Chapter 199 - Will And The Witch

When the seamstresses arrived Delaney had them brought upstairs to an extra bedroom. Mrs. Crouch sent William to join them and some of the maids brought up tea and cakes for them to enjoy while working.

The young servant boy stood nervously in a corner watching the beautiful duchess talk and laugh with the women from the village. She picked through little pieces of fabric, picking out the ones she liked and one of the women set them together in a pile.

"Alright young man," the main seamstress spoke, "It's time we get your measurements. Come over here."

William hesitated, eyes wide, and looked past the woman to his mistress. Delaney smiled at him warmly.

"It's alright Will," she assured him, "Come over this way and stand in the light so they can get your measurements to make sure all the clothes fit."

The boy hesitated but slowly nodded and did what she said. He stepped quickly to the center of the room and closed his eyes, holding his arms out so they could do their work. Delaney chuckled as she watched him but didn't try to convince him to behave any other way. She understood what it was like to be nervous.

The women got their measurements and commented on Will being handsome but he didn't care about such things. He just wanted this to be over with so he could go back to his work and no longer be the center of attention.

Finally, the women were finished and Delaney thanked them. She sent them on their way to do their work and called for Ms. Bird. Will moved to escape from the room but one word from his mistress and he came to a halt. He hung his head and moved slowly back to her side.

When Ms. Bird entered the room her arms were full and there was a big smile on her flushed face.

"Well now, aren't we lucky Lady Violet Adair didn't throw out much of her sons' things?" she chuckled and dumped the heap onto the bed. William watched with wide eyes as Delaney went to join Ms. Bird in sorting through them.

A small divider had been set up in the corner of the room and soon Delaney handed a few things to Will and sent him behind the divider to try them on and see how they fit. The boy's eyes were wide as he took the items and did as he was told. Soon he stepped out dressed in nice breeches and a long-sleeved white shirt.

Delaney clapped her hands with excitement and swept forward to make some marks on the clothing so she would know where to take it in or let it out. As soon as she was done she sent the boy in with more to try and had him toss the others out to her. They did this again and again until there were about half a dozen items that would work for him to wear once the adjustments had been made.

Best of all, there was one pair of Vincent's old breeches that fit the boy perfectly just as they were. It was that pair that he wore now as he stood in front of Delaney and Ms. Bird with an excited grin on his face.

"D-d-do they look nnnice?" he managed, his smile never faltering.

"They look perfect Will," Delaney smiled and Ms. Bird echoed her agreement.

"I'll take care of the rest of these," Ms. Bird chuckled as gathered up the other clothes, "Will, you thank Lady Adair and bring the tea and cake trays down to the kitchen so they can be seen to."

Will nodded and Delaney thanked her maid before the woman left. When she turned she found the boy eyeing himself in the tall mirror, turning this way and that. Seeing he'd been caught, he blushed and hurried forward to begin gathering up the dishes.

"Wait just a moment," Delaney called out, going to him, "It looks like there is quite a bit of cake left."

The boy's eyes stared at the sweet, puffy, pale pink cakes, and he swallowed hard. Seeing this, Delaney bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Would you want to sit with me and help finish up some of this cake so it doesn't have to all be sent back to the kitchens? We wouldn't want the cooks to think we didn't like it."

Will looked up at her with wide eyes and eagerly nodded. Now Delaney couldn't help but laugh.

"Very good," she grinned, "Have a seat and we'll finish some."

She sat with the young boy and ate a bit of the cake while he finished off nearly all the rest of it. When he was finally full he leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Th-That was very g-g-good."

"I'm glad you liked it. Are you excited about all the new clothes you'll be getting?"

The boy nodded, "D-does Lord Adair mmmind me wearing his old c-clothes?"

"Of course not! He suggested it. Both of us want to make sure you stay nice and safe and warm this winter."

The boy looked down at his hands and nodded. "H-Has the K-king found who wants to k-kill Lord Adair?"

Delaney sighed, "Not yet but we're hoping soon he will."

"A-and then he will p-p-punish them."

Delaney nodded, "He will."

-

That night Delaney waited until the sun was setting, lit the candle, and sat it in her window. She had dismissed Ms. Bird to go on to bed without helping her change. Delaney had said she planned to be up late and didn't want the woman to have to wait up late with her. Her old maid had hesitated but at last, agreed.

Delaney pulled on the boots her husband had given her and her nice warm cloak. Taking a lantern in one hand, and the bottle of potion in the other, she headed down the stairs and out through the door. She wore one of Ian's blades on her hip but knew it was mostly for show. She wouldn't know how to use it to save herself even if she needed to.

Slipping outside and into the yard, whisps of snow were floating through the air. She went to the stables and told a surprised stable boy to saddle a horse for her. Since the other men were already asleep for the night he had no choice but to do what the duchess said and hope he wouldn't be in trouble for it later. He too had seen Lady Adair cross the duke before and try to run away. He swallowed hard and hoped this wasn't another one of those times.

Riding through the dark of night, Delaney headed towards the path that would take her to the lake. Guards waved to her to stop and she did so just long enough to tell them she would be right back and they shouldn't follow her. The men shook their heads and told her the Duke would be quite angry if he knew they'd let her ride off into the woods alone in the night. She, at last, sighed and gave in, saying they could follow her from a ways back. The men were relieved to hear that and hurried to do as she'd said.

Three guards followed her on foot as she made her way slowly to the lake. When she arrived she slid down and tied her mount to a tree. She ordered the guards to stay there and took her lantern and slipped off into the trees.

Heart racing as she walked, Delaney wondered why they hadn't come up with a better plan to meet up with the little old witch. Her skin crawled as she heard wolves howling off in the distance. She wondered if she should have waited for Ian or Vincent to return. She didn't know how long that would be though and she didn't want to stop her doses of the potion until then.

Stepping on a branch, it snapped loudly and she jumped, her heart nearly popping from her chest. She lifted the lantern higher and tried to see if she was in the little clearing yet. She couldn't quite remember how far from the bank of the lake it had been.

Not able to see anything, Delaney continued and didn't see that the ground sloped downward. She stepped and her boots found a slick spot of mud. They were immediately gone, out from under her and she fell backward, landing hard on her backside and sliding the rest of the way down the slope.

Making a sound of annoyance, Delaney was relieved she hadn't dropped the lantern or caused the flame to go out. She looked around to try to see what was around her, just needing to know if she was surrounded by mud now or if she would be able to continue forward easily on more solid ground.

Delaney raised the lantern a bit higher and the light revealed a pair of piercing eyes watching her from only a breath away.