Her body tightened he was going after her again. Quickly, she moved behind a line of salt. He hissed before disappearing. She searched her pocket, retrieving her phone.
“And no signal,” she grumbled, her frustration growing. Ready to continue her search she pocketed her phone. “What is here?” She asked herself spying a group of figures entering through the gate. She couldn’t help smiling when Faith waved to her.
‘Very nice.’
“Yes, she is.” She agreed with Temperance’s assessment.
‘Happy?’
“Yes, we are,” she sighed happily. “You were once. Tell me what happened? And you’re gone.” She groaned feeling the air warm slightly. “No, not Gerry.” She mumbled the images still proving to be elusive. “Hello, beautiful.” She called out.
“Hey there yourself,” Ro answered.
Shawn shook her head, thoroughly amused by Ro’s antics. “Is that the crew?” She questioned Faith.
“Delia’s contractor managed to put together an all-female crew,” Faith explained before planting a kiss on Shawn’s cheek. “She’s been pushing them as hard as she can. We rode over on a big, I don’t know what you would call it. I guess they were planning on moving the airplane. But that has been put on hold.”
“I saw it in the barn.”
“How did we do with the salt?”
“Great,” she slowly answered. “It’s just I have a bit of bad news for Delia.”
“I don’t know how much more she can take,” Ro offered before putting her earbuds in. “I’m heading to my house.” She announced a tad too loudly before walking away.
“Making friends?” Faith questioned once they were alone.
“A couple,” Shawn coyly offered. “One of them was the last person I expected to see here.”
“Do tell? Where are we setting up?” She asked as she picked up one of the cases.
“Don’t know, yet.” Shawn pursed her lips as she looked around. “There is a lot of residual energy here. Almost all of it happy memories. Generations of people laughing and playing.”
“Happy?”
“Strange, I know. It’s the active entities that are the problem. Something dark lives here.”
“No kidding.” Delia interrupted them. “I know you didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.”
“I think the place is surrounded by water and there is the natural buildup of limestone both of which can energize an entity. Which might explain, how this thing has been able to keep a hold on the place without human interaction.” Shawn tried to explain. “You know, Miss Westbrook must have known something was going on. I keep getting the sense that there has been more than a few purification rituals that have taken place.”
“I understand the need,” Delia confessed. “Before the two of you showed up, if I thought it might help I would have given a circus clown money to cleanse a certain old house I was stuck with. You look troubled.”
“I need to keep looking around,” Shawn tried to shrug off her concerns.
Delia nodded before heading back to where her crew was working.
“So, what aren’t you telling her?” Faith questioned.
“I need to keep looking and then I need to make a few phone calls.”
Chapter 31
Central Park West, NYC
The same day
“Good Lord,” Daniel shouted and threw his hands up. “The two of you certainly collected a lot of stuff.” He waved his hands over the pile of papers, coins and other items of importance that had been sitting in the safe.
“We are almost done,” She placated him. “Just a few more items to catalogue and mark off, who gets what. It is disheartening that my life has been reduced to this pile of rubble.”
“What pray tell is this?” He held up a crusty sea shell.
“Ooo,” she cooed.
“Oh, dear we have a story coming.”
“This is from the beach.” She swooned holding it up.
“You don’t say.”
“From the first trip to the island,” she explained swatting him on the arm. “You remember.”
“Ella, some days, I’m lucky if I remember what year it is.”
“Seriously, Daniel it was after the disaster with the parents. The six of us flew to the island. There was you, me, Temperance of course, Nora, Preston and Henry. It was my first trip there and Tempe dug this out of the sand and gave it to me, so I would never forget that night.”
“I remember we all went swimming,” he struggled. “There was a full moon and Nora looked amazing. I don’t recall my cousin trying to make you swoon by giving your something that washed up on the beach. Are you sure that’s a shell?”
“I thought it was romantic.” She sniffed. “I wanted to kiss her right then and there.”
“You should have,” he sniffed. “It took the two of you forever to get together.” He prattled on before extracting the ring box from the pile. “Speaking of romantic, who gets this bobble?”
“Oh, that thing,” she groaned.
“That thing? You get all weepy over a sea shell or what we hope is a sea shell. I can’t even imagine what it would cost to buy this today.” He shivered as he removed the ring from its box. “Oh, course you couldn’t buy one like this today. Hand cut two and half caret diamond nestled between two Burmese sapphires.”
“You seem to know a lot about Preston’s ring.”
“Preston’s ring? Now, don’t you go getting forgetful. I rely on you.”
“Daniel that is the ring Preston gave me. You know when we pretended to be engaged.”
“Well, yes he did the public showing,” Daniel became flustered. “But this ring was most certainly not from Preston.”
“What are you talking about? Of course it was from Preston.”
“No,” he argued shaking his head handing her the ring. “If Preston was going to give you a ring, simply to keep the myth going that you were his girl, it would be at least a carat smaller. And you could forget about the sapphires. Ella, you really don’t know?”
“Know what?” She begged studying the ring.
