Chapter 14: Revelations

“Beth…”

It felt as if she were hearing her name from a distance,as she vaguely became aware that she was no longer standing,but instead laying down.It was a struggle to open her eyes,the soothing comfort of the darkness holding her firmly in its grasp,offering her a sense of peace and sanity.

She imagined herself floating on a cloud,the warmth of the sun caressing her on a beautiful summer’s day,but the same voice from before called to her again,more urgently than before.

Ethan,yes,it was Ethan.And Marcus was there too,his voice soft and full of concern.

“I swear to you Dad,”she heard him say,”she was fine when she went upstairs after breakfast.I thought she'd left already and the next thing I knew I heard her scream and when I came to look,I saw her lying at the top of the stairs.Thank God Noah arrived when he did.”

Noah.She tried to remember where she’d heard that name…He was Marcus' nurse.

It was still too much to open her eyes,it felt so good,the sun on her face,so gentle.    Ethan was stroking her face.She would know his touch anywhere,so familiar,so arousing.       “Beth,please wake up,”she heard him implore.”Please my darling,please.

“Dad,we should get her to the hospital.Noah seems to think she might have hit her head.It could be serious,she could be concussed.”

“No..no hospital…”

No doubt they were as surprised as she herself was that she’d found her voice,weak as it was.

“Beth!”Ethan said,the relief obvious in his voice.”What happened?My darling are you allright?”

Slowly she opened her eyes,her vision adjusting to the sunlight streaming in through the open curtains.She was in Ethan's bed and he was beside her,his eyes conveying the fear in his heart.

He smiled,continuing to stroke her face,as if he were willing her back to to life.He must have been so scared seeing her passed out,not able to help her.She turned to him,smiling reassuringly.

“I’ll be fine,”she whispered,“but Ethan,we have to talk.”

She told them everything,from her vision of the little girl,to seeing herself in the casket and finally of Lady Swann,animated in the portrait.

Ethan listened in silence,occasionally nodding his head,his face set in a frozen mask of disbelief,while Marcus just stared at her,every so often turning to see his father’s reaction.    She knew how crazy it must sound to them,it was still so unbelievable to her as well.    When she was done Ethan inhaled deeply,turning to Marcus.

“This all started with that damned necklace.Find all the journals your grandmother left for you.It's time to get to the bottom of this,once and for all.”

 “You should have told me from the start what was happening,”Ethan said,cradling her against his chest.”I don't want there to be any secrets between us Beth.”

Beth smiled,feeling much more like her old self after the episode she just lived through.Thank God Ethan was the man he was.Anyone else would have carted her off to the mental ward by now.

He was just so understanding and a comfort in what seemed her darkest moments.       “There was never much to tell until today.The first time I honestly thought it was a hallucination,but after everything else that’s happened…and Marcus told me what happened to Polly.Ethan,I'm scared.”

She felt his grip tighten,the warmth of his closeness sending her mind spinning towards another wicked train of thought.The desire he could so easily awaken in her was astounding.

It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.Even during her marriage to Edgar sex sometimes felt like a chore,a chore to fulfill her wifely duties,but with Ethan it was different.It was love and lust all rolled into one blazing inferno of passion and longing.He made her feel like a goddess and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You know I would never allow anyone or anything to hurt you Beth,”he said gently.”In a short time you have become my reason for living.I was lost until you came into my life.You have given me purpose and you have healed my heart when for so long I thought it would be broken forever.”

In that moment she could have happily died.This wonderful man loved her and only her.

She suppressed a giggle at the thought of the morbidly romantic notion of dying in his arms while they were at their happiest.It was the kind of thing which happened in the soaps she secretly watched and cried over but would never admit to doing.Her life was changing and it was definitely for the better.

“You know I feel the same way.Ethan,I can’t imagine my life without you.I just want it to be perfect.”

“Nothing in life is perfect my love.I’m sure we will have our ups and downs in the years to come.”

“The years to come?”she asked teasingly.”So Mr Hollingsworth,you see a future for the two of us?”

He laughed,the sound of it touching her heart.”I do Beth Collins,I most definitely do.”

It was then that they heard Marcus knocking on the door.He'd found Polly's journals and it was time to see what they had to offer.