Page 11 of Magic in the Music (Magic and Mysteries #4)
Bloody hell! Cassian did not come here for himself, but for Samantha.
He stared into Iza’s eyes trying to determine how serious she was about giving him a reading and why she seemed to think he was troubled as he drained the liquid, not willing to argue. Madam Boswell must have taught Iza the intransigent stare while training her how to use her other gifts.
When he finished drinking, he returned the cup to Iza and sat quietly and was perhaps a little apprehensive as she studied the tea leaves.
She turned the cup one way and then the next, as she had done with Samantha, frowning occasionally, but not as much as she had done earlier, although she was quite serious.
“Your palms,” she ordered after she set the cup aside.
Cassian produced them without argument because she was rather intimidating.
She traced a few lines with her index finger, tilted her head one way and then the next.
“Hmm,” was all she said. Cassian wanted to ask what she meant but was too afraid to do so.
When she let go, he pulled his hands back and waited for what she would tell him.
Instead, she reached for the tray with the cards and as Samantha had done, he shuffled them, then cut them as instructed then waited while Iza placed them and turned them over one at a time.
This time there were no frowns, but slight nods as if they confirmed what she had already read in the tea leaves and his palms. And even though he had not come to her for his own fortune, Cassian grew curious as to what she saw.
“Your soul has also lived previous lives, but is much younger than Lady Samantha’s, which explains why she is more content, even joyful and you tend to be, well, restless.”
“I am not,” he argued.
“Why is that?” Samantha asked with curiosity.
“Your soul has seen much and that maturity has brought an appreciation for the world and the simplicity and beauty it possesses. The music of the world.”
Samantha gasped, no doubt because of the accuracy of Iza’s words.
“Your soul, Cassian, is just now beginning to appreciate the beauty of a sunrise instead of lazing about as is often the case with youth. However, it is still unsatisfied, anxious, and wants more.”
Bloody hell! He would never admit that she was correct. “I am content,” Cassian argued instead.
“You seek something beyond.”
“Beyond Nightshade Manor?” he asked. It could be just beyond the Romani camp for all he knew.
“You cannot claim what is beyond without letting go,” she finally said.
“Of what?”
“That I cannot tell you, but it keeps you bound.”
She was speaking in riddles, which was rather aggravating. Why didn’t fortune tellers speak clearly?
“You will reach a crossroads when you will be forced to admit the truth and humble yourself or be forever bound.”
She gazed up into his eyes and Cassian wanted to back away from the intensity as fear filled his being.
“It will not only be your future at stake.”
He tried to make light of her words, but Iza was quite earnest in her prediction.
“What other future is at stake?” He needed to know who could be hurt if he chose wrong.
“I wish I could tell you, but I cannot.”
“Is there anything you have not told us?” Cassian demanded.
“You know all that is needed. Some answers must be discovered within, and yours is there when you find the courage,” she promised.
Courage for what? Except, Cassian knew that Iza would not tell him. Even if she knew what he must say or do, she would not tell him because it was something that he would have to come to on his own. He had seen it in readings in the past.
“Do you always tell the complete truth of what you have seen?” Samantha asked.
“No. Those who come to me at fairs only want a future of happiness, or if they will win a heart.
I will not lie to anyone, but I only provide the positive because they come for hope to walk away happy.
I give them that. If I see tragedy, it is not shared because such cannot be avoided so why alert them ahead of time so that they worry about the inevitable.
“And you have held nothing back from us?” Cassian asked for clarification.
“I would never do so, from either of you, because you come seeking the truth. The full truth, no matter how unpleasant. And I tell all that is allowed.”
Which meant there was more that she was keeping to herself, which was likely what he needed to discover for himself.
* * *
Neither Samantha nor Cassian spoke after leaving the Romani camp, and likely because they were thinking about what they had been told.
Was it possible to know one’s true soulmate when they were met?
It must not be or hers would have found theirs long before now.
All she took away from her reading was she hadn’t found true love and not to wander.
Cassian’s, however, was more dire. Unfortunately, she did not know him well enough to know what he sought, what kept him bound and why he was unsatisfied. Further, what crossroad would he come to? What courage would he need?
Samantha almost felt guilty for allowing him to take her there because it had certainly left him more disturbed than her, yet she could offer no words of comfort.
