Read Christmas At Thorncliff Towers for Free Online Page B

again.
    “Infuriating woman!” he murmured under his breath.
    “Karina,” he said louder. “I’m putting myself out on a limb here.”
    He waited. “If you’re in there, please open up.”
    When she didn’t respond, it dawned on him. She was up to something.
    He shouldered his way into the room. Moonlight streamed into the empty space on willowy beams. As a hush surrounded him, the only items he saw were a recently extinguished candle, an untouched bed, and the dress Karina had borrowed from Lady Winthrop.
    She’s gone out in the cold .
    Son of a bitch.
     
     
    Karina crept down the back stairwell. Tugging on the tattered dress she had arrived in, she was careful to keep her footfalls silent.
    Damned if I stay in this house until morning.
    She came to this ostentatious manor to inform Constantin about his sick grandfather. She had done what she was supposed to do and now she was free to return home. Besides, she hadn’t promised anyone she’d bring Constantin back. He was a grown man—an adult capable of making his own decisions.
    Karina propped the cane against the frame of the kitchen door before she snuck outside. Thankfully, she could move quickly now. As a witch, she’d performed a healing spell in the small bedroom upstairs. Now her wound was sealed.
    Unfortunately, there was no one in this house with whom she could share her victory. At camp, it’d be a different story. Everyone expected her to take over as the next official Gypsy Witch—when Marga grew too old, that is. But Karina wasn’t so sure. She’d watched Marga perform spell after spell in private for years on end, yet casting spells on her own still intimidated her.
    “You’re a gifted girl,” Marga had told her. “When you were twelve, you healed your leg following that unfortunate accident. It seems you have a talent for channeling magic.” What Marga didn’t know was that black magic frightened Karina. She preferred to use her powers in a positive manner. To heal and to persuade.
    That was why Constantin shouldn’t be scared of her witch status.
    Disdainfully, Karina took a last look behind her. When they were children, Constantin had been mortified when she offered to heal his leg. He claimed that he didn’t want anything to do with witchcraft. “A Gypsy’s powers are undeniably strong,” he’d said. “I’m sure they can be very dangerous.”
    Once Karina entered the starless night, she thrust the vial of elixir into a pile of snow. She had no intention of using it now.
    As she made her way toward camp, bursts of frosty air assaulted her. Lungs stinging, she slipped along the layers of ice that covered an incline. Although her dress clung to her legs and her skin grew chilled, she trailed toward the forest.
    She hadn’t made the wisest decision in leaving the estate in this harsh weather, but she didn’t care. She was desperate to get back to what she knew . . . what she was comfortable with.
    Unfortunately, her long skirt, coupled with the darkness, made it difficult to see where she was stepping. As she entered the forest, she focused on not tripping. Thus, she paid no mind to the route she’d taken before. Eventually she grew disoriented—and, when a crescent moon finally penetrated a veil of clouds, she knew she’d officially lost her way.
    A sudden rustle in the bushes seized her attention. Then a wolf’s snarl pierced the cold night air and she froze in mid-motion.
     
     
    The supper dishes had been cleared from the dining table long ago. Grace Ann sat back in her chair and patted her protruding belly. There was nothing to do but stare into the fire.
    Soon, the flames began to stutter to a halt, but nobody else seemed to notice.
    What on earth are the grown-ups droning on about?
    She rolled her eyes, straining to see over the tabletop.
    Her stomach began to ache. Perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten all that food.
    Dinner was delectable, but she’d consumed four pieces of goose, three slices of bread, two helpings