BY THE TIME CAITLIN FINISHED breakfast with the staff in the kitchen, she had decided not to tell Matthew about the weeping in his room the night before. If he were still ill, it might make him worse. If he were better, it might make him ill again. Lucky for the boy, his fever had passed.
Mrs. Trask informed Caitlin that she would be required to take care of Matthew for at least the next week. When Caitlin tried to protest, the older woman agreed to allow her to study in Matthew’s room as long as it did not interfere with his care. Matthew responded to the news by jumping up on his bed, then falling into a coughing fit.
Caitlin ran home to get her things and tell her mother. To her surprise, Erin smiled when she heard the news.
“Finally you be doing something useful,” she declared. “Never mind that schoolin’ and teachin’, this be a good solid house with a future. That boy will grow up and most likely take you with him to care for his children.”
“But I don’t want to be taking care of him or his children forever,” Caitlin protested.
“Bah! You don’t be knowing what you want, girl. What is that word your da like to use… opportunity? This here be an opportunity. Even that fool of a girl Jeanette knows better.”
“What do you mean? What’s happened to Jeanette?”
“Oh, so you don’t know everything, do ye?” Erin smirked. “Her da found her a right good match with the grocer’s boy on Gibson Street. The banns be posted next month.”
“That can’t be true.”
“Go ask her for yourself.” A very smug Erin turned her back and left the room.
CAITLIN FOUND JEANETTE CLEANING OUT the fireplace in the parlor when she arrived back at Kage House.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the grocer’s son?” Caitlin asked.
“Too busy doing your job.” Jeanette scooped ashes out and dumped them into a bucket. “Why these folks keep burning wood fires when they could use those steam heaters is a fine question.”
Caitlin sat on the floor across from her friend. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been a very good friend.”
Jeanette shrugged. “You be busy with the young master.”
“That shouldn’t matter.”
“But it does, and I don’t want to be shoveling ash all me life.”
Caitlin stopped Jeanette from shoveling. “Don’t be marrying him. That boy be daft and short and has no sense. And folks say he be nothing but a mama’s boy.”
“Fine thing for you to say.” Jeanette shook off Caitlin’s hand. “You’ve got schoolin’. What could I be but a house cleaner?”
“You could be a lady’s maid or even a teacher. Those are fine positions. You don’t have to depend on him or live under his ma’s thumb the rest of your life.”
“Oh, Caitlin. I can barely read and have no time for book learnin’.”
“I can teach you. Let me help,” Caitlin implored. “Postpone the banns. At least for a little while. Please.”
Jeanette sat back on her heels and considered what Caitlin had said, then nodded. “Aye. I’ll postpone the banns if you promise to tell me what goes on upstairs. No secrets. I want to hear all the gossip. And you teach me to read better.”
“I promise,” Caitlin responded with feigned exasperation. Jeanette reached over and hugged her. As Caitlin hugged her back she thought about Regina and decided it was best not to burden her friend with that right now.
MATTHEW HAD FALLEN INTO ANOTHER fit of depression by the time Caitlin got back upstairs. He rocked and moaned on his bed as if something deep within him ached. Caitlin rushed over and held him.
“Don’t be telling me this be over a ghost,” she said.
“I miss Regina. Can’t you find her? I know you can. Please?” the boy insisted.
“Let me read to you.” Caitlin settled him back into his bed.
He shivered as he huddled back under the covers. Caitlin touched his forehead with her palm. His fever was back. As she poured him a glass of water from his bed stand, a shuffling noise startled her. She turned to see Mrs. Trask staring at Matthew as if he were the most precious thing in the world. The moment fled in an instant, and Mrs. Trask was back to her usual terse self.
“What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“He be feverish again, Mrs. Trask.” Caitlin held his head up and urged him to drink a few drops of water from the glass. “He’d be much better in the other room. I be sure of it.”
“No. He stays here. Now, go to the kitchen and bring him some broth,” Mrs. Trask ordered. “And make sure he eats all of it.”
