Kade’s eyes lifted and met mine. “What?”
I pulled my gaze from his, uncomfortable with the rush of emotion racing through me and stood up. I needed to move, do something. I walked over to the laptop and shut it down then glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “Mary and Dawn should be here any minute.” I snatched up the box of beads and nodded for Kade to grab his sketch pad. “We’ll show them your drawing. He’s probably a distant relative of theirs and I want them to see the necklace.”
We were halfway down the stairs when the two women arrived. Barbara greeted them in the foyer, hugging Dawn tightly for a long moment before waving us all toward the small parlor. “Let’s get cozy in here shall we? I’ve made iced tea. Anyone thirsty?”
“That sounds lovely, Barbara, thank you,” I threw Barbara a grateful look as she bustled away for I was indeed thirsty, especially after eating that ice cream. I waited until Mary chose a seat then sank down on the stool next to her chair. Kade and Dawn took the two chairs facing the window, leaving Barbara’s rocking chair free for her to reclaim when she returned.
Mary nodded to the copper box clutched in my hands. “Are those the beads?”
I handed her the box. “Yes, I hope you can string them together okay. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the offer.”
Dawn leaned forward to have a look and both women exclaimed over them, their appreciation for the workmanship and beauty of the beads exciting them and making them eager to work on the necklace. They ran their fingers through the beads then Mary gave a small shiver. “Oh wow, I felt a sudden rush of cold go through me just now.”
Dawn nodded wisely, her eyes almost reverent as they looked at the beads. “Someone just turned in their grave.”
Smiling at the old wives’ tale, I said, “You could be more accurate than you think, Dawn. I’ve a suspicion these beads are actually from a distant relative of your husband’s.”
Mary gave a small exclamation of pleasure and surprise. “Really, Tess? Why would you say that? Have you learned something else?”
Kade opened his sketchpad and handed it to Dawn.
Dawn drew in her breath, clearly moved by the drawing. “Oh my, Kade! You drew this? You are so talented.” She stared at the picture for a moment then said softly, “He looks an awful lot like Night.” She ran a finger near the edges of the Indian figure so as not to smudge it. “He’s a lot darker of course. Night looked like he had an all-year tan but he wasn’t that dark.” Then she looked closer, her eyes squinting a bit. “Is this the necklace, Tess?”
“Yes it is.” Mary and I both leaned forward to study the picture with Dawn. “Kade was inspired to draw this while he was working on a sketch for Barbara. He’s shaded dark because he’s covered in red paint…or more accurately I should say ocher. I really think he’s a distant relative of your husband’s, Dawn, though I’m not sure and haven’t made any connection other than having the thought pop in my head.”
Kade touched my arm to get my attention and murmured in my ear. “Tell them about Isi.”
Once I told them Isi’s story and saw the amazed expression come across Dawn’s face when I named the man Isi eventually married, I knew that my reason for coming to Bucksport was to help this family. How finding their family history was supposed to help them I didn’t know but the Universe did and that was enough for now. The more I thought about this, the more sure I became. I was here for them. Did that mean then that I wasn’t going to get the mystery of Buck’s curse figured out?
“This is all quite fascinating, Tess.” Dawn handed the sketchpad back to Kade. “You really do have an amazing talent, Kade. That drawing is exquisite.”
“Thanks, Dawn.” He put the sketch pad aside and pressed his hands together. “Now if we can figure out why all this is coming to light, that would be great.”
Dawn looked at me and I could see she was trying to puzzle it all out. “So if this Isi of yours married Clay Rowan and they lived up near Canada, it must be their…son?...who came to Bucksport and married the half-Indian girl.” Before I could answer, her eyes widened and she rushed on. “You said Isi was an Indian and if it was her son who came to Bucksport then he was Indian too!”
I nodded; excited to see how everything was beginning to make sense. “Yes, that’s right but I think he was Isi’s grandson. Although I don’t know the dates when everything took place, I believe Isi’s timeline is too far back for him to have been her son. His name was Pierre Rowan and the girl he married was named Meadow.”
