Katie Rose (43 page)

While on tour, Jennifer discovered she had a talent for public speaking, for after her first engagement in Philadelphia, the Spiritualist Convention sponsored her enthusiastically, and with Josie Woods’s blessing invited her everywhere. Elated, Jennifer found herself discussing politics with the political, and religion with leading ministers
of their faith. Her presence was requested at the bedside of the dying, who wished her assurance that they would not simply leave this life for some everlasting sleep. Jennifer reassured them, gave hope to those whose grief overwhelmed them, and provided comfort to the comfortless.

Penelope and Winifred, far from languishing in her shadow, had become just as popular. Winifred had more than one assurance of college entrance, and Penelope had more beaux than she knew what to do with. Strangely enough, James McBride ceased to call. Penelope refused to say anything on the subject, to the relief of Aunt Eve, who had declared him unsuitable.

Now, their success was guaranteed. Donations for the Appletons began to pour in, and Jennifer invested the money, giving some to charities while carefully utilizing the rest. She had Twin Gables refurbished, and bought Aunt Eve new clothes. Winifred received a scholarship, to everyone’s delight, and Charles agreed to help tutor her in the law. Penelope had her pick of rich men who all wanted to court her, even though she refused to show a preference for any man in particular.

Why, then, did Jennifer feel so empty?

Bone weary from her tour, Jennifer removed her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. Tossing her hat on the rack, she went upstairs and took a seat at the dressing table. Flipping through the cards from well-wishers, she knew that there was one person’s writing she was looking for.

She had neither seen nor heard from Gabriel since the Christmas Ball. Her heart thudded painfully as she realized that, in all likelihood, he’d gone on with his life. He’d thrown down the gauntlet and she’d tossed it back in his face. In the process, they’d both lost.

Jennifer smiled sadly at how simple it all was, yet how ridiculously complicated they had made it. But while on tour, she had realized that her life without him in it was
meaningless. There had to be a compromise, some way to work out their differences. And if not, she was ready to give it all up. Her sisters were on their way now, and they no longer needed her help. She’d had enough of fame and fortune to last ten lifetimes, and if it ended now, so be it. Something had changed inside her since seeing the ghost, and she understood now that life was more than this time spent on earth. It was eternal, she thought, and the love we nurture goes with us. The love she wanted was Gabriel’s.

There wasn’t a card from him, but she didn’t let that get in the way of her plans. Slipping into her nightgown, she fell into bed, wanting nothing now but a good twelve hours sleep and forgetfulness. Tomorrow she would go to Gabriel, beg his forgiveness, and hope he would listen, but for tonight, she needed her rest.

Sometime around midnight, Jennifer woke. Penelope snored from the bed beside her, yet looked angelic as always, while Winifred slept quietly across from her. Glancing around the room, she wondered what had wakened her and listened intently.

Then she saw it. At first, a single spirit came into focus, then another, then another. Jennifer’s scream caught in her throat as the room filled with ghosts, all of them sweeping around the room, just as they would in life. Some were dancing, one reading, another hurrying to market with a basket under her arm. Soldiers appeared, bloody and bandaged, while a beautiful woman kept searching for something and sobbing silently. Another ghost banged at a piano, music filling the room, and several more spirits joined him, one with a trumpet, another a trombone, until they formed a ghastly band.

“Dear God!” Jennifer managed to cry out, and Penelope and Winifred awakened at the same time the bizarre music started. Winifred stared, appalled, clutching
her bedsheets to her chest as if for protection, while Penelope gasped in wonder at the sight before them. Aunt Eve rushed into the room, but the phantom party continued as if they weren’t present.

The three girls looked at each other in astonishment, while Aunt Eve leaned against the wall to keep from fainting. Far below, in the parlor, Jennifer could hear the parrot squawk.

For the second time in its life, it spoke.

“It’s a ghost! It’s a ghost!”

