by Jo Jones
Regardless, she’d find whoever lit that candle and deal with them and the idea of any more tricks, once and for all. And she intended to start with the most obvious.
She backed out of the closet and picked up Emily’s flashlight. “Take this and stay close to me.” She grabbed Em’s free hand and tugged her down the hall in a ground-eating stride.
“Where are we going?” Emily asked, struggling to keep up.
“Outside.”
“To find Darach?”
“Yes,” she snapped. “And get some solid answers.”
Chapter Ten
Despite the chill still lingering in the air, Darach tossed the length of his plaid back and blotted the perspiration from his lip. Scattered pieces of broken board littered the ground, but he’d succeeded in freeing five of the six kitchen windows from concealment. He hoped Tessa would be pleased, but he dinnae ken freeing every window in the house would change her mind about him.
None of the physical force and frustration he’d put into his task had diminished the knot twisting his gut nor helped him think of a way to mend the chasm between them. In truth, mayhap he shouldnae. Mayhap ’twas good she’d kept him from revealing his feelings for her. ’Twould make their parting easier.
He pushed the tip of the bar Emily had given him beneath the edge of the last kitchen-window covering and leaned in to put his weight to the task when the back door burst open and banged resoundingly against the interior wall. The vibration still rippled through the bar in his hands when Tess, dragging Emily in her wake, stormed out.
“Tell me it wasn’t you!”
He’d barely taken a step back before she was all but chest-to-chest with him, her green eyes sparking with fury. Like spitting emeralds, he thought, unable to grasp what was happening.
“What wasnae me?” He had the foolish urge to drop the bar and raise his hands in surrender.
“The candle,” she snapped. “I swear, Darach, if you set up that stunt, you’re out of here. I won’t tolerate—”
“Stunt?” He felt the blood drain from his face. He dropped the bar and grasped Tess by the upper arms. “What stunt? Are ye hurt?” He glanced at Emily, then back to Tess to search her face for reassurance, trembling with the need for retribution for whatever they’d endured. There would be a reckoning.
“Tessa!” he snarled. “Were ye harmed?”
“Don’t, Darach,” Emily cried, reaching up to pry on his fingers. “You’re hurting Aunt Tess.”
“We’re all right,” Tess cried. “Darach! We’re both fine.”
Through his haze of fear and anger, he realized he’d all but lifted Tess off the ground. His stomach pitched as he relaxed his grip and drew her too him, touched his forehead to hers and fought for control. “Forgive me, lass.” He held out an arm, beckoning Emily to join them. “Both of ye.”
With a sob, the lass snuggled against them. Darach sighed in relief as the tension drained from Tessa’s shoulders and she rested her hands at his waist.
“I didnae mean tae scare ye love,” he whispered, inches from her mouth. “Ye ken I could never harm ye, either of ye, do ye no’?”
“I know.” She relaxed against him, laid her cheek on his chest. He hardly dared breathe. He held the two most precious things in his world, and if he moved, breathed too deep, this moment might shatter, and he’d never get it back.
“It’s partly my fault,” Tessa said. “I shouldn’t have come at you like that. I was just so upset. I guess it was easier to be angry than afraid.”
“That makes two of us.” Darach sighed and glanced at Emily who watched him with a mixture of relief and uncertainty clearly etched on her wee face. He smiled and brushed a hand over her hair. “Ye’re a brave lass, Emily. We could have used yer courage, at Culloden.”
The words were out before he realized what he’d said. Tess leaned back and gave him a puzzled look. “Scotland, I mean,” he quickly added. “Scotland could have—can—use someone as brave as ye.”
He turned back to Tess. “Can ye tell me now, what it is that had ye in such a fash?”
Tess scowled, some of her anger coming back to narrow her pretty eyes and put a crease in her brow. “Someone put a burning candle in a small storage room. It could have burned the whole place down.”
“It was Jack,” Emily stated. “I saw him.”
“Emily.” Impatience sharpened Tessa’s voice as she pulled out of Darach’s arms and paced several steps away before turning to face them.
