Callum (22 page)

Within thirty minutes, all the cousins had gathered in Callum’s office. He had insisted that she sit behind the desk, but she felt out of place. It was as if she were the head of the family, which was ridiculous because she wasn’t even one of them.

She’d laid out what she knew about the curse so far. She explained how it had been related in the diary and that there was no doubt—at least in her mind—that the sword and missing jewels played into it. No one had interrupted her. She wasn’t sure if that was because they were trying to be patient, or they were intimidated by Callum’s mean stare. Now they seemed to be assessing what they knew.

As they kept staring at her, the silence in the office almost deafened her. "Any questions?"

"You think that we have to find the jewels, and that this will solve all the problems?" Anice asked.

"That is the first step. After that, I don't know."

Anice didn’t look too happy with that answer.

"So we just find these jewels and then hope it fixes everything?" Fletcher asked, His disbelief was easy to hear, and his cynicism easy to see in his expression. Out of all the cousins, she had been worried he would be the worst to deal with. He never trusted anyone.

“I will keep reading through the diary. If they included the jewel information in it, there is a good chance they wrote about what to do with the jewels.”

“Do you think they would really do that? Why?” Anice asked. “What I mean is that they took the money to curse us, the old bitches. So, why would they write down a way for us to break the curse and virtually undo their work?”

“This family of witches was very wary of everyone. The McWaltons especially.”

“Why?” Anice asked.

“I haven’t learned everything about what happened, but from what I can gather and what I found in some historical texts, the woman was known as the White Witch of the area. People would travel for days to visit her.”

“To get spells cast?” Angus asked in disbelief.

“No. I remember her,” Callum said. “I never saw her myself, but she was known for her healing.”

“In fact, she was legendary,” Phoebe continued. “She saved several lives, including the son of the Campbell laird. But not long after your…incident, she was murdered.”

“Is there any reason that she would be murdered?”

Phoebe shook her head. “There could be a few people who would wish her dead. Maybe a healing gone wrong? Even with modern science, people die and doctors are blamed. Still, there seems to be a lot of distrust leveled on the McWaltons. It makes me think they might have had something to do with her death. If she cast a spell, she would know how to undo it. Someone in the McWalton Clan might have wanted to make sure she didn’t reveal it to you or anyone who might want to help you.”

“So we need to find the jewels, then figure out what to do with them,” Anice said.

“Sure, really easy,” Fletcher said. “There should be no problems.”

She shook her head. “It won’t be easy, but I’m sure Angus has the ability to do the research on where the jewels are now. I have a feeling they were stolen by the McWaltons. So, I would start there.”

“Makes sense. Although, they could have been taken by the English when they raided the land,” Angus offered.

“True. But if the McWaltons thought this factored into the curse, I can see that they would steal the sword.”

“But we have the sword now,” Anice said.

“I bought it,” Callum announced.

She glanced at him for the first time since the conversation started. He had been quiet since they started talking, but she had found his presence oddly soothing.

“And we need your help in that realm,” she said. “I’m sure you have records of the buy somewhere.”

His mouth quirked. “Indeed.”

He continued to look at her, and her whole body started to heat. And just like that, she forgot they were in a room full of people.

“Oh, for the love of God, could you two stop that. It’s disgusting,” Fletcher said.

Her face flushed in embarrassment, but she turned to face the group. “I’m going to do a little more reading on the diary for right now. I think I have figured out the pattern for when they give clues about the curse.”

They filed out one by one until she was left alone with Callum.

“What do you have on your agenda today?” she asked.

He raised one eyebrow but said nothing. After a few seconds, her face started to burn.

“Stop that.”

He held his hands out in mock innocence. “What?”

“You know. Don’t look at me like that.”

She opened the diary as Callum took the seat in front of his desk. After a few moments, she looked up and found him staring at her.

“Out. Go away. Shoo. I can’t get any work done with you looking at me.”

He sighed and stood, reaching across his desk. He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her across the desk. Without saying a word, he gave her a kiss that sent shivers running down her spine and curled her toes. Before she could respond, he sat her back down.

“Call if you need anything, love,” he said as he walked out the door.

It took her a second to get her brain to function. Her body was still humming.

“Damned man,” she said, but she said it with a smile.

Several days later, Callum paced the library trying to keep his temper in check. He usually didn’t have a problem with impatience. But now, he was as frustrated as everyone else. The room vibrated with it. And it wasn’t just coming from him. Everyone was on edge, even Fletcher who claimed that he didn’t think it would work.

Anice growled. “I canna believe we can’t find anything.”

“I’ve been telling you for over two hundred years you need to learn patience, cuz,” Angus said. “We’ve only been at this for a few hours. Something will come of it.”

Anice shot him a nasty look and opened her mouth, but Callum wasn’t in the mood. “Enough. Maybe you need a break.”

“I will be right back.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Angus said. Anice gave him an obscene gesture, then left them alone.

Angus didn’t say anything for a few moments, allowing the silence to stretch out. Callum knew Angus was trying to figure out how to approach him.

Angus cleared his throat. “I take it now that your relationship with Phoebe has progressed?”

Callum glanced over his shoulder at Angus. “No recriminations?”

Angus shook his head. “Not now. You’re not hiding anything from her.”

