Maybe the ring was the key to all this. If I could just figure out how to undo Sulli’s misbegotten spell, I’d be okay. No, it couldn’t be a spell. Did we believe in such things nowadays? Maybe it had some sort of psychic energy or disturbed the electromagnetic whatever and triggered hallucinations? Yeah, that was the theory I’d go with for now. I had to figure this out. I had to end the ring’s power, but at this point, I didn’t know how.
I was sure that Bray wanted the ring. And how did he propose to get it? Chop my finger off to take it? I couldn’t get it to budge, but to be fair, I’d kind of given up on removing it. It was a part of me now, like the Dufresne name and the title of Matrone. And now it might all be gone.
I heard Handsome pull the car away slowly, and I felt very alone. The old chauffeur didn’t like my coming here, I knew that. He was worried about me, which was sweet of him, but there was really no way to avoid this. Sure, no one had asked me outright to leave Sugar Hill, but Bray’s accusation was clear. I was an impostor, and I needed to go. Now here I was, and now what? I’d call Reed later and see what the next step would be. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with Bray. Maybe he was just full of hot air. But then that nagging inner voice had to ask the question, “But what if he’s right? What if I’m not a real Dufresne? What if I’m not entitled to the ring?”
With a sigh, I took my overnight bags upstairs and stood in the hallway. I wasn’t going back to the room I stayed in the last time. I decided to stroll down the hall and look for a new room. I hadn’t seen any car in the driveway, and I didn’t think to ask if there were any housekeepers here, but I didn’t need anyone’s help. The place was clean and tidy, and I knew from my last visit that someone kept the fridge stocked nicely at all times. I poked my head into a few rooms but kept looking.
Finally, I settled on a smaller room at the end of the hallway. I knew this wasn’t Susanna’s and Ambrose’s room, and this wasn’t the room where Chase was shot, either. I put the bag on the bed. This room had white walls and rose-pink curtains. It could easily have been a child’s or young woman’s room. It felt empty of sadness, and I loved the hardwood floors in here. The full-size bed was just big enough and sumptuous-looking enough to get lost in. I could use a nap right about now, but I wasn’t ready to hit the hay just yet. I had other things to do, like dig into Grandmother Margaret’s videos. Surely there was something in there that would prepare me for what was to come. Either way, I had to finish this project. It had been one of the few things Miss Anne asked me to do. I also had a few of Vertie’s journals, but for some reason, I was reluctant to start those. I couldn’t figure it out. I loved my grandmother, but reading her words, knowing that she knew all about this and never told me, just didn’t sit well with me.
I shoved my clothing into perfectly lined drawers and then walked downstairs to forage for a snack. I settled on a sandwich and an apple. I thought about going upstairs to review the tapes, but what were the chances there would be a VHS player up there? I thought I’d seen one squirreled away in the parlor and decided that was as good a place to work as any. Luckily for me, I did find a rather dusty VHS player hidden in the media cabinet. I pulled it out and connected it to the flat screen television. Things sure had changed since the last time I was here. Jamie, Summer and I had last been in here when we got the news that the skeletons had been found in the walls of Sugar Hill. And to think Arthur Dufresne put them there! At least, I supposed he had. He was responsible for the construction that had walled them in. I shivered at the thought. Imagine being walled up somewhere and left to die.
I sure come from some evil stock.
Poor Jamie. I’d basically cast him off like an old shoe, but who could blame me? He’d gotten very intense those last few weeks we were together, and he hadn’t even called me since he left Sugar Hill the day of the barbecue. I’d had one strange phone call from his ex-wife, but she was vague and kind of nosy. I didn’t feel the need to tell her a thing, and I didn’t really know anything anyway. I didn’t have time to think about this. I’d worry about it tomorrow. I hit the play button and was instantly mesmerized by my great-great-grandmother’s face.
She must have been a lovely lady at one time. She was definitely animated and excited about retelling her family’s long, complicated story. I finished up my sandwich and listened for any details that would help me break the curse and ditch the ring. It was certainly a good time to get out of Belle Fontaine, away from this crazy, ungrateful family and this lustful spirit that wanted nothing more than to possess me. I shivered at the thought and pushed the memories of my dreams out of my mind.
