“She was exceptionally beautiful,” smiled Hezekiah. “It appears that Cressida paid more attention to your lessons on plants than you thought. She’d become quite adept at mixing potions that killed her husbands. She married here in Louisiana several times, once in Mississippi, and twice in Alabama. When she died, she blamed her mother for everything.”
“Rosemary? Why would she blame her?” asked Beryl.
“Beryl, she claimed to others that Rosemary was her sister. She openly accused you of haunting her, telling her to poison her husbands, mix the potions, all of it.”
“B-but why? I gave her a good life. She went to school, she learned cooking and sewing skills, I tried… I tried to give her a good life.”
“You did,” said Hezekiah trying to console his fellow ghost. “I just think she wanted more and decided to take it.”
“Can we speak with her? Can we find her so I can speak to her and apologize?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Luke. “She came back here to face trial and this is where her last marriage took place. Her mother was living here as well. She always lived here, Beryl. Just up the road.”
“No. No, Rosemary ran off. She said she would never return to this land, to these people. Why?”
“Beryl, we’ve done a complete assessment of the property that once belonged to you. It’s a rich property, with very interesting soil. Some of it, not so good,” said Rachel.
“Yes, that’s my fault I suppose.”
“No. No, not entirely. You had the greenhouse for your own benefit. Cressida used it for her own devices. Although the tar was helpful, and later somewhat harmful, there are more interesting things to see here.”
“Like?” she asked expectantly.
“We’ve found oil,” smiled Rachel. “You won’t benefit from that but Harmon, the new owner, will. It’s a nice sized find and will support him through his retirement and beyond.”
“Did she know? Did Cressida know?” asked Beryl.
“She may have known after your death but much later,” said Luke. “You have to remember, as soon as you died, she married the Hymel boy and left the state. Then married several more men. The land, although destroyed by the storm was still in your name. She saw it as a quick opportunity to sell and move on. Which she did.
“We can see the title change happening, so we don’t think she knew there was oil there. In fact, we don’t think anyone ever knew or they would have certainly drilled for it.”
“I just can’t believe this,” she said shaking her head. “When my daughter left Cressida with me, I fought to make a life, a living for us. Here I was sitting on hundreds of dollars.” The men chuckled, shaking their heads and Rachel stepped forward.
“Beryl, we estimate that it’s worth millions. You would have been the wealthiest woman in New Orleans.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It took Beryl a while to understand everything that she’d been told about her land, her daughter, and her granddaughter.
“You seem to be handling all of this well enough,” said Cam staring at Hezekiah.
“I always knew she was just trying to do what was best for her daughter, or granddaughter it seems. I think her cursing me inside that mirror was a happy accident for her. She even admitted not remembering all the words. I was fortunate that Trevon and little Smith came by when they did.”
“Many men would be angry,” said Hex.
“My friends, I was inside a mirror for more than two-hundred years. I don’t think I need to be angry at anyone any longer. I’m free of the mirror.”
“Yes, but you didn’t get the opportunity to have a family, children of your own,” said Cam.
“I’m not sure I ever would have done that,” said Hezekiah. “I like children. Other people’s children. I never pictured myself as a father or even a husband. I liked women and enjoyed their company but there was no one that I could see myself being with for, well, eternity.”
“Not every man is made to be married and have a family,” said Eric. “As you can see it’s something we’ve all perfected.” They all laughed, nodding as they boat wound its way through the bayou.
Cressida’s last known residence was near Bayou Gauche, which according to records is where she and her mother were buried. As they neared the sight, Beryl touched her chest, then her throat.
“Beryl? Beryl, are you alright?” asked Hezekiah.
“I’m not sure. Can you feel pain in death?” Luke stared at her, then looked back at his own grandparents for an answer.
