Bea, I’m sorry. Maybe we can get a package out to them before the storms start?” Graham offered. “The royal mail is usually the only thing that’s reliable enough to be able to get things there in time.”