You Are Mine (29 page)

On the next floor, we stop when we
find a grand suite. An entry with a few chairs and a sofa leads to
two private chambers off to the sides, each with their own
receiving rooms, wash rooms, water closets, bath-rooms, and
bedrooms connected by a door. I've never seen a personal bath-room
before.

The rooms are richly dressed with
colors, fabrics, and paintings. When we come to a chamber
containing dresses, face paint, and a canopy bed, a thin layer of
dust covers everything.

“
This must have been
Chancellor Jacob's wife's.” Though it's bigger than I expected the
woman's side to be. I remember the picture I saw of her. “Do you
know what her name was?”

“
I don't.” She runs her
fingers across a book shelf, three rows deep of books, and there
are still more on the floor. “Maybe Chancellor Jacob kept some of
his books in her room? It's rather strange though.”

“
No stranger than
Chancellor Zade.”

“
That's true.” She bounces
on her toes and moves to the vanity. “She has lots of face paint.
More than even mother. I didn't know any woman could beat her with
that.”

“
She didn't have much on
in the painting I saw of her downstairs.”

The Woman's Canon lies on the bed
stand. Next to it is an unlabeled book and a strange looking pen.
No ink pot around. Why would a woman have a pen in her room? We
can't use them. But what would it be like if I could?

I bite my lip and stare at the pen a
moment before picking it up. It's light between my fingers. It's
metal feels cool even through my gloves. I glance at the unmarked
book. My pulse increases. I've not ventured into the book room
again, but I've read the book I stole until I've memorized it. I'd
really like another.

With my free hand, I grab the new
book. Is it some sort of extension to the Woman's Canon? I've never
heard of one. But what else would she be permitted to keep in her
room? She did have a pen here as well so perhaps it's something
different. I want it to be something different. With a peek to make
sure Cynthia isn't watching, I flip the cover open.

To my dearest
Julia,

I give you this gift with
the hopes it will help heal your heartache. No matter what they
say, you are the perfect woman for me.

Faithfully
Yours,

Jacob

Not related to the Woman's Canon. My
fingers shake as I trace the words and read it again. It stirs
something within me. Something deep and abiding. I turn the page.
Inside it's lined and filled with a flowing script. Did she write
this herself? I know how to read, but I've never written anything.
I sit on the bed as I read of her heartache over not having
children and her love for her husband.

“
What's that?”

I snap the book closed and throw it on
the table. How could I be so careless? “The usual.”

“
I thought you hated
reading the Woman's Canon.” Cynthia heads for the door. I sigh,
grateful she didn't realize it was something different. “There's
nothing here that will work.”

It takes me a moment to remember what
she's speaking of. I don't feel like searching the house more,
instead I want to read more of Julia's words. When Cynthia's out of
view, I grab the book and hide it in my blouse, thankful I'm
wearing a loose one today.

I glance down. A little squarish
around my stomach, but hopefully she won't notice. I think of a way
to get this hidden in my room and follow her out.

“
Maybe we should go order
things,” I say. “Even if we find something large enough, he really
could use more than that.”

“
I'm sure if we keep
looking, we'll find something here though.”

“
What if we ordered the
things and looked when we returned? That way, the furniture would
be on its way sooner, but if there's something, he'd be able to use
it in the meantime.”

“
Can we take the carriage
into town today?”

“
You're asking if we can
go without a chaperon?”

She bites her lower lip. “Only if
Bethany doesn't want to come. She said she had some things she
wanted to talk over with Waverly today, so I suspect it won't be a
problem.”

The fact that she doesn't want to take
Bethany is a relief. I can't forget she's a spy. I should be better
around Cynthia, but she knows I've been out on my own. With all the
time she's spent with Zade, I doubt she really believes he's
suddenly trying to be harder on me anyway. “I suppose it'd be fine,
as long as we don't go anywhere besides the wood
worker.”

“
Let's go then. We can't
have the Master of the house uncomfortable.”

“
You really want to go out
of the house without a warlock to chaperon?”

“
Well, Zade isn't here and
it needs done. Nothing's happened to you yet.”

“
Your first unchaperoned
outing. I'll hold this memory forever.”

I laugh. She goes on ahead to call for
a carriage while I hide Julia's journal in my room to peruse later.
Hopefully, Waverly won't find it while she's cleaning.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

S
everal days later, Zade corners me on my way out from
sneaking a snack in the kitchen. Thankfully Phyllis wasn't there,
but she may have been a better choice than him. His face is stern,
not a hint of lightness in his eyes. Did he find out we were in his
room? Is he angry we went to town and ordered things without
him?

“
Today, you're going to
use a gun.”

Not problems with the furniture then.
I'm not sure this is any better though. “I don't know if that's a
good idea.”

“
You'll learn to use a
revolver.”

The air is sucked from me. He's never
forced me to do anything. I hate the change so much, I'm willing to
risk contradicting him. Once I've gotten a hold of myself, I say,
“I don't care what the law says, women don't touch
them.”

“
Most don't live with a
man who has a price on his head.”

He has a good point, but is such a
drastic action needed? He leans against the wall next to me. Our
arms brush. A tingle rushes through me.

“
How seriously are they
trying to harm you?”

“
The intruder in your room
was the first attempt. I finally caught up with him. Seems someone
mixed up our rooms. He's taken care of now.”

Taken care of? I shiver. “First
attempt? Don't evade me this time, how many more have there
been?”