Dawn’s brow raised in surprise. “How do you know their names?”
“Rid told us all this at breakfast this morning. Meadow’s parents were Rad and Ruth Rivers. Rad was an Indian though Rid had no idea from which tribe. Your husband thought his Indian heritage came into the family line through Meadow but in fact, it came into the family through both Pierre and Meadow.”
“Who was Meadow’s mother?” Mary asked.
“Her name was Ruth and she was English. I’m pretty sure Rad continued to live among his own people so Ruth must have joined him.”
“Her family probably disowned her anyway if she married an Indian,” Mary muttered, her face scrunched in disapproval. “People are so darned…prejudiced…and it’s all such a shame.”
Nodding in agreement with Mary but not wanting the conversation to go off on a tangent about the unfairness of society, I continued with my story. “After she and Rad married, they moved here and were already settled in the area when Buck arrived to conduct his land survey.”
“Well, now it seems we know the whole story,” Dawn said, smiling with satisfaction. She looked at her daughter and patted her hand. “You really should record your father’s family history. It’s all quite interesting.”
I stood up because there was too much energy racing through me to sit still. “There’s a connection between your family and the Buck curse. I’m sure of it. The beads I found belonged to someone of the Red Paint people. I feel that quite strongly although I’ll probably never be able to prove it. It’s something I just know. I found the beads in the Tenney house and Buck was present when they were hidden.”
“He was?” Kade quirked up a brow. “You didn’t tell us that before.”
“That’s because I just thought of it.” I began pacing again and stopped when Barbara came back in the room. “Sorry, the phone rang, had to take a couple reservations.” She set a tray laden with five tall glasses of iced tea, a plate of lemon slices and a sugar bowl on the table between Mary’s chair and her own. “So, what did I miss?” Before we could answer, she picked up the first glass. “Mary? Would you like a lemon slice? Sugar?”
Once we were all settled with our drinks, Barbara sank in her chair, took an appreciative sip then waved a hand in the manner of a queen giving her minions permission to speak. “So, bring me up to date.”
Dawn did the honors while I continued pacing. My mind was racing with too many crowded thoughts and the result was mass confusion. Somehow I needed to sort them all out and then connect them properly together. But how?
“So, lots of revelations it seems!” Barbara nodded her head as if all was going according to plan. When the conversation quieted, she waited a few moments before looking at Kade, her expression curious. “Not to change the subject but did you visit the fort?”
“Yes we did and Tess connected with some spirits there,” Kade told her.
Mary turned her head to follow me as I paced from the front entry hall to the sitting room and back again. “Do tell, Tess.”
“There’s not much to tell. I think some of them are there because they want to be there for whatever reason and some are confused about where they are. I think at least one moved on though.” I finally returned to my stool and dropped down onto it. “On our way back to Bucksport, as we were crossing the bridge into town, I saw a woman, a spirit. She was young…maybe late teens.” I glanced at Dawn since she’d been here the longest. “Have you heard of the bridge being haunted?”
Daw
n’s forehead puckered as she lapsed into thought. After a moment, she shook her head. “No, I’ve never heard of anyone seeing a ghost on the bridge.”
“Has anyone ever jumped from it and died?”
Again Dawn shook her head. “I think I remember there being someone but if so, it was a long time ago and I don’t remember the details. I’m sorry I’m not much help.”
Kade made a slight sound and I turned to look at him. His eyes met mine, a question in their depths. “You didn’t say anything to me about it.”
“No, it happened so fast. I just got a glimpse of her and no more.”
Although I could tell it bothered him that I kept the incident to myself, he chose to let it go. At least for now. “And then there’s the woman at the tomb.”
“What woman? What tomb?” Mary asked.
“We went to the cemetery out by Silver Lake…to look up your family’s gravesites actually. There’s a tomb located just off the main road and on the outskirts of the cemetery. I met a woman there and we chatted for a bit. I thought she was real…alive. But it turned out she was a spirit.”
