Chapter 10
THE HERMIT
(Reversed)
Caution. Discretion. A time to stand back and reflect upon circumstances. Isolation from others. A negative resistance toward help. Groundless suspicions about the motives of others. Imprudent actions or decisions. The continuation of bad habits or unproductive lifestyles. Foolish obstinacy.
H awthorne Academy had just closed for winter break, but Kate didn’t feel like she was going to have much of a vacation, not with Finnegan O’Malley around. He was continuing to make problems for her and her family and she had reached the end of her rope. Ever since Cordelia disappeared last year, he’d become more and more of a thorn in her side. And now that Maddie had come back from Stanton for winter break, Kate realized that Finn would have one more person on his side when it came to Ravenswood.
Especially when it came to that creepy wall with the faces.
Finn warned what would happen if the wall was destroyed. He brought it up at the historical society meetings, the town council meetings, and at the construction site where workers were preparing to turn Ravenswood into the Endicott Hotel.
But no one would listen. Kate wondered why he wouldn’t give it up.
He tried to appeal to their sense of historical preservation and then he tried playing on their fears, reminding them of the curse that had allegedly been set upon the town and whoever caused the destruction of the edifice. But it was no use. The Endicotts had cut a deal with the state. They would keep a portion of the asylum intact, erecting a museum that honored the countless patients that passed through Ravenswood like ghosts, as well as a tribute to the architectural genius of Samuel McIntyre. In the original plans for the Endicott Hotel, the seventeenth-century fortress wall with the faces of the Pickering sisters was incorporated into the new construction. But as soon as Kate Endicott discovered the more recent addition to the wall—the one that looked eerily similar to Cordelia LeClaire—she was determined to smash the wall into pieces.
“That piece of trailer trash will have no place at the Endicott. Why should we be reminded of that crazy bitch and everything she put us through?” Kate scoffed to her friends as they sat around the table at Crestwood Yacht Club, going over plans for the Misery Island Winter Gala. The charity event would help the Endicotts’ case when they needed to swing the town council’s vote in their favor.
“Do you really want to risk it?” Darcy asked as she stuffed the elegant cream invitations, obviously frightened by the ramifications. Kate laughed at Darcy’s fearful question.
“Risk what?” Kate snapped at the girls, her voice echoing against the vaulted ceiling of the empty club’s ballroom. “Risk pissing off a bunch of ghosts and legends? Or risk pissing off the lawn-boy-turned-historical-activist and his skanky girlfriend?”
Darcy turned red and looked down at the invitations. She winced as a paper cut spread blood onto her thumb and then onto the invitation. Kate noticed the smear of blood and whipped the invitation out of Darcy’s hand. Bridget and Hannah held their breath wondering what Kate would do next.
“Do you really think that we’re risking the wrath of Cordelia or the spooky Pickering sisters? Please,” she said snidely. “Isn’t it time you stopped believing in creepy legends and fairy tales?”
Kate wasn’t aware that Finn was actually the one responsible for the faces on the stone wall, but she had seen him mooning around the carving that most resembled Cordelia—the missing girl that she and the Sisters of Misery had treated so cruelly prior to her disappearance. It became more evident when Kate learned that Finn was the rallying force behind keeping the wall standing during the renovation of Ravenswood into the Endicott.
When she wasn’t met with any opposition to her comment, Kate continued her ranting about Finn. “All of his talks about preserving history and early American craftsmanship are just a pathetic attempt to hold on to Cordelia. I mean, how pathetic is that? Cordelia used him and then threw him away when she was done with him and he’s still holding on to the idea that she’s coming back.”
“What if she does come back?” Bridget offered quietly. The girls eyed Kate nervously. They all had recently received tarot cards in the mail. Hannah, Bridget, Darcy, and Kate—maybe even Maddie—all of the Sisters of Misery. Everyone associated with what had happened that fateful Halloween night. “What if those cards were some kind of warning?” she said softly, as if afraid that if she spoke her fears out loud, they’d somehow come true.
“Don’t you girls get it? Doesn’t anyone get it?” Kate snapped, wondering if Finn was just as ridiculous as the others, thinking that Cordelia was going to return one day. That was never going to happen. Kate would never allow it to happen. “Cordelia is never coming back. If she does, she’ll be sorry. Really sorry.”
Worse than sorry, Kate thought as a flicker of a smile touched her lips, she’ll be dead.
“So, what’s the story, Crane? You back for good?” Finn asked.
They were sitting outside the local coffee shop. Finn wanted to sit outside despite the wintry air so he could smoke. Maddie was surprised that she hadn’t heard from him sooner, but when he called to meet up for coffee that afternoon, she couldn’t say no. Maddie thought that he sounded hopeful for a minute, but as she watched him light up a cigarette, she realized that he’d never let his guard down around her the way he had when they were creeping around Ravenswood that terrible night. She paused for a minute.
