The Rarest Rose

by I Beacham

  “You won’t say anything, will you? You won’t let on what I’ve said?” He couldn’t hide his concern. “She’d kill me.”

  Ele promised she wouldn’t say anything and watched as Roger hobbled off down the road.

  Her day was turning into a hodgepodge of emotions.

  Later, Ele decided to work on some illustrations. If her book on woodpeckers did well, she thought of doing one on kingfishers and other river birds. Even if her book didn’t do well, she’d still end up in her studio painting. She loved this space. It never mattered what the weather was like outside; this room, with its whitewashed walls that looked like fresh laundered sheets, was always bright. The skylight windows above her kept it flooded with natural light regardless of what was going on outside, which was just as well; today was another of the meanest of days, weather-wise. How she pined for spring.

  As she sat hunched over an unfinished watercolor of a small common kingfisher, a sable artist’s brush in her hand, she listened to the raw, abrasive sound of the wind gusting outside. There was still no snow, but this weather was heralding its imminent arrival.

  She loved the contrast of the situation. She was inside a warm studio where everything was calm and controlled, but outside, it was cold and wild, cruel and hard.

  Ele dabbed small spots of lighter blue on the dark blue wings of her subject matter. It was such a beautiful bird that if you were patient and knew where to look, you could often see them hovering over water at a riverside or as a flash of blue as their long, dark beaks grabbed a small fish.

  Kingfishers were amazing creatures that needed to consume their own bodyweight in food each day. Winters always worried her because it made the little birds so vulnerable; they were small and found it difficult to keep warm. Severe winters could often kill off over fifty percent of them. Ele thought it a shame that she couldn’t protect them, build somewhere for them to stay during the cold. But they would never come. They needed the rivers. Besides, if they did come, there would be other threats. She glanced over at Featherstone who was curled up asleep on an old wicker chair with a large pink cushion on it. Oh, he would love the little blue birds.

  As Ele washed her brush in readiness to paint a tawny color on the bird’s chest, she was disturbed by Featherstone. He sat bolt straight in the chair, his attention concentrated on something outside the window. At first, Ele thought he heard the wind and told him to settle down again, but when he arched his back and his fur stood on end, she grew nervous.

  Her thoughts turned to that time before, when he had behaved strangely at the front of the house, and when the mist had appeared on the sitting room window. Coldness ran down her spine and she felt sick. It did not help when Feathers spat a low hiss and backed as far as he could into the rear of the chair, his eyes wild and alert.

  At first, she didn’t move. She was afraid, and some inner primeval instinct told her that if she kept still, whatever was out there might not know she was present. She sat motionless for a full minute, watching the glass, praying she would not see it mist up. She was just about to move again, when she heard something. It was a noise in the wind, a sound that did not belong to its natural symphony.

  If someone asked her to describe what she heard, she couldn’t. It was indefinable. She only knew that it was unnatural and didn’t belong in the wind. The sound had a cadence to it that altered as the wind gusted. It was a wailing sound, barely audible but just there, and then it would turn and sound like muffled voices. But the voices were gone almost before she heard them. There was nothing for her reality to grasp on to. She wondered if someone real, someone corporeal, was stumbling around on her property and seeking help.

  She stood as quietly as she could and advanced to the window to look out. She saw nothing, just dust and dried leaves being churned up in the newly laid courtyard.

  A strange impulse overcame her, and she opened the studio door and went outside. Nothing looked unusual or out of place as she scanned the area around her. She watched as the wind took leaves and blew them all around. She had almost convinced herself that her imagination was on overtime, when something froze her to the spot. The wind suddenly grabbed leaves and forced them to dance in a tight circle that reminded her of a mini tornado. She saw it move to the center of the courtyard, almost outside her kitchen window, where it hovered and failed to move on. Reason told her it was not natural.

  Ele shivered, not from the cold, but from something deeper within her. A feeling came over her, and she felt compelled to walk toward the circle of wind. As she did, her hair blew in all directions. Her actions were stupid. She should get out of the wind, but still she was drawn, as if her mind was no longer hers.

