Page 41 of Captivating the Countess
Except he didn’t think Teddy would hand over his wife to Rain after the ceremony.
Maybe heshouldlook into the distant cousin and murder Teddy.
He ought to head for the gymnasium and pound a bag a few rounds before visiting his cousin’s lair, but he hadn’t the time for it. Stepping out of his office, Rain kept a wary eye on the crowd gathering on and around the grand staircase. They appeared to be studying the enormous chandelier hanging two stories above. Did they intend to blow in tandem to see if the fixture swung?
He greeted his guests as he traversed the stairs but didn’t stop to talk. At least there weren’t operatic arguments echoing from the upper floor as he took the next flight up. And Alicia’s musicales had apparently come to an end. There would be bloody awful silence in a few months, he feared.
Teddy’s studio door was open, and furious voices rang down the hall as he approached. Rain sighed in exasperation. He hadn’t realized painting was such a noisy business.
Before he could knock, what sounded like a shot rang out. A woman screeched. Alicia shouted. Rain threw himself at the studio door, flinging the door wide so it hit the wall, hoping to startle any assailant.
Garbed in an awful black rag, with her hair straggling about her shoulders, Alicia cast him a look of disgust. “We were just reaching the climax, Rainford! Now we must start all over.”
Lying on the floor, looking dead, Teddy lifted his furry head. “Hey, old chap, I didn’t think we were making too much clamor this time.”
The actress of the flimsy gowns was in even flimsier attire this morning. She lowered the weapon she held, picked up a shawl to cover her considerable assets, and drifted to the roaring fire in the grate.
Rain took a deep breath, pushed down his panic, and controlled his voice. “Franklin tells me you wish to set up a stage in the drawing room, but the only space that can accommodate it is under Grandmother’s chandelier. We do not have time to ascertain its safety before this evening. You’ll either need to postpone your theatrics or take them elsewhere.”
“We can’t postpone!” the actress wailed. “You promised me, Teddy! The guests will all be gone shortly. We need to do it before they leave.”
“We need the chandelier.” Alicia gave him a look of disdain. “The whole drama is based on the chandelier. It came to me clearly last night and is probably the most brilliant thing I’ve ever written.”
“Then stage it in the dining room. They should have that fixture repaired by evening. Or construct a make-believe one and hold it in the music room. I don’t care. I simply don’t want chandeliers falling on people’s heads.” Rain watched as Teddy staggered to his feet, apparently healthy and unharmed. He might wish his cousin to Hades upon occasion, but he didn’t wish him dead.
The problem was all his own and not Teddy’s.
“Thanks for the warning, old fellow. I’ll create the most masterful chandelier in existence out of canvas. Tell Franklin to set up the stage in the music room.” Teddy ambled over to his collection of canvas rolls.
“I’ll start deducting the cost of excess coal from your allowance if you insist on burning through it.” Rain nodded at the flames meant to keep unclothed models, and actresses, from freezing, then walked out, frustrated and annoyed and with no way to release his tension.
He met Bell coming up the stairs.
“I heard screams. Is everyone all right?” she asked breathlessly, still carrying the books she must have been taking to her room.
“This evening’s entertainment, I believe,” he said dryly, taking the books and gesturing for her to turn around and go back down. “How are you always in a place where the drama is happening? You heard Lady Rutledge when no one else did, if I remember correctly. I have an aunt with acute hearing but did not think that was your case.”
She pondered as they reached the guest floor. Maids and footmen scurried about, helping guests depart.
“I’ve never lived in a place this large. Hearing noise in Craigmore Manor was not surprising. Even the few months I lived in Calder Castle had very little in the way of... excitement. It’s much smaller, and a large part of it was library. So I can’t say that I noticed hearing anything unusual before coming here. Your aunt must have lost her mind living with this circus. But you’re correct, I think. Lady Rutledge wasn’t sobbing loudly. Your spirits simply carried her sorrow, I think.”
“And now? Aren’t you usually in your office at this hour, far from Teddy’s theater?”
Her expression was troubled. “Usually, except I had the urge to visit my new suite, perhaps carry some of my effects there.”
“So you traipsed all the way from the far wing to your chamber just to carry a few books back?” He stopped at her bedroom door.
“When you say it like that—”
The chandelier over the marble stairs began to swing and shriek.
FearingRain meant to make a mad dash to save his guests, Bell caught his strong arm and held him back. Intelligently, his guests and servants below fled the creaking fixture. “She’s angry and impatient and wants us to know it. I doubt a spirit has the kind of mechanical knowledge or focus to understand the damage the swinging might cause.”
“How do you know this?” Rain normally had a compellingly composed voice that he seldom raised, but he sounded as close to angry as she’d ever heard.
“I wish I knew. I am sensitive enough to know spirits exist. But... this is different. Ifeelher sorrow and frustration.” Bell supposed the spirit’s pain may have drawn her from her office, but the sensation was too new to understand. “It could be that she simply takes advantage of my presence. Perhaps I should stay on the other end of the house.”
It would be dreadfully lonely, but Bell couldn’t bear to cause harm if it was her presence causing the ghost’s reactions.