Gabriel approached the steps of Twin Gables with a bouquet of hothouse roses in one hand, and a surety in his heart. Maybe it was Mildred’s little speech, or maybe he had finally woken up, but he never felt more certain about anything than he did about the decision to come here. Even if Jennifer said she no longer wanted him, he would plead his case and apologize, make her see that he understood that she was gifted, and had every right to use her talent. He loved her; no matter what it took, he would win her back.

The door swung open before he could knock. The maid ran screaming from the house, bounding down the stairs past him. Gabriel stared in astonishment, then entered the old mansion slowly. He stood in the foyer.

“Jennifer?” he called out, amazed to hear a cacophony of strange noises. Winifred must be experimenting with the harpsichord again, he thought wryly. Squeaks and whistles, groans and chords all echoed through the house like a drunken one-man band. There was something inexplicably eerie about the sounds, and he shuddered, feeling the response in his soul. Thankfully, Jennifer rushed down the stairs and ran directly into his arms.

“Gabriel! Thank God it’s you! I was coming to see you today myself. You have to help us!”

She looked out of breath and completely wrung out. Gabriel held her tightly, amazed at how right it felt to have her in his arms once more. Yet he was alarmed by her demeanor.

“Jenny! My sweet girl, what is it? I came to tell you that I was wrong about everything, to beg your forgiveness … Good Lord, what is happening here?”

The sounds increased and Jennifer clung to him as if at her wit’s end. “I don’t know what to do! Gabriel, I need you. You weren’t wrong, you were right, you were always right. I should never have played with this!”

To Gabriel’s astonishment, Jennifer dissolved into tears, melting against him. He could feel her trembling, and knew that for once, she was really and truly frightened. He stroked her back, awkwardly trying to comfort her. She clung to him as if he contained the essence of life itself. That more than anything concerned him, for Jennifer had the courage of a lion.

“Jenny, my darling Jenny. Nothing can be that bad. I started to tell you, I love you. I realized a lot of things last night. You are gifted, and I had no right to try and stop you from using your talent … Good God, what’s going on here?”

The noise increased tenfold, followed by renewed screaming. Jennifer clung to him again. “Gabriel, I was fooling with something I didn’t understand, and now we’re paying a terrible price. They’re everywhere, and I can’t get rid of them, no matter what I try. Poor Penelope can’t even get dressed, and Winnie’s books are floating in the parlor. Aunt Eve is beside herself, and I’m at a complete loss!”

“Jenny, calm down and tell me what is wrong. I’ll help you, no matter what it is. Now what’s everywhere? What has happened?”

Jennifer took a deep breath, then the words rushed out of her. “Twin Gables is haunted.”

“What?” Gabriel didn’t know what he’d expected, but certainly not this. “Haunted? As in ghosts?” His eyes looked past her into the dim hallway.

“Yes.” Jennifer nodded, her eyes filled with terror. “Gabriel, I don’t know what I’ve done! You were so right when you said that I didn’t understand the occult, and that something awful could happen. We had the séance for Mildred, and our father’s ghost appeared. Something happened as a result of that, and now the spirits are all over the house!”

“My God!” Gabriel disengaged from her and ruffled his hand through his hair. He stared at Jennifer in shock. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “It started a few days ago, and now this morning, the house is infested with them. Come look!”

As she dragged him into the parlor, Gabriel tried to tell himself that Jennifer was overreacting. It must have been a shadow, or a cloud of steam that had frightened her. Coming so soon after seeing a real ghost, Gabriel could easily see how it happened. Confident in his diagnosis, he followed her into the room. As he stood in the doorway, he was stunned by the vision before him.

They
were
everywhere. Wispy images of real people flew about the parlor, ducking beneath the doorway and into the next room. Couples danced on the rug, barely taking notice of the living around them, while another spirit girl walked the halls. Aunt Eve chased the ghost of an old man into the kitchen with her broom, while Penelope screamed upstairs. Winifred’s books did a ghastly dance around the room, while a poltergeist opened drawers and scattered the contents of Jennifer’s sewing basket.

