Felicia's Spirits

by Marie Higgins

  But she must find a way. Living this kind of life wasn’t healthy.

  “Beware... Danger is forthcoming.”

  Her mind snapped as she became alert. Who had whispered that in her ear, and why did it sound like they sat right next to her? The beat of her heart quickened, and she didn’t dare look to see if someone was sitting beside her, because she knew they were. She’d never forget the voices of her visitors.

  Fear crawled into her throat and she swallowed hard. “Why do you tell me that? Does this have to do with Sebastian?”

  “Take heed and listen.”

  She couldn’t stand it any longer, and she peeked next to her at the same spot Bash had been sitting. Clear as day – to her, anyway – was the older woman who had visited several times in Felicia’s life. She wore a silver dress with ballooned sleeves that could have been fashionable when Marie Antoinette was alive, and her white hair was styled high on her head. Felicia suspected this was one of her ancestors visiting her from the grave, after all, why else would the woman want to warn her of danger? She was just one of Felicia’s many spirit visitors.

  Felicia jerked her focus back to the road. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked to keep them from falling down her face.

  “Very well,” Felicia whispered. “I’ll take heed.”

  “Just know, there is danger ahead.”

  Felicia tried to breathe normally, but it unnerved her that one of her ghosts was back. It had been a pleasant break in her life when they had disappeared after she’d wed Edwin.

  She’d stopped thinking she was insane years ago, and yet, she was the only one who could see and hear these spirits. That definitely wasn’t normal.

  Several minutes passed in silence. Hesitantly, she peeked over her shoulder again, but the spirit was gone. She expelled a relieved sigh. Her heart still hammered with alarm, but at least she was finally alone.

  She reached her mother’s cottage and pulled the horses to a stop. She tied the reins around the hook attached to the side of the seat before climbing down. It had been a week since she’d last visited her mother, and at this moment, she needed parental guidance more than anything. Although Felicia had never told her mother about her spirits, at least she could talk to her parent about how to handle Sebastian.

  She knocked on the front door, and immediately, it opened... but nobody stood in the doorway. “Mother?” Felicia called out as she slowly stepped inside, removing her bonnet.

  When her mother didn’t reply, Felicia grew suspicious. She strained her ears to detect anything out of the ordinary as she carefully looked over every item in the front room. The couch and loveseat appeared the same from when she had visited last, even the single table that held Mother’s priceless tea set that she’d purchased on holiday in India was still in place. The coat rack stood in the corner of the room by the door with her mother’s fur wrap hanging on a hook.

  “Mother? Are you there?”

  Felicia moved farther into the house, examining everything she could that might help her determine where her mother could be. The hearth didn’t appear to have been lit today. Odd, since this morning was slightly chilly. Felicia moved to the fireplace and knelt, studying the wood. From her calculations, there hadn’t been a fire for a few days.

  She glanced back at the door and frowned. Why hadn’t the door been closed properly when her mother left the house? Undeniably, something was not right.

  The words her spirit had told her not long ago, returned. Could this be the danger Felicia had been warned about?

  She dashed into the kitchen... and stopped short. She gasped and her heart stilled. A wooden chair had been tipped over. On the floor were shattered pieces of one of her mother’s dishes. Food was still on the table, and flies had gathered around the chunk of ham and the assortment of cheeses. Felicia’s gut twisted; not from the stench in the room from the spoiled meat, but because now she knew something terrible had happened to her mother.

  She spun around and ran into the bedroom. Once again, her steps faltered. Clothes were scattered everywhere. The blankets where bunched together on the bed, and three of her mother’s five pillows lay on the floor.

  Panic leapt inside of her as tears welled in her eyes. “Mother!” she cried out and ran back through the other rooms. She made it to the front door and stepped outside, screaming her mother’s name louder.

  Silence greeted her. Not even the birds chirped their morning songs.

  She swung back around and moved inside again. Now wasn’t the time to think like a frantic daughter. It was time to step into her agent mind and search for clues. Unfortunately, the only thing filling her head were thoughts of her mother lying abandoned somewhere, starving, cold... and bleeding. Maybe even dead!

  Tears blurred her vision and poured down her face. Helplessness washed over her. She needed to alert the authorities. So then why couldn’t she control her legs? Why was she standing frozen in the middle of the room with a mind that refused to work?

  Suddenly, fast footsteps entered the room. Before she had time to see who it was, strong hands gripped her arms. She screamed.

  THREE

  Sebastian wrapped his arms around the trembling woman and turned her to face him. Her eyes were wide. Her face pale. When her gaze locked with his, she sighed his name and fell against him, crying.

  His heartbeat pounded anxiously as worry grew inside him. It was a good thing he’d followed her out here, although he took his time in arriving, only to give Felicia and her mother some time together before he interrupted.

  “Felicia, what’s wrong?” He skimmed his gaze around the room. So far, nothing appeared out of order.

  “She’s gone.” She sobbed against his chest.

  He ran a soothing hand along her back. “Shhh, don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

  She cried in his arms for a couple more minutes. He didn’t want to release her. Having her this close warmed his heart. True, he was in danger of having his feelings return, but she was troubled, and instinct told him he had to help.

