“Out into the streets?” I said, rising from the bed now.
“No, girl. You’ll take a room at the Red House right here in the Ramparts. You’ll earn your keep the only way a woman in your position can.”
I felt bile rising up within me. I gagged at the thought of such a future. “You lie, Sulli! Etienne would never do that! She hates that place! And Chase would never allow it!”
“He has allowed it and will allow it unless you listen to Sulli.” She clasped my hands and leaned forward. Her eyes were wide and serious, and I paid attention to every word she spoke. Just like my life depended on it. Right now, it did. This was so unlike her, it frightened me into silence. “I don’t want that for you, Susanna Serene. I don’t want that for you! I never did. The only reason I gave you to her was for a better future. So you could have more than I did! How was I to know you’d throw it all away?” She squeezed my hands harder as I stared at her, my eyes transfixed on her face. She bowed her head and sniffled tears away.
“You gave me to Etienne? That means you’re my…”
“That’s all in the past, Susanna. I’m nothing and no one. Listen to me, girl. There’s only one way I can help you. That man is going to put you away, and he will if you don’t do something. Ain’t no words or fluttering eyelashes going to help you now. If she’d let me, we might have played on the softness of his heart toward you, but I’m afraid he’s not the same man now. He’s taken a white wife, and I hear she pleases him a great deal. But I know for a fact that he still loves you.”
Fat tears fell on my cheeks as she spoke the words I hoped were true.
“Yes, he misses his Serene. He misses you, but you have damaged his pride in such a way that it can’t be healed, not without strong magic. We have to cast a spell, a strong spell, to keep him bound to you. If we don’t, you’ll be at the Red House before the end of the month. And I don’t want that for you, my Susanna. Believe me. Believe Sulli. I don’t want that for you. You’ll die there, my beautiful child.”
“You’re my mother, and you gave me away?” I sat down again, the springs in the bed sagging under the weight of my big belly.
“We do things for our children. Sometimes cruel things. Yes, I did. But things weren’t supposed to end this way. Not like this. Why did you do it? You know you can’t trust a man, especially one wearing a handsome face and talking sweet words.” She shook her head at me.
I heard Etienne’s carriage pulling up to the front of the house, and we both poised on the bed, unsure what to do. Everyone knew when Etienne traveled up and down the street in her brougham. She had bells on the horses like she was the Queen of England, I heard someone say once. I supposed the Queen of England liked bells. But what did I know?
“What do I do, then?”
“It is too late to do anything today. She must not find me here, and she can’t know that I told you anything at all. You hear?”
“Yes!”
“The back door will be open tonight. I will make sure of that. Etienne’s new man will come to see her around eight o’clock, and she’ll be dead drunk before ten. I will meet you at the corner here, so look for my carriage. I know a spell we can use. It is strong, and it will cost you something valuable, but maybe it will protect you.” She touched my cheek with her hand and suddenly hugged me. I clung to her like I was dying of thirst and she was the Living Water.
“Don’t forget me,” I whispered to her.
“I have to go. Be sure to bring your wedding ring when you come.” She pulled away from me and was out the door before Etienne came up the stairs. My benefactor was all smiles and pleasant manners when she entered the room. She deposited some packages, mentioning something about new clothes, but it didn’t really register.
Etienne handed me a small package and insisted that I open it. I sat on the edge of the bed, as I had with Sulli, and with shaking fingers opened the brown paper. Inside was a dainty gold necklace with a tiny angel pendant. Etienne sat beside me and smiled. “It is for the child. I promise you, Susanna, you don’t have a thing to worry about. I will shower her with gifts and treat her like she was my own. Just like you. Now put your worries to rest, my dear. All will be well.” She inquired about my health again and the baby’s health. She rubbed my belly and left with a greedy look on her face. How I hated her now, more than ever before! But I kept my face a placid mask of indifference. I begged off on dinner, saying I was queasy, and instead lay in my bed until the house full of women settled down for sleep. It felt like forever had passed. I shed all my jewelry and my noisy petticoats, determined to be as quiet as possible. Just as Sulli had said, the servants’ entrance door was unlocked, and I slipped out without any notice at all. How often was this left unlocked? Had I been free to go all this time? The carriage waited for me, and I heaved myself inside as quickly as possible. Sulli hugged me again, and we traveled swiftly down Lively Street.
