Chapter 19

Lucian didn’t know what possessed him to allow Eliza to give him a tarot reading since first, he didn’t believe in such nonsense; second, she wasn’t even certain she knew what she was doing; and third, he was trying to avoid her and the temptation that always arose in her presence. Yet, this was a safe activity. They were not touching and drinking tea, which did not alter one’s perceptions or lessen control.

Eliza pulled the first card in the center from beneath the second one that she had placed. “This represents your present.” She turned it over to reveal a hand painted card.

“Oh!” Her eyes widened in alarm.

Even though Lucian did not believe in this nonsense, he was also discomforted by Eliza’s response. “What is it?” he asked.

Eliza picked up the sheets of paper and rifled through them, then blew out a sigh. “It is not as bad as I feared.”

“As it is my fortune, should you not tell me?”

“I was alarmed because it is Death.”

Bloody hell! Maybe he should drink brandy instead.

“But it doesn’t mean literal death,” she hastened to say. “At least, not according to these instructions.” She looked at the parchment and read, “Upright means the end of a cycle, beginnings or change.”

It wasn’t as scary is it appeared, and also general enough that it could mean anything.

Lucian settled back and waited for the second card to be turned.

“This one is for your immediate future.” She turned it over then looked through the sheets of parchment again. This reading was going to take them all night, not that he really minded. “The King of Swords means head over heart and discipline.”

As that is what he intended, especially when it came to Eliza, Lucian offered no argument.

“The third card is your goals or maybe destiny.” She grinned and turned it over then repeated the act of trying to find the explanation in the sheets of parchment. “Queen of Pentacles for practicality and financial security.”

Eliza glanced up. “A medium or mystic is better able to interpret the meaning as they pertain to you and your life, past, present, and future and how they come together. These pages only have a minimal explanation for each card.”

“I understand and promise not to hold you to any future predicted.”

Lucian nearly chuckled but Eliza became more serious with each turn of the card.

“This fourth card is your distant past.” She turned it over. “The Hermit but reversed.”

“I don’t need you to read a definition to know that is accurate.” Lucian freely admitted that when he was not required to be in London for Parliament that he remained at the estate and rarely left. Yet is that what the card truly meant? “Except the Death card didn’t mean death, so perhaps you should find out what it really refers to.”

Eliza shuffled through the papers and frowned. “Loneliness and isolation.”

He certainly did not appreciate the accuracy of the Hermit card and the meaning. But that was distant past and likely when he inherited after his parents died.

“That was distant, but what of your most recent past?” She turned another card “The Chariot, which is…”

Lucian waited until she found the meaning.

Eliza frowned and rolled her eyes. “Control and willpower.”

Perhaps he was too quick to dismiss the cards and their meaning. Those were two things that he did value, and his distant past was accurate, even if he did not like admitting such.

“Hopefully the sixth card is cheerier. It is for future influence.”

“What do you mean by influence?”

She found another paper and read from it, “What motivates you from deep within that you may not even be aware of.” Eliza turned the card and grinned. “The Lovers.”

Bloody hell!

She again read through the sheets of paper until she found the meaning. “Partnerships and union.”

There was mischief and merriment in her grey eyes. “It appears your hermit life might soon come to an end.”

“As you are living in my home and we have formed a partnership, or union, to keep you safe, then I will agree that the card is accurate.” Under no circumstances was he going to admit that he’d been thinking about a much more intimate union between them where their bodies…Lucian took a drink of tea. He and Eliza would never suit and therefore he would not ruin her, thus there would be no permanent partnership or union of any kind other than what he had already stated.

Eliza blew out a sigh. “The seventh card position is call The Questioner, but I am not certain what that means.” She wrinkled her nose and read further. “Oh, advice for your present.”

Lucian was almost afraid to know, even though none of this was real.

Eliza turned the questioner card over. “It is the Hierophant, which means tradition and morality.”

Those were two values he intended to hold on to.

“Card eight is supposed to be external influences.”

He wouldn’t be surprised if when Eliza turned the card over that it revealed her face. Lord knows she may have had more influence over his life than he had ever allowed anyone else.

“The Tower, which means disaster and upheaval.”

“Well, that is certainly accurate.” Lucian looked pointedly at her.

“It does not necessarily mean me. It could be that horrible person writing the letters, which has brought upheaval to both of our lives.”

“So long as it doesn’t bring disaster,” Lucian said with a little more concern. He worried, deep down, and he was on edge waiting for another missive to be received. No doubt that man knew that she had left Greenhaven Cottage and knew exactly where Eliza had gone. Another fear was that it wouldn’t simply be a missive next time, but the man may come for her.

“The ninth card is inner emotion,” Eliza said as she turned it over. “The Three of Wands but reversed.” She pursed her lips and looked for the meaning, then paused and tilted her head.

This did not bode well.

“Obstacles and frustration.”

Yes, well, he was very frustrated, but that was from a physical need, which would disappear once Eliza was gone from his home.

“Finally, the tenth card which is the Final result.” She turned the card. “Judgment, which means…reflection and awakening.” Eliza frowned. “That may be the most confusing of the cards.”

“If only you were a psychic, then you could tell me what all of this means.”

“I told you.”

“We know what each card means, but as you said yourself, only a mystic can connect them for a full picture of past, present, and future.”

“True,” Eliza admitted. “But it was fun all the same and will help when I write the tarot reading into the book.”

She accepted his explanation without noticing that he’d simply been humoring her beliefs, which meant that a part of Eliza believed in mystics and fortune tellers.

