“What do you care about that? I thought you couldn’t stand the guy?”
“I can’t. But his father’s my boss. I didn’t think it was good politics to annoy both of them.”
“Oh. Well, I guess you’re right about that. But what did you do to annoy Alistair?”
“I asked him too many questions about his Clancy topic, I think. For someone whose favorite topic is himself, he’s pretty closemouthed about it. Tell me, have you ever heard more about those accusations?”
“No, not a word. What’s the topic?”
“The Missing Earl. If I didn’t already have a topic of my own picked out, I’d write a rival paper.”
“You would?”
“Well, sure. In for a penny, in for a pound. But at this point, it wouldn’t make sense. I can’t afford to come to Ireland to do the research. I just don’t have the time, and I sure don’t have the money.”
“Hmm. That’s all that’s stopping you?”
“Well, that and the fact that when it came out it would antagonize my department chairman’s son. And possibly old Reg, too. You wouldn’t believe how much he dislikes me.”
“Oh, sure I would,” Meg said breezily. “I had to share a room with you, remember?”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Hey, what are sisters for? But I have an idea.”
“You do? About time.”
“Ha ha.”
Katie grinned. She’d forgotten how much she missed Meg’s banter.
“But, listen,” her sister continued. “Patrick was saying how much he’d like to apply for the Clancy, but he couldn’t think of anything worth doing. If you collaborated with him—”
“He’d be interested?”
“Well, I can ask him. And have him call you if he thinks he’d be interested. He’s here. He can do the research. You’d have to do the bulk of the writing of course, and let him edit it. That would only be fair.”
“Oh, I agree,” said Katie. “When can you ask him?”
“Tonight?”
“Sounds great to me. Are you sure he’d be interested?”
“Of course he would be. This sort of thing is right up his alley. I guess my only question to you is, why are you?”
“Why am I what?” Katie hedged.
“So interested. You always said the world after 1700 was a black hole as far as you were concerned. I guess I don’t understand why you’d want to put all this time into something that really isn’t your area.”
“Well,” Katie said, thinking furiously. What was she going to tell Meg? It’s like this, sis, she could imagine herself saying. I met this guy and he’s an absolute dream. Only problem is, he’s a ghost. And he wants my help to try and get out of the influence of a bunch of Standing Stones that some crazy old coot erected on a site on the property where I’m living.
“You know,” Meg was saying, without waiting for a reply, “I’ve had this feeling all along that there’s something you aren’t telling me. Are you holding out on me?”
“No, of course not.” Even as she said the words, Katie could feel herself cringe. She’d always been a lousy liar, especially where Meg was concerned. Her sister could tell by one look whether she was telling the truth.
Fortunately, Meg’s radar didn’t seem so effective long distance. “Hmm,” was all her twin said. “I’d hate to think that there could be anything you wouldn’t tell me. But I guess I’ll just have to believe you. For now.”
“Will you talk to Patrick?”
“As soon as he gets home.”
“Home?” Katie raised her eyebrows and let her voice rise in an imitation of their mother. “Who’s holding out on whom here?”
“Oh. Didn’t I tell you we decided to live together?” Meg asked innocently.
“No, you did not. Do Mom and Dad know?”
“Well…” This time it sounded as though her sister was doing some mental somersaults. “Not yet.”
“And when do you plan to tell them?”
“Well…” There was another pause. “Not just yet.”
“Hmm.” Katie let her sister squirm for a second longer, and then she laughed. “Your secret is safe with me. But you will let me know what he thinks, one way or the other?”
“Of course.”
After a few more exchanges, the sisters said goodbye. Katie grinned as she replaced the receiver. It was amusing to think that Meg, who’d always been the good one, had something she’d rather not let their parents know. Not yet, of course. Katie was still chuckling to herself all the way to her car.
As she reached the faculty parking lot, she saw Alistair striding along the street, holding a manila envelope. He didn’t look very happy. And he didn’t appear to notice her, either, because he didn’t acknowledge her with so much as a glance in her direction. If he was still annoyed with her about Friday night, it wasn’t going to compare with how angry he’d be if he got wind that she’d decided to write a paper on the same topic. She turned the key in the ignition. It might be the kiss of death to her career at East Bay, she thought. Better that Alistair not know. And if it happened that she won, what could he do about it then? Somehow she thought that the prestige of the award would outweigh his father’s disapproval. The worst Alistair could do was challenge her conclusions. And that sort of challenge was expected, and even welcomed. She was confident that with Derry’s help, she’d be able to prove her points.
But in the interim—she drove away, frowning, considering. In the interim, it wouldn’t be a good idea to alert Alistair. And there were sure to be materials she’d need, books and so on she’d have to check, just to be thorough. How could she get what she needed without him knowing? She drove slowly down the street, turning the idea over and over in her mind.
A blue library sign caught her eye. She was nearly at the intersection that would take her into town if she turned right. Katie slowed to a stop at the red light. She put her right-turn blinker on. Daffy Daphne Hughes might be just the person she needed to talk to.