“Are you taking me to your home? I never want to go back to Etienne’s, Sulli. Never!”
“Oh, child, I can’t keep you forever. I gave up those rights long ago. But you trust Sulli. I know what I’m doing.” She gripped my hands as she had earlier. In the dimness, I could see her determined face. “You believe in my magic, don’t you? I have powers, Susanna.”
“Yes, I believe in your magic.” A few minutes later, we pulled up to a tiny house with a smoking chimney and more than a few cats on the front porch. The carriage driver waited patiently as I carefully slid down from the seat. I followed Sulli inside and took a seat by the smoldering fire. It was so dark in the house, I could barely discern the furniture. After a few minutes, it became easier to see the piles of dishes and unfinished garments lying on a nearby table. Stumps of candles were on the table beside us, but they were so short that there was no chance they would light. Sulli was not wealthy at all, not like Etienne. Imagine someone with such powerful magic being so poor. She began digging through her collection of bowls and bottles, tossing things into a red pot she propped up on the still-warm coals. She stoked the coals to get them going again, and something scampered across the hearth. I moved my feet, hoping to avoid a bite from an angry rodent.
“See why I didn’t keep you, Susanna? This is no place for a child. No place for a child at all. Now give me your ring.” I didn’t argue with her, but handed her the ring and tried again to take in my surroundings. She slid a waxy string through the ring and tied the ends together, making it into a necklace. Then she drizzled a sweet-smelling liquid into the small pot and stirred the ingredients together with a metal spoon. She was about to dip the ring into the pot when I stopped her.
“What are you doing? What is this spell?” Fear filled me. I felt again like I was dancing on the blade of a knife. Again, it was a blend of euphoria and agony, and I shuddered under the weight of the moment.
“It’s a binding spell, Susanna. It will keep your man tied to you forever. No one will ever have the power to untie you. Not Etienne, not that white wife of his, not even your husband. Don’t you want that? Like I said, though, the price is high. Are you willing to pay that price?”
I stared at the ring and watched the ruby and diamonds flicker in the dim light. Of course, I would part with it if that was what was required. What did I care about a ring? I wanted the man who gave it to me. I wanted to see his bright smile again, and feel his golden curls under my hands. I longed to feel safe, as I always did with Chase. Then Ambrose’s face appeared in my mind, and I shook my head angrily. Betrayer of my heart! I released her hand and nodded. “Yes, Sulli. That’s what I want. I will pay the price! I want Chase!”
With a solemn nod, she began to whisper as she dipped the necklace in the scented liquid. It was a poem, then a song. It was a simple song, but the words made the air around us shake and move about like water. As her voice got louder, I could finally discern the words she spoke. They were words I would never forget.
We come against you, Fire.
We come against you, Fate.
We bind this woman for
ever
To her soulmate.
“Wait! Sulli! No!” I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth fast enough. The pain in my gut twisted and sent me to the floor, screaming.
With shaking hands, she slid the necklace around my neck and commanded me. “Don’t ever take it off. Don’t ever let anyone take it from you. I bind this spell to you.”
“But what was the price?” I whispered as she kissed my forehead, and then I watched the dirty shack disappear into the mist.
When I woke, I was back at Etienne’s. Somehow Sulli had managed to get me inside, no doubt with help from her driver, but not up the stairs. Unfortunately for Etienne, my water broke on her couch. That was where my labor began in earnest.
“Your man is going to have to pay for that!” she screamed at me as the water kept coming. “Now let them help you upstairs. I’ll send for the doctor. Poet, you get this cleaned up. What a mess!” She paused once during her tirade to stare contemptuously at Sulli but did not speak to her directly.
“And show our guests to the door, Poet. We have business to attend to.”
