Mrs Feeney backed away as the stench of death emanating from the vile spirit became too much to bear.
Dear God,the evil of this was overwhelming.
“So you asked who I am and now you know old woman,”the spirit said,as the shadows drew closer to her.
Mrs Feeney saw this.The dark spirit was exerting herself,getting weaker and drawing strength from her guardians.
“I asked for your name spirit and you have yet to answer me,”Mrs Feeney said,bile rising in her throat.”You play games,nothing more.”
The spirit smiled,showing her decaying teeth once more.“Why is it so important for you to know who I am?So you can find a way to stop me?”
“I will stop you regardless.You will not hurt Bethany!”
“Really?”the spirit asked flippantly “Then how about your dear Emma.”
Momentarily Mrs Feeney felt a shudder go through her.The spirit would be capable of anything once her full strength was restored.Emma was as precious as Bethany to her.She had to find a way to end this once and for all and send this creature back to hell where she belonged.Emma was her life and no harm could come to her or Bethany.
A name,just a name.That was all she needed.
“Don’t worry old woman,”the spirit said.”Your precious Emma is worth nothing to me.It’s Beth I want and will have.She will be my vessel.”
Mrs Feeney pulled her wrap tighter against her as the temperature went down even further,the cold chilling her to the bone.
“Your vessel?”she asked incredulously.”You mean to possess her?”
“And then kill him.”
“God have mercy on us all,”Mrs Feeney whispered.”One last time spirit…who are you?” “You will find out,perhaps sooner,rather than later.”
As silently as she had come,she disappeared.
The call came just as Beth stepped out of the shower.
“Hello Beth.”
Hearing Ethan's voice on the other end of the line sent a sudden shiver down Beth’s spine.She had truly not expected to hear from him ever again and now he was calling her.
To think she had almost left her cellphone at home,looking forward to a weekend of doing absolutely nothing!
“Ethan,what a surprise.How are you?”
“Surprised as well,”he said with a chuckle. “I was just sitting in my office and I had the sudden urge to hear your voice.”
Beth felt a tingle through her entire body,her ears unwilling to believe what they were hearing.He was thinking about her?
“Really?”she asked,in as cool a voice as she could muster.”Not that I'm complaining.”
Ethan let out another laugh in his baritone voice.“Beth,for some reason,you’ve captivated me.I find myself bewildered,perplexed and undeniably attracted to you.I think you feel the same about me?”
For the longest moment,Beth held her breath.Had Ethan just asked her if she was attracted to him,and even more importantly,did he just admit his attraction to her?She felt a warm glow in her chest.So it was true what Emma had said all along.
She had always believed in honesty,so she decide that was the route to go.
“Yes Ethan,”she admitted,”I feel as you do,although I’m not sure where this infatuation comes from.We barely know each other.Where could this lead?”
“Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to try and find out?I’m not going to lie to you. Things are complicated and I owe you an explanation.Would it be possible for us to meet?”
Beth explained to him where she was.”I'll be back Sunday afternoon,we can get together then.”
When the call ended,Beth felt happier than she had in years.
Emma was almost more excited than Beth at the prospect of seeing Ethan again and once she knew that he had confessed his attraction,there was no stopping her.She basically wrestled Beth to the bed until she told her word for word all that Ethan had said.
Beth laughed,pushing her friend off of her as Emma went into a mock swoon.
“I told you,”Emma finally said,”I told you this man had feelings for you.Maybe now you should worship my brilliance!”
Beth aimed a pillow at her as both of them burst out laughing again.She could still not believe it.
Ethan Hollingsworth,a man she was sure had women falling at his feet,had told her he was attracted to her.Could it be possible that this was her second chance?She had invested so much emotionally into her marriage to Edgar that she had never thought it possible to feel that way again,to love again and be happy.
“Em,I don’t know if this is a dream but if it is I never want to wake up!”
Emma held her in a warm embrace.”It’s not a dream Beth.This is what you deserve,what you have always deserved.Happiness,joy,love.all the things you gave to Edgar that he could never give to you."
"I'm concerned about one thing though,”Beth said,”the fact that Ethan said it was complicated and he would explain it to me at our meeting.”
“What do you think it could be?”
“I don't know,it could be anything.I guess I just have to wait and see.”
He had sounded so lighthearted during their conversation on the phone,but his voice had taken on a darker tone when he said those words.He was a mystery.It seemed as if he harboured some deep heartache that he never shared with anyone.
Not that she was judging him.Lord knew she was taking a whole lot of baggage of her own into whatever they would soon have.
It just felt so damn good to be desired again,to not be the dutiful wife of an absent and cheating husband.
Her whole world had crumbled the night Edgar had told her he was seeing someone else and then cruelly had brought his tramp along for the big revelation.In their own home.
“Serena?”she’d said,as Edgar put his arms around his hussy's waist and she had clung to him like a cheap suit.His secretary,her friend.”How could you?”
“We never meant to hurt you Beth,”the tramp said,”it just happened.”
She’d sat down on the couch,numb with shock and disappointment.
“Of course I will be very fair to you in the division of assets,”Edgar droned on.”I love you Beth,I'm just not in love with you anymore.”
“Were you ever Edgar?You two whores deserve one another.”
That night she had imagined her whole world had collapsed,not once thinking she would get another shot at happiness.
Now,all that had changed.
For the first time in months,Beth felt her own heartbeat.