She shook her head. “No, it’s not permanent. I’m only going to be here as long as my mother needs me. She’s…she probably doesn’t have much more time left.” Madeline felt strange, as if she was expected to cry or break down every time she mentioned her mother’s illness. What she didn’t want to admit to anyone, not even herself, was that she felt nothing. That all of her grief and sadness had been used up over all of the loss in her lifetime, and what she was left with was an overwhelming numbness.
Finn nodded and flicked the ash of his cigarette away from them. He scratched his head with his free hand. “Probably better off not sticking around here. You don’t want to end up like your friends.”
“You mean the members of the Junior League in training? Yeah, I know.” Maddie laughed, and then took a sip of her steaming latte, burning her tongue. “It’s funny, I go to school with kids whose parents own Fortune 500 companies—”
“Well, aren’t you special?” Finn said sarcastically, interrupting her.
“No, what I mean is, they have more money than they could ever know what to do with and they don’t have snobby attitudes half as unbearable as people around here do, you know?”
“Well, I don’t really hang out with too many Fortune 500 trust fund babies, but,” he said, briefly smirking, “if you’re asking me if it surprises me that we have the most assholes per capita in the U.S. right here in Hawthorne, no, it does not.”
“Wow, still working on that political campaign, are we?”
“Yeah, they definitely are going to be electing me mayor one of these days.” They both laughed at the thought of Finn running the town of Hawthorne. “Nah, I want to get out of here, too. I’m thinking of ditching the next semester of school and taking my bike cross-country. Get out on the open road with my motorcycle and just see the world—the real world, not this pretend playhouse we call a town.”
Maddie pictured Finn out on his bike, driving cross-country, with nothing but desert all around him, small broken-down motels, and the red mountains on the horizon. She had the urge to jump on the bac
k of his bike and ride off into complete freedom. Leave everything and everyone behind and start fresh. It was a thought that both thrilled and frightened her at the same time. She could envision Cordelia wrapping her arms around Finn, pressing her cheek to his worn leather jacket, and setting off together into a new life. She often wondered why that never happened. Finn probably wished he knew the answer as well.
It was at that moment that the feeling of being watched came over Maddie suddenly like a Vise-Grip. It felt as though someone was watching her every move, paying heed to every person she spoke with, listening to every conversation. She looked around nervously and tried to continue joking with Finn, but the feeling was too strong, too overwhelming to concentrate on his words. Cars were driving by and people bundled up in North Face jackets paid no attention as they passed the teenagers seated on the bench outside the coffee shop. But still, there was this feeling she couldn’t shake….
“I have to—need to go,” she said quickly.
“Oh yeah,” he said, looking slightly hurt. “Yeah, right, well, it was good seeing you again, Maddie. Say hi to Reed and his new girlfriend for me.”
Maddie wasn’t sure if he was trying to hurt her feelings with the mention of Reed and how he’d moved on. She wasn’t sure how much he knew about the feelings she had for her former teacher. Darcy had already told her that Reed had moved in with Bronwyn Maxwell, a girl suddenly catapulted to super social status after a multimillion-dollar inheritance from her grandparents. The former field hockey coach was now one of the It girls of the town. It made Maddie sick to think about.
“Uh, yeah.” Maddie took a quick look around and stammered, “Right. I should probably say hi to him now that I’m back in town.” She was worried that someone would hear them talking about Reed—that they would see the disappointment in her face.
“Don’t worry,” Finn snapped as she turned to walk away.
Maddie stopped midstride and turned. “About what?”
“No one saw you.”
What is he talking about? Maddie wondered. “Saw me?”
“No one saw you talking to me. You’re in the clear with your friends.” He put air quotes around the word friends.
“You know that I don’t care about that, Finn. You know me better than that.”
“Do I?” he said sharply, and then lit a cigarette angrily, turning his back on Maddie.
Chills ran down her back, the kind that you get when you’re being watched. Maddie knew that feeling all too well. She walked away briskly, trying to shake it off, but it was stuck to her like glue. Tess would have called it the Evil Eye. Abigail would have said paranoia. Cordelia would have attributed it to fairies or elves. Maddie knew it was none of those things. But the one thing she was sure of was this: it was danger.
Chapter 11
THE HIEROPHANT
The spiritual teacher, one who gives advice and guidance to those seeking it. Giving a blessing, a sign of kindness, love, and protection, the Hierophant is the one who wades in, quiets the panic, and offers good, practical advice. He symbolizes a connection to the divine, which answers with a very human voice, never oblique or mysterious. The solution is there, you just have to find it.
“Y ou aren’t really living here, are you?” Maddie joked as Reed welcomed her into the foyer of his current residence.
Seeing Reed Campbell’s new digs, which were straight out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine, was the last thing she’d ever expected. She couldn’t comprehend how any normal person could reside in such a meticulous, picture-perfect home. The massive Colonial had a cutesy nautical theme that most houses in the area adopted. Every piece of artwork was painstakingly placed, each ribbon was expertly curled, each window treatment raised to a carefully determined height—allowing for the right amount of light in the mornings and afternoons without the threat of too much sun fading the sumptuously upholstered sofas.