• • •
“I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses.” Mary watched Derry pace around the perimeter of Stones like a caged beast. Although his words were those of resignation, he appeared to be anything but resigned.
“It isn’t a question of understanding.” He paused, facing away from her, and spoke over his shoulder. His face was shadowed, his eyes dark pools of pain. “I know what I am. I know what I can and cannot do or be. But the thought of giving her up…”
“Derry, it’s the only way. How can she ever be happy with you? Do you want things to come to the same end they did with us? Eventually she’ll figure out that there’s nothing here—”
He swung around with a ferocity that made her jump. “I want you to try and do whatever you think you can. I want to leave this cursed place.”
Mary gave him a long look. “If you’re sure that’s what you want. I want you to be sure. I’ve talked to my friend, Catherine. She’s fairly certain it can work. The time has to be right for it. She’s doing some research now, but I think, just from what I know, that it will have to be soon.”
“She’ll do it here?”
“Not within these Stones, perhaps. The energy may be too strong here. But perhaps on the periphery, down by the beach—maybe where you died originally—we can hold the earth energy back long enough—”
“Long enough to release me?”
“Yes.” He was silent for a long time, and finally she said: “Is that what you want, Derry?”
“I don’t know what I want.” There was a bitter twist to his mouth as he spoke. “It would be easier for Katie if I moved on.”
“It would be better for the two of you if you moved on. You aren’t really a part of things here, Derry. You need to go on, to move on to the next level of existence. It’s only an odd series of circumstances that’s kept you here all these years. Don’t you think Katie wants the same? Isn’t that what you asked her to help you do?”
He drew a deep breath and s
pread his hands wide. “I don’t think I remember what I asked her.”
“What will you tell her?’ He resumed pacing, and she was reminded of a caged tiger. “I don’t know. I’ll think of something. It will have to be soon, though. Each day that passes it grows more and more difficult to think of giving her up.” He ran a hand across his chin. “It would be better if I could convince her to give me up herself.”
“And if you can’t?”
“I’ll think of something.” He raised his head and stared into the trees, in the direction of the beach.
Mary straightened. “I got a couple books from England yesterday. I’ll call Catherine and talk to her some more. We may have to call in a few of our other friends to help us, you understand?”
“Do whatever you feel you must, Mary.” He didn’t turn around or look at her, merely walked away into the forest, his shoulders rigid with despair.
She checked the impulse to call after him, to offer a word of sympathy and support, and only slipped away beneath the trees as silently as he.
• • •
“I need your help. Daphne.” Katie paused and met the older woman’s keen gaze with an even stare of her own.
Daphne pursed her lips as if considering. She gave a short nod, reached under the circulation desk and set her bell on the counter. “Come into my office, my dear.” She indicated a ladder-back chair that was set at a precise right angle to her own immaculate desk. “Sit down and tell me.”
Katie folded her hands in her lap, feeling more and more like a child approaching the school principal. “I’m working on a project, and I need to do some research, but…” She hesitated and Daphne looked puzzled. “I need your help.”
“What can I do?”
Katie took a deep breath. “The thing is…this article I’m working on may potentially step on a few toes at East Bay. It’s nothing illegal, or immoral or anything like that—”
“It’s just that you don’t want to risk offending someone before you’re ready to publish your results?”
“Exactly.” Katie gave the older woman a grateful smile. “In order to get the information I need, I was wondering if you could run interference for me, so to speak. If you would contact the library, for example, and request the information, I could retain my anonymity a bit longer than I would be able to otherwise.”
Daphne steepled her fingers and frowned, considering. “I can try that. You know, though, that as a professor, you have much more clout over there than I do.”
“I’m not a professor yet. Really, I’m not much more than an instructor. And it’s more important to me that I have access to the materials I’m going to need without anyone knowing that I want them, than the convenience.” Although time was running out, thought Katie.
“I suppose we can go to another library if East Bay won’t cooperate,” said Daphne. “I’ll see what I can do. Is there a list you’d like me to request?”
“Not yet,” said Katie. “I’m still working on it. But I’ll bring it by tomorrow or the day after at the latest. I need to get working on this.”
“Yes, you do that.” Daphne paused. “Can I ask what the topic is?”
“Sure,” said Katie. “Have you ever heard of the Missing Earl?”
Daphne frowned and shook her head. “No, I can’t say I have.”
“He was an Irish lord at the end of the eighteenth century who got involved in the Rebellion of 1798 and disappeared—literally just vanished from the pages of history. No one knows what happened to him.”
“And you think you might?”
I know I do, thought Katie. But all she said was, “I have a theory. If I can make a strong enough case—”
“It will go a long way toward helping your career?”
“Yes,” Katie nodded.