Dawn, Mary and Barbara all gaped in surprise. Barbara splayed a hand across her ample chest. “You didn’t know she was a ghost?”
“No. She seemed as alive as you and I.”
Mary leaned forward, her elbow propped on her knee, her chin in her hand, and her eyes fastened on me with fascination. “Amazing. Tell us more. What did she say?”
“We just chatted a little bit but she didn’t tell me anything useful. I’m not sure why she’s haunting that area but I’ll bet that tomb has a hand in it.”
“That tomb you’re talking about has been there quite a long time, Tess. Lots of bodies have passed through it.” Barbara sank back in her chair and began to rock as if she too had a lot of pent up energy to expel. “You were a busy one today. I had no idea Bucksport was so full of ghosts.”
“Yeah, me neither. I’m thinking I might stay longer actually.”
Barbara’s eyes lit up. “That’s wonderful, Tess. You can have the room as long as you like.”
Smiling at her enthusiasm, I said gently, “I do appreciate that, Barbara, but I’m thinking I might look for a place to rent for a few months.” I thought about my friends back in New York and knew they would be disappointed to hear this hasty decision. I’d have to go home to pack my things, of course, and sell the house. No reason to tell them anything until I was there to break the news in person. Maybe I’d finally set up a Facebook account so I could keep in touch with them. They’d love that. So would my parents. Or my mother in any case. She spent a lot of time on the computer but then she would. She used to be an editor for a major magazine and now free-lanced out to whomever she chose to help.
“I know a place perfect for you, Tess!” Mary touched my arm to get my attention. She had it.
“If you want to be close to the tomb and make contact with that woman again, there’s a house out near there that is perfect for you. It’s supposed to be haunted and no one will touch it.”
“Haunted?” I started laughing. “Just what I need, a house full of ghosts.”
Dawn nodded in enthusiastic agreement with her daughter, her excitement over the idea gaining ground as she talked. “The old Baker house is a lovely old house, a Queen Anne design, you’ll love it. It was built in the mid-eighteen hundreds I believe. It’s old but well-maintained. Harold and Mavis Baker died a few years ago and left the house to their children but none of them will live there. The kids put quite a bit of money into it hoping to attract a buyer but so far no one has even made an offer.” She glanced at Mary with a slight frown. “Are you sure they’ll rent it?”
“Well, at least they’ll get some rent money instead of having it sit there empty earning nothing. Why not? Doesn’t hurt to ask.” Mary stood and motioned for Kade and me to do so as well. “Let’s go out there now and take a look. If it interests you, Tess, I’ll take you over to the realtor’s office handling the property.”
“What’s the hurry, Mary?” Dawn stood up and glanced at Barbara apologetically. “We don’t mean to run off on you so quickly, Barbara.”
Barbara waved off her apology. “No worries. If Tess likes the place, we’ll have her around a little longer and that will be exciting for all of us.”
Laughing at their enthusiasm to keep me around, I gave Barbara a hug. “We’ll chat some more when I get back.”
A few minutes later, we were all piled into Mary’s Volkswagen Beetle. Kade and I squeeze into the back seat, the small space bringing us close together. He grabbed my hand and held it firmly in his own and I scooted a bit closer in response. A few minutes later we were on the road to Silver Lake. Again.
Mary took a dirt road off to the left just before the short stretch to the cemetery. The road curved through the woods and around to a clearing. A glimpse of marshland and some open water could easily be seen behind the house. As for the house, it was a tall structure of various symmetrical proportions. It had one of the most interesting designs I’d ever seen. In all honesty, it was way too big for me and yet I fell in love with it on sight. Three stories high, the third floor looked more like attic space, though, for the rooms within would be affected by the roof’s inclines. A couple of the roof top areas were flat and one such area in the center had a widow’s walk enclosed by a decorative balcony. Even the roofing tiles were interesting, sporting a geometric design. Decorative gables added a picturesque flare to the areas where the roof was steepled and the dormer windows on the second floor looked like they opened to the most interesting of rooms. My favorite feature, though, was the rounded turret built to the front left of the house. It put me in mind of Sea Willow Haven. The resort’s turreted towers, though, were more medieval looking than this one. I couldn’t wait to see what rooms it held. A wrap around porch with pretty spindlework was an added bonus to an overall beautiful piece of architecture. Put together, it oozed an aura of mystery and adventure.
