Read Online Possession by C. J. Archer - Free Book Online Page B

enough?"
    "It won't
be dangerous for Emily," Celia said. The look she gave me was hard,
challenging. "Mr. Beaufort's spirit will find your cousin, Mr. Hyde, and
then all Emily need do is utter the final words to send the possessing spirit
back. She won't be close to danger at all. Isn't that right, Em?"
    "Quite. Indeed,
I was just leaving to go to my friend George Culvert's house to..." I
glanced at Celia. "...to research the incantation needed to oust the
spirit." I didn't tell her Jacob had found Arbuthnot. If I did, she might
not let me go. She would want Jacob to bring him here where she could maintain
some control. That was an impossibility.
    "May I
come?" Theodore asked. "To help you with your research?" I began
to shake my head, but he put his hand up. "Please, Miss Chambers. I need
to do something useful and I don't particularly want to return to my aunt's
home and tell her there's nothing to be done but wait."
    I understood his
dilemma perfectly. Waiting for others to do all the work was terribly
frustrating. "Certainly. We could do with another set of eyes on the
books."
    The plan seemed
to please Celia. Her grin could not have been wider. The prospect of me being
alone with two eligible men made her positively giddy. I suspected, if she
hadn't already begun planning my trousseau, she would now. "Mrs. Culvert
will be there, will she not?" she asked.
    "Of course.
She's always at home." I doubted she knew I was lying, but the fact she
never questioned me about George's mother indicated she didn't want to know too
much.
    I gathered my cloak,
hat, and gloves and left with Theodore Hyde at my side. It was a pleasant walk
to George's house and we easily filled it with chatter. He told me about his
home in Shropshire and made the countryside sound so picturesque that even I, a
city-dweller through and through, wanted to see it by the time he finished.
    He then asked me
about my life as a medium. "How did you find out I was a medium?" I
asked.
    He looked at me
sideways, a small smile twitching his lips. "I guessed. I didn't know for
certain until you and your sister confirmed it just now."
    "You
tricked us!"
    He winced. "It
does seem that way, doesn't it? I didn't mean any harm, and I am sorry if I've
caused offence." He nudged my elbow. "Forgive me?"
    I nudged him
back and smiled. "I suppose so."
    "So what
sort of research are we going to do at your friend's house?"
    "Ah. Well. I
lied about that to appease my sister. She's protective to the point of
smothering."
    "I
understand that." He looked at me beneath hooded lids, his eyes smoky. My
insides did a little flip. "So tell me, what is the real plan?" he
asked.
    "Jacob has
found Wallace at a pub at the Victoria Dock."
    He stopped and
caught my shoulders. "Then we must go there! Now!"
    "No, Mr.
Hyde." I spoke with deliberate calm and withdrew his hands from my
shoulders. I quickly dropped them because people were staring, and touching him
made me feel uncomfortable, not afraid just...unsure. "We'll collect
George then all three of us will travel there together in his coach. I suspect
I'll have to remain in it while he and Jacob fetch Wallace out of the
pub." I clicked my tongue. "I don't think they'll let me follow them
inside, unfortunately."
    "Quite
rightly," he said.
    Wonderful. Another
overprotective person in my life. I already had Jacob and Celia, I didn't need more.
Thank goodness George wasn't so restrictive. "You are welcome to stay in
the coach with me."
    He shook his
head. "I'll go inside with them. Your friends might need me. Tell
me," he said as we continued walking, "how does the spirit of Jacob
Beaufort interact with live people?"
    I told him all I
knew about ghosts, the Waiting Area and the Otherworld. He seemed very
interested and not at all afraid or bored.
    We arrived at
George's house in what felt like a very short time. I introduced George to
Theodore as we waited for the coach to be brought around from the stables. I'd
just finished when Jacob popped