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Authors: Elizabeth M. Hurst
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for, but to keep him company?
Tuesday, 14 December
I saw Lucy today. She can see my despair but I dare not tell her the cause. The entire village would know in no time at all, and I could not shame Pa so.
She tried in vain to coax a smile from my face but I stared back at her.
“Your eyes are empty, Grace,” she said. “Why must you be so sad when your Pa is so happy?”
I know not how long this melancholy will continue. Perhaps it will be always. Pa talks of gathering holly branches for decorating the cottage door this year. I am in no mood for Christmas.
I cannot think beyond the end of each day, wishing it were my last.
Chapter Fifteen
Emma’s eyelids fluttered in the glare of the morning sunlight, which shone through the open curtains and bathed her in a glow of vitality. It could all have been a dream but for the slight indentation in the bed next to her and the fresh stem of lily of the valley flowers on the pillow. The events of the night before played over and over in her mind until nothing but confusion reigned.
Without a second thought, she picked up her phone and dialled the only person she knew who could be of any help.
“Darling! How are you? How’s the new house?”
Emma rarely saw Meredith these days. It was a far cry from their university days, propping up some bar or other almost every night.
“Well, I’m good, thanks. And the house is lovely, but that’s kind of why I’m calling. I could really do with some help. It’s, er … well, it’s haunted.”
“Oh, wow! Fantastic! okay, what’s been happening?”
Emma sat up in bed and organised her thoughts.
“It starts with a chill in the air and then there’s a smell, like perfume.”
“What does it smell like?” She could hear Meredith scribbling notes at the other end of the line.
“Lily of the valley. I’d know it anywhere. A sprig of the flowers was left as well. I think the fragrance is linked to an old perfume bottle that was here when I moved in. I polished it and put it on the table in the hall upstairs because it’s pretty. Oh, and I found a ring, too. It seems to have been hers.”
Meredith’s voice quickened at the other end of the line. She was clearly very excited. “Oh, you have awoken something, I think. It may have been a personal tie to the spirit and it’s tying you to her. I’m presuming it’s a woman, with a scent like that. Have you seen anything?”
“Oh, it’s better than that. Yes, I’ve seen her. The first time she looked sad and forlorn. I was terrified. But then, last night …” Emma took a deep breath. Meredith was a very open-minded person, but a tiny flicker of doubt in Emma’s mind was refusing to extinguish itself.
“Yes, go on …”
“Well, she came into the room and, Meredith, I don’t know how to say this. You’re the only person I can tell. She seduced me.”
There was a sharp intake of breath down the phone. “Right, sit tight. I’m coming straight over. Give me a couple of hours.”
The cute little MG sports car pulled up on the road at the bottom of the steps. Yet another summer shower had just passed overhead, and as Emma opened the door to welcome her friend, the raindrops sparkled like jewels on the rockery flowers.
“Wow, what a charming little place, Darling! Just the perfect little hideaway for you right now.”
Meredith was wearing one of her “spiritual” outfits. The heavy crushed velvet seemed out of place for the season, but it suited her perfectly as she sashayed through the front door. “Oh, yes,” she said, as Emma closed the door behind her, “I can feel sadness here. Yes, we have some work to do to free this poor soul. Anyway, be a love and put the kettle on while I set up. Then you can tell me all about your lesbian romp, you crazy minx.”
Emma heaved a sigh of relief. Meredith had such confidence. She was a woman who had a solution for everything, regardless of the problem. Sometimes, it would be unconventional, but as
Tuesday, 14 December
I saw Lucy today. She can see my despair but I dare not tell her the cause. The entire village would know in no time at all, and I could not shame Pa so.
She tried in vain to coax a smile from my face but I stared back at her.
“Your eyes are empty, Grace,” she said. “Why must you be so sad when your Pa is so happy?”
I know not how long this melancholy will continue. Perhaps it will be always. Pa talks of gathering holly branches for decorating the cottage door this year. I am in no mood for Christmas.
I cannot think beyond the end of each day, wishing it were my last.
Chapter Fifteen
Emma’s eyelids fluttered in the glare of the morning sunlight, which shone through the open curtains and bathed her in a glow of vitality. It could all have been a dream but for the slight indentation in the bed next to her and the fresh stem of lily of the valley flowers on the pillow. The events of the night before played over and over in her mind until nothing but confusion reigned.
Without a second thought, she picked up her phone and dialled the only person she knew who could be of any help.
“Darling! How are you? How’s the new house?”
Emma rarely saw Meredith these days. It was a far cry from their university days, propping up some bar or other almost every night.
“Well, I’m good, thanks. And the house is lovely, but that’s kind of why I’m calling. I could really do with some help. It’s, er … well, it’s haunted.”
“Oh, wow! Fantastic! okay, what’s been happening?”
Emma sat up in bed and organised her thoughts.
“It starts with a chill in the air and then there’s a smell, like perfume.”
“What does it smell like?” She could hear Meredith scribbling notes at the other end of the line.
“Lily of the valley. I’d know it anywhere. A sprig of the flowers was left as well. I think the fragrance is linked to an old perfume bottle that was here when I moved in. I polished it and put it on the table in the hall upstairs because it’s pretty. Oh, and I found a ring, too. It seems to have been hers.”
Meredith’s voice quickened at the other end of the line. She was clearly very excited. “Oh, you have awoken something, I think. It may have been a personal tie to the spirit and it’s tying you to her. I’m presuming it’s a woman, with a scent like that. Have you seen anything?”
“Oh, it’s better than that. Yes, I’ve seen her. The first time she looked sad and forlorn. I was terrified. But then, last night …” Emma took a deep breath. Meredith was a very open-minded person, but a tiny flicker of doubt in Emma’s mind was refusing to extinguish itself.
“Yes, go on …”
“Well, she came into the room and, Meredith, I don’t know how to say this. You’re the only person I can tell. She seduced me.”
There was a sharp intake of breath down the phone. “Right, sit tight. I’m coming straight over. Give me a couple of hours.”
The cute little MG sports car pulled up on the road at the bottom of the steps. Yet another summer shower had just passed overhead, and as Emma opened the door to welcome her friend, the raindrops sparkled like jewels on the rockery flowers.
“Wow, what a charming little place, Darling! Just the perfect little hideaway for you right now.”
Meredith was wearing one of her “spiritual” outfits. The heavy crushed velvet seemed out of place for the season, but it suited her perfectly as she sashayed through the front door. “Oh, yes,” she said, as Emma closed the door behind her, “I can feel sadness here. Yes, we have some work to do to free this poor soul. Anyway, be a love and put the kettle on while I set up. Then you can tell me all about your lesbian romp, you crazy minx.”
Emma heaved a sigh of relief. Meredith had such confidence. She was a woman who had a solution for everything, regardless of the problem. Sometimes, it would be unconventional, but as
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