Those few feet of separation felt like a mile and Darach fought the urge to reach for her. Bring her back.
“We’re through with the Jack routine.” Tessa glanced between Emily and Darach. “I don’t want to hear his name again. This is serious. Game-time is over.”
The look Emily turned on him was a desperate appeal for support. How could he let her down? But if he didnae, he’d be banished. Tessa had made that very clear.
“If you didn’t put that candle in there, Darach, there’s an intruder in that house with a twisted and dangerous sense of humor.” She sighed and shrugged. “I wish it had been you. At least then I’d know what to do about it.”
She looked away and pressed her lips together as if wishing she could take her words back, but mayhap ’twas only he that wished it.
“Ye truly think I’d be cruel enough tae do something like that? For what purpose?” A surge of irritation quickened his pulse. “I assure ye, if I did indeed wish tae frighten ye, I wouldnae need tae resort tae trickery.”
She whipped her head back. “Do I detect a warning in there somewhere?”
“Nae, ye do no’!” he snapped taking a step toward her. “What’s got intae ye?”
“You!” she spat, waving her arm at him and then the house. “And this place. It’s—”
“Stop,” Emily whispered. “Please stop.”
“—too much. I was crazy to come here. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Her voice rose and her gestures became even more exaggerated. “And then…here you were, and you’re…so…it’s all…just too much.”
“Are ye askin’ me tae leave?”
“If I wanted you to go,” she spat, “be assured, I wouldn’t ask.”
“No! Stop. You both have to stop!” Emily cried, her voice breaking on the last word.
In unison, they turned to her in time to glimpse her panicked, tear-stained face, as she bolted into the house.
“Emily!” Tess called.
“Wait, lass,” Darach pleaded, realizing he’d done exactly what he’d threatened the ghost against. He’d thoroughly frightened the bairn. And worse, broken the bond of trust between them. The loss sat like a stone in his chest.
“We have to catch her,” Tess yelled, already running for the door. “She’s not safe! There’s someone in there.”
They raced through the house; sure Emily would go to the library, but ’twas no sign of her. Darach didnae ken Tess was even aware of her whimper as she scanned the room.
“Come, lass.” Darach turned to continue the search when Tess caught his arm.
“Wait.” She hurried to her packs and tore through them, tossing contents haphazardly around her.
“What are ye searching for? Can I help ye?”
“How could I be so stupid?” she muttered without slowing down. “Who but an idiot travels without decent protection?” She abandoned one bag and started on another. “I don’t have a gun but I know there’s a small knife in here somewh— Here!”
She looked up and frowned as she tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans. “Think what you want. We don’t know who we’re facing, or what danger they might present. Emily…” She stopped when her chin began to quiver. “Emily is all I have. I’ll use whatever means available—paltry as it may be—to protect her.”
“As will I,” Darach’s sharp retort sounded harsher than he’d meant, but the lass didnae seem to have any faith in him, a’tall. She’d have even less if he tried to tell her the intruder they had wouldnae be intimidat
ed, nor could he be eliminated, by her wee weapon.
Although ’twas foolhardy to completely disregard the possibility of a mortal invader, the likelihood of one hiding out somewhere in the house without the ghost at least attempting to drive him out, was very small. Nae, ’twas the ghost they needed to extricate. He was sure of it.
While Darach couldnae believe the apparition would truly harm a child, he wasnae willing to put Emily’s welfare to the test. Even if he didnae harm her physically, from what Tess had indicated, Emily was on uneven ground, emotionally; still recovering from her losses. ’Twould no’ take much to trip her up.
Tess tossed him a flashlight and pulled her own out of her jacket pocket. “Let’s go. We’ve already wasted too much time.”
“Show me the closet and candle.”
Repeatedly calling Emily’s name, he followed Tess through what felt like a labyrinth of dark hallways before stopping in front of an open door. Tess checked some adjacent rooms while he scoured the small enclosure with his flashlight beam, noting the single candle on the floor had been recently lit, just as Tessa had stated. The lack of footprints beyond Tessa’s suggested ’twas indeed the ghost attempting more trickery. But the dangers imposed by an unattended lit candle indicated the blackguard’s hoaxes were escalating. ’Twas time to deal wi’ him, once and for all.
