Read The Adept Book 2 The Lodge Of The Lynx for Free Online Page B

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    “My wife, Victoria, and my daughters, Ashley and Alexandra,” Christopher explained fondly. “Vicky, did you happen to catch the introductions just now?”
    “I did,” she said. Her smile afforded him a glimpse of lurking dimples. “Welcome to Rosemount, Peregrine. I’ve been an admirer of your work for quite some time—though I had no idea you were so young. You should be at least twenty years older, to paint the way you do!”
    Adam chuckled and set his hand under the elbow of a blushing Peregrine, edging him back toward the car and casting a summoning glance in Christopher’s direction.
    “He’s an old soul, Victoria,” he said casually, “but you’re going to have to wait until we get back to discuss that further. Besides that, you and the girls look like you’re on your way out as well.”
    Victoria cast an indulgent glance in her daughters’ direction. The girls were gazing up at Peregrine in wide-eyed curiosity. The friendly innocence of their regard dispelled his own initial stiffness. Feeling all at once at home, he smiled down at them, and bad the satisfaction of seeing them smile shyly back.
    “We’re only going as far as my mother’s,” Victoria said, “if, that is, the girls will stop flirting with Peregrine. But the three of you are going to be coming back here for lunch, aren’t you?” Christopher nodded yes. “Oh, good. We’ll see you later, then. Come on, girls. Grandma was expecting us for ten, and we’re already late.”
    “We’ll be late too, if we don’t get going,” Christopher said.
    “We’re only waiting for you,” Adam replied with a laugh.
    “Come on, man, get into the car.”
    Peregrine repaired to the back seat, deciding that he liked the Houstons. Christopher handed back his briefcase, and Peregrine stashed it on the floor beside his sketchbox while Adam started the car. But as everyone buckled up and Adam and Christopher briefly discussed the best route to take, Peregrine found himself momentarily far more curious about the Houstons than whatever might lie in store for them in Edinburgh.
    Of one thing only was he certain yet, concerning the two. He had the distinct feeling that there was far more to both of them than met the eye. Though the brief conversation in front of the rectory had dealt only in friendly commonplaces, Adam’s manner had been unusually open, suggesting that he felt no need to be on his guard where the two were concerned. And that seemingly casual remark of his, about Peregrine being an old soul . . .
    Curious to test his intuition, at least about Christopher, Peregrine took a deep breath and sat back in his seat, letting his eyelids droop until the physical images before him softened to a blur of color and motion. Turning his attention to the back of Christopher’s head, he took another deep, slow breath and prepared to let his deeper sight take over . . .
    Before he could capture his first impression, Adam’s mellow voice intruded on his reverie.
    “So, my friend,” he said, addressing the priest, “before we meet this young lady of yours, is there anything more you think I ought to know about her?”
    Peregrine snapped out of near-trance to discover that Christopher Houston was frowning thoughtfully into the windscreen.
    “Rather think I’ve already told you everything of substance,” he said. “Helena Pringle’s a sensible lass, not at all the sort to give way to flights of fancy. That’s what made me prick up my ears when she first phoned me up to say there was something wrong about the flat.”
    “Has she actually claimed to see anything like a physical manifestation?” Adam asked.
    “No, thank God. But since I visited her there, she’s had more of the nightmares—nasty enough to make her afraid to go to sleep. I know I told you before that I didn’t think there was any need for a formal exorcism, but you ought to know that I did bring along a few things, just in case.”
    He gestured toward his briefcase in the