  When she got to the point where the leaves orbited for too long in their bizarre way, they stopped their whirling dervish behavior and fell away, scattering in many directions.

  And then it happened. She saw a shape pass so quickly in front of her she could barely make out what she saw. It was like a tight knot of circular air with a darkened composition that moved at head height. She would have reasoned that it was one of those strange anomalies of nature, but for the fact the object turned, and against the direction of the wind, returned back to pass again in front of her. Frozen in fear, Ele thought she was going mad. Could she see, in the speed and the blurriness of the shape, the distorted outline and features of a face?

  The wind dropped before raging and buffeting again. Ele found power in her body and ran back to the studio to get Feathers, but he was gone. Habit made her turn the light out and bang the door shut before she sprinted back into the kitchen and slammed the door behind her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kiernan drew up in front of her home, turned off the car engine, and bent her head in exhaustion against the steering wheel. She should have stayed the night in Cambridge and driven home the next morning, but the thought of a second night away wasn’t something she could stand. She was missing Ele.

  It was almost midnight, pitch-black, and very windy as she grabbed her equipment out of the car and struggled up the stairs toward her front door. She should have made two journeys with the equipment, but instead she was burdened down like a donkey carrying camping gear on some archaeological expedition. She’d pay for this in the morning when her shoulders and neck ached. Still, she didn’t care. All she wanted was a hot shower and her bed.

  She also wanted to phone Ele. Despite her manic photo schedule, she had spoken to her yesterday, but it hadn’t been enough. Today, she’d done nothing but think of her. She wanted to hear her voice again, to connect. Yesterday, Ele had told her of the bitter wind in Pegmire, and how it had put her off going to the church to do research. But she had planned to go today. Kiernan had tried to phone Ele this afternoon to see if she’d discovered anything, but despite leaving a message, Ele hadn’t phoned her back. She hated not hearing from her, but figured she must have been at the church, or following up on another lead. Eager though Kiernan was to hear Ele’s voice again, and to learn what she’d found, she recognized that the hour was too late to phone. Ele had been so weary when she’d left her last. She didn’t want to disturb her. She needed her sleep. Kiernan would ring her tomorrow morning, first thing.

  When Kiernan’s head finally hit her pillow, she found she couldn’t sleep straight away. Her thoughts were still dominated by Ele. She could see her laughing face, feel her touch, smell her perfume—experience that kiss. How she wanted to be with her tonight. She knew she was being silly, but not hearing from Ele unsettled her. Ele didn’t seem the type to not return a call. If she’d been to the church this afternoon, she could still have phoned her this evening? A small part of Kiernan worried that everything might not be all right. Ele had seemed okay with her when they’d last spoken, and although the kiss hadn’t been mentioned, the friendship had still been there. Had something else happened? Something ghostly? She shook herself. Ele was probably busy and waiting till tomorrow to ring her. It would be interesting to see who rang who first. Sleep finally
claimed her.

  It felt like minutes asleep before the sound of a buzzer rang in her ears, its sound unpleasant. She awoke with a start.

  “Hold your horses, hold your horses!” Kiernan growled as she flung herself out of bed and then cursed when she stubbed a toe on a nearby chair. She had been in such a glorious and welcome deep sleep. Whoever woke her now had better have a damn good reason or they weren’t going to celebrate Christmas.

  The door buzzer continued its relentless noise, sounding louder in the night silence. Its persistence was irritating.

  “Yes, yes, I hear you. I’m coming, I’m coming.” Logic told Kiernan that her visitor couldn’t hear her, but she said it anyway.

  She squinted at the bedside clock and registered two thirty in the morning. Growling again as she wrapped her dressing gown around her, she shoved her feet into a pair of mules and then struggled in the semi darkness toward the door.

  “Yes?” she mumbled into the intercom. A voice she knew well echoed back with urgency.

  “It’s me…Ele.”

