Beverly Barton - Paladin's Woman

"Thank you." Addy couldn't stop staring at the other woman, whose beauty was almost ethereal. Her light, golden complexion was flawless, her eyes a deep, pure blue and her rich, coffee-brown hair had been French-braided and hung in one long plait to her waist.

"I know you'll want to go straight to the cottage so you can settle in and freshen up." Elizabeth approached Addy, a warm smile of greeting on her lovely face. "But I'm expecting you to share supper with me tonight."

"That's not necessary," Nick said. "We don't want to impose."

"It isn't an imposition." Elizabeth extended her hand to Addy. "It's so seldom we have visitors."

Addy felt the strength in the other woman's grasp as they exchanged a handshake. Elizabeth gazed into Addy's eyes, showing a depth of compassion and understanding that puzzled Addy. "We'd be honored to join you."

Elizabeth released her hand. "That's settled then." Reaching into her shorts pocket, she handed Nick an elaborately carved antique key. "There's only one path in and out to Granny's cottage. The only way you can reach it is on foot."

"No problem." Nick nodded toward the Bronco. "We packed light. One suitcase each."

"You won't need many clothes while you're here," Elizabeth said, a twinkle of mischief in her big blue eyes.

"I'll have to come down to your cabin once a day to phone Sam," Nick said. "I hope that won't pose a problem for you."

"I look forward to hearing from Sam on a daily basis. He seldom phones and hasn't been here since last Christmas." Elizabeth turned back toward her cabin. "If you'd like, I can have O'Grady bring your bags later."

"Is that old rascal still alive?" Nick asked, remembering the withered old man who must have been at least seventy the last time he'd seen him.

"Not only still alive, but still strong as an ox and stubborn as a mule." Elizabeth's smile created a radiance about her, an invisible but highly sensory light. "He and MacDatho have gone fishing this afternoon."

"Who the devil is MacDatho?" Nick opened the back of the Bronco, pulling forward his tattered leather suitcase and then Addy's expensive paisley-print bag.

"Oh, that's right, MacDatho wasn't born the last time you visited here." Elizabeth paused on the top step, just before reaching the porch. "You remember my German shepherd, Elspeth, don't you? Well, MacDatho is her son, born only a year before Elspeth died."

Nick handed Addy her suitcase, then returned to the Bronco for his own. "We'll head on over to the cottage. I think we can manage these two pieces of luggage. No need to bother O'Grady."

Elizabeth stood on the porch, backing slowly into the cool shadows. "Follow the path behind the cabin. It will lead you straight to the cottage." Opening the front door, she paused briefly. "I'll see you both tonight."

During the ten-minute trek through the woods, Addy and Nick spoke very little. Nick was busy surveying the area, apparently sizing up how inaccessible the cottage would be to any unwanted visitors. Addy spent the time absorbing the beauty surrounding her. She'd enjoyed so many happy hours of her childhood playing on the vast lawns of Elm Hill, but she'd never been in the mountains before, in the middle of the woods.

Addy stopped in her tracks. Nick almost collided with her back. Wobbling slightly, he steadied himself with his cane.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, Nick, look!"

He gazed off into the distance, at the small house that looked as if someone had dropped an A-frame Victorian dollhouse in the tiny clearing. The white paint was peeling slightly in spots, giving the structure an antique, weathered appearance. A rickety picket fence enclosed a neat little front yard.

"It's unbelievable," Addy said. "It's like something out of a fairy tale."

"Elizabeth calls it the honeymoon cottage because her great-grandfather had it built for her great-grandmother as a wedding gift, and they spent their honeymoon there and each anniversary for the next forty-some odd years of their lives."

Thoroughly enchanted, Addy walked toward the gate that hung open as if issuing an invitation. "There's something different about Elizabeth. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something—she's so serene … so…"

"Mystical?"

"Yes, mystical. You felt it, too, didn't you? What is it about her, do you suppose?"

"You mean you haven't guessed?" Nick followed Addy up the rock walk and onto the porch.

"Guessed what?" Addy paused, setting her suitcase down while she reached out for the key Nick held in his hand.

He gave her the key. "Elizabeth is a clairvoyant."

"You mean she can predict the future?" Addy grasped the key, half doubting, half believing Nick's assessment of Elizabeth Mallory.

"That's only one of her special powers," Nick said. "Just wait until tonight when you get the chance to know her better."

Addy inserted the key in the lock and turned the doorknob. She'd never known a clairvoyant and wasn't quite sure she believed in such a thing, but she knew one thing for certain. She definitely was looking forward to asking Elizabeth a few pertinent questions about the future.

Chapter 10

« ^ »

Cozy and old-fashioned, exuding homey warmth and tranquility, Elizabeth Mallory's kitchen smelled of cinnamon. Rustic wood blended with creamy beige paint on all the walls, and worn, faded red bricks covered the floor. A humid night breeze fluttered the aged lace curtains at the open windows.

Addy spooned the last bite of apple cobbler into her mouth, the melted vanilla ice cream coating the crust with a milky sauce. "You really shouldn't have gone to so much trouble for us."

"It wasn't any trouble," Elizabeth said, rising from the round oak table, her ankle-length blue skirt swirling around her legs. "Aunt Margaret made the cobbler this morning before she left for Dover's Mill, and O'Grady caught and cleaned the fish."

"I noticed that you still don't have any air-conditioning at the cottage," Nick said, glancing out the window facing the back porch. "You haven't put in any here at your house, either, have you?"

"The cottage is seldom used." Elizabeth sighed, the sound barely discernible, but the dreamy, faraway look in her eyes was quite visible. "It's really a honeymoon cottage, you know. The last honeymooners who used it were my mother and James Dundee."

"I know it's a lot cooler up here in the mountains, but July is hot, even here." Nick wiped a fine sheen of perspiration from his forehead.

"Things will cool off later." Elizabeth began stacking their dinner plates. "It's going to rain sometime after midnight." Placing the dirty dishes by the sink, she turned on the faucet.

Addy stood, removing the used silverware from the dark-blue place mats. "Let me help you clean up. It's the least I can do after you served us such a feast."

Pushing back his chair, Nick stood and grasped his cane from where he'd propped it against the side of the table. "I think now would be the ideal time for me to call Sam and check in."

"Trying to get out of helping with the dishes?" Addy asked, smiling.

"The call should take a while." Nick grinned at both women, who were giving him pleasant but condemning looks. "I'll probably finish up just in time for another glass of iced tea." Not waiting for a response, he left the kitchen, the tapping of his cane as it hit the wooden floor reverberating in the silent hallway.

Addy pulled her cotton blouse away from her damp body, fanning the material against her chest. "I hope you're right about the rain cooling things off."

Elizabeth slipped the glasses and silver into the sudsy dish water. "Here in the mountains rain always brings relief from the heat. It's seldom this humid—only just before a storm."