The next thing I knew, I wasn’t sitting in the parlor at Thorn Hill watching the tapes. I was sitting in a room with Margaret. I could see her blue dress suit perfectly, down to the tiny white flowers sewn into the lapels. I could see her short, cropped curls, her pearl earbobs, and each line of her face. This was not some grainy video, I was here, and Anne was here, and they knew I was here.
“Look, Annie. Look who decided to join us.”
This was not how I’d expected my day to end.
Chapter Seven
Dominick Dufresne
Leaving Livy took hours. It was a good thing I kept her at Yellow Pine, for I believed she’d follow me to Sugar Hill if she could. Did she actually believe that one day I would make her lady of my father’s house? She wept and begged me to stay with her each time, but of course, I did not. Her tears were too easily dried with the promise of a gift upon my return. It did not take long to identify her true interests, but the arrangement suited me well. I couldn’t give her my heart in good conscience, knowing that someday I would leave her behind. I didn’t mind showering her with trinkets or even more costly treasures, as long as we knew where we stood. But not even the distraction of gifts could keep her from begging to make my mother’s acquaintance.
She wanted very much to meet her, she explained. Livy longed for a formal introduction. If not my mother, perhaps my sister. I quietly laughed at the idea of either scenario, but Livy did not share my amusement. I humored her, telling her that I would make the arrangements soon, but I had no intention of doing so, as long as I had a choice.
My mother would never understand after her own tragic experience with my father, and my sister was far too innocent to be involved in such matters. I hoped that Annalee would make a good marriage to some nice young man in either Mobile or Baldwin County. Although taking a placée was a Dufresne tradition, it was also illegal now, and I couldn’t very well have Annalee caught up in a scandal.
And then there was the matter of Champion.
He knew about my liaison with Livy. In fact, he’d been the one to introduce us, and I’d easily fallen for her lovely charms. She had such soft arms and warm skin. I loved lying on her breasts after we made love, listening to her sing over me. She had hair as black as midnight, and it curled in wild ways around her face when she made love. I loved her fingers too. They seemed to know where all my aches were, and she wasted no time in bringing me great relaxation. When I was with her, I believed I could do anything.
But I hated that my half-brother knew my secret. Although he had never so far betrayed me, I had the distinct feeling that he did not like me very much. If it hadn’t been for Annalee, I’m sure he would have already told my mother about my plaçage arrangement. Why did he care? Why did it matter so much to him? Yet he inquired about Livy’s health and in fact, drank to it often when the two of us were alone. I didn’t have the stomach to ask him how well he knew my left-hand wife. I didn’t want to know.
It was late in the afternoon when I rode home to Sugar Hill. I loved this time of day. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, and I could smell the promise of rain. The low gray clouds rolling toward the house made the place look like an ancient temple with its lovely fluted columns and bare porches. I urged my horse to move faster and waited, expecting to see Annalee step out on the white porch to greet me. Mother didn’t often venture outside this time of day. Sh
e’d be in her Mirror Room, hoping to summon the ghost of my father. Even that did not bother me this day. Let her summon his spirit if it made her happy. Love was a complicated matter, I thought, proud that I might have a little experience on the subject now.
But an unfamiliar figure stood on the porch, a tall, slender woman I did not recognize at all. I rode my horse up the driveway, feeling more than a little disturbed that there was still no sign of Annalee. What was this about? Was this woman here to tell me some bad news about my sister? Or my mother? I quickly dismounted and handed the reins to Timothy, then stepped up the stairs to face whatever news I was about to hear.
“Good evening,” I said. Perhaps this wasn’t bad news, after all. I tried to remain hopeful. The stranger cut her unusual sea-green eyes at me but didn’t immediately reply. How strange those eyes were, and so familiar. I removed my hat and waited for her response. It was just bad manners to refuse a greeting.
“Good evening, Dominick Dufresne.”
“My mother?” I asked nervously. “Is there something wrong?” I couldn’t keep the visions of my mother drowned in the pond out of my head. She’d always been a tragic figure, at least in my mind. From the tone of this woman’s voice, I wasn’t expecting good news.
