“I suppose so. Any family that has two ballrooms, should be expected to have at least five vehicles per family member. That’s actually quite conservative, considering everything else we’ve seen while searching.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” said Miles.
“It’ll take a while before all of the vehicles are serviced and returned,” I commented, as I continued to search. “I’m glad to have one of them back and ready to use, anyway. That’s all I need.”
I wasn’t turning up any relevant information in my searches for Sarah Williams, so I tried a different tactic.
“Aha!” I said triumphantly. “I’ve got something.”
Miles was lounging in the chair next to the desk, but now he sat up. “What did you get?”
“I found her name on this genealogy site one of my Aunts uses,” I said, as I continued to scan the monitor. “She’s tried to get my Mom interested, and I heard her say this is the best site out there. It’s kind of her hobby. She’s found out all sorts of family history here. As people find information and add photos and documents, families start linking together. If anyone related to Sarah is a real genealogy hound like my Aunt, then we’ll be able to find something.”
I read in silence for several minutes, clicking various links, searching for any useful information.
“There’s a lot more here than I thought there would be…” I said slowly, as I continued to scan the page. “I’m stunned at how many Sarah Williams there are. Everyone should have a completely different name, with no repeats. It would make searching a lot more successful.”
“If you don’t want repeats, then you have to accept that names will be long, and keep getting longer. It could take all day to introduce two people, and forget remembering each other’s names. It’s hard enough remembering your own.”
I laughed.
“Fine, destroy my brilliant plan, why don’t you…”
My voice trailed off as I sat up straight, and my eyes widened with excitement.
“Oh my goodness Miles, I found her! This is her, and she never boarded that ship to Europe! She wasn’t on the ship!”
I spun around, and Miles and I stared at each other.
“Anika, please tell me you’re not joking!”
“No, look, she’s listed on the manifesto, but not on the list of passengers who boarded. She didn’t go down with that ship when it sank!”
I wasn’t the only one on the edge of my seat now, we were both glued to the screen.
“Everyone assumed she stuck with that plan,” said Miles, processing this shocking revelation, as I scrolled and searched for more. “She didn’t tell the truth about how Delevan and I died, so why I thought she told the truth about her future destination, I’ve no idea.”
“Yeah, in hindsight, I can see how that awful Dan would want to throw off anyone who might come looking for them. If they found Sarah, they’d find him, too.”
“Maybe there’s a diary out there somewhere, since she never sent the letter she promised,” said Miles
“That means searching outside the estate,” I replied.
“The estate seems small compared to the entire world,” Miles commented.
“Oh my goodness, don’t say that!” I glanced at him, and saw he was teasing. “I had no idea when I accepted this position that it would require so much travel.”
Miles laughed.
“You may get away with doing all your traveling from the desk chair,” he pointed to the screen. “We haven’t reached the end of the internet trail just yet.”
I clicked on the link he pointed out.
“She’s listed as a passenger on the steamboat Capricious,” I said. “They were traveling North on the Mississippi.”
“Why don’t you do a search on the steamboat,” he suggested, so I opened a new window and did. “If we find out its route, then we’ll narrow down the list of cities where they may have disembarked.”
“Yikes… the bottom of the Mississippi,” I said, my heart dropping. “It hit a snag, and sank.”
We were both silent, digesting this.
Miles thought, then shook his head slightly.
“No… we assumed she went down with the ship on her way to Europe, let’s not assume she went down with the steamboat, too.”
“Okay, you’re right. Pressing on, then.”
Switching back to the genealogy site, I continued to go through information and discovered an old newspaper article.
“Does it say whether or not there were any survivors?” asked Miles.
I had control of the mouse, and therefore controlled how quickly the article scrolled across the screen.
“You read faster than I do,” I commented.
“I’ve had more practice,” he replied.
“That’s right, you have! A lot more. Hang on, I’ll try and find it…”
Miles spotted the list before I did, and pointed.
“Not all of the passengers died, in fact, most didn’t…”
“Oh my goodness, Miles!” I said, pointing violently at the screen. I skipped a bunch and got ahead of him, apparently. “Sarah’s brother was killed in the accident! And that horrible Sam, who ambushed you and Delevan. Good riddance to them, but look! Sarah survived!”
We continued to read.
“Wow, she got married in 1871,” I pointed out. That was fast. I snuck a sideways look at Miles, but couldn’t read his expression. “And had a LOT of kids. Well, she did marry a doctor.”
“What in the world does that have to do with it?” wondered Miles.
“If doctors made as much then as some of them do now, they could afford all those kids,” I replied.
“Well… I’m glad she survived. I don’t understand though, her brother was dead. She was no longer under his control. Why didn’t she contact my parents, and tell them the truth?”
“I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense,” I said.
Miles sat back in his chair again, but unbridled curiosity forced me to keep going through her large list of descendants.
“A lot of her kids, and theirs, and so on, are listed on this site…”
My voice trailed off as information and photographs became familiar. Why was this linked to my Aunt’s site? I checked and double-checked.