The women practically dragged me upstairs. Pain gripped me, but there was nothing I could do to prevent what was happening to me. I glanced over my shoulder at Sulli, my mother, and began to cry as I saw her being led away.
That would be the last time I saw her.
And I would never see my child.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Avery Dufresne
Rubbing tears from my eyes, I clicked off the television. It was the end of the tape, so unless Grandmother Margaret, or whoever was pushing buttons around her, could put in another one, I was sure I wouldn’t have to keep watching. I had the information I needed. I was beginning to see the reason for the message from Susanna.
I sprayed my arms and legs with bug spray and headed back outside toward Handsome’s place. It wasn’t reasonable to think it, but I knew he could help me. He had promised me I could call on him, hadn’t he? Now I knew what he meant. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did.
God, I’m a weirdo!
Since the majority of my family were on the Great Lawn out back, I chose to go out through the front door. Someone had filled the foyer with red roses. They were everywhere—on the tables, in floor stands. There was even a pile of them under the painting of Chase Dufresne.
“Oh, my God!” I said as I stared at the portrait. His pleasant smile was gone, and he wasn’t looking off into the distance anymore. He stared right at me, and the frown on his face was obvious. I staggered back and shook my head. A young teen talking excitedly with her mother walked into the room and broke the spell. They greeted me politely, and I waved and walked out the door without any further fuss.
The walk was long and quiet, and when I finally found Handsome, he had just pulled up outside his house. “Miss Dufresne? What are you doing here?”
I jumped in the passenger’s seat beside him. “I need your help, Handsome. I have to help a ghost find her baby. I can’t explain why she needs to find her now, but she does. Can you drive me?”
“Sure, I can help, but are you sure you want to do that? Once you start fooling with ghosts, they will all want you to help them. Except the ones who’ll want to hurt you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“You promised me, remember. You said if I ever needed you to just call you. You said to call, ‘Hey Handsome!’ So here I am saying, ‘Hey, Handsome!’ I need your help now.”
“Well, all right. Where to?”
Yes, where to, Susanna? Where should I begin looking?
“Drive back toward the house, please. I’ll know when to stop. Don’t ask me how I’ll know, but I will.” We drove for about two minutes before I yelled, “Stop!” I saw her. It was Susanna! She was running through the woods, her hair a mess, her gown fluttering behind her. Then she was gone.
He did as I asked, tossing his hat on the seat between us. “Excuse me, Miss Avery. I’ve got to get my flashlight.”
He opened the glove box and pulled out the biggest flashlight I had ever seen. The clouds rolled in around us, covering the fading sunlight, the rising stars, and the moon.
“You’ll just have to trust me, Handsome. Susanna needs our help finding her daughter, Minette. We must help her, or she can never rest!” When the heck did I become a ghost hunter? This was too ridiculous! Wasn’t it? My heart pounded at the idea of finding a dead child in these woods.
We got out of the car, leaving the lights on so we could find our way back, and walked into the woods. Handsome shone his light in front of us.
“Yes, it’s this way.”
“What is, Miss?”
“I don’t know, but it is this way.”
Oh, God! What am I doing out here! This is crazy-town!
Then I saw her again. Yes, that was her. Dark brown hair piled on top of her head, a purple gown, and a perfect face. She turned, picked up her voluminous skirts, and began to run. We ran too. I didn’t know if Handsome could see her, but I could.
We ran until our lungs were burning. It began to rain, hard droplets at first, and then sheets of rain, pouring down from the sky until we could barely see our hands in front of our faces. As I ran, I tripped and threw my arm out to catch myself. I grabbed at nothing, and gasped when I discovered I was at the edge of a deep well. I would have fallen in if I hadn’t tripped!
Handsome was still behind me, running my way. I had just stood up to peer into the well when out of nowhere, Amanda appeared. At least it looked like Amanda for a moment. No, that was not Amanda. That was Etienne! She shoved me into the well, and down I fell until my knee struck something hard and my leg tangled with a wooden ladder that broke my fall. I screamed in pain.
“Handsome! Help me!”
