Muses

by Elizabeth Andre

  A moment later, Madeleine came back into the living room walking arm in arm with a lovely, auburn-haired woman. Allegra. They took little notice of anyone else in the room as they walked over to the bay window and sat on the sill. They talked animatedly as if no one else was around. When a couple of young men came over, they were polite, as young ladies of that time were no doubt taught to be, but were not encouraging. Their body language said that they really would prefer the young men to go away. They did, and then Eleanor went over to the bay window.

  “Allegra,” Eleanor started. “So good of you to come to our little soiree.”

  “Thank you, Eleanor. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world! You always have such wonderful parties.” Allegra sounded sincere and if Julie weren’t mistaken, a little defiant. I wonder what that’s about? Julie thought as she stood and watched the scene unfold with Eddie.

  “I know there are a few faces that are probably unfamiliar to you. I see you’ve met Will Morgan and Clyde Atwell already. They’re fine young men. Please allow Madeleine to introduce you to our other guests. Don’t let Madeleine sequester you in this corner all afternoon.” Here Eleanor gave Madeleine a glance that said this was not a suggestion. It was an order.

  Julie thought that Madeleine looked none too pleased with Eleanor’s attempt to direct her behavior. Julie initially ascribed that to a younger sibling chafing against the direction of an older sibling much like Jason sometimes chafed against hers. However Madeleine really felt, she was a dutiful, if reluctant, hostess as she introduced Allegra to other people at the party. One of the young men from earlier began chatting with Allegra and Madeleine, although he directed much of his conversation to Allegra. Madeleine kept a tight, unflinching smile on her face the whole time. Soon enough, though, Allegra and Madeleine drifted back to the bay window sill where Julie assumed they spent the rest of the party. She couldn’t be sure. The scene changed abruptly. It was later, although the same day, but the party was over.

  “Clyde Atwell took a keen interest in Allegra,” Rosamund observed as a maid tidied up. The sister was embroidering and sitting next to Madeleine who was engrossed in a book. Eleanor was playing something soft and dreamlike on the piano.

  “She’s a lovely girl,” Eleanor said. “She’ll be getting lots of attention. It’s too bad her family can’t do more for her.”

  Madeleine sighed. Julie took her sigh to be the equivalent of an early 21st century teenager rolling her eyes at something irritating that a grown-up had said.

  “If you have something to say, Madeleine, say it. Don’t sigh like a wayward schoolgirl.” Eleanor stopped playing the piano, turned around on the piano bench, and fixed her youngest sister with a challenging look.

  “All right, Nelly,” said Madeleine as she placed a bookmark in her book and closed it with a thud. She glared at her sister. “I would like to know why every time Allegra comes over or whenever she and I are together, you insist on talking about how attractive she will be to some young man or other.”

  “Do I?” It was the voice of someone who knew exactly what she was doing but was not about to admit to it.

  “You know you do!”

  Rosamund, not looking up from her embroidery, said, “Don’t exaggerate, Maddie. She doesn’t say anything like that every time. Besides, what’s the harm in it? Allegra is a very pretty girl, beautiful even. Why shouldn’t it be remarked upon? Why shouldn’t young men take an interest in her? Young men like pretty girls.”

  “I’m not exaggerating, Rosie.”

  Eleanor cut in. “There would certainly be no harm in young men taking an interest in you as well. You are an attractive young woman, and you’re well on your way to becoming quite accomplished. Any man would be proud to have you as a wife. There were some fine young men at the party today.”

  Madeleine reopened her book and spoke to her sisters while avoiding eye contact. “Fine young men. Like Clyde Atwell?”

  “What’s wrong with Clyde Atwell?” Rosamund said. She held out the handkerchief she was monogramming, eyeing it critically.

  “Nothing. He’s… fine.” Madeleine flipped through the pages of the book in a desultory manner. “Why aren’t there any men taking a keen interest in you, Nelly?”

