Masque (4 page)

Rena whirled around at his statement, her hand over her
heart. “Oh, I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on us like that.” She took a moment
and scanned the room. “So, only men were allowed in here?”

He stepped in and sat on the arm of one of the large
wingback chairs, bringing him within arm’s reach of her. “Yes. This room would
be the men’s domain. However, if one invited a favorite lady in with him, that
was completely acceptable.”

Valerie dropped the lid of an old cigar box. “Isn’t that
generous? Rena, what do you want to do with lighting in here? It’s very dark
with all this black furniture. Makes me think of a funeral. Do you want to
change these red windows?”

Synn stood. “No!”

Both ladies stared incredulously at him.

Damn. He needed to control his emotions. He changed his
voice to a more reasonable tone. “I believe to change the windows in here would
ruin the effect of the Abbey.” He focused on Rena, searching her eyes for
capitulation. “It’s up to you, of course, but I think your guests, both male
and female, might enjoy this room…especially at night.”

Her gaze revealed her confusion before his meaning dawned.
The sunlight through the red window couldn’t hide the blush that rose in her
cheeks. “I guess, well, I mean, yes, maybe I need to see what the ghosts might
prefer.”

Valerie made a note. “That’s fine with me. Less work and
less time if we can keep most of what is here as is. What about this old
grandfather clock? I bet we could find someone who could get it running.”

Synn fisted his hands to keep from yelling again. “That’s a
good idea. I know a person who is an expert with these old clocks. He’s away at
the moment, but as soon as he returns, I can have him review it and let us know
what needs to be done.”

Valerie stepped away from the clock. “Sounds good.”

He made himself relax. He hadn’t waited all these years to
have someone fiddle with the clock and possibly destroy the spirits’ chances at
passing over.

Rena’s hand on his arm had him turning around. She smiled,
her excitement at the Abbey hard to ignore. “This looks like it dead-ends here.
Is this the last room?”

He pulled her hand under his arm and linked them together.
“Yes, it is. But dead ends don’t have meaning for ghosts.”

She glanced up at him, her emerald eyes alive with delight.
“I can’t wait to meet them all. Would you be willing to help me learn their
names? How many are there?

He smirked at her enthusiasm. “Seventy-three.”

Seventy-three?
Rena had a hard time grasping that the
Abbey contained seventy-three ghosts. No wonder it never sold. She’d seen seven
so far and been introduced to one. Of course, there were a few couples she
might be too embarrassed to meet. Just when she had convinced herself her
little experience of the night before was a dream, Synn hinted that it wasn’t.

She glanced at his profile while he escorted her back to the
dining room, which had become their base of operations. What did they do in the
Black Room at night? A giant orgy? Or maybe two or three men would service one
woman?

Her hands grew clammy. Was it possible to have multiple men?
The book she’d seen earlier might have a picture of what positions could work.

Valerie’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Rena?”

Synn raised her chin with his finger to focus her. Shoot,
she’d been daydreaming. God, the man was stunning. What would those strong lips
feel like around her nipple?

Synn gulped hard, his Adam’s apple drawing her attention
away from his face before he took a deep breath. Her gaze returned to his
gray-blue eyes. Desire flamed in those orbs and she wanted him to kiss her. She
opened her mouth to take in much-needed air.

He dropped his hand from beneath her chin and stepped back.

Embarrassed, she faced Valerie. “Sorry, I was thinking about
the Abbey.”

“Yeah right. The Abbey. I need you to start thinking about
the kitchen in particular. Let’s finish the downstairs sometime before noon,
okay?”

Valerie was right. Maybe having Synn around wasn’t such a
good idea. If they could make the necessary changes to the Abbey, she had a
chance of opening by the end of summer. “Okay, let’s do it.” As she followed
her friend, she looked back at Synn, but he had disappeared…again.

Valerie was quick to deduce what was needed in the large
kitchen. While her friend sketched preliminary drawings for electrical, gas
piping and venting, Rena found the opening to the servant corridors as well as
a doorway leading to the outside. She could only open the door three inches
because bushes or branches had grown in front of it. “While we’re in town,
let’s find the landscaper. I think there may be a lot to do on the grounds as
well.”

Valerie snapped her pad against her hand. “Right. Might as
well make an afternoon of it. I think once we have the downstairs underway,
you’ll be halfway there. Honestly, I expected much, much worse.”

