The Lord and the Banshee (Read by Candlelight #13) - Gillian St. Kevern Page 0,7

I interviewed those who saw the banshee on previous occasions, and she gestured to those about to die, seemingly desirous of leading them to their early doom.”

“Doesn’t sound much like a banshee to me,” Julian said.

Pip’s expression grew ever more exasperated. “A werewolf who ignores the dictates of the full moon has no room to complain about a banshee who prefers to point.”

“Do you want me to turn into a wild beast? Because after the fuss about the sofa—”

“Julian,” Thomas cut in. “I would like a word with your father. Do you mind?”

“I don’t see why I would. You often talk to him.” Julian smoothed down his tie, giving his appearance a considered glance in the mirror. “Oh. Do you mean you want to talk to him alone?”

Thomas restrained himself from sighing. “That was my intention, yes.”

Pip held open the door. “Why don’t you get a little fresh air before dinner?”

Julian favoured them with a patronising smile. “A Birmingham thing? Make sure you’re not late for dinner.”

Pip shut the door behind Julian. “Dare I ask what happened in Birmingham?”

“You don’t want to know.” Thomas patted the bed, next to him. Once Pip was beside him, he reached for his hand. “How serious is this?”

Pip worried his lip. “I don’t know. When it happened, the banshee completely awed me. I’ve never seen so clear an apparition, even at a distance. And yet, her appearance completely contradicts the lore. Banshees associate with particular families, those of old Irish extraction. I’ve only read of one case where a banshee revealed the death of someone not connected to an old family, and that a well respected vicar who lived most of his life in Ireland.”

Thomas’s brow furrowed. “How long had you been in Connaught when you saw the banshee?”

“Three days,” Pip said. “And while I have a good opinion of myself, I don’t think I qualify as a man of great importance.”

Thomas’s stomach churned. “You are of great importance to me and Julian—not to mention your wider family. Do not say otherwise.”

Pip squeezed Thomas’s hand. “Thank you. While Julian is being needlessly provoking, I feel better knowing he is here. Did you notice how much time he spent on choosing his tie?”

They’d learned that Julian’s wardrobe quirks were less about appearance and more about an attempt to control events around him. “Your safety is of great importance to him. As it is to me.”

When Pip smiled, his eyes wrinkled, forming upside down smiles around his eyes. “I am very glad you came. Something is not right about this situation. I cannot think of any reason a banshee should interest herself in me. I have no connections to Connaught—this is my first visit to Ireland, in fact! I have not misled and abandoned any Irish maidens—”

“Glad to hear it,” Thomas cut in.

Pip shook his head, but his eyes laughed. “And yet, there was the very peculiar accident with the falling masonry.”

“Tell me about that. Who witnessed the event?”

Pip leaned back, crossing one leg over the other and wrapping his hands around his knee. He shut his eyes, picturing the scene. “Myself and O’Flaherty were walking in the garden. I just glanced up and caught movement. I shouted, pushing O’Flaherty forward, and we both stumbled clear, just as the rocks hit the ground.”

“Neither of you were hurt?”

Pip shook his head. “Shaken. When I saw the rocks where I’d been standing only moments ago, I had to sit.”

Thomas clenched his hands into fists. That was too close a call! “No one else was nearby?”

“The gardener came running up to help us. He’d seen the whole thing.” Pip hesitated, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

Another person might have overlooked that pause. Thomas knew Pip too well. “What is it?”

Pip grimaced. “I’ve been trying to pinpoint what prompted me to look up just at that moment. O’Flaherty and I weren’t looking at the house. We were looking at the pond, and I was telling him how we’d landscaped our lake at Foxwood.”

Thomas did not think the annual debate over whether a mummy house would disrupt the lake’s present harmonious aspect the cause for Pip’s current hesitation. “Well?”

“You know how it is. Looking back, you’re never sure if you saw what you saw, or if you imagined it after the fact.”

“Out with it. I won’t judge.”

Pip’s smile was pure relief. “Indeed. You’ve no idea how glad I am to speak plainly with someone. I only hope I haven’t dragged you and Julian away from home and friends for nothing. He’d