by Rose Pressey
When I stepped into the manor, the only sound came from the faint tick-tock of the grandfather clock. It was like the silence that flooded a church after Sunday service. The cat meowed softly at my feet, voicing his displeasure with me. I had to know if the men were still there. They hadn’t left their keys on the table. I placed the roses on the hall table and made my way up the stairs, pausing when I reached the landing. I took in a deep breath, turned the corner and headed for Nicolas’ room. I wouldn’t look in the room if it was locked of course. If the door was still locked I’d know that he was still there. But if the door was open, I’d take a tiny little peek to see if his bag was still there.
I tiptoed down the hallway, trying to keep the floorboards from announcing my arrival. When I reached Nicholas’ door, it was standing open. My heart sank. If he was staying, he probably would have locked the door when he left.
With my foot, I pushed the door open even further. I could say that I’d accidentally kicked it with my foot. That wasn’t snooping, right? It was just an accident. The bed had been made… okay, it was made as well as any typical guy would make it. He’d done a fairly decent job though.
My heart beat faster as I stepped into the room. What was I worried about? I owned the place. But I had rented a room to this man. I shouldn’t be snooping. I would tell him that I came to straighten up his bed if he happened to show up. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would have brought extra towels for him.
I stepped into the space and looked around. Where was Nicolas’ bag? Finally I spotted it to my left, sitting on the floor. My heart did a little dance. Why was I so excited? I needed to get a hold of myself. He was a customer and that was all. My thoughts floated to Liam. Was he still here? And again what did I care? He was just as mysterious as Nicolas. Unfortunately, I was intrigued by both of them.
I stepped over to the bag. Did I dare look inside? No, it wouldn’t be right. It was definitely the wrong thing to do. No matter how much I wanted to know about him. Besides, how much would I really learn just by looking in the bag? Whether he was a boxer or briefs fan? Intriguing as that might be, I would have to leave it to my imagination.
When I glanced to my left, I spotted papers on top of the bureau. I guessed if I happened to look down while walking by them that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It wouldn’t be my fault if I happened to see something. Maybe the papers would be a clue as to what type of business Mr. Marcos was in town for. I stepped over to the dresser.
“Did you lose something?” the male voice said from very near behind me.
Chapter Ten
My heart almost jumped out of my chest and a scream escaped my lips. I spun around and clutched my chest. Nicolas was standing behind me. I had been caught in the act. There was no way to explain why I’d been over there snooping around. I glanced down at the dresser. I had to think fast if there was any chance getting out of this dilemma. The copy of The Raven that I’d left for spooky effect was lying there.
I grabbed it and showed it to him. “I came to borrow this book. I hope you don’t mind.”
The expression on his face let me know that I wasn’t a good liar.
“Of course. Please take anything you need out of the room,” he said with a knowing grin.
“Thank you. I’m sorry to disturb you. I’ll just leave you alone.” I moved toward the door.
“Hallie,” Nicolas called out.
I stopped and turned around. When he said my name it made my heart do a little flip.
“I had to pick up a few necessities in town,” he offered, even though I hadn’t asked.
I supposed he was trying to ease into conversation after the incident earlier. Did that mean he planned on staying longer than expected? Well, there was only one way to find out. Why did I feel bad for asking? It was a legitimate question. After all, it was past checkout time and he hadn’t even paid me yet.
“Will you be staying an extra night?” I studied my shoes in order to avoid his penetrating gaze. Avoiding the desire to stare into his electric blue eyes was difficult though.
“Actually, I’m not sure how many nights I’ll need the room. Apparently, my car needs more serious attention than I’d realized. It may take a few days to repair the vehicle. I hope that’s okay. And I apologize that I haven’t paid you yet.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me a wad of bills. “Please take this and let me know if it isn’t enough. I’ll give you more as soon as I’m sure of how many nights I’ll need to stay.”
I glanced down at the bills. “This is more than enough.” I tried to hand back some of the cash.
He waved his hand and pushed it back. “Please. Keep it and add it to my bill. Like I said, I’m not sure how many nights I’ll be staying.”
Wow. Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this bed-and-breakfast thing after all. Well, maybe the breakfast part. But that was what they had bakeries for.
I debated on whether I should bring up what had happened at my mother’s store. It was beyond weird and he had to know that. I wanted to ask him about the conversation I’d overheard too. But it could be none of my business and perhaps I didn’t want to be involved. Should I wait to see if he mentioned it again? I’d let it go and see if he broached the topic again.