  Even if the temperature in the room hadn’t already dropped, the room would have gotten cold at this moment. Although the scene being played out before them may have happened decades ago, the emotions on display were still raw and real. Madeleine looked as though she knew she had said exactly the wrong thing. Rosamund, still intent on her embroidery, raised her left eyebrow, which Julie assumed was her default reaction to unpleasantness between her sisters. Eleanor stood up from the piano bench, drawing herself to her full height. She was a big-boned woman with a broad frame.

  Eleanor gave Madeleine a patronizing smile. “As I said, you’re an attractive young woman, especially when you don’t let spite get the upper hand, dear. You need healthier… attachments.”

  With that, Eleanor walked out, vanishing as she met the threshold between the living room and the hallway.

  Eddie leaned close to Julie. “I think big sister just burned baby sister.”

  Keeping her voice low, Julie agreed. “We know Madeleine never married. We don’t know what actually happened between her and Allegra.”

  “Maybe they skipped off into the sunset together?”

  Julie looked directly at him. “Nope. We wouldn’t be here if that was the story. This is a story that needs to end differently.”

  Rosamund finally looked up from her embroidery.

  “That wasn’t a nice thing to say, Maddie,” she said.

  Madeleine slammed her book shut again. “Well, maybe she should stop telling me that I need to get interested in some fine young man or other. What if that’s not what I want?”

  “What do you want, Maddie?”

  The question coming from Rosamund sounded like a challenge. She wants Maddie to tell her the truth, Julie thought. Rosamund may have sensed the truth, but she wanted to hear it from Madeleine out loud.

  Madeleine looked away from Rosamund. She looked frightened, irresolute. “Why doesn’t Eleanor like Allegra? She was fond of her at first.”

  Rosamund didn’t respond, choosing to pluck at a few threads instead.

  “I know you have a theory, at least, Rosie. You always have theories.” Madeleine glanced at Rosamund’s project with admiration.

  “You’re right. Eleanor was quite fond of Allegra at first.”

  “But?”

  Now it was Rosamund’s turn to sigh. “Over time, she came to the conclusion that Allegra was not a good influence on you.”

  Madeleine bridled. “That’s absurd! She has had the best influence on me. She has never been anything but kind and generous. She’s smart, and we have delightful conversations.” She stopped there. She could have said more, but Julie suspected that saying more would have revealed too much about how she felt about Allegra.

  For the first time, Rosamund put down the embroidery on her lap. “You’re not meant to do that, you know.”

  “What? Have delightful conversations?”

  “Don’t be obtuse. It’s perfectly fine to have a dear friend, but what Allegra has become to you is not the natural course. That’s why Nelly thinks Allegra is not a good influence on you. She wants you to remember that you are not in Paris. You are not in New York. Things are different here.”

  Madeleine stood. “I’m going to go to all those places! I know exactly where I am. I know who I am, but maybe it is I who has not been a good influence on her.”

  “Now you’re being absurd, simply ludicrous. Maddie, we want what’s best for you, always. You know that, so listen to me when I say that you need to branch out, develop other friendships. Sometimes, people have come into your life and seem like they’ll be permanent but will up and leave you. Nothing is settled, despite our best efforts. I fear that when she leaves you, it will be so hard on you. That’s why Nelly and I are so concerned. A singu
lar fixation like the one you have on Allegra will have a deleterious effect on you.” Now it was Rosamund’s turn to stand. She began gathering up her embroidery.

  “Have you typed the minutes of the last garden club meeting? And don’t forget that we will be organizing a dance marathon fundraiser to help buy plants for the new park the city wants to establish.” Without waiting for a reply from Madeleine, Rosamund left the room or, rather, she vanished, like a candle flickering out.

  Madeleine looked defiant and then distraught. Julie sensed that she probably wished she could see Allegra right now. She recognized that desperation and yearning. She wondered how physical their relationship was and if Allegra returned Madeleine’s feelings. Julie’s ruminations were interrupted by the sound and sight of Jason stumbling into the living room. Penny and Steve were close behind. Madeleine vanished, but a fourth figure followed her teammates. It was Richard. His mouth moving without making a sound.

