Page 74 of A Heart So Haunted
Then, with the sweetest, thickest smile she could conjure, she turned to Eleanora.
“Eleanora. Yes, hi.”
Eleanora’s eyes slid to Emma like she was gum on the bottom of her shoe.
Emma lifted herself, as if oblivious. “Listen. The timeline is a bit tight for the list you gave us, yes? We’re—Landryis moving as fast as she can. And there hasn’t been a chance to inform you that there is another realtor we’ve had come out to the property to take a look as well. Everything we’re doing right now is based on the betterment of the house—not what you think will sell.”
I stifled a cough. Emma’s eyes darted to me, but I turned briefly, covering my mouth. She really just said that.
Like an owl, Eleanora’s head swiveled. The room grew tight.
I fanned my neck, then stepped in front of Emma. “Emma is right. We’re still shooting for end of summer, but I’m afraid I’m still considering my options and what will be best for Harthwait.”
Eleanora licked her teeth. A drawn pause.
“Well, either way, I’d love to see the rest of the house,” she breathed. A false sense of optimism. She gentled the sharp corners of her mouth, but I still saw the shark lurking below the surface. “I do apologize, I was under the assumption that we had a, how would you say, gentleman’s agreement about the listing going under my name?”
My eye twitched. “I never signed any paperwork, and I never agreed that the listing was yours. You came recommended by a friend, which I’ll take into consideration, but as you know, this house is a special piece of architecture. It deserves a good fit.”
For the first time, wrinkles appeared around Eleanora’s plumped mouth. “I see.” She brushed by me, the smell of her saturated perfume following her. “I suppose I should hurry along with the rest of the house, then. I have other listings to go to, and though I’d love to stay and negotiate, I think it would be a good idea to let you sit on it for a while.”
I motioned for Emma to stay put as I followed Eleanora, who had already crossed the hall into Aunt Cadence’s office.
Dust particles—the lived-in kind, not the forgotten kind—floated through the air, hovered over the ornate rug and pooled sunshine. The front lawn glowed with afternoon light, the curtains peeled back enough to hint at the treetops canvassing the property. Eleanora stepped through the opposite door, chin high, spine tight.
I paused in the middle of the office, shut my eyes, and took a breath. Just to exist. It would be fine—things would work out. At least this gave me a bit of leverage with her and—
The office door slammed.
The momentary warmth in my blood vanished. Little hairs along my nape stood up.
The house fell eerily quiet.
I opened one eye at a time. Eleanora wouldn’t have been as petty as to slam the door on me. Sure enough, when I opened it to the sound of squeaking hinges, Eleanora stood with her hand on the banister, staring at me. Her face was white.
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. Chuckled. “I opened the other door. A draft.”
Eleanora’s eyes didn’t leave a point behind me. As if she was looking at me, but not really. For the first time, she looked unnerved.
“The upstairs,” she said. She took the first few steps on her toes. “I understand the bedrooms will need painting and stripping, and the bathrooms are being redone as well? Have we thought anymore about opening up one of the rooms to be a den of sorts?”
Each inhale tasted sour, like my body rejected her words as soon as they were spit out. “I’m not sure a den would bring much more value, when the extra room could still—”
I saw him before she did.
The upstairs was shadowed because of the position of the sun. Not quite evening, not yet past afternoon. The hallway door, which Hadrian had come from, was cracked. Utter darkness shifted inside. Which was odd—because I hadn’t opened it.
Two yellow slitted eyes appeared, standing nearly six and a half feet tall. He angled his head sideways so his horns didn’t hit the walls.
I froze. Then my eyes widened. Why was he visible during the day?
Hadrian blinked slow, languid, as he waited. I prattled on as I followed Eleanora, rolled my lips together, and tried to keep myself from looking in his direction. Because the last thing I needed was to find out if Eleanora could see him, too.
Eleanora watched her steps until she hit the landing, likely not even listening to what I was saying. Hadrian’s eyes tracked her movement. She walked by, so close to him he could have reached out and touched her shoulder, before beelining to the closest guest room.
“—be used as a den, wall intact,” I finished. I stopped a foot from the door. The sound of her heels on the hardwood rang twice as loud, twice as heavy.
Eleanora considered this with her back to me. Her fingers drummed her chin as she moseyed, then disappeared down the left wing. A spare bedroom door clicked open.