The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs caught our attention. Was it Liam? Or the ghost? I looked over my shoulder toward the hallway, then back at Nicolas. His facial expression tensed. I knew he was hoping it wasn’t Liam. But I was hoping it was. Did that make me crazy? I wanted to know as much about them as I could find out.
“I’d better check out my other guest.” I pointed over my shoulder.
Nicolas reached for my hand again and my heart skipped a beat. “When can I speak with you privately?”
“If you’d like to come downstairs later I can serve refreshments.” I motioned over my shoulder.
I was trying to remain professional, but did I sound too professional? Too aloof and indifferent? After all, I didn’t know this man.
He nodded and released my hand. I turned and walked out the door, without looking back. I needed to calm my speeding heartbeat.
I couldn’t deny my attraction to Nicolas, so I decided to remain quiet about his earlier warning and disagreement with Liam.
Liam was in the hallway when I came out of Nicolas’ room. The strangest look spread across his face when our eyes met. What did he think had happened? Sure, I’d been in a mysterious, handsome stranger’s room, but I wasn’t a lady of ill repute, as my mother would say.
“Is everything all right?” he asked with worry in his voice.
Why wouldn’t everything be okay? “Yes, it’s fine. I just came to retrieve a book.” I pointed at the hardback.
That sounded incredibly lame. He looked down at the book in my hand.
“The Raven. One of my favorites.” He flashed his dazzling smile.
How did I end up with two gorgeous men in my home?
“I enjoy Edgar Allan Poe too,” I answered softly.
“I’m sorry about earlier. Nicolas and I had words and we shouldn’t have involved you, especially at your mother’s store.” He crossed his arms in front of his muscular chest.
I shrugged. “Testosterone at work, I guess. How did you know it was my mother’s place?”
“You look just like her. The same caramel streaks in your golden hair and emerald specks in your green eyes.” He reached out and touched a lock of my hair and I sucked in a sharp breath.
How observant of him. “Are you sure you don’t know Mr. Marcos?” I asked.
Noise sounded from behind me. Nicolas stood at the threshold of his room’s door.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Liam stepped over to his room, walked inside and closed the door.
When I turned around, Nicolas had retreated into his room as well. I was left standing in the hallway wondering what had happened to my life. They were giving me a headache.
There was work to be done and I had to push thoughts of the men out of my mind. I needed food fo
r my guests, although the thought of going to a bakery at this point was sounding more and more like a good idea. Annabelle had agreed to drive me for more groceries. I knew she didn’t want to shop for food, but she wanted more information about what was going on at LaVeau Manor. Having someone to confide in would be about the only thing to keep me sane at the moment. I had to tell her about what I’d overheard. She would freak out when she found out.
When I peeked out the front door, Annabelle was sitting in her blue Honda, motioning for me to come out.
“I see that your guests are still here,” she said when I slipped into the car.
“My cooking didn’t scare them away after all,’ I said around a laugh.
As she pulled onto the road, I studied the scenery out the passenger window, trying to figure out the best way to tell her. I tapped my fingers against the leather seat absentmindedly.
“Is something on your mind?” she asked, glancing over.
Finally, I mustered up enough nerve to explain what had happened.
After describing the whole mystifying scene, Annabelle said, “So he just burst in to the store?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it was straight out of a soap opera. I asked them to leave.”
“Your mother must have freaked out.” Annabelle said, steering around a curve.
“Surprisingly, she didn’t say much.” I paused for a moment, measuring my thoughts. “She did mention that there was an odd feeling of magic around.”
“What do you think about that?” Annabelle asked.
“I’m not sure what to think.” Apprehension gnawed at me.
I knew this was the moment when I had to tell Annabelle about what I’d heard. I had to get someone’s opinion.
“There was one thing I didn’t mention.” I tried to keep my tone casual.
“Oh no. Do I need to pull over? How bad is it?” She glanced at me with wide eyes.
“Well, it’s probably nothing.” I waved off her concern.
“Tell me. You’re scaring me.” Her voice raised a level.
“When I listened in on their conversation at breakfast I heard some things,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “Like what?”
“Well, Liam told Nicolas that he couldn’t believe he was there, which was completely odd,” I said.
Annabelle snorted. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Anyway, then Nicolas said something but it was mostly muffled, probably because he was farthest away from the wall. I only made out two words.” I paused as their conversation replayed in my mind.
“You’re driving me crazy. What were the two words? Please tell me the words weren’t murder and women.” She motioned for me to hurry with one hand while steering with the other.
I chuckled. “No. He said ‘Underworld’ and ‘Mara.’”
“Underworld? What the heck is that? Is that some kind of sex slavery thing?” Annabelle asked.