Speechless, Gabriel glanced into the kitchen, and saw a vaporous chef preparing an invisible meal. An Irish
maid, long dead, scrubbed the same pots she’d cleaned in her lifetime, and a ghost dog chased a spirit cat around the room. If he had any doubts about what he was seeing, the reaction of the real animals assured him otherwise. Angel hissed and spat, his back arched, his eyes narrowed to tiny slits, and the parrot paced the inside of his cage as a pirate specter attempted to feed it nuts split with his knife, and the mynah bird chattered in fright.

“My God,” Gabriel whispered as Jennifer hugged him. It was a nightmare come to life, more vivid and more dreaded than the worst of his dreams. A wailing woman with long hair and a harp walked past him, sobbing as she played, and the hair on his neck stood straight up.

“Come this way. The library’s the only room they don’t like.”

Gabriel followed Jennifer as if in a trance. He couldn’t take his eyes off the ghosts, although they ignored his presence completely. Horror filled him, along with fascination, and when Jennifer closed the door, he sank into a chair, astonished to find that his hands were shaking.

“Here.” Jennifer poured him a glass of water, her eyes full of understanding. She extended the glass to him, watching as he gulped the cool liquid. “It takes a little getting used to.”

“Jennifer.” He stared at her, feeling the clamminess of sweat beneath his collar. “We have to get you all out of here! It could be dangerous. The place is full of dead people, for God’s sake!”

“They don’t hurt us. They’re more of a nuisance than anything else,” Jennifer explained.

Gabriel rose, feeling his strength coming back. He closed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the incredible scene that lay just beyond the door, but to no avail. He could still hear their mournful wailings, the sound of ghostly music, laughter, and sobbing.

“A priest!” Gabriel said, relieved at the thought that
sprang into his head. “I’ll send for the local priest. Maybe he can do an … exorcism or some such thing.”

Jennifer laid a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve tried that. Father Ryan came this morning, and ran out screaming. No one seems inclined to stay in a house full of ghosts. Besides, the spirits seemed to laugh at him, so I don’t think that even a more courageous representative of the church will have much effect.”

“There has to be something!” Gabriel paced in agitation. “I’ve got it! How about another medium! Maybe another spiritualist will be able to undo what you’ve done. There are a few that are famous in the city—Tennessee Clafflin, for one.”

“That fake!” Jennifer snorted. “Trust me, Gabriel, if psychic ability could fix this, it would be taken care of. I don’t want to brag, but there isn’t another medium in the city who’s ever been able to do something like this. No, I think there’s only one way to undo what I’ve done.” She reached for the book of spells that lay on the table before her, and handed him the ancient tome.

Gabriel examined the strange volume, his finger tracing the pebbly leather cover in wonder. The book looked old and well worn, yet the pages were in remarkably good condition and even appeared to be trimmed in gold leaf. A strange vibration seemed to fill him as he examined the book, and he could swear he felt its power. His thoughts were interrupted as Penelope burst in, clad in a corset and chemise, her clothes pressed in front of her for modesty’s sake.

“That’s it! I’m getting dressed in here. They won’t stay out of my bedroom. Why, I was standing behind our dressing screen, and three male ghosts were peering over the top, watching every move I made!”

Her sister huffed indignantly, and if Gabriel wasn’t so concerned, he would have laughed at the idea that even after death, men still wanted Jennifer’s gorgeous sister.
Turning his back to her, he heard the rustling of her skirts, while upstairs, bawdy hoots and laughter rang out.

“The nerve!” Penelope sniffed, while Jennifer repressed a giggle. She glanced at Gabriel, who still gazed at the book in perplexity.

“I found that in an old shop the day you ran into me in town, and used it during Mildred’s séance,” Jennifer explained, helping Penelope with her dress. “It was very effective. But look at the last page.”