From his bedroom window, Ethan watched Beth emerge from the car he had sent for her, a vision of elegance in a simple white dress, showing her figure to perfection.Her beauty was breathtaking to say the least and yet again he was overwhelmed by the rush of emotion she was able to awaken in him by her mere presence alone.For so long he had denied himself the pleasure of sharing his life with a woman, especially one as enchanting as Beth Collins, but now, no matter how difficult it would be, he found himself wanting that more than anything in his life.Beth was the woman he could build a future with, of that he was certain.From her radiant beauty, to her dignified demeanor, to the way she carried herself so proudly and with such strength, all of these things fascinated him and sent all reason flying out the door.He made his way downstairs to meet her in the hall.Seeing her standing there, it took everything he had within him to stop himself from sweeping her in his
The young man sleeping peacefully on the spacious bed could not have been more than 18.Handsome,with dark spiky hair, he looked like any teenager taking a nap.His bedroom walls were adorned with posters of his favorite musicians and the comic books tossed casually on the nightstand along with his cd’s was typical of a carefree young man.The only thing that belied this image was the wheelchair standing next to his bed.Beth peered through the open bathroom door.Like the wheelchair, the shower too had been adapted to his special needs.“This is Marcus,”Ethan said,as Beth put her hand in his, her heart breaking for the young man before her.”My stepson.”“What happened to him?”she asked.”He’s so young.”Ethan’s eyes misted over.It was obvious he loved the boy very much, as if he were his own son.“There was an accident,”he said in a broken voice.”Marcus is now tetraplegic.”Beth was shocked beyond words.Tetraplegia was paralysis of all four limbs, usu
“A lady no less,”Beth teased.”I’m impressed Mr Hollingsworth!”Ethan laughed,once again putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.His warmth and his closeness almost made Beth forget about the portrait until he spoke of it again.“My mother hated this portrait.While I was growing up,she always told me how much it unsettled her.In fact the whole manor disturbed her in some way.After my father died,I returned from abroad to open my practice and she simply packed up and traveled the world.She never stayed here much.She had a small place she rented in the city.”Beth pondered his words for a moment.It was difficult to imagine Polly being unsettled about anything,least of all a portrait in her own home where she had spent her entire married life and raised her son.“Why do you think she had this aversion?”Beth asked.”I never thought of her as the kind of woman to be upset by anything.”“Well,my mother was a very sensitive woman Beth.She firmly
December 20, 1810I am convinced that Fallon is suffering from some disease of the brain.She sulks all day and speaks to no one.In all the months that she has been here,she has yet to say a word of what happened in Egypt.It is almost as if she has erased the memory of that time from her mind.We have no idea what happened to her over there or how the deaths of her parents have affected her.Not even the celebrations we have planned for her birthday in two days time have been able to elicit a smile from her.She is like the walking dead,a shell of the girl she once was.Charles tells me she has taken a shine to reading and she spends some time in the library with him.Not speaking,just reading.I am truly taken aback by this girl,what can I possibly do to help her?The servants tell me that she leaves the Manor in the dead cold of night and walks around the grounds while speaking to herself.The snow which has fallen does not even deter her.What frightens me the mos
In the afterglow of their lovemaking,Ethan gathered her in his arms,holding her close to his chest as the pulse of his racing heart matched her own.She held him even closer,her body feeling tender and achingly satisfied.He was well versed in the art of lovemaking,Beth wantonly thought to herself,remembering how Ethan had taken her to the heights of exquisite pleasure,more than once….Now,she was lying naked in his arms,his hard body pressed against her in the most tender agony she had ever known.At this rate they would never sleep,not that it would be a problem.Making love with him had been an experience she could relive again and again.He knew just what to do,where to touch,to give her maximum satisfaction.When it was over,she had pulled the sheet up,which he then unceremoniously had flung to the floor.“I want to see you,”he’d said as his lips led a trail of fire from her neck to her breasts,his hands roaming her body,awakening her desire once more.”G
In the shadows,she watched.The stupid woman had spent the night in this house,in his bed….She looked at her surroundings.Much had changed in the manor.Almost nothing seemed the same,except for a few pieces of the original furniture and the fireplace.She remembered the years she had spent here,how miserable she had been,until he had told her he loved her,wanted to be with her.Like a fool she had believed him,even going so far as to give herself to him.Then he had betrayed her and killed her,as she would soon kill him…..and the woman he bedded.“So….how was your first night in this creepy old house?”Beth felt a slow heat rise in her cheeks as she looked up across the breakfast table into Marcus’ mischievous eyes.Ethan was right.He was a great kid,with a wicked sense of humor.He was practically beaming when
“…the lady in the shadows…the one who watches you and wants you dead…”As the little girl's words from her vision swept over her,Beth felt a sense of terrifying unease.It was a coincidence,she told herself,nothing more.It was impossible that the little girl and Marcus could be speaking of the same thing,it was just impossible!“The lady in the shadows?”she said,her hands trembling in fear.In her mind she saw herself lying cold and frozen in that casket.“Beth?Are you okay?”Marcus asked.”You seem upset.Its just a story.....”“I’m fine,”she said,reaching out to take his hand.”I just remembered there's something I have to do.”“You’re leaving?”“Just for a little while Marcus,I'll be back later.”“Okay.If you want,I can show you some of Grandma’s journals.Dad gave them to me after she passed.She speaks about these things a lot in them.”“Thanks Marcus,”she said,her mind racing in 10 different directions at
“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' n