Free Bewitching Kisses (Bewitching Kisses Series) by RainyKirkland Page B

with the Reverend Mr. Parris? Somehow he must have suspected that if they prayed in Salem, the good minister would route out the evil that he and Sarah harbored.” Ann stood up and reached for her cloak. “I think we should attend the trials tomorrow. We should leave early in the morning to get good seats before the magistrates arrive at noon. I’m a God-fearing woman, but I would see for myself those whom Tituba spoke of.” For in fact, no matter how she tried, Ann couldn’t imagine the hefty Sarah Osborne seated on a broom.
    “But what of Sarah now?” Elizabeth shivered with anxiety and fear. “Should not the good people of Salem be warned that she stalks as a cat?”
    “The reverend will announce it from the pulpit on Sunday.” Samuel shook his head sadly. “All will be warned to beware of a sleek black cat that could be Sarah.”
    Elizabeth shuddered. “I shall never forgive her.” Her voice was low and full of venom. Samuel turned to his wife. In the firelight her eyes were hard and glittered with hatred. “I shall never forgive Sarah for the disgrace she has brought upon this family.” She squeezed Samuel’s hand. “And I shall never forgive her for the injury she has caused you, dear husband.”
    Samuel patted his wife’s hand, and for the first time that evening, he allowed a contented smile to touch his lips.

Chapter Six

    Middle Plantation, Virginia

    Nick Beaumont paused at the top of the stairs and smiled at the sunshine that poured in through the foyer’s tall windows. Mornings were his favorite time, with the air crisp and washed clean with sunlight. Energy filled him, and he eagerly embraced the new day. Turning back, he looked over at the door of Sarah’s room. Would she smile if he slipped open the door and kissed her into waking? The clock in the hall struck half past the hour of six, and Nick continued down the stairs whistling softly between his teeth. He’d let her sleep . In fact , he thought , I’ll have Mrs. Killingham fix a tray that I shall take up myself . He remembered the last time he had brought breakfast to a woman in bed and his smile grew deeper. Sarah would taste delicious.
    Wadsworth greeted him in the study with a fresh pot of coffee and a dower expression.
    “ ‘Tis a beautiful day, Wadsworth, is it not?”
    Wadsworth nodded silently. He understood all the master’s quirks except this one. Rousing from his warm bed when the sun had just touched the sky with its light had never brought him joy, and he often thought that had the situations been reversed, and he the master, he’d stay snuggled beneath the covers until he was called to the midday meal. Wadsworth struggled to keep his eyes open as he poured coffee into a pewter mug.
    “I’d like you to instruct Mrs. Killingham to prepare a tray for our guest.” Nick continued as he began to shift through his papers. “I’ll take it up to her myself in about an hour.”
    Wadsworth paused in the doorway, his brow wrinkled in a frown. “For Miss Sarah?”
    Nick sipped the hot brew. “Yes, and ask Mrs. Killingham if any of our strawberries are ripe. I have a taste for them this morning.”
    Wadsworth took a step back into the study. “But Miss Sarah is already up.”
    “She’s what?”
    Wadsworth watched Nick’s eyes narrow as he pulled out his gold timepiece, and for the first time that morning he felt a grin tug at this mouth. “Miss Sarah was already in the cookhouse when Mrs. Killingham arrived this morning. Gave both of them a good start, I must say.” Wadsworth struggled not to smile openly at the stunned look that covered the master’s face. “Now I believe she is in the herb bed . . . pulling weeds,” he declared solemnly.
    Nick flopped back in his chair. “She’s pulling weeds?”
    Wadsworth nodded, and turned back to the door. “And from the look of it, sir, the lady knows what she is about.”
    Nick stared blindly at the correspondence before him. Why on earth had she risen so early? Had she