Caitlin hurried downstairs to do as she was told. She did not waste any time so as not to incur Mrs. Trask’s wrath. As she left the kitchen with a bowl of broth on a tray, Caitlin noticed two of the kitchen girls whispering behind their hands and glancing her way. When they saw she had noticed them they blushed.
“Sorry, miss. We don’t be saying anything bad about you,” one of the girls piped up. “We think you be brave.”
“I just be caring for the boy. What’s so brave about that?” Caitlin asked.
“He be a strange one.” The girl’s voice took on an ethereal quality.
“I’ve got work to do,” Caitlin replied in a huff as she marched back up the stairs.
The girls mocked her, then burst into giggles. Their laughter was cut short by a harsh reprimand from the head cook. Although Caitlin was pleased the girls had gotten the punishment they deserved, what they had said worried her. How many other people thought Matthew was odd? And worse, what if the wrong people found out about Regina? What would happen to the boy then?
THE SOUND OF SOFT FOOTSTEPS woke Caitlin from a fitful sleep. She had been dreaming she was running through the streets of South Boston looking for her father. Her mother had kept tugging on her arm, telling her to leave him, but Caitlin had struggled and kept insisting he was just up ahead. She thought she saw a glimpse of him just before she woke up.
Caitlin sat up from her cot and looked over at Matthew. His eyelids twitched, but otherwise he slept peacefully, the fever once again gone. She grabbed her robe and put it on over her night dress, then made her way to the door. She opened it and checked to see if anyone was in the hallway before she stepped out. No one was there.
Thinking she must have dreamed about hearing footsteps, Caitlin made her way down the hall toward the water closet. As she passed Matthew’s old room, she noticed a light under the door. Caitlin reached for the doorknob. It was unlocked.
Caitlin stepped back and considered what her father had said. Under no circumstances should she become involved with any ghosts other than Duncan. She did not want disobey him, but Matthew was suffering. The only way to help him was to find out if Regina was truly gone. Double-checking the hallway again to make sure no one was there, she entered.
The first thing she noticed was the pinpoint electric lamp that hung over the desk. Its brightness blinded her, then when her eyes adjusted she saw a woman sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over. Her body shook with silent weeping.
“Regina?”
The woman looked up with a start. It was Mrs. Trask.
Caitlin backed away in shock. “Mrs. Trask, I… I… be so sorry.” She reached for the door, but the humming noise in her head distracted her. It was as if a small swarm of bees had moved from the back of her head to the front. The static electricity built up within her body, and soon she saw tiny electrical charges dancing on her fingernails. They dispersed, leaving her with the knowledge that Regina had returned.
“Caitlin? Is that you?” A soft voice echoed from the wall as the ghost of Regina Gill emerged. She glided across the room and did not appear to notice Mrs. Trask, but Mrs. Trask saw her. The color drained from the older woman’s face.
“Where’s Matthew? Why isn’t he here? Has something happened?” The ghost’s voice took on a worried edge.
Mrs. Trask gasped for air as she stared at the apparition. “No. You’re dead. You can’t be here.”
Regina noticed Mrs. Trask and
leaned over her as the older woman cringed in fear. “I know you. Don’t I?”
“You’re dead. I saw you die in this bed.” Mrs. Trask collapsed on the floor and tried to crawl away.
“You can see her, Mrs. Trask?” Caitlin asked, a little bewildered. “You be like me, then. A Medium.”
“No! This is a trick.” The head housekeeper used the bed to help her stand up as she tried to calm herself. “You Irish are always up to something. Did you think you could get me to pay you more money by hiring a lowlife actress to play my daughter? I’ll see you in jail for this.”
“Mother?” Regina’s voice echoed around the room. “Are you my mother?” The ghost glided over and reached out her hand to touch Mrs. Trask’s face. The head housekeeper backed up and tried to swat Regina away, but her hand met with nothing but air.
Mrs. Trask stumbled backwards into the wall. “What devil brought you here? Go away. You can’t be here.”
“Mrs. Trask, there be nothing to be afraid of. Regina be a kindly ghost. She and Matthew get along fine,” Caitlin tried to reassure her.
“He speaks to this… thing? And you let him? How dare you?” Mrs. Trask seethed.