“The ring was from Tempe. I was with her when she designed it. Drove the poor jeweler at Tiffany’s crazy. It had to be just right. She really made me look bad. The ring I gave Nora looked like I fished it out of a Cracker Jack box compared to this.” He excitedly explained. “And don’t think she didn’t mention it every now and then. The woman loved me but apparently her ring was nice and yours was stunning. I have to admit, I was surprised that you stopped wearing it so soon after her passing.”
“This can’t be right, Daniel. She never said anything.”
“You looked right at her when you said yes.”
“Because, she was the only one from whom I wanted a ring.”
“It was in the note.”
“What note?”
“The one with the ring. Tempe had the waiter hide the note and the ring in the dessert tray.”
“I remember the waiter opening the dessert tray and the ring being in it. But there wasn’t a note. Remember I joked about still expecting my cake? Of course before he lifted that silver cover I was a tad concerned. Your Aunt Iris had been fussing with it before he set it down. Helena had her grubby hands on it as well.” The words trailed off. “Are you kidding me?”
“No!” Daniel fumed. “Aunt Iris? You never got the note.”
“No, I never got a note, I’d remember that.” She spat out. “This whole time, I thought that this,” she held up the ring. “Was all part of Tempe’s scheme. No wonder she was so upset when I stopped wearing the ring.”
“What did she say about it?”
“You know how she was when her feelings got hurt,” she sniffed. “She’d never say she was hurt. She’d just say, it doesn’t matter or some other silly thing. If I hadn’t take that ring off she wouldn’t have gotten angry that day. We would have gone to the island together. We wouldn’t have been fighting. She might be with m
e today.”
Chapter 32
Central Park West
September 17, 1952
Ella stood by her dresser for the longest time. It was that moment, she had experienced many times since Preston’s passing. She studied her hand. Wearing the ring felt right. If not for the comments that had begun over a year ago, she wouldn’t have thought twice about leaving it on her finger. She couldn’t argue the point. He was gone and it was time. As she slipped the ring from her finger, she reasoned it wasn’t as if they had really been engaged. It was just a charade.
She took the Tiffany’s box from the drawer, placed the ring inside and put it away. Later she would move it to the safe.
She took a few moments, suddenly feeling as if she had lost something before she went out to the main apartment. Temperance was sitting at her desk the receiver for the telephone dangled in her hand. She had an odd look on her face. A look Ella was all too familiar with. Something was troubling her lover.
She knew that Tempe wouldn’t be forth coming with details. She did what she always did. She fetched a fresh cup of coffee and set it down in front of her. Slowly she removed the telephone from her hand and set it back on its cradle.
“Tempe?” She prompted gaining her lover’s attention.
“We need some time away,” she muttered strangely. “Can we take a few days?”
“I will clear your calendar.” She volunteered worried that something was amiss. “Shall, we go to the island?”
“Yes,” Temperance answered with a slight smile. The smile faded as her gaze locked onto Ella’s hand. “You’ve taken it off?” She sounded hurt.
“It’s time,” Ella meekly explained. “It’s not like it meant anything. Not really.”
“I see.” Again she sounded hurt.
“Tempe?”
“Make the arrangements,” Temperance curtly informed her. “You go on. Take the train. I’ll fly out in a couple of days.”
“I can wait and go with you?” Ella sputtered thinking it was odd that they would travel separately. In the past decade they were rarely away from one another.
“I have something to do.” Temperance snapped. “Go on ahead, I’ll meet you on the island. Helena has asked for a favor.”
“Helena, of course.”
Ella was hurt and confused. Still, she did what was asked of her. She took the train up to Maine then the ferry out to the island. It felt strange being there on her own. Without, Temperance by her side, the island seemed less magical. Despite her best efforts she failed to relax until three days later. Finally, she heard the Black Swan hovering overhead.
Excited to see the woman she loved she rushed out of the house. Ready to throw herself into Temperance’s arms she was surprised when two blonde haired men climbed out of the plane. Temperance followed, her posture spoke volumes.
“Take it into the house. Use the backdoor.” She barked at the strangers who were struggling with a large crate. “We have guests,” she snapped at Ella before brushing past her.
She didn’t see Temperance for the rest of the day. She and the two strangers were locked up in the study. She made one futile attempt to join them only to be dismissed. She wandered about the house aimlessly, feeling more alone than she had when she sat by the shore watching for Temperance’s arrival.
“I’m sorry, “she later apologized to Mrs. Davis as she pushed her uneaten supper aside.
“You might have more of an appetite if you weren’t sitting alone.”
“It’s just business,” she threw out knowing that she was making excuses. In well over a decade there wasn’t a single business detail that Ella had been excluded from.
She felt some small degree of relief when the office door finally opened. Without a word the strangers sat down at the dining room table. “These are the Jordan brothers,” Temperance offered for Mrs. Davis behalf.
It hadn’t escaped Ella’s notice that the men chose to whisper to one another effectively ignoring everyone else in the room. She also couldn’t help picking up on the fact that Temperance hadn’t even glanced in her direction.
