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But his newfound frustration was as a pinprick to a cutlass wound.

Miranda had lived her entire life encompassed by rainbows that she could not see, knowing that she was missing that special sense.

At least Adam had been blessed in the bliss of ignorance.

Even now, he could only guess at the extent of his handicap.

No wonder at all that she had gone seeking after that special sight.

Indeed, from what Lord Wodesby had let slip, the marvel was that Miranda had returned at all.

The thought of losing her filled Adam with a sudden panic.

What if they were hiding the truth? Dread hastened his pace, and he took the treads two at a time, heedless of the dimly lit stairwell, all but stepping on Thorpe’s tail in his breakneck haste.

As they reached the kitchen, Thorpe looked over his shoulder, his indignant growl an obvious rebuke before stalking away haughtily. But Adam paid him no mind. All of his fears and doubts vanished under a spell of true enchantment.

Miranda sat at the roughhewn kitchen table, her hair tumbling down her shoulders in a gleaming fall of gold.

“There you are, Adam. I see that Thorpe has found you at last,” she said, rising and gesturing toward the place set opposite her. “Mama said that you had barely touched a morsel at supper. You must be as hungry as I.”

Like a Raphael Madonna, an aura seemed to surround her, suffusing her face with a soft glow, as if that otherworldly Light somehow lingered, bathing her in its radiance.

“Miranda,” he whispered, crossing the room recalling the pale, chilled shadow she had been a few hours before.

Tentatively, he raised a hand to her cheek, half-expecting his fingers to pass right through her as it did in his dreams. But the soft flesh that met his touch was warm and unquestionably alive. She looked up at him in puzzlement.

How could he explain this need? Adam wondered, as his hand wandered upwards, tangling itself into the silken strands of her hair.

Once again, Adam tried to convince himself that what he felt was no more than a combination of compassion and Caliban’s savage cravings.

But the truth, when it fell was like a hammer blow shattering the mirror of his illusions.

Though it defied all logic, he had somehow fallen in love with Miranda.

Emotions simmered within him like a brew in a cauldron, swirls of desire, molten yearnings and seething fears somehow blended with warm tenderness.

Sweet anticipation was seasoned with a touch of hope.

“I was afraid for you,” Adam whispered, trying to remember that she was promised to another, doubtless one of her own, a man of the Blood.

All at once, the undercurrents of his conversation with Wodesby became clear.

It was a disconcerting feeling, to say the least. For the first time in years, Adam was outside the charmed circle, his title and fortune worthless in the face of this exclusive magical aristocracy.

Confound it! Miranda was of the Blood, beyond an Outsider’s touch.

Yet, his own blood was singing in his ears, demanding that he take her into his arms.

Touched by wonder, Miranda looked up into his eyes.

Deep within those depths, she saw a faint glimmer and knew that she beheld a spark of the Light, the bright core of the soul that only love may glimpse.

Once more, she felt the tug of the gossamer cord that had bound her to him.

Though she might have to wait a lifetime to see the fullness of glory again, there was splendor in the feel of his fingers upon her cheek, tracing a line of fire to her mouth.

Longing burned, as every fiber of her spirit seemed to tremble in expectation.

When she stepped into the charmed circle of his arms, she knew with utter certainty that this was where she belonged.

His hands were the touch of destiny and eternity exploded in the shattering sensation of his kiss.

His lips claimed her, gently at first, then with a deepening passion.

Miranda surrendered to the tide of emotion, wondering at the host of contradictions that seemed to fill her.

Apprehension and certainty, joy and sorrow, ecstasy and pain warred within, like the chaos before creation.

Yet somehow, in the midst of the tempest, she felt a curious sense of serenity.

This was what she had been born to do, to love this man until the Light claimed her.

For the first time in her life, Miranda knew the fulfillment that was magic.

It was as if Adam had never before kissed a woman.

Like his original namesake, he stood in the midst of Paradise touching Eve after tasting the fruit of self-knowledge.

Suddenly, he felt uncertain, hesitant as these strange emotions flooded him.

His past life was revealed in the complete measure of its emptiness.

