GhostlyPersuasion

by Dena Garson

  Riona’s brow furrowed as if she were trying to recall something. “MacDonhnaill. That is an ancient name.”

  “He used to live somewhere around here,” Katie said.

  “I’ll have to think about where I’ve heard it before,” Riona said then waved them toward the door of the cottage. “If you’ve come from the castle then you’ve had a long walk and must be anxious to sit for a wee bit.” She showed them to a cozy den where a fire roared in the fireplace.

  There was a short sofa loaded with pillows, a plush armchair and matching ottoman and an ancient wooden rocker. Bookshelves lined one wall. Each shelf was crammed with books or odd collectibles. There was even a cat curled up in a sunny spot in one window. The room was feminine and charming and Katie immediately felt at ease.

  “Would you like tea or coffee?”

  “Coffee would be nice.”

  “Sit, please. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll just be a moment.”

  Seamus continued to stand as he looked about the room. Katie took a seat on the sofa and almost groaned at how good it felt to get off her feet. She sank into the plump pillows then wondered if she’d be able to get out of the pile.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Katie said over her shoulder to Seamus.

  “I didn’t come to visit. I just led the way.”

  “You know more about these people than me.”

  “Mostly by reputation. I’ve only seen Riona in passing a few times. I’ve never talked with her,” he said.

  “Well, perhaps you should. Maybe she could help you with the curse.”

  “Curse?” Riona asked as she returned to the den carrying a tray of teacups and snacks.

  Katie looked at Seamus. “Do you mind if I tell her?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know what harm it could do.”

  Katie turned back to Riona. “He said it was fine if I told you.”

  Riona glanced to where Seamus was standing then settled the tray on the ottoman. “Curses are a nasty bit of business.” She handed a teacup filled with steaming coffee to Katie. “I have never heard of one going the way it was intended.”

  Katie took the cup and saucer from Riona and murmured, “Thank you.” She inhaled the aroma. It smelled wonderfully rich and spicy. “That’s exactly what happened with Seamus.”

  “He’s been cursed then?” Riona stopped arranging things on the tray and looked from Katie to where Seamus stood then back again.

  Katie nodded. “The curse is how he became a spirit. Or took on a spirit form, anyway.”

  Riona studied Seamus’ shape. “That explains the difference.”

  “The difference in what?” Katie asked.

  “He looks different than the spirit of someone who has crossed over. I had wondered.” Riona selected a couple of crackers and spread some kind of dip on the edge of a plate then handed it to Katie. “He retained his aura but the colors are very watered down. I can barely see it around him.”

  “Really?” Katie turned to look at Seamus. “Did you know that?”

  “I cannot see myself in a mirror, nor can I see auras, so I was unaware of that,” Seamus said.

  “You can’t see yourself in a mirror?” Katie asked in surprise then turned back around to Riona. “I don’t know why I didn’t think about that.”

  “It’s not surprising that he can’t,” Riona said. “His spirit form doesn’t register to the human eye. He, in a manner of speaking, still has a human eye.”

  “Ah,” Katie said.

  “So tell me about this curse,” Riona prompted as she and Katie nibbled on the snacks. “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t ask.” She looked up at Seamus. “Seamus, would you like something also or can you partake?”

  “Thank you, no,” Seamus answered.

  “He can’t eat or drink,” Katie explained. “He said thank you for the offer, however.”

  “I didn’t want to be rude,” Riona whispered to Katie.

  “Of course not,” Katie whispered back.

  “You two just met. Don’t take up your time talking about me and my curse. You need to get to know each other,” Seamus pointed out.

  “That’s very sweet of you, Seamus,” Katie said then turned to Riona. “He said we should get to know each other and not worry about his curse.”

  “That is very nice of him,” Riona agreed.

  Katie and Riona shared a grin.

  “By your accent I would guess that you are from America. What brought you home?” Riona asked.

  “Mother’s last request.”

  “What did she ask you to do?”