Mostly
. Callum turned around to look out the window again. The fact that he hadn’t told her he loved her wasn’t exactly hiding anything from her. “So that makes everything okay?”

“Not that it’s okay. I still cannot understand the attraction.”

He snorted. “To Phoebe? You’ve got to be joking.”

“No, I mean to you. With her high intellect, I’d wonder what the draw for her would be?”

He turned around to confront his cousin, but Angus was smiling.

“Sod off,” he said in passing. He needed to get back to work.

Angus chuckled. “Can’t stay away, can you?”

He stopped and glanced at his cousin. “What do you mean?”

“Most of us are antsy because it has been several days and we haven’t found anything.”

Callum shoved a hand through his hair. “We’re all in a piss poor mood.”

“Yes, but you can’t sit still. You have to be around Phoebe all the time.”

“Not in the mood, Angus.”

“Just remember, she’s not one of us.”

“Meaning?” he asked, knowing what Angus was going to say.

“She’s not here for eternity.”

“I thought you were behind solving the curse?”

He nodded. “But what does that mean? Will we continue to live? Will we die on the spot? We have no idea.”

He wanted to argue, but he knew better. Angus might believe in breaking the curse, but he was also pragmatic. Callum shoved opened the door and walked down the hall. He had been worried about Phoebe, about what their future held. It wasn’t like him to think in those terms. The future had always been so bleak. Until Phoebe. Having her in his bed had been heaven, a kind of fantasy he never expected.

As he neared his office, he noticed the door was open, and he heard Phoebe talking.

“Mother, I said I can’t break away right now.”

She must have had the speaker on her mobile, because he heard her mother’s response. “For your hobby? Really, Phoebe, I would think that a woman of thirty years of age would learn that hobbies are best left to others. Your mind isn’t best for these kinds of things.”

The snide tone didn’t sit well with him. Callum knew it was wrong, but he inched closer to get a better listen.

“I’ve made a commitment to the Lennons.”

Without missing a beat, her mother said, “Your commitment is to this family.”

There was a pause, and he wondered if Phoebe was mad or just ignoring her mother.

“What family would that be, Mother?” Phoebe asked. Her voice was cool, but there was an edge to it.

“I’m not sure I like that tone.”

Callum heard the smallest of sighs, and he stepped closer so he could see Phoebe. What he saw, he didn’t like. As always, there was the rush of emotion that always left him a little dizzy at the sight of her. The woman was under his skin, but after these past few days, there was more. Now, he wanted to protect her from anyone, even her bitch of a mother. He couldn't remember much about his own mother. She had died so many years ago. The one thing he could remember was her acceptance and her love. Apparently, Phoebe had gotten neither from her mother.

He saw the way her head was bowed as if so tired she could barely keep it up. True, he had been keeping her up at nights, and just that thought had his body reacting. He needed her as he needed the air. He didn't like it, not one bit, but he was helpless to fight against the spell she had cast on him.

"I didn't ask if you did mother. I agreed to do this work for the Lennons. Besides, I don’t want the position."

"You could be the head of the archeology department. The youngest ever appointed in Oxford's history."

"I don't want to teach."

"Don't be absurd,” her mother said, disdain dripping from her voice. “You've wanted this your entire life."

"I did not want it. You did."

"Simon and you had talked this over."

There was a pause. "And I told him what I told you. While I do not mind doing an occasional course here and there, I am not enamored with university life."

"I don't know what the problem is. Ever since you found out about Simon’s little mistakes--"

"Mistakes? You’re calling them mistakes? I call that breaking the vows of marriage."

"I never knew you would be so bent on keeping those vows."

"So, you and father have an open marriage?"

"Don't be absurd, Phoebe. We married for love."

Callum curled his fingers into his palms and had to resist the urge to tell her mother off. He knew that Phoebe would be furious at him, and that was the only thing holding him back.

"I really must go now. I do not want the position, and don't bother me again about it."

Now it was her mother's turn to pause. Callum had the feeling that her mother wasn't used to this.

"I will call you next week."

"If you want. I'm not changing my mind. And, while you’re at it, why don't you take my name off the Ferguson dig? I think I'm going to take another few months off."

"Are you still entertaining the idea anyone in our field would care about your idiotic idea of chasing legends?"

"I really don't give a bloody hell what anyone thinks. I'm doing this for myself."

Without waiting for her mother to respond, she clicked the phone off.

"How much did you hear?" she asked without turning around.

He should have known she would know he was there. It was the same for him. "You're turning down a position for this."

She turned around and studied him.

"I guess in a way I am."

He shook his head. "It's your future, Phoebe. You shouldn't throw it away."

The moment he said the words, he wanted to call them back. He didn’t want her to leave, ever. He knew it wasn’t fair, but he wanted her by his side. For the first time in over two hundred years, he wanted a woman to be his…forever.

"You heard about my husband?"

She had retreated behind a proper façade, and he didn't like it. He’d just realized that he loved the woman and she was pulling away from him. He knew it was out of embarrassment, but he was not going to stand for it.

"Yes."

Her shoulders slumped. "I kept it all out of the papers. With his connections to the royal family, there was always a reporter here or there trying to get a scoop."

"You knew your entire marriage?"