“Mother? Why are you so angry?” Regina asked, clearly hurt by her words. “Do you know why I am here? I can’t seem to leave this room to see Matthew, but I hear him crying for me.”
Mrs. Trask put her hand over her mouth as if to stop herself from screaming. Her face contorted as she tried to hold back the horror she obviously felt.
Caitlin put her hand on the head housekeeper’s arm to try to calm her. “Mrs. Trask. It be all right. There is no evil here. She loves the boy like a son.”
Mrs. Trask shoved Caitlin away so hard, she fell and struck her head on the edge of a chair. The world turned red and black before she regained her senses and felt Mrs. Trask’s hand grab her foot and drag her across the room.
“You are the evil one. You brought this upon him.” The older woman attempted to open the door while still clinging to Caitlin.
“Let go of me!” Caitlin yanked her foot back and kicked Mrs. Trask in the knee.
The older woman crumpled in a heap, her face in her hands, sobbing. “I thought my grieving was over. Have you come back to torture me, Regina?”
“Stop this, Mrs. Trask!” Caitlin yelled. “This not be about you, but….” As the truth seeped into Caitlin’s mind, she looked back and forth between the ghost and Mrs. Trask until she blurted out, “It’s the boy. It’s always been about Matthew. He be her son. That’s why his crying brought her.”
If a ghost’s face could light up with pleasure, Regina’s did just then. “I have a boy? Matthew’s my son? Why do I not remember him?”
“None of this can be,” Mrs. Trask croaked in emotional agony.
Regina glided over to her mother. “Tell me what happened. Please. Why am I here?”
Mrs. Trask threw her hands up as if to protect herself. “Don’t get near me!”
Hurt by her mother’s reaction, Regina’s form fluttered and faded, then when she regained her confidence, the ghost’s presence became sharper. “Tell me what happened to me, Mother,” Regina spoke in a more threatening tone.
The older woman shrank away from Regina as if she could make herself disappear in the wall like her daughter.
“She don’t have to,” Caitlin spoke up. “I be guessing that this be where you died giving birth to Matthew. My da taught me that ghosts stay where they died or have a connection. Dying while giving birth be a strong pull.”
“Is that true?” Regina’s form pulsated with her increasing rage.
Mrs. Trask nodded. “Yes. You died right after Matthew was born.” The older woman trembled. “I used to come and sit on this bed and pretend you were still with me. But the last few months, every time I came in here it became too much. And now I know why. Matthew brought you back.” Mrs. Trask clawed the back of her hands. “Why did you have to sleep with that servant boy instead of your husband? You had everything!”
Regina backed away from her mother, looking at her with a mixture of anger and pity. “I want my son,” she demanded.
Mrs. Trask shook her head and threw her hands up as if to ward off evil. “No. I’ll not curse him with this knowledge. He believes Mrs. Kage is his mother, and I intend on keeping it that way.”
“But why?” Caitlin asked. “What harm can it do?”
“You ignorant girl. It would destroy him… and me,” Mrs. Trask spat at her. “No earthly person should be bound to the dead. What future would he have?”
“But I love him,” Regina shrieked. The room vibrated at the sound, sending the bed stand crashing to the floor.
“Regina!” Caitlin yelled. “Stop it! This be doing no good. And… you’re scaring me.”
The ghost composed herself and drifted to the other side of the room. “I’m so sorry, Caitlin. You’ve been so good to me and Matthew. I just don’t want to be trapped here without him.”
“You can’t change that, Regina,” Mrs. Trask growled at her. “Nothing change that.”
“I can try,” the apparition declared as she moved forward, menacing the older woman.
“Stop this. Please!” Caitlin begged them. “When my da gets home, he can help sort this out.”
Mrs. Trask stood up and straightened her dress. “You’ll do no such thing. You think I care about being a Medium? The Kages adopted Matthew believing he is the illegitimate son of a Great House and an upper Middle District girl. If they ever found out he was my grandson, we’d both be tossed into the street with nothing!” The head housekeeper’s voice wavered, then grew stronger. “You’re the cause of this, girl. Encouraging Matthew to talk to this… this… thing. I’ll not allow his future to be tainted by his past.”