“Coming, Miss Dufresne! I’m here! I’m coming down this ladder now. Hold on for Handsome!” The old man cautiously inched his way into the pit. The wooden ladder creaked and complained as he moved toward me. I thought for sure it would break under him. Finally, when he got close enough, Handsome held out his dirty hand to me, and I grabbed it desperately. The well was nearly pitch-black, and I didn’t know how far I’d fallen. All I knew was that Handsome looked like an angel leaning down from heaven, ready to pull me out of a dark pit. Why had this happened? Why was I here? I thought this was what Susanna wanted. She’d lured me here, of that I was sure. What had I missed? Why was Etienne here, or was it Amanda? I caught a glimpse of something shiny out of the corner of my eye. Water pelted down on me and the well began to fill with rainwater. Handsome was strong but not strong enough to hold me forever. I swung onto the ladder, praying it would hold.
“Wait! Handsome! Hand me your flashlight, please! I have to search for something!”
“We’ve got to go! Miss Billie is singing in my ear, and I know for a fact there’s spirits about. You know it too. What you want to stay here for, Miss Dufresne?”
“Please just help me. I have to look!” He handed me the flashlight, and I shone it on the water below me. Carefully I eased down to the lower rung, one step at a time. I clung to the side, dangling carefully over the water, trying to avoid falling to the bottom. The rain came down harder now, as if someone above didn’t like us and had turned the water on full blast. It practically drowned us. Handsome was three rungs above me, and he looked very nervous. I didn’t blame him, but I couldn’t give up now.
I flashed the light in the water, and I heard the voice again. Susanna’s voice filled my ears.
Find her. Please find her!
Flashing the light up, I could see that Handsome heard her too. “You hear her, don’t you?”
“Only some. My angel, Miss Billie Holiday, is singing so loud in my ear, I can only hear a little of the other one. What does she want?”
“Her daughter is here somewhere! Something is here! Look! What is that, Handsome?” I shone the light around wildly until I spotted a glint of gold. It was coming from a hole in the side of the well. There was something else there too. “I have to go do
wn closer!”
The lightning flashed above us, and I heard someone scream. Someone was here with us. Someone who was not Susanna! With the next flash of lightning, I could see her. Her brown hair was plastered wetly against her light-brown skin, and her hazel eyes were full of hate. Etienne! In the next flash, she disappeared.
I didn’t wait for permission from Handsome. I jumped off the ladder into the water. The well water was deeper than I thought, so deep it covered my head. I couldn’t get a foothold and had to tread water until I could get my bearings. Handsome was yelling at me, but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying. Then I felt it. I felt the hand pulling my foot. I didn’t have to look. I knew it was a bony hand pulling me down, down, down, into the water, into the inky depths. The dead were here. They wanted to keep their own, and they wanted me to join them. “No!” I screamed underwater. I began to panic and I twisted, trying my best to release myself from the hand. The water was cold, foul, and full of nasty things that had crawled up from the grave, or so I imagined. This was like something out of a movie. An unbelievable scary movie.
I had to breathe now! I could feel my lungs burning. Suddenly two hands grasped mine, and peace came over me. She was there, Susanna Serene. Her dark-purple eyes calmed me, and the hands that held my feet released me. I floated up and up to the surface of the black water. I glanced down once and saw her cloud of brown hair disappearing into the murk below.
Find her! Find Minette!
It wasn’t Susanna but Handsome. “Handsome! Help me look! She’s here somewhere. Don’t worry, Susanna is here to protect us! Over there! What is that? I see something.”
Handsome was in the water too now, digging in the square of stone blocks on the side of the well. It was a small bundle of something tied with a gold chain. He scooped it up and shouted, “Let’s go! Time to go!” As if we were in the center of a hurricane, the wind suddenly began to blow above us, tossing leaves, branches, and all sorts of debris on top of us. Etienne wanted to bury us here with this baby. She did not want her secret revealed. Knowing her intentions emboldened me.
The Hauntings Of Sugar Hill: The Complete Series Page 19