  “Jason tried a few times to break the door down, but it wouldn’t budge,” Penny said, seemingly unaware of the ghostly tagalong. “Then he tried one more time and whoosh! He’s through. So what happened in here?”

  Julie shook her head and pointed behind them. “You’re not the only ones who left the study. The ghosts in here have just vanished, but look who you just brought with you.”

  They turned to Richard, who initially seemed oblivious to them. Much like previous appearances, his eyes were those bottomless, shimmering black pits, but this time he carried a small book. He seemed to be struggling, although it was unclear exactly how or against what. He paused, hanging in the air. He suddenly moved like a magnet drawn to Eddie.

  “Only you.” Richard spoke with urgency. The words came out of his mouth like it was hard for him to talk. His voice was harsh and scratchy. He spoke like a recording put through too many filters.

  Eddie seemed equally enthralled, almost trancelike. “I know.” He held out his hands.

  The ghost dropped the book into Eddie’s open arms. Eddie seemed initially shocked. There was something about the book that irritated his skin, made it hard to hold. He bounced it back and forth from hand to hand.

  “I made a terrible mistake,” said Richard. Each word seemed to cause him pain. “You must fix this.”

  “I know. I will,” said Eddie, the book finally settling in his right hand.

  Richard disappeared with a scream, as if what was left of him was torn asunder.

  Eddie walked over to the sofa and placed the book on the coffee table. He seemed to shake free of his trance.

  “We have so much to talk about,” he said. “I need to know everything you saw in here. I need to know everything Maya and Lily are seeing upstairs. I think I know what to do.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Bringing it all together

  Maya’s breathing slowly returned to normal. She gazed at Lily who wiped the sweat from Maya’s brow.

  “Are you sure this is healthy? It seems to take so much out of you.” Lily placed her palm against Maya’s forehead as if trying to check her temperature. Lily’s hands were cold, but Maya liked her touch.

  Their faces were very close to each other. Maya didn’t know how to respond to Lily’s concern. She still felt overwhelmed. This wasn’t the moment for another kiss, but she adored the intimacy she felt with Lily. The door opening suddenly broke the moment. They pulled away from each other abruptly. Julie had flung open the guest room door.

  “Hey! The door isn’t stuck anymore,” Maya said.

  Lily’s eyes shone as she turned to Julie. Her face had a look of eagerness on it. “She was here! She talked to us! She told us about her relationship with Allegra!”

  Eddie followed quickly behind Julie and took a seat at the foot of the bed. “Oh yeah? We got to see Madeleine’s sisters give her some lip about being friends with Allegra. And I talked to Richard. I need to hear everything about what you saw. I have some ideas as to what we need to do.” He placed a small, cream-colored book on top of the bed. Maya put her finger on it, and it gave her a shock.

  “What’s this?” she said as the rest of the team piled into the bedroom.

  “Oh, so much to tell,” said Eddie. “But I’m pretty sure the answer is in here.” He tapped his finger near the book without touching it.

  Steve spoke first and told how he, Penny, and Jason got stuck in the study with Richard, who sat at his desk and pulled a book out of a space between the drawers. The book seemed to make him sad. The study got so cold, quiet, and dark. They didn’t know what was going on in the living room or the rest of the house.

  “Oh, we heard so much!” said Lily.

  “That’s so interesting,” said Eddie. Maya could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

  Julie and Eddie gave the crew a rundown of the scene in the living room, even acting out a few parts to Maya’s delight.

  “It all makes so much sense,” said Maya as she and Lily shared their tale of getting trapped in the guest room and talking to Madeleine. The more Maya thought about it, the closer she felt to the woman-loving woman who was born in the wrong place and the wrong time. Her heart broke for Madeleine and Allegra and what might have been.

  “Maddie is so full of fear and regret,” said Lily. “We’ve got to help her.”