“Anika, what’s wrong?” Miles asked, concern filling his eyes. He probably noticed the color drain from my face.
“I… can’t believe this. This can’t be right… this can’t be right!” I said frantically.
“What?” asked Miles, as he moved to look over my shoulder.
I pointed mutely at the monitor, and a photo of… me.
Miles was silent as he stared at the screen. His silence worried me.
“How is this even possible?” I exclaimed, desperate for him to say something. I wanted to know what he was feeling.
“Major, major… coincidence?” Miles said slowly.
I turned to look at him as I began to panic, my words stumbling over one another.
“I didn’t know, I promise you I didn’t, I never even heard of her before Uncle Mark told us that story! I thought she died on the way to Europe just like you did, please believe me!”
“It’s okay,” Miles said, shaking his head as if to clear it. “It’s okay, Anika. We’re okay.”
I stared unblinking at the screen.
“I just… feel so weird about this.”
How could he not feel different? I felt different. I felt bad.
“It’s going to take a while to process,” said Miles. “But maybe… maybe this has something to do with why you can see me, when no one else can.”
“Like I’m finishing something, and righting a wrong my Great-great-great Grandmother Sarah Williams Lawrence, didn’t.”
Miles nodded, and we were silent a moment, staring at the information in front of us.
“You know the horrible thing…” he said with a grin, “is that you’re also related to Sarah’s brother.”
I glared at Miles, and gra
bbing a book off the desk, I took a swing at him. I didn’t care for having that family skeleton pointed out. There’s the slim possibility I never would’ve figured it out on my own!
But, it was a huge relief to know he could make a joke out of it, rather than feel differently towards me.
Miles laughed at my unsuccessful attempt to pummel him. But then he was serious.
“You’re not responsible for a past you had no part in. So… don’t feel differently about yourself. Okay?”
I felt another rush of relief at hearing him say those words. I glanced up at him and nodded.
“Okay. I won’t.”
“Good.”
He sat back down, then turned so he could study me.
“You don’t look anything like her,” he said.
“Yeah, I hear she was a ravishing beauty,” I replied, half rolling my eyes, and thinking Mom and Doreen did bear a strong resemblance. I was sort of resenting that great-great-great Grandmother Sarah didn’t pass on a little something to me, too.
“So are you,” Miles said, then looked away.
I think he blushed. I know I did.
“Oh really. Look at my hair... no curl to it at all, and a common shade of brown, at that. Plain brown eyes, too, not amazing like yours,” I said, as I remembered his hazel eyes. I wasn’t looking at him, I’d blush again.
“There’s nothing common or plain about you, Anika,” Miles said firmly. “You are incredibly beautiful. Stop selling yourself short.”
I was embarrassed, but at the same time, I longed for what I was hearing. I’d never been complimented like this, and I did feel short changed when I looked at my Mom, and her spitting image, Doreen. I wanted to hear more.
“Yeah, but look at her gorgeous blond curls. I know it’s a black and white photo, but still. And those blue eyes. I can’t compete with that.”
“You think there’s only one kind of beauty. That isn’t true, there are many kinds. Hers is like… a Queen Elizabeth rose. You’ve seen them in the garden, the pink ones. Pretty, but the buds have few petals. They bloom, and reveal nothing more than what’s seen at first glance.
“You’re completely different, Anika. One glance from you, reveals there’s so much more than meets the eye. You’re mysterious and alluring, like a deep crimson rose, filled with layer upon layer of velvet petals. You’re absolutely beautiful, and each layer is even more so. It’s hard not to get lost, looking into those eyes of yours… if there was a competition, you’d win,” Miles said, and looked away.
I was stunned into silence for several seconds.
“Where do you get this stuff?” I finally managed to ask, too embarrassed now, to continue this line of conversation. “What movies have you been watching lately, and please don’t tell me you’re hooked on Lifetime, Television for Women!”
The spell was broken, and Miles laughed.
Oh, how I was going to miss that laugh.
“No, I do not frequent that channel. I don’t know where all of that came from, I kind of surprised myself. But that’s what I see, when I see you.”
The spell was back, and the way Miles looked at me made me wish for the millionth time he wasn’t semi-transparent.
“What are the crimson roses in the garden called?” I asked softly.
Miles looked away.
“They’re... Taboo. The crimson roses are called Taboo.”
I sighed. How ironic.
We sat thinking our separate thoughts, then returned to the subject of Sarah and the information on the genealogy site.
The snow was melting fast, spring was anxious to arrive. I waded through a mix of slush and half-frozen mud, on the way to the castle. It was a good thing I was only walking from the guest house! Even with as little unpaved ground as there was to cover, these boots were going to need a major scraping and scrubbing if I ever hoped to get them clean again.
And Chip!
“Oh my word, you are a mess!” I said, my hands on my hips, surveying his feet. He looked like he was wearing mud boots.
When we reached the garden, I searched for a garden hose to wash off Chip’s horribly messy feet.
“What are you up to?” wondered Miles, as he appeared beside me.