  Ele? Kiernan didn’t wait for an explanation. She hit the entry key and opened her front door. The electronic lock clanked as the main door below opened and Ele bounded up the steep stairs. She ran fingers through her hair, simultaneously realizing it was a waste of time. Only water and a hairdryer could improve her appearance after sleep.

  As she flicked a table lamp on, Ele swept through the door looking like a witch’s apprentice. Her hair was wild and unkempt, her makeup smudged. Under an unfastened jacket, she wore a heavy, navy blue cardigan with the buttons done up unevenly—as though at speed—hanging over a loose fitting pair of blue jeans with more holes in them than a cheese grater. Even her white sneaker laces were undone.

  Kiernan closed the door before turning back to face Ele who was now leaning against a wall looking sheepish, realizing what an entrance she had made.

  “Hi,” Ele said between steepled fingers. “Bet you weren’t expecting me.”

  Kiernan’s earlier anger evaporated immediately to be replaced with concern. Whatever brought Ele here at such an hour, it had to be of the utmost importance, and seeing how flustered Ele was, she had a damn good idea what that might be. Kiernan knew better than to rush the explanation. Ele looked startled, like a horse that had just bolted and needed a reassuring hand to calm her. “Well, now you mention it,” she said.

  “You’re thinking this is all a bit odd…” Ele stuttered.

  “Understatement.” Tenderly, Kiernan took one of Ele’s cold trembling hands and led her over to a couch and planted her there. “But always a pleasure to see you,” she added with light theatrical aplomb.

  A few more table lamps later, and Kiernan could see how pale Ele was, the vision of someone in shock. She was certainly behaving that way. She seemed incapable of stringing two words together. Her entire body was shaking. She looked frozen and plunged her hands between her thighs for warmth.

  Concerned, Kiernan grabbed a wool blanket she kept on a chair for cold evenings, and flung it around Ele. Ele took its ends and wrapped herself in it.

  “I’m going to make a cup of hot chocolate and then you can tell me what’s happened, okay?”

  Ele nodded. Kiernan could see her fighting for composure. She was desperate to find out what was wrong, but knew a hot drink was needed first.

  A few minutes later, Kiernan thrust the drink into welcome hands and sat beside her waiting patiently while Ele drank greedily. Ele gulped the drink, and Kiernan hoped she wouldn’t scald herself. She watched Ele’s unbrushed, messy hair fall toward the cup. Kiernan couldn’t stop herself from sweeping it out of her face. Ele didn’t even notice.

  All the time, Kiernan waited patiently for Ele to calm down and be able to tell her what had happened. Her own mind was running riot. She knew this had to do with the haunting. What could make Ele this scared, this vulnerable? It had to be something worse than what had happened to the two of them that lunch. This was far more than ghostly breath on a windowpane. A chill ran down her spine as she at last saw Ele place the empty cup on the side table and turn to her.

  “Oh, Kiernan.” Ele sounded petrified. Her voice still shook.

  “Take your time.”

  “This afternoon…” Ele pulled the blanket tighter around her. “I was in the studio, painting.” She began to recount the whole saga of what had occurred outside her workspace. Kiernan saw the fear in her eyes. “I didn’t imagine any of it. It happened. It was terrifying.”

  Kiernan’s mouth went dry. This was the sort of stuff you read about in ghost stories, not the type of thing that happened for real. If she were honest, Kiernan had never believed in spirits, but she damn well did now. What was happening at Ele’s was petrifying and nightmarish. Things were escalating. This latest turn had made Ele bolt in panic from her own home.

  “Where have you been since this afternoon?”

  “I ran into the house and hid in the sitting room. I crouched down by the side of the big armchair by the fire so I couldn’t be seen from the windows. I couldn’t move, Kier. All I could hear was the wind gusting outside. I was frightened to move out of the house in case whatever was there was waiting for me.”

  Kiernan heard the raw edge of fear.

  “I’ve been there for hours, not daring to move,” Ele continued. “It was only when the wind dropped tonight that I bolted for the car keys and drove over here to you.” Ele seemed to be calming, and her breathing was less labored. “I arrived here just after ten but could see you weren’t in. I’ve been driving around since. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I couldn’t book into a hotel; my purse is still in the house.”

