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Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

T he village located close to Claymore Estate was far more sizable than Agnes had imagined. What she'd expected to be small and quaint, with rough, dirt roads and sparse buildings, she found a thriving community with an electrifying atmosphere. As a lady who had spent most of her life living in London, she was in awe of the lovely mixture of countryside simplicity and town-like hubbub.

She strolled arm in arm with Caroline as they made their way to what Christopher described as the shopping district. As they drew closer, it seemed to be a long winding road lined with shops and open carts, vendors standing at attention ready to sell their wares.

"This is wonderful, is it not?" she marveled aloud.

"Yes, I must admit that I am happy we decided to do this," Caroline agreed, wearing the brightest smile Agnes had seen from her in days. "Perhaps I may be able to purchase a new shawl or a new comb."

"You may have anything your heart desires, Miss Caroline," Christopher interjected. He strolled behind them, with Johnathan on one side of him and his newest best friend, Paul, on the other. Agnes made a concerted effort not to look at the tall duke.

"Anything?" Caroline repeated, her eyes glittering with excitement. "You overexaggerate, my lord."

"That I do not," Christopher said with a grin. "This village may not be as large as other towns but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in commerce. Many oftentimes travel a great length to purchase wares from these shops."

"I cannot imagine what could be possessed here that cannot be possessed elsewhere," Agnes spoke up.

Christopher grinned and he walked a little quicker, stopping by Caroline's side. Paul did the same, coming to Christopher's side and so that left Johnathan, who of course chose to walk next to Agnes. In the line they created, they cut quite the sight, drawing more attention to them. Though Agnes was sure that had more to do with the handsome duke in their midst.

"Where else would you be able to find a mirror blessed by a soothsayer?" Christopher asked Agnes, raising a brow.

Agnes stifled her laughter. "I was not aware that soothsayers were capable of giving blessings."

"It may be a new skill we do not know of," Caroline laughed.

"Soothsayers can see into the future," said Paul with all the wisdom of a young man who thought he knew it all. "So why wouldn't they be able to bless an inanimate object?"

"You are far too naive, brother," Agnes sighed. "If that soothsayer gets you in their clutches, you will turn us penniless."

"I am sure you will be there to wring my ear if I dare spend too much."

Agnes gave her brother a saccharine smile. "You know me too well."

Christopher released a loud and dramatic sigh. "I do not think they are taking me seriously, John."

"Good," Johnathan spoke at last. "I do not think that they should."

Agnes couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up her throat at that. Johnathan grinned down at her.

"Lord Christopher, I would love to hear about this soothsayer of yours," Caroline said, ever the nice one. "Are they truly as marvelous as you say?"

Christopher gave her devilish wag of his eyebrows. "Would you like to know for yourself? I could take you to see her."

"Could you?" She sounded eager. Admittedly, Agnes was a little intrigued at the prospect herself.

"Of course," Christopher stated with a nod. "Her shop is not too far from where we are. We may make a detour from finding you a new shawl to pay her a visit."

"Lead the way then!" Paul said far too eagerly.

Christopher seemed inspired by his enthusiasm and did just that, taking charge of the group. Paul was right on his heels and Caroline let out a small giggle as she hurried to keep up.

The others were trailing behind, engrossed in their own conversations to pay any mind to what the unmarried lot was talking about. Agnes realized a beat too late that she and Johnathan had fallen in between the two groups.

"You do not seem very impressed by the feats of this soothsayer," Johnathan commented after a moment of silence between them.

Agnes watched the excited group of three ahead of them with amusement. "I am a lady of fact, John. I do not pay heed to such mystifying ideas."

"Then perhaps I should not admit to you that this soothsayer is indeed as wondrous as Christopher says."

Agnes raised her brows at him. "What a surprise. I did not expect you to care about such things, let alone believe in them."

"I am a man of varying interests," he admitted with a shrug.

"Then have you used the services of his soothsayer before?"

Johnathan nodded.

Agnes, intrigued, couldn't help walking a little closer to him, peering closely to see if he was telling the truth or not. To his credit, he kept his face quite still. "And what did they say of your future?"

"That one day I shall find myself at the mercy of a badgering lady who does not know when she is being made fun of."

Agnes gasped. Letting out a horrified laugh, she slapped Johnathan lightly on the arm as he chuckled. "I do not know whether to be cross or impressed."

"Both, perhaps? It is not every day that one manages to outwit a lady such as yourself."

"Count yourself lucky then because it shan't happen again."

"On the contrary, I believe that I have many opportunities to do so in the future."

"Quite confident of you to say. An admirable trait, I suppose, if not a foolish one."

"I'll choose to focus on the fact that you find me admirable."

He rested his hand on his chest as if he was touched by her words. Agnes rolled her eyes, ignoring the flutter of her heart at how wide and full his grin was. It was her first time seeing him let his guard down so fully, with childish abandon that brought out a different side of her. She adored that smile, adored the way his eyes grew brighter as they crinkled in humor. She adored the manner in which one side of his smile tilted up before the other, the way his entire body seemed to relax with that one simple act. Agnes hadn't noticed how tense he was before.

"We have arrived," Johnathan announced, pulling her from her thoughts.

She looked ahead to see the others ducking into a small, nondescript store that bore the words "Madame Hendrix" on the front and nothing else.

