Read Online Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao - Free Book Online

elaborate gowns from my mother’s wardrobe.
    Honoria had been right about the fit. It might have been made just for me. The satin fabric smelled a bit musty but the rich red color set off my dark hair and eyes, if I did say so myself. One by one, conversations at the occupied tables ceased as the occupants noticed me standing at the threshold. Honoria rose from her seat and met me at the door.
    â€œRuby, you are the vision of your mother. I should have known you’d pick her favorite dress.” She smoothed her hands across my shoulders, then drew me into the room. “Friends,” she said to the assembled group, “I’d like to introduce my niece, Miss Ruby Proulx.” Greetings came from all around the room and I nodded to each person in turn. “This is my dear friend, George Cheswick. You may remember him from this afternoon.” Honoria said.The gentleman from the séance who had opened the drapes crossed the dining room and offered me his hand.
    â€œSuch a delight to meet you.” George managed a large smile despite his mouth being weighed down by a staggering mustache.
    â€œLikewise,” I replied.
    â€œGeorge encourages me concerning my psychic pursuits, even going so far as to join the Divination Circle. He has become quite adept at the practice of automatic writing,” Honoria said. George blushed a deep red where the swirling points of his mustache touched his round cheeks.
    â€œAnd seated next to the window are Everett and Cecelia MacPherson. He’s the resident radiesthesist and she’s our astrologer.” Honoria smiled at an older man whose most noticeable feature was his skeletal slimness and an Adam’s apple larger than his nose. Seated next to him was a pale woman dressed all in black and holding a small fat dog in her lap. Cecelia flashed me a welcoming smile. Her dog gave an excited yip, then sprawled, panting, across her lap.
    â€œI’m naught but a dowser, young lady,” Everett said, his voice rolling with a heavy Scots accent. There was a cook in the medicine show from Nova Scotia with the same sort of voice. I felt a momentary tug of homesickness. “But if you need something found, I’m the man for the job. My wife, however, has much more impressive skills to demonstrate. Show her, my dear.” Everett patted his wife’s shoulder with a bony hand.
    â€œWhen were you born, my dear?”
    â€œFebruary fifteenth.” I wondered if she always started conversations that way.
    â€œAn Aquarius. You are experiencing important transits.”
    â€œI am?” I had no idea what she was describing. My uneasebefore arriving in the dining room had centered on my appearance and how to comport myself. I had not imagined I’d be conversationally disadvantaged as well.
    â€œYes, you are. For an Aquarius today I would predict a slight head injury, an attempted robbery, and a rescue by a handsome policeman.” Cecelia gave me another sparkling smile.
    â€œYou can tell that from just hearing my birthday?” I hoped my voice did not betray my skepticism.
    â€œNot from your birthday alone. For all that I’d need to look at a complete natal chart.”
    â€œDo stop teasing the girl,” Honoria said. “Everett and Cecelia ran into Officer Yancey as he was leaving the hotel this afternoon. He told them you had a run-in with a pickpocket. Something you might have mentioned to me, I would add.” Honoria shook her head at me, then led me to the last occupied table. “This young man, Ned Larkin, is our numerologist, and seated next to him is Amanda Howell, a gifted psychometrist.” Ned hopped to his feet and offered a slight bow. He clasped my hand between his two damp palms and pumped it up and down with enthusiasm.
    â€œDo let me know what I can do to make you feel welcome here at the Belden,” he said.
    â€œYou already have,” I said, hoping he didn’t see me wincing as my