  She glanced up at Kiernan with such wanting. “You’ve no idea how wonderful it was to see your car here when I drove past again a few minutes ago.”

  They were close, and Kiernan could feel Ele’s breath. It would have been so easy, so right, to lean in and kiss her. They had kissed before. Would it have been so wrong? But Kiernan held back. Ele was upset, and the last thing she needed was her crawling all over her. Kiernan still remembered the way Ele had behaved after their kiss. She had acted as if it hadn’t happened. Kiernan wondered if she regretted it, or if she’d just been tired? She held back. These were questions to be answered later. Right now, Ele needed support.

  “Whatever was there, Kier, it was using the wind. It was in the wind.”

  “It’s okay. You’re here now and safe.” Kiernan put her arm around Ele and pulled her close. She could feel her trembling beneath the blanket. “Why didn’t you phone me?” she asked.

  “My cell phone is still in the studio and the landline—”

  “—is over by the window,” Kiernan finished. It was the same window where Stafford’s breath had materialized. She wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere near it either.

  “Oh, God, Kier. I’m so scared. Whatever it was, I swear it drew me out of the studio. It got into my mind and pulled me outside. I still don’t know what I saw, but I know it was a face. I could see the shape—”

  “Was it Stafford?” Kiernan interrupted. Her own sense of alarm was building inside, but she pushed it down for Ele’s sake.

  “I don’t know. I could hear voices, but I couldn’t tell you how many or whether they were a man’s, or a woman’s, or both. I’ve never been so petrified in all my life.” Ele looked at her. “I can’t go back there, Kier. I need to stay somewhere tonight.”

  Kiernan worried as she wrapped her arms tighter around Ele. Things were escalating at the old vicarage, and there seemed no way to stop it.

  “You’ll stay here as long as you have to until we get to the bottom of this.” She hoped they could get to the bottom of it. This haunting was turning into a complex and alarming problem that held—for the moment—no solutions.

  “Where’s the cat?” Kiernan asked.

  “Still there. I haven’t seen him since he bolted out of the studio. He must be outside somewhere.”

  “Poor Feathers,” Kiernan sa
id.

  “I thought you didn’t like him?”

  “I never said that.”

  Ele drew back and looked at her, frowning. “You don’t have to. I can see it in your face.”

  “You’re biased. That cat doesn’t like me. I’m just reacting to that.”

  Kiernan feigned shock. The moment was presenting an opportunity for levity. Something desperately needed.

  “He’s a darling.”

  Kiernan shook her head as she listened to Ele defend the bloody thing.

  “Why can’t you two just be friends?”

  Because he knows I like you, and he feels threatened, Kiernan thought. “He’ll have to make the first move.” She playacted defensive, and Ele rewarded her with a small smile. For the first time that night, her shaking had stopped.

  “Have I said how thankful I am that you are here helping? I’m not sure I can cope with this.”

  “I’m not sure anyone can cope with this on their own.” Kiernan tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow as she stated the obvious. “And yes, you’ve thanked me before, and it really is okay. I’m determined to sort this out, as much as you are.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  We. That one word gave Kiernan such immense joy. She couldn’t help smiling. But then she looked at Ele and realized how tired she was. There were dark circles under her eyes. A protective instinct swept over her. “You need to sleep, Ele. I think a hot shower and then bed. In the morning when we’re rested, we’ll think what to do next, but until then, try to put this out of your mind.”

  Ele looked at her as if she were insane. Kiernan raised her chin to the air. “Well, try anyway.” She pulled Ele off the couch and led her to the guest bedroom. It wasn’t where she wanted to leave her tonight. Kiernan wanted her in bed with her. She wanted to hold her close and let her know she was safe. But these things couldn’t be rushed, and again, she reminded herself that now wasn’t the right time. She thrust towels into Ele’s arms. “Everything you need should be in the bathroom, but just holler if you want anything else.”