Are we found out?

After a few minutes of quiet chatter, Jenny and her friends rejoined the party. As she took her seat, Jenny glared at Peggy and Evelyn who were chatting with the gentlemen. "Will you gentlemen be attending our hunt next week?" Jenny interrupted, batting her eyelashes.

"This is the first time we are hearing about it," Carl replied.

"You must come. Everyone will be there."

"Sounds like it will be quite the event," Max interjected. "Are you ladies going to be attending?" Max asked Peggy.

"Oh my, you ladies probably haven't heard that my father is hosting the hunt this season," Jenny smirked. "Of course, you should also attend."

"Thank you for the invitation," Evelyn replied. "But we would hate to impose."

"Nonsense," Jenny smiled, "of course you must attend."

Evelyn glanced at Peggy, "we would need to ask our father first and we would hate to impose if we would be extending our stay."

"That won't be a problem," Carl smiled at her. "You would not be imposing. After all, we have several families that will be staying here for a while."

Jenny smiled smugly, "I'll have my father send you an invitation with the details. It will be quite the event."

"In that case, we will speak to our father," Evelyn replied.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you all there," Jenny smiled at Carl.

"While we'd both love to chat longer, we are expected to meet with our father to continue our studies while we are here," Peggy said with a polite smile. 

"What a coincidence, we are also meant to meet with our tutor this afternoon," Carl lied. "Allow us to accompany you back," he offered as the gentlemen began to get up from their chairs.

"We'd hate to trouble you," Evelyn smiled as she opened her parasol.

"It's no trouble at all," Quincy, who had not been able to tear his eyes away from here the entire time they were seated, smiled. "It would be our pleasure."

"Thank you," she smiled back.

"Say, why don't you ladies join us in the drawing room a while before dinner?" Max suggested. He glanced at the watch he had removed from his pocket, "how about we get together in about two hours? That should give us all plenty of time to attend to our studies and leave us some time before dinner."

Evelyn looked over her shoulder and smiled, "it would be our pleasure."

***

"Well, it looks like we have found our witch," Max declared as the gentlemen entered Arthur's study.

Arthur looked up from the documents he was reviewing. "That was quick. Who is it?"

Max hummed, "it's definitely our dear friend Evelyn, but I can't be certain about whether Peggy is also a witch."

Arthur stroked his chin. "Well, I haven't spoken with Henry yet, but I did ask him to join me to talk before dinner. But you boys keep an eye out so that for that scent from last night just to be on the safe side. We shouldn't let our guards down so soon."

Max smiled, "That works out perfectly. I invited the girls to join us in the drawing room in about two hours as well."

"What happened that let you know it was her?" Geoffrey asked.

Max grinned, "Well, it's because she just so happened to 'accidentally' cast a sound barrier that unintentionally included Carl and me. I must say, she certainly provided us with some entertainment." He chuckled recalling the incident with the gust of wind that left Jenny disheveled.

"Hmm… that certainly helps matters," Geoffrey replied. "I didn't sense anything while I made my rounds inside the mansion. So, either it is Evelyn and Peggy, or we have another witch that is laying low. I guess we will find out more shortly, that is if they are going to be truthful about the matter," Geoffery commented.

"Have you heard back from Roxanne?" Max asked as he looked at the blue crystal he had left with Arthur.

"No, she has not contacted me back. I'm not sure if we will hear back from her anytime soon. If what she suggested is true, their powers are probably being kept hidden. She will not tell us anything if Lauren's old coven asks her not to speak about it, but the fact that Evelyn smells human has confirmed her thought about them using a charm from Lauren is true." Arthur replied.

"While I agree with confronting them, we are also going to be backed into a corner. We will have to let them know that we are aware that Evelyn used magic at the tea party. That won't be nearly as difficult as it will be when we ask about the events of last night.  How are we going to even ask them without exposing ourselves as well? Can we trust them with this information?" Carl asked.

"Hmm…" Arthur took a minute to think before he responded. "I believe that Henry is aware that at least Jenny knows that she was a witch. They had been very close since they were young, so it only makes sense that she would know. While I don't know if Lauren ever told Henry about Jenny and I being werewolves, we know that Lauren played a vital role in handling the dark magic witches and also handling the negotiations and agreements with several packs before she passed, so I doubt that it will come as a shock to him. Also, that being the case, I believe that we can trust them to keep this to themselves."

"Are you sure about that?" Geoffrey asked.

"Yes, I know that Henry has been in contact with the packs in their area since then as I have heard so from Alpha Roy," Arthur responded.

"In the meantime, you two boys can help me handle some of these documents," Arthur instructed as he shoved two piles of paperwork to the edge of his desk.

Arthur turned to Max and Geoffrey, "I think you two should contact Beta Sam and see if they have heard or seen anything over there just to be on the safe side." 

"We can handle that, but I worry about this causing some panic among the pack," Geoffrey responded.

"I wouldn't worry about that. It is better for us to get any and all information then neglect what could turn into a bigger problem by ignoring it."

"If that is what you wish, I'll head over there. I'm not sure how long it will take, so I may be late joining the meeting," Geoffrey replied.

"Don't worry about that, we will stall for a bit to buy you some time. Also, it will give us some time to allow them to lower their guard a bit. We will see you in a bit; you should head out now to make it back in time."

***

After taking their time to relax and change into their evening attire, Peggy and Evelyn were stopped by their father as they reached the staircase.

"Where are you girls heading?" Their father asked.

"Carl invited us to join them before dinner," Evelyn replied.

Henry sighed and pinched the skin between his brows, "I don't think this is a coincidence." 

"What do you mean?" Peggy asked.

"Duke Gauthier has also asked me to meet him."

"Maybe it's nothing," Evelyn smiled.

"I doubt that. If I remember correctly, he is the Alpha of the pack here so I'm sure he is already aware of what occurred last night," he sighed.

"What? Why didn't you tell us this morning? What does that mean?" Evelyn asked.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to alarm you girls. Also, your mother being a witch is no secret in these circles. She was highly respected, but it means that he likely suspects that one of you girls was responsible for what occurred last night with your werewolf encounter," he frowned.

"Then it won't be a problem for us to come clean?" Evelyn questioned.

Henry crossed his arms and looked at the girls, "I just hope that this has not turned into a huge problem. I'm sure that he has already spoken to his pack to see if they have noticed anything happening in their territory."

Evelyn lowered her head, "I'm sorry."

"Well, it's too late for that now. We can only hope that they don't take any kind of action against you girls. Let's go," he patted Evelyn's shoulder.

"Henry," Arthur smiled as they all entered the drawing room. "You remember my boys, Carl and Quincy, and this is their friend from school, Max."

"Yes," he smiled at the boys and took a seat opposite Arthur. "I hope your studies are going well. I hear that they are still as strict as I remember."

"They are going well," Carl replied. "But they are still very strict, and our classes seem to only be getting harder."

Quincy could not take his eyes away from Evelyn and a slight blush formed on her cheeks as she awkwardly giggled. "It sounds like we lucked out with them not accepting female students."

"Nonsense, you girls would benefit from learning a thing or two." Her father glared at her, but it was so quick that she was having a hard time believing it he really had, or she just imagined that he did.

"Would you care for a drink?" Arthur asked as he uncorked a large crystal decanter.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Henry replied.

"Ice?" he asked over his shoulder.

"No, thank you."

"Perfect," he poured drams of whiskey into two ornate sniffers before handing one of the glasses to Henry.

"Thank you," Henry studied his glass and swirled the caramel liquid before taking a small sip. He looked up from his glass, "so, what was it that you wanted to discuss?" He asked. He did not see a point to waste any time when he already knew what this was about.