  Closing his eyes, he rubbed his cheek against her silky hair. Her fragrance of lilacs drifted into his senses and he smiled. Memories resurfaced, and flashes of those tender moments shared when they held each other so close... those moments when he thought he was in love.

  The memory brought with it pain, and so he quickly shoved it out of his head. Taking a deep breath, he returned the beat of his heart back to the normal hard shell it had been lately. “Felicia, what happened?”

  She stepped back and wiped her eyes. He withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She dabbed it under her eyes and wiped her nose.

  “Something has happened to my mother.” She pointed to the kitchen. “Look in there, and in her bedroom.”

  When he headed for the other room, she clutched his arm and followed. In the kitchen, he examined everything from the overturned chair on the floor to the opened curtains hanging on her window. “There was a struggle here,” he told her as walked to the center of the room. Sebastian closely peered at the floor before crouching down. “See this mark? It’s from the sole of a shoe. The heel. It’s wide, so it came from a man’s shoe, or if the attacker was a woman, she has large feet and wears a shoe with a large heel.” He moved his focus to the crooked table. “Your mother fell against the table, and she either dropped the dish at that time, or she tried throwing it at him.”

  As he peered closer at the dish, there was a spot of blood on one of the pieces. Sebastian stood and followed the drops of blood, leading him to the curtains. “You mother might have cut herself on the broken china. She ended up here.” He pointed to the window. The curtain also had a spot of blood. “I’m thinking she was trying to find a way to scream for help by opening the window.”

  Felicia’s sobs became faster and louder. He turned toward her. She shook her head as tears spilled down her face.

  “No more, Sebastian. I don’t want to hear anymore.” She covered her ears. “I can’t bear thinking tha
t she’s suffering somewhere... or perhaps even dead.”

  “No, my dear.” He gathered her back in his arms, gently guiding her head to rest on his chest. “She’s not dead. She was kidnapped. Of course, we don’t know why just yet.”

  “Y-you don’t think she’s d-dead?” she muttered against his vest.

  “No. If whoever did this wanted her dead, she would be lying here on the floor right now. He took her for some purpose.”

  “Oh, Sebastian.” She clutched the lapels of his coat and looked into his eyes. “Please help me find her.”

  Her moist blue eyes cracked the ice wall he had built around his heart. How could he turn her down when she looked this desperate? If roles were reversed, would she have the heart to assist him? Nevertheless, he had to do it.

  “Please, Sebastian.” She wiped her tears. “If you do this for me, I promise to help you find the jewel thief.”

  He held a quick breath. How did she know the thief I’m after stole jewels? “Felicia, I didn’t tell you I was looking for a jewel thief.”

  She sighed and released his coat as her body relaxed against his. “I’m not a dimwit, Harrington. I do keep up with what’s going on in London... and here in Italy.”

  “How can you help me? Do you know something I don’t?”

  She shrugged. “You’ll never know unless we work together.” Sniffing, she dabbed the handkerchief to her nose and pulled away. “Please, Sebastian, I beg of you to help me find my mother.”

  In the past, he’d seen her acting talents, and most people didn’t know she was acting. He knew. However, this situation was completely opposite. He could feel the emotions coursing through her. She had real tears this time. She definitely needed him.

  His mind shifted in a different direction. If she was indeed the thief he was after, she’d be clever enough to hide the evidence from him. Working closely beside her, he just might find what was needed to arrest the jewel thief.

  “I shall help.” He moved away from her and into the bedroom. He slowly scanned the clothing on the floor and peeked inside the armoire. He stepped to the window and checked to see if it had been forced open, but there were no scratches around the frame.

  With that in mind, he headed into the front room again. This time, he examined the door and the frame. There were no scratches or odd carvings. He went to the window and studied it, but he couldn’t discover anything that held a clue.

  “What are you seeing?” Felicia asked as she stood on the porch.

  He kept silent for a few moments as his mind pieced together the clues – and lack of clues. Slowly, he walked back into the house with Felicia following. Finally, when he was ready with what he figured happened, he faced her and nodded.

  “From what I can see, the attacker was someone she knew.”

  “Are you certain?” she asked.

  He pointed to the door. “There was no sign of forced entry.” He motioned to the window. “And nothing there, either. The front room is spotless. What I have concluded is that someone came to her door and knocked. She let them in. She probably invited them to sit and chat. Being a polite hostess, she would have offered tea and cakes. That is when she went into the kitchen.”

  Sebastian led the way as Felicia tagged behind. He pointed toward the table. “The cakes were probably already on the plate. When she picked them up to offer them to him, that is when he attacked from behind.” In his mind, he could picture this perfectly. “That’s why the table was moved, and why the plate dropped to the floor. She probably fell, as well.”

  More tears swam in Felicia’s blue eyes. “What about the bedroom? What did you see there?”

  “One of two things would have happened in there. The attacker was either searching her room for something important, or the attacker was trying to find her some clothes to take with them.” He tilted his head, narrowing his gaze on her. “Tell me, Felicia. What kind of business was your mother doing that would be dangerous?”