“Dinner is, cold.” Mrs. Davis bluntly informed Temperance. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Mrs. Davis clenched her jaw and set about trying to rescue the cold meal. Temperance took no notice and stomped off. Ella sat there, her ire growing as the strangers continued to whisper not even glancing in her direction. Based on the way she was grumbling Mrs. Davis didn’t take too kindly to their behavior either.
Having had enough, Ella tossed her napkin down and stormed off to the study. This inspired more whispering. Without bothering to knock she swung the door open. Temperance sat in a chair with her back to the fireplace. Sitting on the Queen Ann table in the center of the room was a large silver bowl. She stepped closer to inspect the obviously ancient piece.
She instantly felt sick. “What is this?”
“Don’t you like it?” Temperance nonchalantly inquired before draining her cocktail. “It is the Black Forest Cauldron. Although, the Jordans keep referring to it as a chalice. I can only assume that they are idiots.”
“It is unusual,” Ella admitted as she watched Temperance rolling her glass in her hand. “I don’t think I’ve seen quite so many penises before. Why is it here?”
“I don’t need to explain myself to you,” Temperance snarled before holding up her glass. “Fetch me another drink.”
Ella snatched the glass from Temperance’s hand, completely taken aback. In the fourteen some odd years they had spent together Temperance had never been so surly. Unable to withstand the hostile gaze Temperance had locked upon her she studied the contents of the glass. The clear liquid confused her. She sniffed the remnants. “Since when do you drink, gin?”
“What does it matter, to you?” She snapped. “Nothing matters, does it?”
“Please tell me what is going on with you. And who are those men?”
“Delivery boys,” she chuckled pointing towards the cauldron. “We need to get that to a safe place.”
“The sooner the better.”
“None of this concerns you!” Temperance shouted startling Ella. “What should concern you is my empty glass.”
“Then you had best fill it,” Ella snarled shoving the glass into Temperance’s hand. “I’m going to bed.”
“Based on you tone, I’m assuming that you mean alone?”
“Not unless you find my girlfriend,” she shouted on her way out the door.
“You just tell me who that is and I’ll go looking for the bitch!” Temperance bellowed in response.
The following morning Ella found on small ray of hope when she discovered Temperance outside of Phineas’ cottage. “Would you like to talk?” She offered hopefully.
“I made a mistake.” Temperance whispered as she continued to inspect the window of the cottage.
Ella felt slightly relieved interpreting the words as an apology. “We can talk,” she encouraged.
“I have things to do,” Temperance offered in a quiet, somewhat defeated tone.
“Later?”
“I made a mistake,” she repeated, her focus still on the cottage.
Confused, Ella walked away, still hopeful that they would discuss things later. Later never came. Upon returning from whatever it was she was doing, Temperance’s irrational state had only worsened. Between the unsettling strangers and Temperance’s anger things grew darker with each passing day. Ella often found herself horrified by Temperance’s vulgar outbursts. It went on until the night when she was forced to admit she couldn’t stay.
They argued that night leaving Ella filled with a sense of hopelessness. Before her courage failed her Ella went to the dock and woke up Mike. Tearfully, she informed him that she would need transportation back to the mainland early in the morning.
“Are you all right Miss Ella?”
“Yes,” she sniffed. “I just need to get back to the city. Nothing to worry about.”
“Did those men do anything?” His
concern clearly evident. “I don’t trust them.”
“Neither do I” she confessed. “Do me a favor and look after Miss Muraille while I’m gone.”
“Of course. If there is anything I can do, please tell me.”
“Just don’t be too cross with me when I wake you.” She tried to play it off. The worried look on his face informed her that she had failed.
After returning to her room she packed her meager belongings. Then she sat on the edge of her bed and watched the clock ticking away. Not long into the night she heard Tempe stomping about and cursing. The tirade lasted for hours before the house fell silent. She waited for a few moments before carefully making her way downstairs.
Much to her disgust she found Tempe passed out in her study. There was little doubt that she passed out and not fallen asleep. The empty gin bottles were a dead giveaway. She covered her with a blanket and kissed her brow.
“I do love you,” she quietly confessed. “I just cannot live like this.”
Placing one last kiss on Tempe’s lips she stole away. Hurrying to the dock, fully aware that the boys were watching. Mike looked as if he hadn’t slept a wink. As they made their way across the water she kept questioning whether or not she was doing the right thing. Just as she was about to change her mind, they docked.
Being the gentleman that he was, Mike drove her to the train station in his beat up pickup truck. He silently waited with her until she was safely on the train bound for New York.
When she left, she hoped no she prayed that when Temperance returned to New York, she would have also returned to her old self. They would talk and start their lives over again. Instead, Ella spent decades regretting her choice to leave.
Chapter 33
Muraille Island
September 23, 2017
Her exploration of the island drained her. After pushing herself to the limits, she sought refuge in the cottage. Shawn was ready to collapse after she forced herself to leave the safe confines of the cottage.
The air had turned cold and the sight of a fire gave her a start until she realized that it was a campfire. Ro and Faith sat on logs warming themselves.
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