Read Online Blood of the Impaler by Jeffrey Sackett - Free Book Online Page B

anything I want." He chuckled. "How else do you think I keep Rachel at bay?"
    Holly shook her head. "I don't know why she doesn't like me. I've never done anything to her, and I . . . well, I'm very, very fond of Malcolm."
    "I think that Rachel takes after her mother, Cynthia," he said, shuffling over to the large cut-glass decanter on the table and pouring her unbidden a glass of sherry. She did not really want it, but she was reluctant to offend the old man by refusing his hospitality, so she accepted it as he handed it to her. Then he said, "Cynthia, my son Abraham's wife, was as stiff as a starched shirt and just about as stimulating. I never did understand why he married her."
    Holly waited for a moment before speaking so she could choose her words carefully. "Mr. Harker, I don't mean to be nosy, but what Rachel just said a moment ago . . . I mean . . ."
    "About my son, Abe?" He nodded sadly. "Yes, that was true. He killed a man in the Midwest, and they hanged him for it." The old man sighed and shook his head. "The poor boy. He was lost to us, lost to God. Just lost, period."
    She felt simultaneously sad and uncomfortable. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Harker."
    "Ah, well"—he shrugged—"it wasn't his fault, not really. He just couldn't control himself."
    "His temper, you mean?"
    He ignored the question. "Malcolm never knew his father. Abe died when Malcolm was only about four, I think, four or five, and his father hadn't been living here at home for a good long while before that. Over a year, I think."
    "Was he a salesman or something?
    "No." Old Quincy shook his head. "Just a ne'er-do-well, a drifter. He and Cynthia never really got along too well. She was as straight as an arrow, and just about as much fun, and Abe was . . . well, at times Abe was a lively fellow. Oil and water, those two."
    "What happened to Malcolm's mother?"
    "She died." Quincy sat down heavily in the easy chair. "Cancer, a few years later. You know, Holly, you have to understand that Rachel sort of raised the boy. I know it doesn't excuse her behavior, but it does explain it to some degree."
    "I understand." Holly smiled. "I'll try to get along with her."
    "Yes, well, now," he said, suddenly all businesslike. "I think you're a charming young lady, and I'm pleased to see that Malcolm is keeping company with you, but there is one thing you must understand: This is a religious family, a very religious family. I don't know what your own beliefs are, and I certainly would not presume to question you about them, but I sincerely hope that a full participation in the life of the church will be part of whatever life you and Malcolm make with each other." He noticed that she was beginning to blush and he hastened to add, "Please don't take offense at what I'm saying, Holly. I know that some people seem to think that when a man hits ninety he is entitled to say anything that comes into his head, but—despite my teasing you just now—I've never agreed with that. I certainly don't want to offend you."
    "Oh, no, Mr. Harker, it isn't that at all," she replied. "It's just that . . . well, Malcolm and I have only been seeing each other for a few months. I think it would be a little premature to begin talking about . . . well, about our life together."
    "Of course, of course, I understand," he said. "But I was not really speaking about that. I was speaking about religious devotion. Now I know that Rachel sounds a bit daft with her gibberish about hereditary insanity and all that, but I can't help but feel that a bit more Bible and a bit less booze might have saved my son, Abraham, from his sorry end."
    Holly felt so warmly toward the old man that she decided to reassure him. "Well, I'm not really a regular churchgoer or anything, but I believe in God and all that. I mean, I wouldn't have any objection to going to church with Mal, if we . . . well, if we . . . well, you know."
    "Marry?" he finished for her, his eyes twinkling once again. "You can say it, my dear. It