Page 58 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
He didn’t turn to look at her, but she saw the muscles grow taut across his back through his shirt.He tossed the spent match aside and rose in one fluid movement.His eyes met hers.She gazed up at him, the light from the candles reflecting in his dark orbs.His face was etched in concern with a hint of fear.
“I know you have questions,” he started.“But I…I cannot answer them.”
“Why not?”
He pressed his lips together in a thin line.And then she understood.He was afraid to tell her the truth.He was afraid if she knew, that it would change things between them.Perhaps it would.Perhaps things would be different.For the better.Or perhaps for the worse.But didn’t she deserve to know why her house was haunted by the woman he was once married to?
“Tell me what happened in the parlor,” he said, pushing the conversation the direction he wanted it to go.
She swallowed hard, looking away, fixing her gaze on some distant space in the room she could not see.Her mouth had gone dry.
“I tried to leave for good,” she admitted.“Butshedid not want me to.”
“She?”he prompted.
“Lenore.”She glanced up.
His brows were knit together in a severe line.
“The front door wouldn’t open.And then…” She fisted her hand against her lap, remembering the horrible feeling.“Then there was a…mist pouring out of the parlor.And the music.The piano was playing.I shouldn’t have gone in there.I should have stayed away.But something pulled me toward it.Toward…her.And I saw her there.Sitting at the piano, playing that somber tune.”
Gabriel’s face drained of color, his features etched in disbelief.“You…saw her?”
“Yes.In her ghostly form.Looking at me with those black eyes.Eyes the color of ink.”
He swallowed hard, his throat working.He turned away from her, back toward the fire.The flickering light played upon his features.
“There is more, Gabriel.”
Though he may not want her near him, she rose and moved to stand next to him.He averted his gaze, keeping it on the hearth.
“She spoke to me,” Victoria said.
He stiffened.“What did she say?”
“She told me I was part of this place.That I was part of the bloodline.”She wanted to reach for him.She wanted him to wrap his arms around her again and offer her solace.Comfort.She wanted him to tell her everything was going to be all right.
But he didn’t.He remained stiff and still.
“Before I blacked out…something inside me pushed back.I think…I think she felt it.What does it mean, Gabriel?”
Slowly, he inhaled a breath, then let it shudder out through his lips.“It means there’s no turning back now.”
Chapter 23
Shestiffenedandremainedwhere she was next to him, watching him intently.His gaze was solely focused on the fire, the light flickering across his face.It struck her then how handsome he was and how his face seemed to be permanently etched in sorrow with a hint of despair.
Gabriel turned to her suddenly.“Perhaps youshouldreturn to the city.Go back to your uncle—”
“No.”Her tone held a note of finality.“I tried to leave before.The house—Lenore—reacted.Shedoesn’t want me to leave.And neither does the house.I’m staying here.”
It had crossed her mind to try to leave again, but at what cost?She would lose more than she’d gain, and her heart rebelled at the idea of leaving Gabriel.Something, some tug upon her heart, made her want to stay here for him.And something deep inside her needed to find out why Lenore continued to haunt.
Her gaze searched his, as though looking for the buried answers.Unable to stop herself, she reached for him, took his hand in hers.His fingers had turned cold, even as he stood before the fire.
“If I go…I cannot leave you here alone,” she murmured.
A sardonic smile flickered across his lips before he concealed it.“I’m used to being alone, Victoria.Can’t you see that?Besides, I cannot truly leave this place.”He pulled his hand free and turned away.
