In Her Rival's Arms. Alison Roberts

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      ‘To cleanse the space,’ she explained.

      ‘Right...’ The corner of his mouth quirked but his gaze had enough heat that she could only handle the briefest contact.

      Was it what she was doing that had captured his attention so intently or was he watching her? Adding the impression to wondering what she was about to find out about him made her feel oddly nervous. She needed another mouthful of her wine.

      ‘The first thing I need to do is pick a card to represent you as the significator.’

      ‘The what?’

      ‘Significator. The querent. The seeker of knowledge.’ This was good. She could hide her nerves by doing something she knew she was good at. She spread the cards, face up, in front of her. The sound Nic made was incredulous.

      ‘But they’re beautiful... They look like artwork reproductions.’

      ‘This set is based on one of the oldest known packs. Tarot cards have been around for five hundred years. The first known cards were painted in Italy during the Renaissance. Back around the second half of the fifteenth century.’

      Was he impressed with her knowledge? Why did she want him to be? Zanna glanced up but Nic was staring at the cards. Many pictures depicted people and each card had a title.

      ‘I don’t like that one,’ he muttered. ‘I hope Death isn’t going to appear in my line up.’

      ‘The meaning isn’t necessarily literal. The death card means that something must come to an end. Whether or not it’s painful depends on the person’s capacity to accept and recognise the necessity for that ending.’ The words came easily because they’d been learned many years ago. ‘Sometimes you have to let go of an old life in order to take the opportunity of a new and more fulfilling one.’

      ‘That’s very true.’ Yes, he was impressed. ‘Something I’ve always lived by, in fact.’ There was a question in his eyes now. Or was it an accusation? ‘Do you?’

      Zanna blinked. This wasn’t supposed to be about her. She retreated into card lore as she looked away. ‘The cards are designed to portray a story. Kind of the rites of passage of an archetypal journey through life. Everybody faces the same sorts of challenges and problems—the same as they did five hundred years ago. People don’t change and it’s often a surprise to find how similar we are to those around us. Every situation is different but the challenges can be the same.’

      ‘You don’t really believe you can predict the future, do you?’

      This time, Zanna was able to hold his gaze. ‘I believe that particular choices and situations have led to where one is in life and the response to that position presents future choices and situations. Understanding why and how some things have happened is the best way to cast a more conscious influence on the future.’ She gave herself a mental shake. ‘Are you over forty years of age?’

      That made him blink. ‘Do I look like I’m over forty?’

      A bubble of laughter escaped. ‘You could be a well-preserved specimen. How old are you?’

      ‘Thirty six. How old are you?’

      ‘That’s not the least bit relevant. You’re the one I need to find a card for.’

      ‘Hey...I answered your question.’ There was an unguarded tone in his voice. A peep at a small boy having a playground conversation perhaps. It gave her a soft buzz of something warm.

      ‘I’m twenty-eight,’ she relented. ‘Oh, yes...This is definitely you.’ She picked up the card. ‘The King of Pentacles.’

      ‘Why?’

      ‘He represents a strong, successful individual with a gift of manifesting creative ideas in the world. He also represents status and worldly achievement and has the Midas touch.’

      He looked taken aback. Did he think that wearing well-worn leather and jeans would disguise his obvious lack of any serious financial hardship? That jacket had been expertly tailored to fit so well and the nails on the ends of those artistic fingers were beautifully manicured. His casual appreciation of the special wine she had chosen had been another giveaway. She placed the chosen card on the centre of the black cloth. Then she scooped up the rest of the pack and began shuffling the cards.

      ‘That’s a lot of cards.’

      ‘Seventy-eight.’ Zanna nodded. ‘The major Arcana that is the depiction of the journey and then the minor Arcana. Four suits of Cups, Wands, Swords and Pentacles. They represent elements and experiences.’ She spread the cards in a fan shape in front of Nic, facing down this time. ‘Formulate your question or think about a problem you want clarified,’ she invited. ‘You don’t have to tell me what it is. Then choose ten cards and hand them to me in the order selected.’

      She placed the cards in set positions in the form of a Celtic cross. ‘This card over yours is the first one we look at. It’s the covering card. Where you are at the moment and the influences affecting you.’ She turned it over. ‘Hmm...interesting.’

      He was sitting very still. He might think this was a load of rubbish but he was unable to stop himself buying into it.

      ‘Why?’

      ‘Page of Wands. It suggests that it’s time to discover a new potential. Also suggests restlessness at work. Something’s not going the way you want it to.’ She touched the card at right angles to the one she’d just read. ‘This is the crossing card. It describes what is generating conflict and obstruction at the moment.’ She turned the card face up.

      The oath Nic muttered was in French but needed no translation.

      ‘You’re taking the pictures too literally,’ she told him. ‘The Hanged Man is a symbol. It suggests that a sacrifice of some sort might be needed. Maybe there’s something that would be difficult to give up but it needs to go because it’s blocking progress.’

      He was giving her that odd look again. As though he was including her in whatever thought processes were going on.

      ‘This is the crowning card,’ she continued. ‘It represents an aim or ideal that is not yet actual.’

      ‘The future?’

      ‘Potentially.’

      ‘What’s the Queen of Wands?’

      Should she tell Nic that the Queen of Wands was the card that had always been picked as the significator for her own readings?

      ‘She’s industrious, versatile, strong-willed and talented.’ Zanna kept her eyes firmly on the card. ‘She’s also self-contained and stable. She holds her great strength and energy within, devoting them to the few things to which she chooses to give her heart.’

      The moment’s silence was enough to make her realise that she didn’t need to tell Nic about her own relationship to this particular card. He was joining the dots all by himself.

      ‘It may not mean a person, as such,’ she added. ‘It could mean that it’s time to start developing her qualities yourself. Things like warmth and loyalty СКАЧАТЬ