After Emily’s safe return.
“Well?” Tess pressed, returning breathless from her search. “What do you think?”
What he thought was that he needed to find Emily quickly, settle her and Tess into the arguable safety of the library, and be alone when he sought out the ghost. “Finding Emily is our first priority, then we’ll deal with this…puzzle.”
Tess nodded. “I don’t remember if she has her flashlight. She’ll be cold. Frightened. Maybe we should split up,” Tess suggested. “Each of us take a floor?”
Her suggestion surprised him, and he realized he had a ridiculous sense of pride in her courage. He wasnae sure what he’d expected, but not this indomitable woman standing beside him. He knew she was afraid. Knew she thought there could be someone hiding in every shadow, behind every door. But she wouldnae let her fear stop her. Her child, her family, came first.
“Aye,” he nodded, realizing he’d been a wee bit in love with her already, but he’d just tumbled the rest of the way in, with no hope of turning back.
Chapter Eleven
Despite his anxiety over leaving Tessa alone on the bottom floor, Darach took the stairs three at a time. Her decision to search the house separately, although practical, left her vulnerable to Jack’s possibly dangerous devices. Darach knew discounting the danger, especially after the candle, would be reckless as well as foolish. But he also had Emily’s safety to think about. She was alone, frightened, and completely vulnerable.
Between his calls and Tessa’s, Emily’s name echoed throughout the cavernous house. ’Twas impossible for her no’ to hear them. Was she angry enough to ignore them? Make them worry? ’Twas no’ like the bairn he’d come to know. And love.
His gut twisted. His vow to remain detached—to focus on naught but his long-awaited penance—had turned into a colossal failure.
Penance. God grant him the surety that neither Tessa nor Emily would ever play any part in that.
He’d scoured two-thirds of the upper floor, including the room where he’d confronted the ghost, when he passed the small room where Emily had discovered more stairs. He still had several rooms to check on this floor, but something beckoned him toward the narrow winding stairwell, at the back.
When he opened the door, that same something raised the hair on his arms, the back of his neck, and urged him to a stealthy silence. Expecting to be set upon by the ghost at any time, he eased up the stairway, listening intently, alert to any changes in temperature or movement of the musty air.
Could Emily be with him, unable to respond?
By the saints, if that ghostly blackguard had harmed her, even in the slightest, Hellfire would rain down upon him the likes of which he’d never seen, alive or dead. No’ even at Culloden.
Halfway up the stairs, he heard the soft inflection of Emily’s voice. She didnae sound distressed, only…melancholy. So, the ghost didnae have her. Who then, could she be speaking to? Darach paused, turned off his flashlight and listened.
“…said they’d only be gone a few days. They promised. Then we were all going to come here, together. But…their plane crashed and they…they all died.” Her voice broke along with Darach’s heart as she sobbed her pain.
He almost went to her; wanted desperately to gather her in his arms and comfort her. Protect her. But he held back when, through broken sobs, she continued.
“My…my Aunt Tessa is trying so hard to be a good mom for me, and she’s great and everything, and I love her a lot, but…I…I miss my mom and dad so much! And my grandpa and grandma. I can’t tell Aunt Tess how I feel ’cause she’s already sad. I know she misses everyone, too. My friend? Becca? I know her from school. I use’ta could tell her stuff, but when we moved here, I had to leave all my friends behind. So, I don’t have anyone to talk to, anymore. Aunt Tess is worried all the time about how to take care of us, and she works extra hard to make things fun for me. If I tell her how I feel, it will only make her more sad. That’s one of the reasons I want a puppy, so it could be my new friend. I want to play with it, sure, but I could also talk to it about stuff I can’t tell other people.”
