He closed his eyes and reached out, trying to detect that trace of Sally that sometimes followed him when he was in the house. This had been their home, all three of them. But she wasn’t here. Not now.
He wasn’t sure what worried him more – that she was avoiding him, or that he had somehow driven her away.
Or that with Alex here, Blaise Chambers’ power had finally swallowed her up entirely, the protection she had afforded him for so long now vanished. The ghosts were loose and the hall was so active right now…all because Alex was here. Of that he was certain.
‘Ghosts,’ Alex said after a long drawn-out silence.
That brought his attention back to her and he tried not to stare. She looked like an angel sitting there, or like one of those portraits in the main hallway. The de Wilde women were beautiful, all of them. And they either left the house or led short and miserable lives. Even the ones who had married in from the village, and there had been more than a few.
And now Alex was back here and had nowhere else to go. She might not call herself de Wilde, but that clearly didn’t matter.
The house knew. That was obvious.
‘Ghosts,’ he replied, not sure where this was going.
‘And you knew.’
‘Everyone knows. You knew, although you denied it,’ he said, aware of the defensive tone in his voice. He couldn’t help it. ‘The house is famous for it. Ask anyone.’
She gave him a look. Sally would have been proud of that look.
‘I think you know a lot more than what everyone else knows, Nick. I don’t know what happened to me in there but…’ Her voice trailed off, confused and embarrassed. Well, quite. It said a lot about her that she was horrified by how close they had come to…whatever they had come close to doing. At the same time,that stung. But at least he had an idea what was causing it. Or ratherwhowas causing it.
‘The Master of the Revels,’ he said solemnly.
‘The painting outside my bedroom,’ she said, an adversarial tone in her voice he was starting to recognise all too well. ‘Did you put it there?’
He shook his head. He didn’t know the painting. He hadn’t moved any of the portraits.
‘I took it down,’ Alex said. ‘And then it was back up. I tried to get rid of it that night, when I fell on the stairs.’ He didn’t dare correct her. He recalled his own experiences of that night far too clearly, but no painting. ‘I want it gone, Nick.’
‘I’ll see to it,’ he promised. That was the least he could do. ‘But he isn’t tied to a painting. He’s a power inside these walls.’
Alex fixed him with another glare which called him a liar and a fraud.
‘A great excuse,’ she muttered.
He sighed, feeling defeated already. ‘It’s really not.’
She narrowed her eyes, the denial back in them, plain to see. ‘A ghost did not make me try to jump your bones, Nick.’
He was tempted to ask her what did then and indeed who had been doing the jumping, if only to see her face go red again. She even blushed attractively.
But was that his thought? Or something else?
Damn it, Sally, where are you when I need you?
He needed to try another tack.
‘Look, you have experience investigating ghosts and hauntings, don’t you?’ He spread his arms wide. ‘So why not investigate this? Prove it, one way or the other. And if youcanprove it, lay it all to rest. Exorcise them or whatever it is you do.’
‘That’s Daphne’s field,’ Alex said, as if it was obvious. ‘Not mine. I’m the voice of reason. And ninety-nine times out of one hundred I’m the one who’s right.’ Alex took a moment to drinkher tea. Behind that perfect mask of a face, he could sense her mind working. Perhaps she was actually considering it. Christ, he hoped so. Ignoring this was not going to help anyone. In fact, he had a feeling it was downright dangerous. She had to see that, didn’t she?
‘You could ask your friends to come over and help?’ he offered. But more people was probably a terrible idea. The more people, he feared, the more energy for whatever lurked here to feed off. It was the other reason he kept Maeve as far away from the house as he could. He had promised Sally. Nick did his best to keep everyone else away from Wildewood Hall. It was his duty. And to let people just wander around here…
But perhaps if she had her team around her, her friends, people who knew what they were doing, perhaps then…
‘No, absolutely not,’ Alex replied firmly, as if shocked he would even suggest it. ‘You have no idea of the circus it would turn into. And Gabe would—’ She winced and then shook her head adamantly. ‘Can you imagine what the spin would be? It would make sensational television. All of it. Gabe is an expert at that. Master of the Revels would be Master of the Orgies in no time. Sex ghosts and people unable to control themselves and…’ Her breath caught in her throat. She made herself exhale slowly and Nick could imagine what she was picturing. But at the same time, he could still taste her, still feel her skin under his fingertips and feel the sensation of her warm weight straddling his lap, pressing down on him… ‘No. Just no.’