The lawns around the house were well maintained and azalea bushes were in full bloom on both sides of the wide porch steps. Tall pines shaded the outer limits of the yard and their needles blanketed the ground. Haunted or not, I couldn’t believe the property hadn’t been snatched up already by some lucky buyer. Just looking at it made me feel urgent to secure it as my own. “What’s the asking price?”
Dawn and Mary both shrugged, indicating they had no idea. Mary twisted around in her seat to grin at me. ‘You like it don’t you?” She looked at the house then back to me. “Does it feel haunted to you?”
I stepped out of the car and stood for a moment to absorb the energy around me. It was calm and pleasant enough but there were undercurrents I couldn’t readily identify. It discomfited me a bit but also excited me. The place definitely was home to a spirit or two. I could sense them in the outer edges of my perception, keeping their distance while checking me out. As I looked around, I felt a growing attachment to the place begin to form. The sights and smells only tightened the bond. Fresh pine, azalea flowers, roses from the climbing vines that grew on part of the porch and turret wall, recently cut grass…they all permeated the air with a natural perfume I would dearly love to bottle. It smelled clean and fresh and wonderful.
“You want to go peek in the windows?” Mary headed for the porch and the large bay window that protruded outward. I wondered if it sported deep windowsills for if it did I could load them down with plants. The front door to the left of the bay window was a delight. Made of polished oak, it was deeply inset within an arched entryway decorated with carvings I couldn’t quite make out from where I was standing.
Dawn made a motion for me to follow her and took off after Mary. Kade came around the car and stood quietly beside me. “That’s a lot of house.”
“I love it.”
He looked at the house then back to me then the house again. Finally he nodded. “It suits you.” He gestured toward the body of water we could glimpse through the trees. “That must be part of Silver Lake.”
Kade put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me to him. He dropped a kiss on the top of my head then sauntered off to join Dawn and Mary who were peering through the bay window and exclaiming excitedly on the house’s interior. Obviously it met with their approval. I took one step in their direction and stopped – frozen to immobility, unable to move so much as a muscle. Alarm pumped through my system and I closed my eyes to better imagine my protective light. A quick prayer for protection and a plea for Sheila to join me went a long way in calming my panic. Whoever was demanding my attention didn’t mean any harm.
I turned away from my intended path to the porch and allowed myself to be guided along. We went around the house toward the marshy area behind it. I walked across the expanse of lawn in a semi-conscious state, stopping when I reached the area where the lawn met the marsh. My hand lifted and pointed toward the body of water just beyond the marshland. I then turned and pointed behind me, just to the right of the house. What in the world?
“Tess?”
And just like that I snapped out of my intense focus inward and became once again part of the world around me. Kade, Mary and Dawn all stood a short distance away, their expressions that of curiosity and anticipation. No doubt they thought I’d just connected with the ghosts inhabiting the property and couldn’t wait to hear what I had to share with them. If only I could give them more than what I actually had.
Heaving a sigh, I began walking toward them. Why couldn’t these things be clearer to me? “I don’t know what that was about but I think one of the spirits was trying to tell me something.”
“You think?” Kade started laughing and I could see that he was greatly amused. His laughter grew to the point that he had to lean forward and rest his hands on his knees. His mirth grew to gut-wrenching laughter.
I had to laugh too because his laugh was infectious then I really saw the humor in the situation. Who but me would walk like a zombie across the lawn, point like some ominous scythe holder of death and proclaim I was perhaps being given yet another cryptic message from beyond? It was too much. Before I knew it, we were all laughing so hard we were holding our stomachs and gasping for air.
Hidden Voices (Tess Schafer-Medium) Page 29