With a swiftness that surprised Caitlin, Mrs. Trask opened the door and ran out, locking it behind her.
“No!” Caitlin cried out as she yanked on the doorknob, but the door refused to budge. “Mrs. Trask, Matthew’s all alone in the other room. He’ll need me there.”
“No, he won’t,” Mrs. Trask’s voice leaked through the frame of the solid oak door. “I’ll not risk you talking to him or anyone in the house. You will be removed in the morning when the staff is at church.”
The ghost sank to the floor, distraught and wailing. “My son! I’ve lost my son!”
Caitlin pounded on the door, but the sound was muffled and indistinct. “No! Please, don’t do this Mrs. Trask!” Defeated and not knowing what to do next, she crumpled to the floor, tears cascading down her face.
LATE IN THE NIGHT, CAITLIN fell asleep leaning against the door. She vaguely remembered Regina’s cries fading away. It wasn’t until someone tried to shove the door open that she woke up.
“Caitlin! I be lookin’ for you everywhere.” Jeanette scooted in and helped her friend up from the floor and onto the bed. “How the devil did you lock yourself in here?”
Caitlin shook her head, trying to wake up. “I didn’t. Mrs. Trask did.” She stood up and bolted for the door. “Where’s Matthew?”
“Caitlin! Wait!” Jeanette shouted after her.
She ran across the hall as fast as she could to see Matthew being carried over the shoulder of one of the under-butlers like a sack of potatoes.
“Caitlin!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, his face mottled in sheer terror.
“Matthew!” she cried after him as she followed him down the stairs toward the kitchen. Caitlin reached the landing, but Mrs. Trask grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
“You leave that boy alone,” the woman ordered. “You’ve done enough.”
“Where are you taking him?”
“Away from you and… her,” Mrs. Trask hissed.
Caitlin wrenched her arm away and fled down the stairs. Through the door she saw a steam-powered buggy chugging away. “Matthew! Wait!” She ran outside.
Matthew hung out the window, his arms flailing as if he could fly toward her. “Caitlin! Don’t let them take me away fr
om Regina!” A man’s hands grabbed the boy’s shoulders and hauled him back inside the buggy.
She was about to run after him, when Miss Simpson stepped in the way and slapped her so hard across the face that Caitlin fell to the ground.
“I lost my job because of you.” The nanny spat at her and stomped away.
Helpless, Caitlin wiped the spit and tears from her face as she watched the buggy disappear around the corner.
“What the blazes is going on, and who is Regina?” Jeanette asked, alarmed at all the commotion. She helped Caitlin to her feet.
“A ghost,” Caitlin replied with a hint of despair. “Matthew’s ma.”
Jeanette’s face reddened as if she could contain the anger inside her, but it burst out in a torrent. “A ghost! There be a ghost in this house and you didn’t say a word to me? How long have you been cavorting with this mysterious spirit?”
“A month. A little more.” Caitlin winced at her friend’s ire.
“You kept this from me! Why? To look good in front of the boy?” Jeanette balled up her fists as if to hit Caitlin, but she restrained herself and backed away instead.
“No! No! It be nothing like that.”
“This be your fault. If you had told me, I’d have made you stop.” The girl’s eyes narrowed.
“Stupid girl,” the voice of Mrs. Trask cut through the air like a jagged knife. “You’re dismissed.” She glanced over at Jeanette. “You too. I’m sure you were both in on this abhorrent event.”
“Jeanette had nothing to do with it. She didn’t know.”
“Please, Mrs. Trask,” Jeanette pleaded, the panic rising in her voice. “I need this position.”
“Do you think I’d believe either of you?” She scoffed. “Go. Now!” Mrs. Trask crossed her arms across her chest. “Or do I have to send for the police?”
A horrified Jeanette backed away. “There be no need to be calling the police. I’ll be going.” Without even looking at Caitlin, she fled.
“Regina be your daughter. Matthew be your grandson. How can you do this to them?”
Boston Metaphysical Society Page 17
