to lose my enthusiasm for further study this evening. There seemed little point in lighting a candle, as they were expensive and not to be wasted.
I found myself pondering my mother’s death from consumption many years before and I feared that Lady Charlotte would soon be taken from me in the same manner.
My mother had been very close to death by the time I had made the journey from Scotland to be at her side, but in her delirious state she had told me something that I had long forgotten.
‘Through me you have inherited the royal blood of the Scots,’ she had said. ‘Never forget that, Ashlee.’ To understand why this fact should be foremost in her mind at this vital moment, I held her hand in an attempt to read the thoughts that her condition prevented her from conveying. But her illness and the subsequent pain prevented me from making any sense of her intent without injury to my own physical health in the process.
It surprised me that my father had not taken himself another wife since mama’s death; a young woman might give him a male heir to carry the Granville name. Perhaps he was fearful of rearing another child with my extraordinary talents? A male child would be far more difficult to control, or be rid of.
At this point in time, however, I felt that my bloodline could explain my love of the landscape here in Dumfries, which nearly rivalled my attachment to the library.
‘Perhaps I shall catch myself one of Scotland’s country lords,’ I mused, trying to cheer myself up. ‘Then I could spend the rest of my days in a place such as this and ignore society and its graces.’
But I knew very well that no man of breeding with high social standing would remain in the country all year round. Only late autumn and winter, through to early spring, gave such solace—provided one wasn’t taking up invitations to stay with other people of prominence at
I wanted to cry, but crying would not change the inevitable.
In the following weeks, I spent much of my time in the library—when I was not practising dance and being drilled on social etiquette. My hunt for every scrap of information relating to nature spirits often kept me up until the wee hours, and it was only the strain of reading by candlelight that would force me to give in and go to bed. Lady Charlotte was gracious enough not to insist that I get my beauty sleep, for she knew how dearly I would miss the library and how the late hours afforded me uninterrupted time to study.
As the day of our leaving for the Midlands drew close, I began to fear that I would never find the information that was eluding me.
Two days before we were to depart Dumfries I happened across a book entitled
Apart from its references to the Etruscan gods and their mythology, of which Diana is the goddess, and her daughter Aradia (or Herodius) the Messiah, it also contained invocations to the likes of Bacchus, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. It also explained how to prepare amulets over which spells could be uttered, and amongst these I was most excited to find ‘the charm of the ringstone’.
The text explained that to find a round stone with a hole in it was a special sign of favour from Diana (the Great Mother of creation). The lower orders of her otherworldly dominions could then, by invocation, be urged to attach themselves to the stone and render service to the bearer. There was also a caution attached to the possession of such an amulet—it should never be given away, because the receiver would acquire the good luck attached to it and some disaster would befall the giver.
The spirits of nature will no longer be able to ignore me, I thought, well content with my discovery. I had only to find such a stone as was described and they would be compelled to aid me.
Given my psychic abilities, you might wonder what aid I sought to gain from the spirits of nature?
I wanted protection.
The nature kingdoms were said to have as many sub-races as humanity, if not more, although they were no longer connected to humanity’s evolution. A cataclysmic event in some bygone and ancient era had caused a portion of the human soul group to split apart from humanity’s evolution and develop via an entirely different evolutionary process, on an entirely different plane of existence. The lower orders of these kingdoms could be broken down into four basic races, according to which of the four elements they served: gnomes were connected to the earth and the accumulation of wealth, power and position; undines were spirits of the water and could be employed to help with matters connected with emotion; salamanders related to fire and could assist with artistic and creative endeavour, for they were the very essence of inspiration; the nature spirits of the air were sylphs, the most highly evolved of all. Sylphs brought with them the gifts of ease of travel and communication, and insight into the higher mysteries.
My experience with Dr Rosen still haunted me, and very soon the safety of the Cavandish family would cease to surround me. Therefore, I took it upon myself to find a means of diverting any calamity that might lie in wait in the future.
I spent a good part of the night copying the lengthy invocation into my latest diary, in both the original Italian dialect, and then translating it into English.
I would not be left to the mercy of the fates, for I was determined to have a hand in shaping my own destiny.
Lady Charlotte’s health took a turn for the worse and prevented her from accompanying Susan and myself to Hartsford Park, Lord Cavandish’s estate in Derby. I didn’t like leaving my mentor at such a time, and despite her brave face I knew she was in much poorer health than she let on. A dark murky shadow encompassed her spirit-body around her chest and heart. I feared that there was a psychological reason for her ailment; that deep down she felt her usefulness in this life would come to a close with our departure from Dumfries. I attempted to tell her how much I would miss her guidance and let her know I would be writing often to obtain the benefit of her wisdom. The countess saw straight through my tactics, I fear, and assured me that she would cherish the time to herself to pursue her own courses of study. I put on a happy face, so as not to stress Susan, and wept on the inside.
Nanny Beat and Susan’s personal maidservants were in a second carriage, and both carriages carried the luggage. The journey from Dumfries to Derby took the better part of a week to complete, for we stopped overnight at various towns along the way, the first stop having been in Northumberland.
The countryside was very lovely to view from the landau carriage Lady Charlotte had given us for the journey. The wild terrain of the north was casting off winter frosts and was beginning to be coloured by the promise of spring.
The excitement produced at the thought of the forthcoming social events made Susan a very unsettled