“Well, Katie Coyle, you can count on me to help. As I said, I may not be very effective. But we can sure try.” She raised her head and beckoned to someone outside the office. “John Sneed! John! Don’t move anything until I get there.” She rose, and Katie got to her feet as well. “You’ll have to excuse me, my dear, but I really must tell John where I want the chairs in the meeting room arranged. He has his own ideas about things sometimes.” With a smile and a wave, Daphne was out the door, shouting, “John Sneed!”
Katie grinned. Somehow she had the feeling that Daphne Hughes was going to be a very effective ally. She was certainly a woman who knew what she wanted. And God help anyone who got in her way.
• • •
Derry braced himself. He could feel Katie moving closer, her heart pounding in eager anticipation. She was going to be very angry with him and very hurt. But there was simply no other way around it. If he was going to extricate her from the morass of their involvement, he was going to have to find a way to make it possible for her to accept what he knew was only inevitable.
She burst into the clearing with a smile on her face. “Derry!”
Immediately he stepped into view from behind one of the Stones. “Yes?” He kept his voice neutral, but he could see the flicker of hurt in her eyes, as she registered the change.
“Are you all right?” She stopped short about six feet away.
“I’m fine. What is it?”
Katie glanced from left to right, as though not quite sure she was hearing correctly. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Of course I’m all right. I never change. What do you want?” He tried to soften the tone in his voice, but he could see the growing hurt and confusion spread across her face.
“I—I came to tell you that I’m going to work on your—your history for my paper. My sister has a friend in Ireland who she’s pretty sure will collaborate with me, and I’ve worked it out with the town librarian that 1 can use the library as a cover, so it won’t cause any conflicts with Alistair or his father. I’ll probably be able to tell you something definite by Christmas.”
Derry shook his head and backed away. “Christmas?”
“These things take time, Derry. I can work as fast as I can, but there’re no guarantees. But the deadline for the Clancy is January, so—”
“That’s what I’ve become to you? A paper?” He hardened his expression and forced himself to look beyond the now obvious hurt look she wore.
“No! Not at all. How can you say that?”
“It sounds as if that’s what you have in mind.”
“Well, it is, but how else can I help you? What more do you expect me to do? At least initially?”
“I didn’t expect that you’d try and use my predicament as a way to make a name for yourself.”
“Make a name for myself?” She was rigid with shock. “Do you have any idea how much time and effort this is going to take? I have two people already who are going to have to put their time and energy into it, as well as—”
“Then I’m sure your project will be a great success.” He turned around.
She ran across the space between them, and grabbed his arm. “Why are you angry, Derry? I thought you’d be thrilled. I thought you’d welcome—”
“Welcome my life and my misfortune revealed to all the world? Yes, I’d like to know what happened to my brother and his family. And to my Caitlin. But I never thought you’d use it as a way to further your own career.”
“I—I can’t quite believe you’re saying this.”
“Believe it.” Without another word, he stepped behind the Stones and forced himself to disappear. He fled to the beach before he could hear her soft, stifled cries.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Katie stumbled back through the woods. She felt as though he’d slapped her, or poured a bucket of freezing water over her. What in the name of God had precipitated that? He was nothing like the man she’d thought she’d known.
But that’s the point, that same little voice whispered. He’s not really a man at all. And how long have you known him? A month? Six weeks?
The flashing light on her answering machine caught her eye, and she was tempted to ig
nore it. But force of long habit made her press the button. A masculine voice spoke, a voice that sounded so much like Derry’s with its soft brogue that her heart clenched painfully in her chest. “Good afternoon, Katie Coyle. Patrick Ryan here. I wanted to let you know I’d be happy to collaborate with you on the project. I’m sending you an E-mail with a few ideas I’ve had. If you have anything you’d like to send me, please do. Otherwise, why don’t you call me tonight before midnight? I believe that would be about six o’clock your time. Speak to you soon.”
The machine whirred and clicked as the tape rewound. Katie glanced at the clock. It was just four. She had plenty of time. Was it even worth it, becoming embroiled in such a project, if Derry didn’t care? Or if Derry believed she was only using him to further her career? How could he think so?
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away. What could have happened to make him so angry? She racked her mind, thinking furiously. She’d done nothing—of that she was quite sure.
With a shaking hand, she dialed Mary’s number. When the woman answered, she spoke as calmly as she could. “Mary, I—I need to talk to you.”
There was a soft sigh at the end of the line. “Of course. Is anything wrong?”
“It’s Derry. He’s—uh—he—” She broke off as a lump in her throat made speech impossible.
“I’ll come right over.”
Katie went to the window and stared out over the ponds. The late-afternoon breeze rippled across the water, and the waterfall bubbled beneath the footbridge. Outside, nothing had changed, but it seemed as if a cloud had covered the sun, diminishing the quality and the intensity of the light.
In a few minutes, she saw Mary emerge from the path beneath the trees, cross the footbridge and walk up the graveled path to the front door. Katie opened the door and forced a smile.
“Katie?” The older woman’s voice was soft with sympathy. “What’s wrong?”
Katie forced herself to take a deep breath. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Sure. But can’t you tell me what’s wrong first?”
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