Page 63 of Hold a Candle

“Aye, sir,” Corey replied a little too eagerly and raced into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Darro motioned to Henry and Pete. “Ye lads get those tables up here onto the deck. All hands are welcome to anything left, but most of us are going into the house. I’ll be out later to make rounds and check on ye. Keep me informed if anything unusual happens.”

“Aye, sir,” Henry and Pete both chorused together. “Dibs on the chocolate biccies, Pete,” Henry enthused. “I haven’t had one yet.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Darro replied, disgruntled as he helped Lucerne out of her chair. “At the rate things are disappearing, the spirits must be hungry this year, or this strange evening just keeps getting weirder.”

Jamie glanced uneasily at Pauley. Could the kids be messing with the food? And if so, why?

Then the hair on the back of his neck shot straight up when the sudden sound of banshee wails erupted into the night air. Everyone on the deck froze. Jamie’s heart caught in his throat as the wails and following maniacal laughter slowly died off.

All the women shrieked and Lucerne’s hand flew to her throat. “W-what was that?” she stuttered, turning as pale as a sheet. Her knees started to buckle under her and Darro cursed and picked her up.

“Angus, the door please,” he nodded towards the door and Angus rushed to open it so Darro could take Lucerne in and lay her on the sofa while everyone else rushed in behind them and slammed the door shut.

“Cripes,” Angus swore, taking Poppy, who appeared to be hyperventilating, into his arms. “Easy breaths, lass. Deep breath in, let it out slowly. Do ye need yer spare inhaler from the kitchen.”

Poppy shook her head and held her hand up as she steadied her breathing. “I-I’ll be alright...just s-scared the living crap out of me,” she gasped.

“Aye, it set my hair on end too,” he agreed.

“Are ye alright, honey?” Darro’s dark eyes caressed Lucerne while his big hand gently rubbed her tummy in soothing motions.

“I-I think so,” Lucerne was trembling and taking deep breaths. “The baby was kicking pretty rough, but he seems to have calmed down some now. What was that scream, honey? It was terrifying, especially on a night like tonight. Is that what ye heard in the barn earlier?”

“Nay, not quite the same,” Darro growled. “Someone’s been up to mischief tonight, I’m thinking, and I intend to find out who the culprit is. If Dal has been playing tricks again, I’ll flay him alive for this one.”

The fact that no one objected to his threats with the horsewhip was a true measure of how spooked they had all become on this crazy evening.

***

SEEING THE LORD OFthe manor on his knees beside his wife caused a lump in Pauley’s throat. The expression of concern on Darro’s face was very touching. She turned in Jamie’s protective arms and her eyes narrowed as she took a flashlight out of her bag and motioned him to follow her.

“Are ye thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked once they were outside.

Jamie nodded with a frown. “Aye. I can see Darro is thinking it too, but in this case, I don’t believe Dal is the culprit. Come on.”

They made their way outside and around the house to Delilah’s bedroom window. It was still slightly open, as if the would-be saboteur failed to get it completely closed. The filmy curtains were moving gently in the breeze and Pauley slowly lifted the window. The argument of the children became loud enough for them to hear what they were saying.

“Dee, ye are ruining everything,” Corey complained to Delilah, who was unbuttoning a dark cloak from around her. “I wanted to see Mum and Dad tonight, but they never visited. And now we’ll have to go to bed.”

“Don’t be such a whiney baby, Corey,” Delilah scolded, pulling the cloak off and taking off her black cap. “The spirits don’t really visit on All Hallow’s Eve,” she informed him loftily. “That’s just an old fairy tale passed down through the years. Scotland is full of them. Even the Ghillie Dhu isn’t real. They just say that so we won’t go into the woods at night,” she scoffed.

“Well, ye made Mum scream, and the others too. What if it hurts the baby?” he wailed plaintively. “Uncle Darro looked really mad when I peeked around the corner of the hallway before ye climbed back in the window.”

“I don’t care,” Delilah replied, her face sullen as she flopped back on the bed.

“What if he finds out we did it?” Corey sniffled. “We’ll be in so much trouble. We might be grounded forever.”

“Ye better not tell him,” Delilah yelped fiercely, sitting up and shaking her fist at Corey.

“But...”

“Go on, Corey, just go to yer own room,” she demanded, jumping off the bed and opening the bedroom door. “Just leave me alone and keep quiet. No one will ever know.”

Pauley studied her small, unhappy face. Something was certainly up with the normally sweet-tempered child. They both started when Dal’s excited voice drifted out of the gloomy darkness from the direction of the front deck.

“Hey, Luca, look what I found.”

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