Page 50 of Captivating the Countess
“O spirit, are you here? Knock once for yes,” Alicia intoned.
Twice for no, if she wasn’t here? Bell hid her amusement.
No spirit rapped. Alicia muttered and squeezed her hand harder.
Was she supposed to put on a performance? She couldn’t do that.
Alicia hummed some more, apparently more in frustration than in ghostly expectation. Finally, she suggested, “Let’s try closing our eyes. Perhaps Bell needs no visual stimulation.”
Closing her eyes only made Bell more aware of the large masculine presence sitting silently on the other side of the room. She could practically feel Rain suppressing laughter and impatience and frustration. Or perhaps she was thinking he felt as she did. Eyes closed, she sank into her memory of his kisses. She’d never known a man who interested her enough to consider a marriage bed. With Rainford, she could scarcely stop thinking of it—at least when she had nothing else to think of, like now.
That night they’d lain practically naked together... She wanted to experience more. Would it be so terrible of her if they shared a bed just once? It wasn’t as if she were likely to marry. A woman who foolishly toppled at every noise—
A scream ripped the night.
Eighteen
At the scream,Bell predictably slumped in her chair. Rain was out of his seat before her hair hit the table.
Alicia frantically shook her head at him, warning him to stay away. The women continued holding hands as Bell began to shake. Rain fisted his fingers against his urge to snap her out of wherever she went when she was like this. He understood why she hated fainting. He could scarcely bear watching.
He deliberately forced his attention away to listen for more screams. Had that just been their resident haunt? He didn’t hear it again. Unable to sit still, he opened the suite door and listened down the hallway, but all was silent.
A rasping voice jerked his attention back to the suite.
His voice. His voice heals.
Rain froze at the strange words. Bell seemed to still be unconscious, with wispy gold curls tumbling over one cheek and the other against the wood. But her lips moved.
Enhance him. Save my son.The voice was ragged and whispery, nothing like Bell’s clear, crisp tones.
“Whose voice heals?” Victoria asked, sensibly.
No answer. Rain remained frozen.
“Save whom?” Salina demanded, apparently nailing down details.
My son. Save the duke.
That’s what Bell had heard the first time. The ghost lacked clarity.
His voice heals.The whisper trailed away.
Bell still lay there, unconscious.
Rain was across the room in the time it took to breathe in. Terrified, he hauled her from the chair. He sought her pulse while holding her like a rag doll. “Bell,” he commanded. “Bell, you’re here, with us. Wake up.”
His sisters stared, as frozen as he had been.
She breathed. He could feel her breasts rising and falling. Her pulse was ragged.
His voice heals.What had the ghost meant by that? Just in case... Rain lowered his tone and applied the composed voice he’d trained himself to use. “Bell, Bell my dearest, Bell, the ghost is gone. Wake, please?”
She stirred. He inhaled in relief. His sisters crowded around, whispering to each other, probably praying as he couldn’t do right now. The woman he admired above all others still lay limp against him, although her pulse seemed stronger. He didn’t want to set her down. He crushed his hand in her hair, holding her head against his shoulder.
“Bell, can you hear me? I need to know what I should do next. Shall I tuck you into bed?” He added a hint of humor to his calm voice.
One of his sisters hmphed, but he ignored her. Bell moved her head. She almost seemed to be struggling, although it came through as twitches.