“She is in her room, where she always is this time of day. But you know that, don’t you? You’ve been up there with her, peering into those mirrors.” She shook her head disapprovingly as if I’d done something wrong by humoring my mother. “She will be down for dinner, I suppose.” She tilted her head at me, her hands clasped in front of her. Her continued examination made me uncomfortable. It was as if she knew where I’d been and with whom. But what business was that of hers? I stepped inside and tossed my dusty hat and jacket on the table. Where was everyone? No Olive, no Ingrid?
Time to get to the bottom of this. “May I ask your name and your business at Sugar Hill?”
“Mineola, but you may call me Minnie, and my business is your mother. She needs someone to care for her while you sow your wild oats. She’s not well, Dominick Dufresne.”
“How would you know that? You seem to know a lot about my family.”
She stepped toward me, her hands still clasped in front of her. She wore a green dress to match her eyes. “Well, I should. We’re blood, after all, young man.” She gave me a mock curtsy. “I know more than you could ever imagine.” A thunderclap shook the house and made me jump, but Mineola didn’t flinch. It was as if she were made of the stuff—thunder and lightning. She raised an eyebrow at me and frowned. “You’re awful jumpy for a young man fresh off his honeymoon.”
“Where is my sister?” I whispered in an angry voice. I was done with this woman, and my cheeks were burning with embarrassment. I dreaded the thought that Annalee might overhear her. “Annalee?” I called, but she didn’t come out. That was a sure sign of trouble.
“While you were away, your sister decided to leave.”
“What?” My heart pounded from the shock.
“Dominick? Is that you? Dominick, you’re here at last!” My mother, the once lovely Susanna Serene Dufresne, came down the stairs. She was pale, her hair unbound, her dress untidy. Yes, something was definitely amiss here at Sugar Hill. I was suddenly glad I had listened to that inner voice telling me to go home.
“Yes, Mother.” I stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited for her to greet me. She quickly fell into my arms and sobbed on my shoulder like a heartbroken child. I couldn’t understand a word she said. After a few moments, I slid her arms off my neck. “Mother, where is Annalee? This person,” I said as I nodded to Mineola with all the disgust I could muster, “says she left? What happened? Where could she have gone?”
“She left for Thorn Hill. She said terrible things, things I don’t believe, about you. She says you have taken a placée, that you’re going to leave me. Leave us both. She’s under the spell of that evil spawn, Champion! He’s tricked her into believing that he cares about her, that he’ll take care of her. But he’s there, the Lovely Man, and he’ll have her if he can! You must bring her home, Dominick! Please!”
She sobbed some more and then fell on this Mineola’s shoulder now.
I tried to remain calm despite my mother’s theatrics. It was no secret she hated my half-brother. “So you quarreled, but Annalee’s never left before. Are you sure she went to see Champion?” I couldn’t fathom that she would ever leave our mother.
“No, she’s gone to be with him. She’s at Thorn Hill. Please go, Dominick, and bring her home! Before she’s ruined forever!”
“Why would she go there?”
“Because he’s evil. He won’t be satisfied until he ruins her and steals her innocence. Please, bring her home!”
Hearing such an accusation alarmed me. I could scarcely believe Champion would do such a thing, but maybe he would. He did look too often at our sister and sometimes called her “wife” in a playful way, but I never thought it that strange until now. I certainly did not tell my grieving mother what I knew. “Why didn’t you call someone? You could have sent for the sheriff.”
She answered me with sobs, but I couldn’t make out what she said through them.
“I’ll be back, Mother.” I didn’t know what to say to Mineola, so I said nothing.
It was pitch-black out now. Despite the rain and flashes of lightning, I had to go. I headed to the stable to fetch a carriage. I couldn’t bring Annalee home on horseback in a storm, and there was a storm brewing for sure. My rage rose like an angry sea, and I couldn’t allow it to swallow me, drown me like the tempest above me threatened to do. I had pleaded with her to keep her distance from Champion, but she’d ignored my words of warning.