  “She wanted her remains to be brought back to Ireland, Tullamore specifically, and scattered on one of the beaches.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you wait three years to do this?”

  “I didn’t know of the request until a few weeks ago. Mother planned this trip before she died. Everything from booking and prepaying the hotel to leaving enough funds in an account to pay for food and transportation. She even picked the days of travel.”

  “How did you find out about it then?”

  “The law firm that handled her will. They managed the account she left and booked the travel as she instructed. Then a couple weeks ago, they called me in and gave me a letter mother had left.” Katie pushed a cookie around on her plate. “The letter told me more about my father and why she left home.”

  “Why did she leave? Ma never knew.”

  “In a word, me. She was pregnant and she had it in her head that she couldn’t stay in Ireland.”

  “I can’t imagine that Ma or even Grandmamma would have criticized her for getting pregnant. Even back then,” Riona said.

  “According to her letter, it was because of who my father was.” Katie’s cheeks heated but she wasn’t sure why the idea bothered her. “He was a married man. Mom knew there could be no future for them together so she left and never told him about me. She didn’t want him to worry or to create bigger problems with his already estranged wife.”

  “How sad.” Riona’s voice dropped. “I wonder who he was.”

  “Mother’s letter just said that he was a photographer and somehow related to the Byrne family. He had been staying at Tullamore when they met.”

  Riona frowned. “I remember a man coming here looking for Aunt Deirdre when I was young. I was probably about ten at the time. Mom wondered who he was and why he was so insistent on finding her.”

  “Did Mom ever write or call anyone?” Katie asked.

  “Ma had a letter a few years back. She said it was the first anyone had heard from Deirdre in almost twenty years.” Riona scratched the end of her nose. “She told Ma that you would be coming.”

  Katie tried to force down the lump that always seemed to form when she thought of her mother. Seamus put his hand on her shoulder, making it tingle. She looked up and saw the sympathy on his face. His concern eased some of the tightness in her throat.

  “I don’t mean to keep dredging up memories that are obviously painful for you, but what happened to Aunt Deirdre? The women in our family usually live long, healthy lives.”

  “A car accident.” Katie swallowed hard. “One day we were planting the seeds in a new garden bed and the next she was gone.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Riona said quietly. “I wish I could have known her.”

  Seamus rubbed the side of Katie’s arm. She wished she could pat his hand to show him she appreciated his comfort. Instead she looked to where he stood behind her and smiled.

  “I didn’t bring my purse with me, but I have a couple of pictures of Mom back in my room,” Katie told Riona.

  “I’d love to see them. How long are you staying at Tullamore?” Riona asked.

  “Three weeks. I arrived three nights ago.”

  “Perhaps Ma will return before you leave.” Riona tapped her lip. “I’ll call her later. She would be disappointed if she wasn’t able to meet you.”

  “Are you an only child also?” Katie asked.

  “I’m af
raid so.” Riona smiled.

  “Did Mom have any other sisters or brothers?”

  Riona shook her head. “It was just Ma and Aunt Deirdre. From what I’ve read in the journals, boys are rare in our family.”

  “Really?”

  “Obviously you have your own, er, talents.” Riona’s gaze darted up to Seamus. “Ma said Aunt Deirdre did too.”

  Seamus stepped forward. “Tell her I can go out to the gardens if she would rather talk in private.”

  “Seamus said he could go outside if you want to talk in private.”

  Riona looked up at Seamus then back at Katie. “Do you trust him with family matters?”

  Katie was surprised when she realized how much she did, despite the fact she hadn’t known him long. “Yes.” She looked at Seamus. “Actually I do.”

  Riona studied Katie for a moment then said, “Then I will as well.”

  Chapter Eleven

  They shared family stories and the initial unease of meeting someone for the first time wore off. It was nice talking with someone who had similar gifts and could understand the strain and loneliness the gifts created. Riona seemed to have more than one gift however.

  “So tell me more about Seamus’ curse,” Riona prompted.

