by Rose Pressey
“So this house is all yours now?” he asked.
Had I told him about inheriting it? I didn’t remember having that conversation with him. I hadn’t spoken to either of them about it. Even if I had, I doubted that Liam would talk to Nicolas about it. They didn’t seem to discuss anything other than arguing.
I glanced over at him. “Yes, it is mine now. How did you know?”
“You told me, don’t you remember?” He looked at me enigmatically.
I couldn’t accuse him of being a liar. That would be rude. But I knew I hadn’t told him. This was very weird.
“My family once had a place like this,” he said softly.
I studied his clean-cut profile. The tenderness of his voice made him seem almost vulnerable at the moment. “Really? What happened to it?”
His expression stilled, growing serious. “It just got into the wrong hands, I suppose.”
“That’s unfortunate,” I said.
“Yes, it most certainly is.” Liam reached the bottom of the stairs first.
He held out his hand to help me down the bottom step. Without warning he flashed that gorgeous smile again and my stomach danced. He was a charmer.
“Thank you,” I said softly, trying to hide a huge smile.
As we made our way through the library, Liam asked. “Have you noticed anything strange since you’ve moved in?”
I whipped a glance at him. “What makes you ask that?”
Had he seen the ghost?
He hesitated. Was he trying to think of what to say? Or was he afraid to tell me about what he’d seen?
“It’s a big house. I figured maybe you’d heard the creaks and groans that come with them.”
“Are you trying to scare me?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Of course not. Have you had many other guests?” he asked.
This was an answer that I didn’t want to give. Should I lie or be truthful?
“As a matter of fact…” I paused. “You and Mr. Marcos are my first guests. But I hope you don’t hold that against me,” I said.
“Of course not. You’re doing a wonderful job.” A dimple appeared on each cheek.
“Even with the burnt pancakes?” I asked.
“Hey, the next batch was good.” His eyes grew openly amused.
Nicolas must have heard us talking because he popped out from the kitchen. He was still wearing the red and white polka dot apron. Liam’s face turned from pleasant to frustrated in a nanosecond.
“I thought I heard you talking. Breakfast is served.” He wiped his hands on the apron.
“Are you working for Ms. LaVeau now?” Liam asked sharply.
“I made her breakfast,” Nicolas said with a slight smile of defiance.
“You know, I’m not hungry after all,” Liam said with a steely glare.
Nicolas shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“I have business to attend to. I’ll see you later, Hallie.” Liam reached for my hand and placed a delicate kiss against my skin.
After his lips lingered for a second, I watched as he moved across the library and out of sight.
When I turned to Nicolas, I said, “When are you going to tell me what is going on between the two of you? I’m not stupid and I know something is going on. You know each other and I don’t believe you’re being honest with me.”
“Please, let’s have breakfast and we’ll talk.” He stretched his hand out to me.
That statement made me wonder if I’d want to eat after I heard what he had to say.
As soon as my fingers touched the warmth of his outstretched hand my whole body tingled. His gaze looked with mine and I found it hard to look away, as if I was being hypnotized.
“Why do I feel as if I am about to receive bad news?” I tried to keep the banter relaxed.
He squeezed my hand and smiled. “Come on, I put a lot of effort into breakfast.”
I sighed and allowed Nicolas to escort me into the dining room. He’d even set the table with my pretty white napkins and the special crystal glasses that I liked to use. In spite of the knot in my stomach my mouth watered. Nicolas had outdone himself with breakfast. Strawberries and powdered sugar decorated the French toast on the plates. He’d even cleaned up the kitchen.
Nicolas pulled out the chair for me and said, “Please have a seat.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m the one who is supposed to be doing all this for my guest,” I said as I sat in the chair.
“You can make breakfast any time. I don’t get a chance to make breakfast that often. I’m usually on the go too much.”
I studied his every move as I took a sip of my orange juice. “So tell me what is going on. How do you know Mr. Rankin and why did you tell me I was in danger simply by being around him?”
Nicolas looked down at his plate for a moment and finally met my gaze. “I’m just passing through on business.”
What? Okay, he was crazy. That’s not what I’d asked. They were just playing games with me.
“I don’t believe you. There has to be more to your visit. Do you work with Mr. Rankin?”
Just when he was about to answer, Nicolas’ cell phone rang.
“Will you excuse me for just a moment?” he said while pulling the phone from his pocket.
I nodded as he stood and moved out of the room. After a couple more minutes, Nicolas hadn’t returned and I went back to the library to check on his call status. When I reached the library, I found Nicolas not on the phone, but standing close to the shelves studying the titles on the bindings. I got the feeling that he was looking for something. Did he want a book to read? Would he notice the spell book to his left? I didn’t want him reading that. I’d have to explain what it was and I wasn’t sure he’d understand the whole witchcraft thing.
As if he sensed my presence, he turned around. The expression on his face was odd, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing.
“I didn’t hear you enter. I was just looking at the wonderful collection of books you have.” He pulled one of the books from the shelf.
“They were my Great-Aunt Maddy’s. She left me this manor recently,” I said.