“What? Come on. They look like perfectly nice gentleman. They couldn’t do that, right?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Anything is possible.”
I snorted. “Anyway, maybe that wasn’t what he said at all. Like I said, it was muffled.”
After a quick trip to the grocery store, we pulled into my driveway and Annabelle cut the engine when we stopped in front of the house. Walls of trees flanked both sides of the property all the way down to the river. Soft moonlight cast an eerie glow over the landscape, making the whole place look like a scene from Dracula. I knew even the outside of the place gave Annabelle the creeps. The sensation of being watched was undeniable, so I couldn’t say that I blamed her.
“Do you want to stay with me tonight? We could watch old Cary Grant movies and eat popcorn,” I said with hope in my voice.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you come back to my place and we’ll watch the movies?” Annabelle said.
I contemplated the thought. “No, I can’t do that. I have guests.”
“You can just let them have the place,” she said as she peered up at the manor.
“Don’t be silly. I can’t do that. Can I? No, no. I can’t.” I waved off the thought. “Listen, I’ll be fine. I promise to call you if anything happens.”
“You’ll call me if you need anything?” she repeated for reassurance.
“I promise,” I said, making an imaginary cross mark over my chest.
The house remained silent when I entered through the front door. I expected guests to make some level of noise. Their silence was odd. But as I stepped across the living room floor, the sound of footsteps creaked the floorboards above my head. At least I knew they were really still in the house.
Once the groceries were put away, I made my way to my room on the second floor. What were the guys doing up there? I’d heard walking around and Liam’s car was in the driveway, so I knew he was there. But I hadn’t seen Nicolas, so I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Liam could have killed him for all I knew.
My bedroom had a large mahogany bed in the middle of the room placed against the far wall. The walls were covered in a cream color. I’d thought of painting the room in a soft yellow or taupe soon. Aunt Maddy had a gorgeous deep purple velvet chaise in one of the other bedrooms, so I’d dragged it across the hall to use in my room. To the left of the door was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf where I displayed my small collection of witch figurines along with my large book collection. The white down comforter on the bed called my name.
After soaking in the bath, I slipped into my favorite plaid pajamas and fell onto the bed. The cat curled up at the end of the bed and immediately closed his eyes. Apparently he wasn’t worried about my mysterious guests.
I was exhausted from my lack of sleep the night before. My worries would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I needed to give my mind a break. The house was eerily still and I fell asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow. The quiet wouldn’t last for long.
Chapter Eleven
I woke after a few hours to the faint sound of walking around. But this wasn’t coming from either man’s room. It was coming from the attic. I was sure of it. Had the ghost returned or was it a rat? I’d prefer the ghost. Clearly, the cat wasn’t doing his job. Moonlight lit the room with a soft glow. I climbed out of bed, slid into my slippers, and headed toward the attic.
Careful of my footing, I climbed the remaining stairs, then inched across the creaking hardwood floor and down the long dark hallway. When I reached the attic door, I paused. Noise sounded from the other side again. That definitely wasn’t my imagination. Something was making a shuffling sound in there. But what? I had no choice but to open the door and find out. I didn’t even have anything to fend off the rat if it was in fact a wild creature. Where was the cat when I needed him?
I sucked in a deep breath and eased the door open. My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness and I reached out to find the wall to guide me into the room. Why hadn’t I brought a flashlight? Was I really that stupid? I felt my way down the wall until I knew I was in the middle of the room. My eyes still hadn’t totally adjusted to the dark and I thought I heard movement come from the corner of the room.
There was no sense in being up here. I might as well go downstairs and get a flashlight, then come back. What if someone had broken into the house and I was now in the room with them? But why would they be in the attic? There was certainly nothing valuable up there. Other than Aunt Maddy’s old clothes, postcards, and… that was when it hit me. The book! What if someone was looking for the book? But no one knew it had been there. Even I hadn’t known until I stumbled upon it.
Just when I’d decided to turn around to leave, someone reached out and grabbed me from behind. I screamed out and fell backward onto the floor.
“Are you all right?” the baritone voice asked.
I recognized Liam’s voice right away.
“Let me help you up. Give me your hand.” He stretched his hand down.
I reached forward and my hand met his. It was strong and smooth and my
heart sped up. He pulled me to my feet.
“What are you doing up here?” I whispered.
Liam didn’t answer. I didn’t want Nicholas to hear me and come running, although he’d probably already heard my scream.
“What are you doing up here?” I whispered in a harsh tone again.
He still didn’t answer right way, then finally he said, “I heard something so I thought I’d check it out.”