  “We will,” said Eddie. “But your uncle, he made a terrible mistake. He should have never even been able to open this book, but he did.” He turned to Lily. “I know you said your uncle came out before his death. He’d probably been keeping his sexuality a secret for a long time, but that was not his only secret. He was messing around with witchcraft, and he messed with something he shouldn’t have. This book is forbidden.”

  Lily tried to touch the book and pulled her hand back quickly as if she, too, had just received a shock. “He was probably just doing research for his books.” She rubbed her fingertips. “Hey, how come you can touch the book?”

  “Trade secret,” said Steve as he moved behind Eddie and started rubbing his husband’s shoulders and changed the subject. “So, what’s next?”

  “Based on this book and everything we’ve seen, I bet Richard cast a binding spell to trap the ghosts to him,” said Eddie. “I bet he didn’t even know how to break it. He initially needed them so badly he bound them to him. When he didn’t need them they didn’t go. They couldn’t. Killing him may have been an accident, a result of them trying to get free, and now they’re trapped with him. They’re still bound. Maya, that’s probably why you had such a hard time communicating with them. If we can break the bond, everyone will go on their way.”

  Lily seemed satisfied that a potential resolution was at hand. Steve and Eddie started discussing how to break the spell. Penny asked about what she needed to do to get some good footage. Julie and Jason conferred on how they were going to assist the effort, but something did not sit well with Maya. She flexed her fingers until her knuckles cracked. She looked at Lily’s hair and thought about touching it. She knew how much getting rid of the ghosts would help Lily’s family. They could sell the house and move on with their lives. She looked at Julie, who was still cute, and knew how much it would mean to their nascent agency to solve this case. Even Penny would benefit from the footage, but there was something they needed to do before they broke the spell.

  “We have to get Maddie and Allegra together again. We can’t break the binding spell until we do that.”

  The room fell silent.

  “How would we even go about finding Allegra?” Lily asked.

  “Well…” Maya hadn’t thought that far ahead. Summoning Madeleine had been a challenge because of the binding spell, but she used to live here. Maya had Madeleine’s old hair brush to draw her out. Then she remembered what else they had found in the library.

  “Julie, didn’t you find a locket at the library belonging to Madeleine? You still have it, right?”

  Julie looked around. “Yeah. It’s in my bag. Wait.” She ran out of the room.

  “How’s a locket gonna help?�
� said Jason. “Why can’t we just break the binding spell and be done with it?”

  Penny punched him in the shoulder. “Think about what women keep in lockets. Think about reuniting two lost loves.”

  Jason rubbed his shoulder, wincing. “All I know about lockets is that you put small stuff in them, like a picture of someone or a lock of someone’s hair.” He paused, apparently in deep thought. “Oh. Now I got it. Still not crazy about it.”

  Julie came bounding back into the room with her messenger bag and fished the locket out of it. She dropped it into Maya’s open hands. Maya received it carefully, almost reverently. She opened it, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her and the locket. There inside the keepsake was a lock of auburn-colored hair.

  “Do you think that’s Allegra’s hair? I mean, do we know for sure?” said Jason.

  “It’s hers. It’s not any of the sisters. It has to be Allegra’s,” said Maya.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Reunited

  Julie liked the possibility that they could facilitate reuniting lost loves. Julie’s mother was a huge fan of romance stories in novel and movie form. Mom will love this story. She couldn’t wait to tell her all about Maddie and Allegra when it was all said and done. She just hoped Maya’s idea would work.

  “I hope so, too,” Maya said. “Madeleine said that Allegra did spend a lot of time here, so that, combined with her lock of hair, should be enough to get her to show up.”

  Eddie went downstairs to grab more candles. He left the book on the bed. He’d described it as forbidden, but he didn’t have to worry about anyone else trying to read it. Jason tried to open it, triggering a scream. He really was having a painful day. Maya floated her hands around it like she was trying to feel its aura. Julie didn’t even try to touch it.

  “It’s so weird,” Maya said. “It’s like it’s here in the real world and a ghost at the same time. There are words on the cover, but it’s as if they won’t let me read them.” The book shimmered briefly as her hands got closer. Steve pulled her back.