  “I’ll tell you what Seamus told me.” Katie turned to Seamus. “Stop me if I miss anything.”

  “All right,” he agreed.

  “About three hundred years ago, Seamus lived in the area with his family and worked at Tullamore as a woodcarver.”

  “He’s a MacDonhnaill, you said?” Riona asked.

  “That’s right,” Seamus answered. Katie nodded to relay his message.

  Riona looked as if she were searching her memory banks. “A very old family. I believe their line died out some time ago.”

  “I was the last son born to my father,” Seamus told them. “My brother had died some years before I was cursed.”

  Katie repeated what he’d said.

  Riona nodded. “Go on.”

  “Well, apparently, the lord at the time had a wife who was a bit of a floozy.” Katie glanced at Seamus as she continued. “Sounds to me like she slept with most of the men in the castle. But when she tried to add Seamus to her list of lovers, he refused her.”

  Riona’s only reaction was a lift of one eyebrow.

  “After many attempts and Seamus’ continued refusal, Crazy, that’s what I’ve named her,” Katie told Riona as an aside, “decided to get a love spell to make him fall in love with her.”

  “Oh dear,” Riona mumbled and set her empty teacup on the table.

  “Yes, well, it got worse. Crazy then decided the love spell she purchased wasn’t enough. She broke into the home of the woman she purchased the spell from and stole her spell book.”

  Riona gasped.

  “Crazy combined the ingredients from the love spell with something else. The result,” Katie waved her hand in Seamus’ direction, “was a man cursed to spirit form.”

  “Goddess preserve us. I know part of this story.” Riona sat up straight on the edge of her seat. “It’s in the family journals.”

  “It is?” Katie asked.

  “The spell book being stolen is what stands out. You realize it was an ancestor of ours who made the love spell, don’t you? And it was one of our family spell books that was stolen.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.” Katie looked at Seamus, afraid of what he might be thinking.

  He shrugged. “Tell her about Heloise trying to help me.”

  “Oh that’s right,” Katie said, relieved that Seamus wasn’t upset about it being her ancestor who provided the original spell. “He told me to tell you about another relative who tried to help him many years ago. Someone named Heloise.”

  “Really? I’ll have to dig her journals out and see if she recorded anything.” To Katie, Riona added, “Heloise is our great-grandmother several generations back.”

  “Oh. Wow.” Katie wasn’t sure why Seamus’ true age was hard for her to take in.

  “I told you I was too old for you,” he teased.

  “Apparently so, if you knew my great-plus-plus-grandmother,” Katie groused.

  Riona gave Katie a questioning look. Katie waved it away. “Don’t ask. He was giving me a hard time, that’s all.”

  Katie stuck her tongue out at Seamus. Laughter rumbled in Seamus’ chest and he smiled at her in a way that made the butterflies dance in her tummy.

  “Did Heloise have any idea what the other spell was?” Riona asked.

  “Not that she mentioned,” Seamus said. Katie shook her head to relay his answer.

  “Hmmm. Maybe her journals will give us some information.” Riona shrugged. “It’s possible she had ideas but didn’t feel comfortable sharing them with anyone. What else do you know about the spell?”

  “I knew nothing at all about the spell,” Seamus told them.

  “Nothing,” Katie repeated.

  “I don’t mean about the spell itself. I meant about anything anyone would have said to you, something simple. Perhaps even rhyme-like,” Riona asked.

  Seamus shook his head. Katie mimicked his action.

  “Any kind of liquid given to you? Either to drink or something rubbed on you somewhere?”

  “Yes!” Katie and Seamus both exclaimed then shared a smile.

  “What?” Riona asked.

  “Etain had a tankard of something brought to him while he was working. He drank some before he realized it was from her or that it was poisoned or whatever.” Katie’s hands fluttered about as she spoke.

  Riona nodded. “I don’t suppose you know what was in it, do you?”

  “I thought it was spiced cider at first. I remember smelling herbs as I took a drink.”