Nicolas flashed a knowing smile. “Is that right? Is that why you decided to run it as a bed-and-breakfast?” He placed the book back in its spot.
I nodded. “What else was I going to do with all the rooms, right?”
He nodded, then walked over to the desk in the middle of the room. I was just glad that he’d moved further away from the mysterious book. Why did I have such an overwhelming desire to hide it? Out of all the books on the shelves, it was unlikely that he’d pick up that one book. Regardless, I didn’t want to chance it. The first opportunity I got, I’d hide the book.
“How long have you been in the manor?” he asked while running a finger along the intricate detail of the wooden desk.
I couldn’t help but imagine that I was that desk and his finger was tracing the curves of my body. I shook off the thought and met his gaze.
“Just a few weeks,” I said.
“You’ve certainly been busy then.” Nicolas fixed his gaze on my face and looked away as quickly as possible.
Finally, I glanced back at him. “Yes, I have. There was a lot of cleaning and prep for the bed-and-breakfast.”
He turned to look at the books again. “So your aunt collected books?”
Again I was nervous that he’d find the spell book. I needed to get him away from here.
“She collected a lot of things,” I said. “So how about your breakfast? You worked so hard to prepare it. Would you care for refreshments?”
“Refreshments?” He quirked a brow.
I’d instantly regretted the question. What was wrong with me? This wasn’t 1875 and he wasn’t my gentleman caller. “There’s more orange juice and coffee in the kitchen.”
The kitchen far away from the book, I thought. When he didn’t take the hint, I moved a little closer to the door, hoping he would follow like a little puppy. He di
dn’t budge as he fixed his gaze on me. I wasn’t about to leave him alone in this room with the book.
Nicolas must have realized this, because he finally said, “Yes, I’d like that.”
He moved toward me with ease and my heart skipped a beat. As soon as he was munching on breakfast, I’d slip back into the room and grab the book. But where would I hide it? I could put it back in the attic where I’d found it. Why had it been there in the first place? Had Aunt Maddy hidden it?
No, there had to be a safer place… a place closer to me. A spot where I could keep my eye on it. But other than carrying it around on my body at all times, where would that be? I certainly spent a lot of time in the kitchen, but that was a place my guests would go too, considering I’d discovered Nicolas there this morning. Heck, they could go anywhere in the house… except for one room. My bedroom. That was off limits. A flash of one of the men in my room crossed my mind. They were certainly both sexy, but they were off limits too.
“You know, I just remembered something that I need to take care of. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
What could I say? No? I hadn’t gotten the answers I wanted from him yet and it looked as if he was trying not to answer them. What could have been so important that he had to take off in such a hurry?
Chapter Thirteen
That night I woke again for no apparent reason. What had woken me this time? I couldn’t say for sure that it had been a noise. I lay perfectly still and listened, but the only sound was the cat purring in my ear. The house was silent… eerily silent. A strange feeling settled over me, as if eyes watched me. It was like a presence was right there beside me. I was almost afraid to look around the room to see if anyone was there. But the curiosity would get the better of me, so I knew I had to look.
I slowly rolled over in the bed and looked to my side. When I saw a woman standing near my bed, I sucked in a deep breath. My mouth wouldn’t work though. Screaming or even speaking wasn’t an option. My eyes widened and my heart thumped wildly as I stared at this woman. Her gaze was fixed on me.
The woman wore a long, light blue dress. She had long flowing blonde hair and her eyes glowed a brilliant blue. There was one thing definitely strange about her though. I could see right through her body. I lay there paralyzed. Neither one of us made a move.
Finally, I managed to squeak out, “Who are you?”
She didn’t answer, but instead just continued to stare at me.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
Still no answer.
Why wasn’t she speaking? Slowly she began to move. She didn’t walk, she glided. Her arms and legs flowed like water. Was I finally seeing the ghost? This was definitely not my great-great-great-grandfather. Who was she and where had she come from?
When she reached the door, she paused. Then she turned around and looked at me again. She had a haunted look in her eyes. That was fitting, right? What did she want with me? After a couple seconds, she turned and floated right out the bedroom door. Definitely a ghost. Annabelle would have had a heart attack.
I lay there with the covers pulled up close to my face and shivered. The room was freezing. Watching the door for what seemed like forever, I waited for her to return. I listened for more noise but heard nothing. Maybe Liam really had heard a noise in the attic. I’d told Annabelle that dealing with a ghost was just part of living in a big old manor house, but now that I was faced with the true reality of it, I wasn’t sure it was as easy as I’d thought it would be.
The book was calling to me again. Since I couldn’t sleep after what had happened, I allowed it to lure me from bed. I pulled it out from its hiding place and slipped downstairs to the kitchen. The men should be fast asleep in their rooms and I shouldn’t be disturbed. Placing the book down on the table, I sat on the stool in front of it. I stared for a minute, wondering if I should really open the book. Was there another spell that I could read? Even so, I still didn’t know what the spell was for. And look what happened the last time I performed a spell.