“This dog! Do you see his feet? The boy’s a mess! Molly from Queen of Clean would be justified in having a fit, if I let him in the house like this. Not to mention Polly!”
“You don’t need to give the poor guy a cold bath over it, let me handle it,” said Miles, using his superpowers on Chip’s feet and my boots.
“You are just too handy, Mister!” I said, admiring my extremely clean footwear.
“Oh, and hi,” I said.
“Hi back,” said Miles, with a smile.
Once inside the castle, I plopped my purse on the entryway table and took out my iPhone like I did every morning first thing, to check on Polly and Second-Miles.
“Still no improvement,” said Polly’s friend Enid. “Polly’s holding up, but it’s very hard. We both wanted to believe moving him to this hospital with specialists in the top of their field, would bring him out of the coma. But… after all this time, there’s been no change.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. Poor Polly. It was too horrible.
Enid lowered her voice.
“The doctors don’t sound positive at all, Anika. He’s been in a coma for almost eleven months. They’re talking about bad EEG results, and some sort of test they feel should be done. I’m worried he’s too far gone, and there might not be anything left to come back.”
“Do you mean as in brain-dead?”
“Yes… I don’t understand all their medical chatter, but it sounds as though that is what they believe. Polly doesn’t want to let go, but she’s starting to realize she has to.”
I hung up with Enid, feeling stunned. Poor Polly…
I turned to tell Miles the details of the conversation.
“How awful,” Miles said.
We were both silent, lost in thought.
“That would be terrible, to be stuck like that… I guess I was lucky, I went fast.” He paused. “Wait a minute, no I did not! It took a long time, and really hurt. Maybe Polly’s grandson is the lucky one, if he’s already gone, and no longer suffering.”
“Yeah… but poor Polly. I can only imagine how badly she’s suffering right now.”
“It’s unbelievable how many used to be in the Bannerman family. You look around, and see all the rooms… they used to have occupants. And then somehow it’s all reduced to one boy, and then he’s gone as well.”
“Wow,” I said. “I am seriously depressed now.”
“Me too,” Miles admitted.
I looked at him, and realized.
“You’re losing all of your family, too.”
“Yes,” he nodded.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and reached out to pat his arm, then patted the air near his arm, instead.
It really is hard to remember he’s semi-transparent. He’s more real, than a lot of solid people are.
Miles laughed softly, and I did too.
“I’m glad I can be comic relief for you, anyway,” I said.
“You’re always able to make me laugh,” said Miles, with one of those intense melting looks. “But there’s nothing comical about you.”
Why does he have to be semi-transparent? I’d kick and scream and throw a fit about it, if it would do any good. I may do that, anyway.
“We’re slacking off on our search horribly, I know, there’ve been a lot of days we haven’t done a thing. But I’d rather eat chocolate ice cream and watch a movie, preferably a comedy, than do anything else right now.”
“Let’s do that,” said Miles. “My place, or yours?”
“Yours,” I said. “You’ve got a bigger TV.”
Miles laughed.
“Fine, then.”
We watched several of our favorite comedies, and I ate ice cream. I really pitied Miles that he couldn’t enjoy it, too. Fortunately, he’s a g
uy. Missing out on chocolate didn’t seem to torture him, as it would me.
We stayed up late with our movies, but eventually I was tired, and Miles walked me back to the guest house.
And then I tossed and turned, having another sleepless night, as thoughts swirled in my head. Why is it that as soon as I lie down, I’m no longer tired!
Why didn’t you leave a note with the jewelry, Sarah, I mused. And why, since you survived the accident, did you never send the letter you promised? I can’t understand that, it isn’t like you.
Why, why, why…. and what to do next. More searching I suppose, we had the names of the men on the handbill with Sarah, maybe something would turn up there. I could call Aunt Louise, she was the family history expert… and Sarah is family. Wow. I just cannot get used to that.
I was so relieved to know that Sarah survived, and apparently had a good life. It was hard to understand how she could marry someone else so soon after Delevan’s murder, though. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t be here if she didn’t survive and get married and have kids! Newsflash, if Sarah and Delevan made it on the ship to Europe, Dad would be the only person in our family. The rest of us would never have been born.
Those thoughts are too deep for one o’ clock in the morning, or any other time! Resolving to call Aunt Louise bright and early, I rolled over and drifted off to sleep.
~***~
“Sarah?” A voice from far away slowly drifted towards her.
Sarah wanted the voice to drift away, it threatened the peaceful sea in which she floated.
But the voice persisted. She tried to ignore it, but it only drifted closer and closer, until...
“Sarah!” said a white garbed woman.
Sarah blinked, confused and dazed. Her whole body hurt as if she’d been thrown from a horse, and then run over.
“There you are, it’s about time you woke up. You’ve had enough of a sleep...” the woman in white turned away. “Doctor! Our patient is awake.”
A thin young man with spectacles and kind eyes, approached. He smiled gently at Sarah, and felt her pulse.
“I am Dr. Lawrence, your physician. How do you feel?”
“I do not know… I hurt everywhere,” she said.
The doctor smiled sympathetically.
Miles Page 24