“Are you going to lay out the cards for a fictional character and find out what it reveals?” he asked. Perhaps that was one way to create a character, if you have nothing to go on, and used to build their story.

“No,” she answered. “I will go through the meanings to find the cards accurate to his situation, his past, present, and future. If I pull random cards, then I will have to make the story to fit the reading and I am almost to the end of the book.”

Eliza gathered up the cards and stacked them again then straightened out the sheets of parchment.

Though he may never know what possessed him, Lucian reached across the table and held out his hand, palm up.

“What?” she asked.

“My turn.”

“For what?” Eliza asked slowly.

“You revealed my fortune, it is only fair that I reveal yours.”

Eliza's grey eyes widened and she stared at him before she slowly placed them in his hand.

What could she possibly be afraid of being revealed?

Eliza wasn't certain she wanted Lucian to read her cards. Yes, she needed to learn a lot more about tarot reading and how to put everything together, but each of his cards was accurate to the basic meaning. Yes, they can also be considered general enough to fit anyone and their set of circumstances, but that did not change the fact that there was a little truth in each of those cards. Eliza wasn’t so certain she wanted as much revealed to him.

Lucian took his time shuffling the cards, over and over, and she almost objected because they were hand-painted and delicate and she did not want them ruined, but then he held them out to her, and Eliza cut from the middle of the deck, then poured herself a fresh cup of tea.

Lucian took the papers from her, then set the hand drawn diagram of how the cards should be placed in the center of the table.

“You appear a bit pale, Eliza. Are you afraid of what will be revealed?”

She didn’t dare tell him the truth, for he would think her silly. “I am not concerned,” she lied.

Lucian turned over the first card and chuckled. “The Fool, but upside down.”

Eliza glared at him as he searched for the meaning.

“Ah, recklessness.” He grinned at her. “Perhaps these do contain a bit of truth.”

“Are you admitting that your reading was correct?” Eliza arched a brow, daring him to answer.

“I think that we can make each fit our life if we try hard enough.”

“For a non-mystic, I suppose.”

Lucian turned over the second card. “The Moon, also reversed…fear, confusion.” He glanced over at the diagram. “This is your immediate future, which I believe could also be accurate.”

“Just read the cards without deciding if they are right or wrong.”

Lucian paused and studied her. “What are you afraid that I will learn?”

“Nothing!”

“The third card, your goal, is the Magician…desire and creation.”

Those were certainly accurate, or she hoped that it was her destiny. She wanted her desire for Lucian to finally come to fruition and she would continue creating stories.

“Let us see what your distant past reveals,” Lucian said as he turned over the fourth card. “The Ten of Cups, reversed.” He glanced at the sheets and frowned. “Broken dreams, disharmony.” He then looked up at her, a question in his blue eyes.

“Distant past,” she reminded him. “It could have been anything from my childhood that seemed monumental at the time but in retrospect was minimal.” Except the card was accurate. She had dreamed of her parents wanting her, a sense of belonging…she shook the thoughts away. Nothing could change what was.

“What of your more recent past?” He flipped the card. “Queen of wands, which is…courage and determination.” He looked up and chuckled. “Even I have to admit that is correct.”

At least it was a more positive card.

“Future influence is the Two of Cups, which is…unity, partnership.” He frowned. “That is odd, wasn’t mine similar?” he asked.

“Yours was the Lovers, also meaning partnership and union. Do you think our future influence is the other person?” she asked.

“I am certain that it is only a coincidence. However, if we choose to believe that there is any truth in these cards, I stand by my earlier statement that we have formed a partnership, or union, to keep you safe.”

If only the partnership and union could be more permanent, but Lucian only kissed her when she finally forced herself on him so it was unlikely he would ever pursue her.

“The questioner card is the Five of Cups…acceptance and finding peace.”

Eliza frowned. The seventh card, besides questioner, could also mean advice. Did that mean that she must simply accept that she had no future with Lucian, or did it have another meaning? Was she to find peace in her circumstances or accept that the mummy may never be found?

Oh, Lucian was right, these cards were so general that they could mean anything.

“The eighth card, and also your external influence is The Wheel of Fortune…inevitable fate or change.”

“I do not like the word inevitable. It means that I will have no control to change something.”

“Perhaps it will be something you do not wish to alter,” he offered.

Except, if she was supposed to simply accept and find peace, then she doubted she would welcome whatever inevitable fate awaited her.

“Let us see what card nine reveals, your inner emotion.” He turned it over to reveal Strength.

That was a good card. Except, it was reversed, which did not bode well.

Eliza was no longer having fun with the tarot cards.

“Self-doubt or insecurity.”

Only where Lucian was concerned. In every other aspect of her life Eliza was quite confident, which was why she refused to comment on the card.

“What does the last one say? What is my final result?”

Lucian turned the card over. “Page of Wands…exploration and freedom.”

While all that sounded well and good, what Eliza took from this reading was that soon she would be away from here and Lucian would be out of her life and she faced a future alone. It was something she had accepted, but she had hoped for more while she visited, besides finding the mummy.

Though, in truth, when she first took the cottage, it was the mummy that she sought. Since, her infatuation with Lucian had grown and she now desired him. She wanted him, but as nothing was to come of this temporary partnership, she needed to set those emotions aside or she would only be hurt when the time came for her to leave.

“At least I have a bright future,” she finally said as she picked up the cards and shuffled them again.

Eliza did intend to write the scene for her book, but the cards no longer held the appeal that they once had.

And maybe she wouldn’t have to find the right cards for her character but use Lucian’s reading. After all, he was the hero of her story, not that she would ever tell him.