“
Enough that you need to
protect yourself.”

Still evading, but it sounds bad. I
clench my jaw. I don't want anything to happen to him. I want to do
this, but it's hard to ask. “Will more kissing help?”

He pinks and shrugs.

My chest stings at the rejection. “Is
there anything I can do?”

“
Learn to
shoot.”

I bite my lip. “What about Cynthia and
Bethany?”

“
I'd like to teach them,
but with your Father still their owner, I have to be careful.
They've got extra wards on them.”

“
Can't you do that for
me?”

“
I'm doing what I can, but
I can't do everything. You shouldn't worry about them. You're
around me more than they are. Plus, you're the one engaged to me,
not them.”

“
I don't think it's a good
idea.”

“
You need some means of
protecting yourself, though I pray you never have to use it. Please
do this for me.”

I don't want to touch a gun, let alone
use it. But people rarely use the word please, and never a warlock.
Plus, there was the moment when we met Councilman Barkley that I
wished I had a gun. “When do we start?”

He slouches against the wall a moment,
before coming to his feet. “Right now. Follow me.”

We leave the house, but instead of
going to the gardens, we go to the side, trailing along until we
come to a field. My muscles tense more the closer we get. One side
has stacks of hay set up. He leads me across from the hay about two
hundred paces away.

“
This is your revolver.
When we're not using it, keep it strapped to your leg where you can
reach it through the pocket Katherine made for you.” He pulls out a
black gun and lets it rest in the palm of his hand. The sun glows
on it, making its deadliness shine.

I swallow.

“
Never, ever point this at
something you're not willing to destroy.”

“
This really isn't a good
idea.”

He grabs my hand and presses the gun
into it, wrapping his own hand around it. “You can do
this.”

The metal is cold against my skin. He
takes his hand off mine and points to the long end of the gun.
“This is the barrel. This is the hammer.” He flips a lever back.
“Pull it back half way to open the loading gate.” He pushes it back
up. “You try it.”

My fingers quiver as I pull it back.
“Now what?”

He spins the middle part of it. “This
is the chamber that holds the bullets. How many are
there?”

I reach up to spin it myself and
count. “Six.”

“
Right. Always keep track
of how many you've shot.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out
some small brass items. “These are bullets. You slip them in the
chamber with the point side down.” After showing me once, he holds
them out. “Give it a try.”

I don't want to touch those things.
With shaking fingers, I pick one up and point it toward the
chamber. Instead of going in, it falls to the ground.
“Sorry.”

“
Don't worry about it.” He
fishes it out of the grass and smiles at me. “See, no harm
done.”

Some of my nervousness dissipates. I
grab another bullet and try again. It slips in without a problem.
After I get the other four loaded, he says. “If you're not going to
use it right away, put the hammer up. If you're going to shoot it,
pull it all the way back.”

He demonstrates then has me try. The
gun is heavy. I pull the hammer back.

“
Good.” His hand runs
along my arm straightening it and sending tingles through my body.
“Now aim at one of those haystacks and pull the trigger. When you
get good enough, I'll put up a bull's eye for you.”

“
Are you sure I should be
doing this?”

“
There's no one else
around. You won't hurt anyone, we're just practicing.”

I bite my lip, lift the gun, and
shoot. My arms jerk back and the noise hurts my ears. I yelp. The
odor of smoke fills my nose, but it's unlike anything I've ever
smelled before.

Zade laughs. “Try again. This time,
look at your target. I'll spell your gun so it's easier to see
where it goes.”

I scowl. The stacks seem so far away.
He casts a tan spell that hovers over the barrel of the gun. I look
at the middle of the hay stack and try to shoot.

“
It's not
working.”

“
You have to pull the
hammer back.”

“
Of course.” I feel
foolish.

After pulling the hammer back, I look
at the hay stack again and pull the trigger. The sound is just as
loud, but doesn't startle me as much. Zade's spell flies from the
gun, and flows through the air following the bullet, lowering until
it hits the ground. It's only half way to the hay stack.

“
Better.”

“
That was better?” I
groan.

“
Don't worry about it,
progress is good,” he says. “How many bullets do you have
left?”

“
Um...four?”

“
Good. Always keep it in
your mind so you can remember without stopping to think. Now, try
again.”

I grip the gun tighter in my hands,
aim, pull the hammer back, and fire. This time the spell show's it
going farther, but to the right.

“
I can't aim this
thing.”

“
Sure you can, it's just
nerves. Let me help you.”

He steps behind me, and wraps his arms
around me until his hands are over mine. My skin warms. He smells
of the earth and citrus. His breath tickles my ear.

“
The gun isn't the enemy
here. You've no reason to fear it if you treat it properly. Is it
comfortable in your hands?”

Right now, none of me is comfortable,
primarily where he's touching my back and arms. Compared to that,
the gun is like a brush in my hand. I know better what to do with
the gun than with him. “It's fine.”

“
Are you sure? You're
shaking.”

My breathing quickens. “There's not
much I can do about it.”

“
True. Go ahead and aim
again.”

I point the gun at the hay stack. He
lifts my arms a little higher. “Take a breath and hold
it.”

When I do, his scent mixed with the
smell of the gun-smoke fills me.

“
Pull the hammer back and
fire.”

It's easier to pull the hammer back. I
shoot. The spell shows the bullet plummets just short of the hay
stack.