probably it. He’s one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, so he’d need a spot for his horse, naturally.”
He shook his head again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know her or her father, although I have heard horses going by. I’ve never been to the bakery.”
Too late, he realized what he’d said.
To their credit, Deacon and Amelia said nothing, but Em and Gracie looked at him as though he’d lost his mind.
Em snorted softly. “You’ve never been to Black Horse? It’s only the best bakery in town. I’m not just saying that because I work there either. How long have you lived here and you haven’t visited?”
Gracie nodded. “They made my birthday cake. It was the most delicious thing you’d ever want to put in your mouth. Well, outside of this tart.” She laughed. “I can’t believe you haven’t been.”
Theo looked almost as uncomfortable with this conversation as she had concerning the one about her mother’s necklace. He took a little breath and made himself smile. If he was really going to make a new start, he had to be able to tell people the truth. No matter how humiliating it was. “I can’t really leave my property.”
Amelia put her hand on his arm as if to stop him. “You don’t have to—”
“No, it’s all right.” And it really was, in that moment, sitting with these people who’d suddenly become dear friends after breaking bread together. “Some of you already know this, but I can’t go much beyond my property because that’s the curse my ex-wife put on me.”
“It’s unbearably cruel,” Theo muttered.
“What?” Em looked at her aunt. “You must be able to do something. We could take him to the grove, or Deacon, you could—”
“Child, don’t you think I’ve tried? Don’t you think Deacon’s tried?” Amelia frowned. “The queen who cursed him is a full-blooded fairy, and her magic was created in another realm. Nothing I’ve done has worked. Deacon couldn’t do anything either.”
He heaved out a sigh. “Did everything I could think of, too.”
“That’s just awful,” Gracie breathed. She looked like she might cry. Robin had heard she was tenderhearted. Instantly, he felt bad.
“It’s all right,” he said. “Believe it or not, the boundaries have begun to loosen a bit lately.”
Amelia looked at him. “What? When did this start? How loose are we talking?”
He explained what he and Theo had discovered, how they’d actually driven off the property. “It was really something. Gave me hope.”
“So just yesterday, then?”
He nodded. “But I went for a drive again today and—”
“You did?” Theo asked. “Without me?”
He shrugged one shoulder, smiling sheepishly. “I knew you were busy working on that dress. As much as I wanted you along, I didn’t want to take up all your time.”
She shook her head. “You should have asked. How far did you get?”
He couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “I’d say half a mile farther, at least.”
“Wow. That’s great.” Theo pressed her hands together. “Did you try walking around outside? Or the path to the mines?”
“No, just the drive.”
“But that still proves you don’t need me along for it to happen. I’m obviously not the reason the boundaries are shifting.”
Amelia held her hand up. “Wait now. I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“Oh?” Robin glanced at her. “What makes you think that?”
“Well, for one thing, the timing is suspicious.” Her eyes narrowed. “There was something I came across in my research, but I couldn’t see a way for it to happen naturally, so I never said anything about it.” She sat back. “I still shouldn’t. Forget I said anything.”
“Aunt Amelia,” Em started. “You can’t drop a bomb like that and then not follow through.”
“Agreed,” Deacon said. “That’s a fire that needs putting out.”
Amelia frowned, her mouth bending in a hard line. “My telling you could have a negative effect.”
“On me?” Robin asked.
Amelia looked at him, then Theo, then back to him. “Yes. But on Theodora, too.”
He couldn’t imagine how that was possible. “How on earth would she be affected?”
“I can’t explain it without—I just don’t think I should say anything.” Amelia picked up her fork and pressed it into the remaining tart crumbs on her plate, gathering them up. “I’m sorry. Let me think about it for a day or two. Then maybe I’ll tell you.”
Robin wondered if he might get it out of her in a private conversation. It could be that she just didn’t want to share the information in front of everyone. He let it go. “Whatever you think is best, Amelia.”
“Thank