  “She wasn’t in any kind of business.” Felicia wrung her hands against her middle as her gaze darted around the room. “She hasn’t worked for a few years.”

  He nodded and moved closer. “What did she do back then?”

  Finally, her gaze locked on his. Her hesitation lasted too long, which told him she might make up a lie just to hide the truth from him. Of course, she would. This woman would never change.

  She sat on the edge of the couch, keeping her back straight. “My mother worked for Conrad Mortimer who was secretly being paid by the Prime Minister. This tale actually begins before Napoleon’s reign. The Prime Minister at that time hired Mr. Mortimer to find women agents to spy for the Crown. My mother was one of the agents paid to spy for whatever the government needed. She happened to be one of his top agents. Two years ago, she decided to retire because her knees were not strong.” Felicia shrugged. “As far as I know, my mother hasn’t done anything for Conrad Mortimer since that time.”

  A throb started in Sebastian’s forehead, and he rubbed the aching spot. He had to give her credit for creating such an outlandish lie. And yet, he’d heard something like this before. Of course, he’d figured the stories he’d heard were just rumors. It didn’t make sense to him that the Prime Minister would hire a man secretly to pay people to spy, and women, no less. But Felicia told the story so convincingly, and when she ended, she exhaled deeply, and her shoulders relaxed. That told him she was telling the truth. Unfortunately, she’d lied so much to him, how could he believe her now?

  “I know you have doubts.” She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “But I’m too exhausted to try and convince you otherwise.”

  He silently grumbled. Why was he starting to believe her? “Fine.” He lifted his chin, stubbornly. “Then let’s say that she had been an agent. Now the question would be, what could she have possibly kept that was worth something?”

  “My mother didn’t have anything like that. She didn’t keep anything from her cases.”

  “So then why would one of her acquaintances want to kidnap her? Because, I did establish that the person was someone she was familiar with.”

  “True.” Felicia frowned and shook her head. “But I cannot possibly think of anyone she knew who’d want to do her harm.”

  “Perhaps you should think about that today and let me know this evening. I’m sure you’re not thinking very clearly right now as it is.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away. “No, I’m not.”

  “Do you want me to take you home?”

  She nodded. “If you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.”

  They left the cottage and walked to the phaeton. He held out his hand to assist her, and remarkably enough, she didn’t even bat an eye as she slipped her palm against his. Warmth encased his fingers, moving up his arm. As she stepped up, he placed his other hand on her back. An odd sensation crept inside his chest and made his heart flutter. Inwardly, he cursed his body for reacting in such a way. Although he recalled Felicia’s passion in their past, he also knew she couldn’t tell the truth even if her life depended on it.

  Once she was seated, he climbed in beside her, took the reins, and started them on their journey. For the first few minutes, silence grew between them. He hoped she was trying to think of all of the people personally acquainted with her mother, because only that list would be able to help them track down whoever kidnapped Felicia’s mother.

  She wiped away a stray tear as she stared at the road. His heart twisted. She was very vulnerable right now. He needed to tread carefully.

  “We’ll locate your mother, I promise.”

  Her gaze shifted to him and she gave him a weak smile. “Thank you, Bash. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

  The rest of the ride passed by in silence. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to ask her questions that had been plaguing him since they last met. But asking her about their past at this exact moment wasn’t good, either. If roles were reversed, his mind would be fo
cused on his parent and nothing else.

  As he drove up the street in front of her estate, he glanced at the manor. He hadn’t been raised with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he still wondered how life would be if he had such a grand fortune. Having servants wait on him would have been nice.

  He peeked at Felicia and jealousy twisted his gut. For a brief moment, he didn’t think it fair that such a deceitful woman could have some of the luxuries he’d wanted growing up. Then again, Felicia had married a wealthy man. Perhaps that’s what he needed to do – find a wealthy woman and settle down with her and raise a litter of kids.

  When he aimed his attention back on the manor, a movement from a second story window on the west side, drew his attention. Two tall trees blocked his view, so he concentrated on what was creeping outside the house. When the phaeton moved a bit more, he spotted a person wearing a black shirt and trousers climbing out the window. They used what looked to be a rope as they scaled down the structure.

  Felicia was being robbed!

  Grumbling under his breath, Sebastian threw the reins to Felicia. “You drive,” he told her before jumping out of the vehicle and breaking into a run. Instead of climbing the iron fence surrounding her estate, he hurried to the opening that led toward the drive.

  From behind came Felicia’s worried voice shouting his name, but he ignored her. He would catch him a thief one way or another today.

  He darted toward the side of the manor where he’d seen the villain. Just as he turned the corner, up ahead, a person dressed all in black scurried in the opposite direction. Sebastian quickened his pace. This thief would not get away.

  The moisture on the grass made Sebastian’s feet slip. Quickly, he righted himself and continued. The thief was far enough in front of him that he couldn’t quite determine the person’s gender. Although, if he had to guess, he’d say it was a man. The thief’s hair was stuffed inside a cap. Sebastian determined that the person was slender, and took long strides, which of course told him the person he was chasing was tall.