Rena tugged hard on the door, shutting out the cold air of
early spring.

Valerie was right. They would need to do electrical and
plumbing work, but the furnishings and décor were in amazing condition. She was
grateful her savings might be enough to open the bed-and-breakfast without
obtaining a loan, but she needed to know why the place was so well preserved.
Maybe there would be a history of Ashton Abbey in the town library. She didn’t
want to do any more exploring in the Abbey’s library. Her goal was the haunted
bed-and-breakfast, and that meant controlling her base sexual tendencies.

Valerie zipped her jacket. “Are you ready?”

She pulled her cardigan over her head and grabbed her purse.
“You bet. I can’t wait to start.”

They strode into the entryway as Synn appeared in the
archway to the Blue Room.

Rena waved. “Bye.”

His eyes widened and panic raced across his face before he
spoke. “Where are you going?”

She stopped, concerned by his intensity. “We are going
shopping. I want to start making the needed changes to the Abbey as soon as
possible.”

His guarded countenance returned. “I see.”

“And then we are going to find a new landscaper so he can
start work on the outside. I think now is the perfect time to trim, before
there is new growth.”

He glanced at the doorway less than three steps away from
her and frowned. “I would suggest you don’t mention me to anyone in town.” He
returned his gaze to her before rubbing the back of his neck. “What I mean to
say is, you should probably refrain from discussing my presence here.”

What an unusual request, but one she would be happy to
fulfill, especially since she wasn’t sure she would let him stay. “Okay, I
won’t mention you.”

The tension in his body dissipated, which caused her a
certain satisfaction. He trusted her, something Bryce never did.

Synn nodded once. “Thank you. Enjoy your shopping.”

She stepped through the doorway to leave, but couldn’t help
looking back to see if he disappeared again. To her surprise, he remained where
he stood, the tension back in his body. She smiled to make him feel better then
joined Valerie in her Ford Expedition.

Her friend glanced at her before backing the vehicle to turn
it around. “Everything okay?”

She nodded absently as she put on the seat belt. “I think
so.”

Valerie set the vehicle in forward motion and they rolled
across the bridge. “Come on, Ree, what is it?”

She tugged on her jacket sleeve. Why would Synn want his
presence kept secret? Then it dawned on her. “I think our resident aristocrat
is homeless.”

Synn stepped into the chapel at the back of the Abbey. The
small, intimate structure he’d designed had two stained glass windows at either
end with tall, clear windows lining the walls. As he sat in a random pew, he
admired the rose tint on the white marble altar as the sun shone through the
red glass of the robes of St. Anthony. Unable to resist, he glanced above him
at the painting of the Archangel Raphael on the ceiling. That particular image
bothered him, not because the face was set in disapproval, but because wherever
he was in the chapel, the angel disapproved of him personally. Once again, it
looked down on him.

He had never been a religious person, but the chapel itself
and Father Richard were old friends…that is when Father Richard decided to
appear. Synn hadn’t discovered yet why the good father graced him with his
presence some times and not others, but he certainly didn’t mind the company.
Unlike other priests of his time, this father was well aware of the human
condition and did not expect perfection from mere mortals.

“Father Richard?” Synn paused. The good father wasn’t a
ghost like the others and yet he was. He had appeared after Synn finished the
graves and had blessed them all. “Father Richard, are you here?” He waited, his
fingers drumming on the pew in front of him. Maybe an enticing tidbit would
bring the father out of hiding. “Father Richard. I don’t know if you are aware,
but we have guests. Two lovely ladies from this century are now living in the
Abbey.”

He waited, smelling the air. Father Richard had a very
particular frankincense scent. Synn leaned back against the pew. The father
must already know of their guests. “No men have come with them, so I think I
will take the dark-haired lady, Rena, through the Pleasure Rooms.”

“What?!”

Synn grinned. He couldn’t see the father yet, but incense
tickled his nose. “I have no choice. No men arrived with them.”

Father Richard appeared as he strode purposefully up the
aisle toward him. “My son. Enticing a young woman to sin is not going to
expiate the sins of all here. Two wrongs do not make a right.”

Synn raised his brow as Father Richard stopped at the pew in
front of him, short of breath. The father was thin and wiry; therefore, he must
have come from far away to be so winded.