But I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to have one more peek inside the book. Maybe I’d stumble on a clue as to what it all meant. My fingers paused on the cover. Releasing a deep breath, I finally opened the cover. There were several pages that seemed to be introduction pages, but I still couldn’t read them. Had I thought they’d magically change? Had I thought I’d be able to somehow read them now? Nothing had changed to make that possible. Was there a spell that I could perform that would allow me to read the foreign language? Who was I kidding? I couldn’t even perform a spell to make my cooking better, much less translate an unknown language.
I flipped through the pages again and nothing made sense. I wasn’t able to read one single word. If only there was a way to search for the language online. Maybe I’d take the book to the library. Would they have something with this language? I let out a sigh and closed the book. Now what?
Just as I was about to pick the book up and go back upstairs, that same strong wind began to blow—a slight breeze at first, then a wild gust. The air blew the hair on my head around wildly and moved dishes with ease. Thank goodness they hadn’t fallen to the floor. Would the noise wake Nicolas and Liam? The book cover flipped open and the pages flicked until they finally came to rest. The wind subsided and I looked down at the open page. To my surprise, it was written in English. I could actually read the page.
It was another spell, but it still didn’t say what the outcome would be. Should I risk doing the spell? An unseen force was pulling me to it though, making me want to give it a try. How much worse could it be than the spells that I was already trying?
After studying the list of ingredients, I rushed around the kitchen checking to see if I had all that was needed. Luckily, Aunt Maddy had an abundant supply of almost anything that I would need to work magic. Again, I plucked the ingredients for the spell from the shelves—basil, bay leaves, frankincense, just to name a few. I’d have to hurry in case Liam or Nicolas came downstairs. Being caught in the middle of pouring something into my cauldron would be hard to explain. Once all the ingredients were added, I waited for something to happen. A spark, a poof of smoke, a flash of light… something… anything. But still nothing was different. Apparently, I’d make a mistake, yet again.
I did receive a call from Abigail Smith saying that I’d messed up her beauty potion and she now had warts on her face. That was what she got for not going to my mother for those types of things. I cleaned up my mess, grabbed the book and hurried back upstairs. No noise came from either of my guests’ rooms. Thank goodness they hadn’t heard me. I placed the book back securely under the floor into its hiding place and slipped into bed.
As I tried to drift off to sleep, my thoughts went back to the ghost. Was she around all the time? Listening and watching everything that happened in the house? I wasn’t quite sure how long I’d lain there watching the door before I finally drifted off back to sleep. I did know that for a second night running I didn’t sleep much. That would make for another difficult day.
I woke to that strange sensation of not being alone in the room again. The ghost of the mysterious woman stood by the door this time, staring me. She wasn’t surrounded by a bluish glow. How long had she been watching me sleep? I tried to ask her what she wanted again, but I received the same blank stare. Once again, she turned after a minute and vanished out the door. I’d expected some remnants of the apparition, a trail of mist or a puff of smoke, but she had disappeared as if she’d never even existed. I wondered if my mind was just playing tricks on me.
This time I jumped up and slipped out the door after her. I didn’t find the ghost, but Liam was standing in the hallway with his back facing me. Was he sleepwalking? He wore blue and white striped pajama bottoms, but no shirt. His broad shoulders tapered down to a trim waist. He turned around and looked at me. The way he soaked in my full appearance, I knew he was fully awake. At that moment I wished I was wearing more than a short satin nightgown. I tried not to stare at his hard chest and tig
ht abs, but that was virtually impossible.
“Did you hear something?” I whispered.
He gave me a knowing look. Had he seen her too?
“It must have been the wind,” he said.
He knew it wasn’t the wind just as much as I knew it wasn’t the wind.
We watched each other for a few seconds longer until I said, “I’d better go back to bed.”
I turned around and hurried back into my room before he had a chance to answer. After securing the lock on my door, I climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up close. I’d have to ask my mother if she knew who this spirit could be. Maybe Aunt Maddy had mentioned a ghost in the past. I knew one thing for sure, this spirit wanted something from me and I wasn’t sure I wanted to give it whatever that something was.
***
Liam and Nicolas had both declined breakfast by leaving a note on my door the next morning. Where had they gone so early? Was it their so-called business in town? Maybe I should follow them sometime just to see exactly where they went. That kind of move wouldn’t win me the innkeeper of the year award, but I needed answers.
When I arrived at Bewitching Bath and Potions Shop, I pulled up in front, but hesitated before climbing out of the car. I knew my mother would have a million questions for me as soon as I walked through the door.
Fat bars of sunlight streamed through the windows and brightened the already white space. My mother was standing behind the counter. This time she had both eyebrows still on her face. A large pot with her ingredients surrounding it covered the space in front of her. She was hard at work.
She smiled and tapped her finger against a box next to her. “We have a bunch of new orders to fill.”
I quirked a brow. Why wasn’t she demanding to know everything?
“It’s been busy already this morning,” she said as she continued wrapping soaps in their packages.
I grabbed my apron and looped it over my head. Pulling out items from the box, I continued to stare at her.
Finally she looked up at me. “What?” she asked.
“Don’t act all innocent with me. What’s going on?” I asked.