For the first time, he realized how utterly alone he had been.

As he gathered her to him, primal awareness came to the fore, recognition that she was the missing part of him.

Only she could fill that void, assuage this aching need.

Was this why the Bible used the term to “know” to describe intimacy?

The feel of her arms around his neck, the sound of her soft sigh, the scent of jasmine, the shimmering silken veil of golden hair, even the taste of her lips, seemed achingly familiar and right.

Though Adam had placed no credence in faith or fate, at that moment, he believed.

This woman was meant for him from that first dawn in Eden.

Enchantment surrounded them, creating a space that was beyond the measures of time and place. Together they whirled through the maelstrom of discovery, buffeted by emotion.

Hidden in the butler’s pantry, Tante Reina smiled in satisfaction.

Lord Damien might seethe like a kettle on the hob, but the Lady was confident that his ire would pass once he realized the extent of his sister’s love for the Gajo.

And from the look on Brand’s face, she was certain that the feeling was mutual.

Gone was Adam’s mask of diffidence, the facade of pride that hid his true self.

No need to resort to cards or the palm to see the hand of fortune here.

She sighed softly at the tableau before her as Thorpe purred impatiently.

“Peh! You prudish creature! You would have been hissing had they gone past a handshake, I know it,” she chided in a whisper, looking down at the animal “That is why the Lady left it to me, eh. Every man is like a tom on the prowl, you think? Well, he is a fine one, Brand. From the caravan days, I know him. Never trouble with our girls, like other Gajos. He knows to treat them with respect. So, leave off your whining, Thorpe. I decide when is enough, when the moment is right.”

The tom growled, directing her attention back to Adam and Miranda. The Gypsy’s eyes widened.

“Is enough, by Hecate,” Tante Reina said, rattling a pan to create deliberate clangor.

“The moment is right.” By the time she made her way back to the stove, the two had separated, looking as guilty as a pair of goats in the garden.

Miranda’s cheeks were nearly red as a rosebuds and Adam seemed as dazed as a punch-pounded bruiser.

“Hungry, I’ll bet,” the old woman said, ladling stew into a plate and setting it before Adam.

Her raised eyebrow spoke volumes, giving her words an entirely different meaning. The frown on her face made it absolutely clear that any other appetites would not be satisfied.

“I am starved,” Miranda admitted innocently.

“Aye, it can do that, the magic.” Tante Reina said, putting a second plate before Miranda. “You must rebuild your strength, child.”

“But I did not do anything magical,” Miranda protested. “Basically, it was nothing more than jumping into a carriage that was already underway.”

“Is not so much the going as the coming back,” Tante Reina said seriously. “You struggle against nature of your own soul. She wants to seek her source, you fight to return to the body. Is not same as witch’s magic, but is magic still.”

“What you described once as Earth magic?” Adam asked, seating himself at the table.

“Aye,” Tante Reina nodded in approval. “Always you learn quick, Adam. Is one of the kinds of magic that even those who are not Blood, not Gypsy can summon, but is rare, these things, very rare.”

“So Lord Wodesby tells me,” Adam said, looking at Miranda. “Very few come back from such journeys, according to your brother.”

Although Miranda listened carefully, his voice seemed devoid of derision. The sarcasm and doubt that had colored his conversation was gone, replaced by serious consideration. Joy welled up in her. “You believe him then?” she asked.

Tactfully, Tante Reina retreated to the bowels of the kitchen, silently commanding Thorpe to accompany her. As she stirred the pot, she muttered every good luck incantation that she knew.

Adam regarded her with a self-deprecating shake nod.

“Ironic, isn’t it? The naysayer utterly exploded.

But if I deny the evidence of my own observations, then I delude myself much as my father did.

I suppose that I never truly understood what would motivate an otherwise sensible man to be possessed by so strong an obsession, to seek on even in the face of obvious deception. ”

“And now you do?” Miranda asked, her voice just above a whisper. His gaze locked upon her, asking her some unspoken question. But try as she might, there was no reading the thoughts behind the fiery look that seemed to melt her to the marrow.