A long minute passed while Darach struggled with the burning lump in his throat. He was about to continue up the stairs when Emily began again. “Darach’s my friend, but he already said he’s leaving. I really like him, and I think Aunt Tess does, too, even though she pretends not to. When he leaves, I won’t have any friends. Will…will you be my friend, Jack? I know you’re supposed to stay outside, but you could stay up here where Aunt Tess won’t see you and I’d come to visit you all the time.” She muffled the last word with a loud yawn. “It could be our secret.”
Jack? He was with her after all?
It took all of Darach’s strength not to bolt up the remaining stairs. Instead, he took his cue from the lack of fear in Emily’s voice and took one cautious step, then another.
“Ye should have a lie-down, lass, and we’ll talk more once ye’ve rested.”
Darach almost didn’t recognize the ghost’s voice. Gone, was his blustery, threatening growl.
“Okay,” Emily said on a sigh. “But only for a minute. They’ll be looking for me. Will you keep an eye on this for me?”
“Aye, lass,” the ghost replied. “This, and ye.”
Above him, Darach could see a faint glow that he assumed came from Emily’s flashlight. He waited several anxious minutes then quietly moved up the stairs until he could peer over the edge of the attic floor.
Sitting in the corner, ghostly eyes already fixed on Darach, Jack held a finger to his lips to warn Darach to be quiet. Emily lay beside him, fast asleep.
Bewildering. Darach could find naught else to describe what he beheld. Nothing he’d said or threatened the ghost with had made the slightest difference, but somehow Emily had managed to thoroughly tame the shadowy beast.
What was it she’d said when they’d first entered the manor? That it reminded her of Beauty and the Beast’s house? Coincidence? Or did Emily have a touch of Soncerae’s magick? Emily certainly seemed to have worked some, where Jack was concerned.
Darach gently gathered Emily into his arms and gave the ghost his most severe scowl. “We’ve still to speak of the candle,” he whispered low. “Dinnae think tae try such a perilous hoax, again.”
“Dinnae ye think anything has changed between us.” The ghost’s quiet response held its own warning. “What transpired here is between the bairn and me. ’Tis naught tae do wi’ ye and doesnae change the terms I gave ye earlier. If ye care for the bairn and her aunt—and I ken that ye do—ye’ll convince them tae leave, or I’ll take charge of the task, myself.”
Emily stirred, snuggli
ng deeper into the protection of Darach’s arms. He shifted, taking care no’ to wake her. The day’s toll had been heavy for one so young. “ ’Tis yet to be settled between us,” he countered, heading for the stairs.
“Hold,” the ghost ordered.
Darach paused and slowly turned back, impatience tightening the muscles in his jaw. He wouldna engage with a sleeping bairn in his arms, but he also wouldna be dictated to by this interloper.
“This seemed tae be of importance tae the lass. ’Tis likely she’ll want it when she wakes.”
The ghost directed Darach’s attention to a small volume, lying in the shadows, near where Emily had lain. Adjusting her weight, he freed one arm and scooped it up, tucked it inside his plaid the best he could, gathered Emily close to his chest and descended the stairs without looking back. He would carefully evaluate the portent of this odd shift in the ghost’s behavior, later. Right now, ’twas more important to reunite Emily and Tessa.
“Emily, honey, where are you? Please ans—” Tessa halted in the doorway of what she thought of as the morning room and watched Darach descend the stairs with Emily in his arms. The rest of her plea stuck in her throat like a thorny burr as she noted the child’s limp form. Emily! She rushed forward, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. “Is she—”
“Shh, nae. Merely asleep,” Darach whispered. “Would ye prepare a spot tae lay her down?”
Tess needed to touch Em’s hair, watch the steady rise and fall of her chest, before she was willing to leave her long enough to open the library doors and usher Darach, with his precious cargo, inside. Rushing to their pile of gear, she debated taking the time to blow up a mattress, but she didn’t want to put Emily on the cold, drafty floor. Besides, Darach seemed oblivious of any burden as he cradled Emily, gazing at the child as if she were the most precious thing on the planet.
To Tess, she was. She cringed, shamed to the core over her earlier outburst. How could she have been so self-indulgent? So blind to the effect her behavior might have on Emily? Or, even on Darach?