Maddie wasn’t sure if it was trepidation or excitement that she saw in Reed’s eyes when she decided to drop in on him unexpectedly. But what did it matter? How could she compare with Bronwyn? The Maxwell family was one of the founding Hawthorne families; her trust fund was bigger than the Campbells’ and the Endicotts’ put together. Even though her family only recently came into their inheritance, they weren’t shy about letting people know about it. Abigail had told her how it was almost vulgar the way that Bronwyn and her mother wore their Cartier Love bracelets (in both eighteen-karat gold and platinum) like cheap bangles and flaunted their never-ending supply of Louis Vuitton purses, Lilly Pulitzer clothes, and Birkin bags. If the patriarchal grandfather hadn’t passed on all of his wealth that he’d kept hidden away for years, no one would have believed the transformation of the all-American girls’ hockey coach to the spoiled socialite of Hawthorne. From what Maddie had heard about Bronwyn’s rise to the elite, her actions would put even Kate Endicott to shame.
But Reed didn’t seem to be fazed by his opulent surroundings.
“Off and on,” he said about his current living arrangement. They hugged awkwardly and he stepped back, welcoming her into the house. Maddie walked uneasily over to the overstuffed couches and waited for Reed to sit across from her. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it in the back of her throat. She was sure that the sound of it was filling the room—the space between them. Her breath was uneven.
He watched her for a few moments, as if gauging her reasons for the visit, and then sat down in the worn leather chair (obviously his one contribution to the frilly room). An uncomfortable silence settled over them, and Maddie wondered if he was remembering the last time they had seen each other and the passionate kiss they shared. She could still feel it in her knees and she had to consciously force herself not to run over and embrace him. The attraction was still very much alive on her end. She tried to gauge his feelings, if he regretted their kiss or not. Obviously, he wasn’t pining away for her if he was living here with another girl.
Just as Maddie was about to speak, the front door opened and Bronwyn Maxwell swept into the hallway adjacent to the living room where Madeline and Reed sat, her head buried in the day’s mail, hands cluttered with shopping bags.
“Whose car is outside, hon?” she asked as she walked into the room. Upon spotting Maddie, she pursed her honey lips for a second in displeasure before breaking into a wide, tight smile.
“Well, hello! Who do we have here?” Her annoyance was not evident in her voice, but in her cold, watery blue eyes.
“Maddie is one of my former students,” he offered.
Former student? Maddie thought. She felt like a stake had just been thrust through her heart. Is that all I am to him?
“Well, good,” Bronwyn said coolly, already losing interest in the unwelcome visitor. “It is almost seven o’clock, you know. A little late for a tutoring session, wouldn’t you say?”
She brushed past them and stuck her purchases in the closet, undoubtedly more outfits from Ann Taylor or Lilly Pulitzer, similar to what she was wearing.
“This is Madeline Crane. Madeline, this is my…um…girlfriend, Bronwyn.”
“Nice to see you, Bronwyn,” Maddie said quietly. It was obvious that her former field hockey coach hadn’t placed her. She wasn’t the star athlete that Kate Endicott was, nor was she a die-hard team member like the other girls in the Sisters of Misery. Bronwyn had always treated Kate, Bridget, Hannah, and Darcy with kid gloves. Maddie wondered if Bro
nwyn was a former member of the Sisters of Misery, or if she was secretly afraid of the group of women that ruled Hawthorne with an iron, yet impeccably manicured fist.
“Mm-hmm,” Bronwyn mumbled, passing by as if Madeline no longer existed and had suddenly become part of the furnishings.
“You’re a tutor now?” Maddie asked.
“Well, if I can’t teach high school classes, I can at least help students pass their SATs,” he said glumly.
“At least he’s putting his teaching certification to some use,” Bronwyn said. Maddie noted a tinge of harsh sarcasm in her voice. Maybe things weren’t as picture-perfect here as they’d like them to appear.
Reed cleared his throat disapprovingly as he watched Bronwyn flit around the house, plumping overfluffed pillows, arranging perfectly placed decorative accessories.
“Madeline and I were just catching up. Her cousin, Cordelia, was also a student of mine.” Just hearing him say Cordelia’s name—the way his voice huskily wrapped around each syllable—made her feel sharp pangs of jealousy.
“Cordelia?” She turned around, her interest suddenly piqued. “Where have I heard that name? Does she belong to the club?”
Reed shook his head. “No, honey. Cordelia LeClaire. The girl who disappeared last year.”
“Oh my.” Bronwyn rushed over to Madeline’s side, grasping her hands. “Of course, I remember that. I am so sorry, Maddie. My heart goes out to you and your family.” She gave Maddie’s hand a squeeze with her own perfectly manicured ones, then cocked her head to the side and looked at Maddie quizzically. “Weren’t you on my team last year? You didn’t graduate, did you?”
Maddie shook her head, slightly happy that she wasn’t completely forgettable. That there were a few memories left of her in this town that she’d lived in all her life, other than only being known as the cousin of the girl who disappeared.
The Lost Sister Page 11