I’d seen the way he looked at her, not like a brother admiring a sister. I remembered that day two years ago at the pond when she shimmied out of her dress and dove into the water in just her slip. How she’d emerged like a mermaid from the water, laughing and happy, but his eyes…they weren’t laughing with her. They were laughing at her and at me. That day, it became crystal clear to me that Champion meant us nothing but harm. However, I’d taken the easy road. I’d lied to myself, and by doing so, failed my sister. Yes, he laughed at us quietly, but he mocked me openly. He hungered for Annalee openly.
And now she’d ridden right into his arms. And what had he told her that would push her toward him? Had he told her about Livy? Surely he had and in the most lascivious way possible. But I would explain it to her. She would understand. She would have to, and she would have to come home.
If it wasn’t already too late. I rode furiously to Thorn Hill. The carriage would follow.
As I gritted my teeth and blinked my eyes against the rain, I cried out, “Oh, Annalee. What have you done?”
Chapter Eight
Avery Dufresne
My eyes flew open, and I sat up bolt upright on the parlor sofa. I didn’t waste time telling myself I just dreamed it all. I knew what I knew. I knew what I saw. The war between Susanna and Athena and Ambrose and Chase continued in the world of yesterday, and now there was a new twist to the tale—Champion, Dominick, and Annalee.
And what did all this do for me? I hadn’t learned anything that helped to establish my claim as the Matrone. I looked down at my left hand and thought, No, but I still have the ring—and him.
Look, Annie. Look who decided to join us.
I got the shivers and jumped off the couch, and then the painting of Susanna caught my eye. It appeared off-kilter by an inch or so, like a big truck had shaken the house and rattled the portrait out of place. I glanced around the room. Nothing else appeared shaken. I dragged the table next to the mantelpiece, climbed atop it and adjusted the portrait. It was heavy and felt dusty. I’d have to make sure she got tidied up soon. “Oh, Susanna, what do I do? How did you escape him?” The frame was level now, and I stepped down to examine my handiwork. The small round clock beneath it began to play its song. “Good Lord! Is it six o’clock already?” I picked up my cell phone and looked at the screen. I
’d slept through the night and woken up way too early.
I cleaned up after myself and went upstairs to take a shower and change. And then do what? I guessed I’d wait until eight o’clock and then call Reed. Maybe he’d had a chance to look at whatever crucial paperwork Bray was bragging about now. I’d heard Reed was a legal genius, and I sure as heck hoped that was true!
I took a hot shower and shampooed my hair. I loved the smell of strawberries, and this particular brand smelled heavenly. I enjoyed the luxurious foam and then began rinsing it. My hair had gotten so long. Maybe I’d cut it. Yes, that’s what I’d do today, besides learn my fate. I’d go for a haircut. I’d have to call Summer and see if she had any recommendations. She rarely cut her hair, though. It was much longer and lovelier than mine. I let the warm water shower down on me as I lifted my hair off my neck and faced the showerhead. And then I felt the warmth of a kiss on my neck.
It didn’t startle me. It didn’t even surprise me.
I felt hands stroking my waist, and more kissing down my back. As the foam slid over my body, so did his hands. I kept my eyes closed and enjoyed the sensations of it all. I didn’t want to see, just enjoy. Then his hands cupped my breasts, and he squeezed ever so gently. With one last kiss on my neck, he whispered in my ear, Avery…call me, and I will always make you happy.
And then it stopped. He left me gasping in the shower, the water turning cold now. I quickly rinsed away the rest of the foam while my heart pounded like a rabbit’s in my chest. Oh, God! I was playing with fire! Hadn’t he done the same thing to Summer? Hadn’t she wanted him more than life? And now here I was, playing games with the devil. He was a devil for sure.
Oh, Summer. Fate just won’t allow us to be friends, cousin. I stepped out of the shower and reached for one of the pale pink bathroom towels. I wrapped up my hair in a turban twist and reached for another to cover my body. Stepping out on the fuzzy rug, I shivered. Man, it was cold in here. And then my eye caught it.
The Hauntings Of Sugar Hill: The Complete Series Page 41