  Katie relayed what Seamus said.

  “Any herb in particular?” Riona asked.

  “There are very few that I could identify by smell or taste. Mix them in with others, I wouldn’t be able to tell one from another.” He paced behind the couch.

  “No. He didn’t know what was in it,” Katie said. She hated making him relive so much of the incident. It had to be hard on him.

  “It was worth asking.” Riona took a bite of her cookie. “What about sweet or sour?”

  “Mostly sweet.” He moved to a window and looked out. “Seems like it left a bitter taste in my mouth.”

  “Sweet with a bitter aftertaste,” Katie told Riona.

  Riona’s brow furrowed. “Hmmm. Okay. What happened after you drank whatever she had given you? Did you choke up, vomit, pass out? Or did you just go about your day as usual and later realized that you had turned into a spirit? How long did the change take?”

  Katie relayed everything to Riona that Seamus said.

  “I remember thinking the tankard tasted odd and asked the maid who’d brought it to me what it was. She said she didn’t know, only that Lady Etain had ordered her to bring it to me.

  “As soon as I heard that, I knew something foul was in the drink. I gave the tankard back to the maid and told her to dump it outside so no one else could be poisoned.” He looked at the two of them and added, “I honestly thought she had put a poison in the drink in an effort to try and kill me. When my head began to spin and my body felt as if it were on fire, I was sure she was trying to kill me.

  “I blacked out several times. A couple of times when I came to, Etain was there asking me things. Telling me I had to tell her I loved her. That if I did, the pain would stop. That everything would be all right.”

  “Wow,” Riona murmured. “That’s…” She was stunned.

  Katie crossed her arms over her chest. “I told him Etain was a nutjob.”

  “I tend to agree,” Riona said softly. “Let me grab a notepad. I want to write this down so I can be sure I have it right when I go through the family records later.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Katie exclaimed.

  “I’ll be right back.” Riona stood and walked to the other room.

  Katie t
urned on the sofa and leaned over the back to face Seamus. “Are you all right? I’m sorry you had to relive all of that.”

  “It’s fine.” Seamus ran his fingers through a statue sitting on the table next to him. His smile seemed forced. “I can see she wants to help.” He rubbed his head. “I’m just not sure there is any help to be had.”

  “Don’t say that,” Katie whispered. “There has to be a way to break the curse.”

  Riona walked back into the room carrying a large book, a notepad and a pencil. She sat the three items on the couch next to Katie.

  “What’s that?” Katie asked.

  “That is Heloise’s journal.”

  “Really?” Katie asked, drawing out the word.

  She looked at the book in awe. From the looks of it, the book had been carefully kept. It was aged but not fragile. Rather impressive they had preserved it without climate-controlled technology.

  “May I?” Katie asked Riona, pointing to the book.

  “Certainly. You’re family.”

  Katie’s eyes teared up. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she blinked back the tears. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was sitting in my house thinking I had no family. No eccentric aunts or uncles to talk about or annoying cousins to send Christmas cards to. But now I do.”

  Riona reached across and placed her hand over Katie’s. “And I will remind you that you said that after you’ve been around us a while.”

  “Deal.” Katie smiled.

  “Now,” Riona said as she grabbed her notepad and pencil, “why don’t you take a look at Heloise’s journal while I make some notes before I forget what the two of you have just told me. While you’re flipping through there, see if you can find any reference to Seamus.”

  Seamus moved behind Katie and looked over her shoulder. Katie pulled the book onto her lap and gently opened the cover. She kept her movements slow and deliberate so she wouldn’t damage anything.

  The first entries in the journal looked as if they had been written by someone who was very young. The handwriting was large and messy. As the pages turned, the entries became more practiced and turned into a feminine script. The topics ranged from the thrill of mixing a first potion to successful gardening tips to descriptions of how difficult situations were handled. Situations like a young mother’s child who threw up everything it tried to eat until Heloise created a topical herbal paste that eased the nausea.