If only she could hear his music, then she might know what to say, but he remained silent to her. Not his spoken words, but what was left unsaid.
“Samantha, I am so glad you have returned,” Lady St. Alban greeted when they entered Nightshade Manor. “Your parents have just arrived.”
“Where are they?”
“In the drawing room taking tea,” Lady St. Alban answered. “I was just about to join them.”
Samantha had not expected them so soon, but as it had been weeks since she had seen them, she rushed to the drawing room to find her parents on a settee and her older brother, Malcolm, leaning negligently against the fireplace mantel.
Beside him was Chedworth. In another chair was Antonia and across from her were Antonia’s parents and brother.
“Mother, Father.” She smiled, happy to see them.
“Malcolm,” she greeted her brother with a little less enthusiasm.
Not that she didn’t love him but one never knew what he might do or say instead of greeting her.
In this instance, he stared at Cassian who had followed her into the room.
Ever the protective brother and when they were alone she would tell him that there was nothing to worry about and that Cassian was only a friend, if even that.
“I did not expect you yet.” She settled on the settee across from them.
“Your father was concerned that his advice would not be heeded and wanted to come directly and explain.”
“I insisted on a change of date as soon as Samantha received your letter. Though we are rather curious as to why they cannot wed on the twenty-sixth,” Lady St. Alban informed him.
“There is to be a lunar eclipse that night,” her father announced.
“Why does this matter?” Chedworth asked. His frustration, though he tried to keep it buried, sang loudly to her.
“A lunar eclipse, especially for witches, wizards and all things magical, is a time for inner transformation. A solitary task, meditation, when a person must look inwardly, centered on self,” he explained.
“It also comes at an excellent time for a couple soon to be wed. Lady Antonia should spend time in the temple and Chedworth in the garden in meditation to seek all that is within—even that which is hidden from oneself and to search your subconscious for all truths.”
“What if we do not need to do so?” Chedworth asked.
“Then there is no harm,” Lord Saye responded. “Use the time to transform your heart and soul to prepare it for being joined with another.”
“So, only Antonia and I need be concerned with the lunar eclipse,” Chedworth said and while his tone was respectful to the ears, disbelief and irritation was in his music.
“No. It is a time for everyone. It is the two of you who are given the unique opportunity because you are to be joined and this can only strengthen what will bind you because you will have faced yourself before you face your spouse with full honesty.” Her father smiled.
“An eclipse is also a symbol of the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, such as the end of a bachelor state to become a married one. Let go of the old and embrace the new. Lady Antonia will do the same.” He then frowned.
“I do hope that you intend to marry the following day, because it would be the most ideal time.”
“We do,” Chedworth assured him.
“That is wonderful! During the eclipse, after you have meditated and looked inside yourself, you will then let go of your old self, your old life, your solitary life so that you will be ready to embrace the new.”
“We have rarely even noted when an eclipse occurs,” Lady St. Alban admitted. “I had not realized there were practices that should be observed.”
“I fear it is the same for many. Too often eclipses go unnoticed and if there is not an astrologist to tell you when there will be one, how can you know to prepare ahead of time?”
Samantha had prepared for every type of eclipse since she was a child, instructed by her father. Had she been at home instead of at Nightshade Manor, she would have already been preparing for her own meditation.
“A lunar eclipse is also a time for cleansing and release of negative energies that may have developed,” he added. “All should meditate, especially the women.”
“Why is that?” Lady St. Alban asked.
“An eclipse is a time to strengthen the connection with the power of the goddess and her cycle of nature. It is the perfect time not only for power, but to seek clarity and guidance from the deities and spirits.”
“How were we not aware?” Lady St. Alban asked.
“Likely it is a practice lost along the way,” Lady Saye answered. “My ancestors had not charted the stars and it was not something we paid any attention to until I met my husband. Samantha could have explained. I am not certain why she did not.”
“You wrote that Chedworth and Antonia should not marry on the twenty-sixth. You did not provide a reason, nor was I aware of the pending eclipse,” she defended.
“So long as there are no further delays,” Chedworth ground out and slumped back in his seat only to have Antonia’s father raise an eyebrow of warning to which Cassian began to chuckle then covered it with a cough, earning a similar look from her brother.
Yes, women were far easier to understand than the silent messages men shared between themselves.