Page 56 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
Butshehad seen him.From the first night she’d spent in this house, she knew he was there.
He’d seen her vulnerability even then, when she was small.And her sweetness.Victoria did not yet remember the moment he saved her.She was seven, perhaps eight.It was shortly before the Ravenwood’s packed up and left the manor.
He stood at his window and saw her walking through the gardens.Somehow, she’d wandered out alone, perhaps looking for her mother who spent many hours there cultivating her flowers.She wasn’t supposed to be there.She’d started for the path to the hidden graves.
And she was not alone.Lenore was there, too.Drifting like smoke along the hedges, her watchful eyes on the girl.
Something ancient and knowing tightened in his chest.
Gabriel moved before he could think.He dashed down the stairs, made it through to the back door unseen, unheard, and into the gardens.The girl was poised at the side of the abandoned gravel path, caught in a trance.Lenore was nearby, ready to take her and drag her to that awful place under the tree.
If my daughter is not allowed to live, neither is hers.
The words rang out in Gabriel’s head.Not spoken aloud, but pressed into the air.Cold.Final.A curse born of grief and rage.
Revenge.Spite.She wanted to steal Victoria away from her mother, as death had stolen Lenore’s own child.
He saw Lenore’s hand reach for her shoulder, saw the shimmer of magic begin to form.
Gabriel launched forward.His hand landed first.
The spell broke.She blinked and turned her youthful face up at him with wide, startled hazel eyes.Her face was pinched with confusion.
“You’re the man in the west wing,” she whispered.
He hadn’t answered as he knelt before her, shielding her from the presence of the ghost.Lenore hissed her frustration, then vanished into the fog.
Victoria ran past him, heading for the house, leaving him there alone.He remained, wondering why his chest suddenly felt hollow, why he suddenly felt weak.
A clamor downstairs broke him free of his thoughts.He thought he heard shouting.His brows drew together as he hurried toward his bedroom door and tried to pull it open.
It didn’t budge.
Then he heard the faint piano music lilting through the house.A mournful tune.Lenore’s tune.And he knew he had to get to Victoria.
He jerked on the door, yanking hard until it came free.The moment it did, he heard her scream.
Gabriel dashed down the stairs.At the foot, he saw the parlor door shut.He went to it immediately, pulled it open.And there, crumpled on the floor, was Victoria.
“Oh, gods.Victoria!”
He dropped to his knees next to her, reaching out a hand to hers.Her skin was cold and clammy.Her face was pale.Her eyes closed.
Without hesitation, he scooped her up into his arms and headed for the sitting room where they had waited out the storm and he talked about books.As though they were a normal, every day couple.
But they weren’t, were they?And this time, he wasn’t there to shield her from the malevolent ghost.But he didn’t put her down on the settee.He cradled her against him, holding her close, trying to warm her chilled body with his.
He admonished himself for not being there.For not keeping watch over her.He wasn’t fast enough.He wasn’t strong enough.Just like before.
He could lie to her.He had.More than once.But every time she looked at him with those innocent eyes, something inside him cracked a little wider.Chipping away at his resolve.If she ever learned the truth, she would never forgive him.
She shifted in his arms and let out a breath.Her hand slid to his collar, fingers curling there, as if to signal she was all right as long as he held her.He blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“I should have been there,” he whispered.
Gabriel pressed his cheek to her forehead.She was so cold, as though the ghost had drained the warmth from her very soul.He held her tighter, determined to give it back.He felt Lenore’s presence linger.Thin, angry, full of malice.But he did not flinch.
“Go away,” he whispered.“Haven’t you done enough?”