"Madame Hendrix must have a name that speaks for itself," Agnes commented. She lingered, looking back at her parents and Lord and Lady Reeds. "Will you be joining us?" she asked them.

Solomon waved her inside. "Your mother insists that I purchase that reticule we saw a while back."

"And by insist," Mary spoke up. "I only said that it was rather nice and would match a few of my dresses."

"I know what that means," Agnes said and Solomon nodded as if he too understood the implications of such simple words.

She didn't bother sparing the earl and countess a look, not caring what they did. As long as they didn't bother them with talk of wedding and marriages, they could have been nonexistent for all Agnes cared. She didn't wait for their response, simply turning and ducking into the shop.

The space was sparsely decorated save for a table with two chairs sitting on either side of it. Paul was already seated in one of them, facing a dark-haired woman on the other end. The woman didn't look up at their entrance. She held both of Paul's hands in hers, his palms facing the ceiling, and she studied them with a look of concentration.

There was a hush in the room. Agnes was tempted to comment on the sight, eager to lean to the duke and whisper about how fantastical this all was. Something stopped her from doing anything.

Maybe it had something to do with the utter seriousness of everything else, a stark difference to the playfulness they'd been victim to just moments before. Or the somber atmosphere of the sparsely decorated room. Whatever it was, Agnes simply bit her tongue and watched.

At last, the woman Agnes assumed was Madame Hendrix released Paul's hands.

"What did you see?" Paul breathed, leaning forward in his chair.

Madame Hendrix met his eyes. "You have a very rare fortune, Mr. Parsons."

Caroline gasped. Frowning, Agnes leaned towards to whisper, "What is it?"

"He hadn't told her who he was," she whispered back, not taking her eyes off the woman.

Agnes tried not to scoff. "Then she must have heard of the duke's visitors. You know how quickly gossip spreads."

Caroline didn't seem inclined to believe such an obvious notion, enraptured as she was in what the soothsayer was saying.

"I see nothing but good fortune for you. You shall suffer no heartache, no sickness, no pain, no dismay. You shall remain in good spirits, of strong heart and mind, for as long as you live. You shall marry a woman you love, one who loves you equally as much, and shall live the rest of your days in peace."

Paul relaxed visibly. "You frightened me, you know. I thought you were going to tell me that I only had a few more days to live."

Madame Hendrix's face did not move as she said, "Your future would have been quite different if it had not been you who sat in my chair first."

Paul shuddered. Agnes rolled her eyes.

Her brother got up from the chair, looking a little shaken from the soothsayer's next words. Madame Hendrix finally looked up at them. At her.

She pointed a bony finger at Agnes. "You're next."

Everyone looked at Agnes as Agnes met the woman's eyes, raising a brow. "Next for what? To meet an untimely demise or to be happy for the rest of my life?"

Madame Hendrix did not seem perturbed by Agnes' sarcasm. She gestured to the chair. "Sit, Miss Agnes."

The way she said her name sent a chill down Agnes' spine. It didn't help that Caroline gasped again.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Johnathan said by her side.

Agnes only shot him a glance. "Then that means I have to, don't I?"

She strode forward, ignoring the prickly sensation at the base of her neck as she claimed the chair across from the soothsayer. Agnes stared at her for a long moment, wondering if she was really going to let this happen. Deciding after a while that it wasn't going to hurt, she offered both her hands.

Madame Hendrix shook her head. "I do not need to read your palms. Your future is all but marked on your forehead."

"Is that so?"

"You are headed down a dangerous path," Madame Hendrix went on. "One that will lead to ruin if you are not careful."

Caroline's audible gasp nearly had Agnes rolling her eyes again. "Do you mean that she's…"

"I do not mean death, no," Madame Hendrix clarified without looking away from Agnes. "She will live a long, healthy life. Your heart, however, will suffer greatly if you are not careful. The path you trod now will only lead you to pain and sadness. But there is a chance that all will be well if you allow yourself to let go."

"Let go?" Agnes echoed. "Do you not think yourself a bit too vague to be offering advice?"

"It is the only advice I can give. Anything else may alter the future."

Agnes let out a breath of frustration. "Well, that was incredibly disappointing. I cannot imagine what or who could cause me any amount of pain or sadness in the future."

Madame Hendrix looked over Agnes' shoulder. Agnes stiffened. Slowly, the soothsayer's eyes drifted back to Agnes and suddenly, she realized that she knew. How this stranger knew was a mystery to her, but it was clear in those deep, dark eyes. It was clear in the way she'd looked at Johnathan over Agnes' shoulder. It was clear in the things she was saying while saying nothing much at all.

God, she couldn't believe she was beginning to consider the words of a self-proclaimed seer.

"Speak to each other," Madame Hendrix said. "And the truth will be revealed."

"That's enough." Agnes shot out of the chair. She was frazzled but she didn't dare to show it. "Someone else may go ahead."

Despite how unusual she felt, she went straight to the side of the man who partially caused it. Could he tell? She was afraid to look at him, afraid he might read into Madame Hendrix's words and realize the truth of how Agnes felt about him. A truth that she hadn't even been able to come to terms with herself.

Pain and sadness awaited her, huh? Agnes thought of the duke's smile and couldn't imagine a world where such a smile could ever cause her any amount of pain.

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