The man sat at the end of the pew across from Synn. “Tell me
you are not seriously contemplating this.”

“But I am.” He faced the father, his elbows on his knees. “I
believe by having the woman complete the circuit for the rest of the guests who
did not, I may be able to fulfill the desires that were interrupted when I
arrived.”

The priest hesitated. “But everyone here has been able to
finish their Pleasure Rooms and yet they remain. Why do you think taking this
woman through will change their status?”

Synn reviewed his logic before answering. He didn’t want to
win a debate, he wanted the father to agree it could be the answer, or propose
a better one. “I believe the problem is our people are not alive. Yes, they
later completed the rooms they had hoped to that night, but they were already
dead. However, the prince never finished and he did cross over. I think if I
can persuade a live person to complete each room, the clock will start working
again and the spirits will be allowed to cross.”

He watched his elusive friend for signs of agreement. He’d
read every book in the library and developed theory after theory for freeing
the spirits trapped in the Abbey. He’d tested a number of those theories, but
none had ended in success.

Father Richard looked heavenward and crossed himself. “You
realize if you are right, there is no surety you will be free as well. You are
different.”

A cold chill swept through Synn’s body as he nodded. He was
different. He was a killer. He deserved to be trapped in the Abbey for
eternity.

The priest’s hand on his shoulder jerked him from his morbid
thoughts as comfort seeped beneath his skin.

“My son, you deserve to be freed. You must stop blaming
yourself for their deaths. How many times must I tell you, it wasn’t supposed
to be this way? Something evil interfered with His plan.”

Synn stood, dislodging the priest’s hand and the peace he
provided. Father Richard was wrong. He
was
to blame, and he must free
the spirits of the Abbey. “But do you think it could work? Does it make sense?”

“I don’t know.” Father Richard sighed. “It goes against what
I believe, and yet, if someone tainted the original events, this does make
logical sense. But I will tell you, I’m not happy about it.”

Synn smirked. “You can always watch.”

Father Richard crossed himself again as he rose, but his
lips quirked. “Stop teasing this old man. I can still take you down if I want.”

“Only if I let you.” Synn winked. “Now, I just need to
persuade this exciting woman to experience each room in order. Not an easy
task, I assure you.”

“You only have six left. That’s a start.”

“Father! You did watch.” Synn stared hard, not quite
believing the man he respected had given in to the sin of the Abbey.

The father grabbed his ear and pulled hard. “No, you wicked
man, I heard Eve and Jonathan talking about it in the vestry. I should take a
swing at that pretty face of yours for your lack of faith, but you will need it
to entice the lady of the Abbey.”

Synn pulled away despite the pain it caused. “I apologize
for having such disrespectful thoughts. But you’re right, I do still need to
convince her to fulfill every room. I hope you will pray for my success.”

Father Richard harrumphed before turning away. “For the sake
of your soul and those trapped here, I will pray for your success.” The priest
strolled down the aisle, disappearing as quickly as he’d come.

Synn walked through the pews and stopped before a side
window. There had never been a plan for a graveyard. In fact, it had been a
garden when he’d designed the Abbey, but he’d needed the stone of the garden
walls to make the headstones for those he’d buried. Like a magnet to metal, his
gaze shifted to two headstones in particular. Those were the resting places of
Eve and Jonathan, the young couple who were so in love, and at the time, just
beginning their journey as man and wife, except they weren’t resting…yet. His
hands fisted as he ground his teeth in frustration.

He would free them. If this plan didn’t work, he’d try
another and another, and he wouldn’t stop trying until he found a way to
release every soul.

* * * * *

With Valerie driving, Rena enjoyed the approach to the
Abbey, seeing for the first time how truly large it was. As Synn had mentioned,
the Abbey name was a misnomer, and in so many ways. The large stone structure
resembled a medieval castle, the chapel at the back the only nod toward the
religious in its entire design. Why would a person, the prince, build a
medieval castle in the 1800s in Nova Scotia? It didn’t make sense. And how rude
to call his Pleasure Palace an Abbey.

The landscape between the walls and the moat had overgrown
any semblance of order, but according to the landscaper, it had well-ordered
flowerbeds, walking paths and secluded spots with stone benches. Seeing it from
the moving vehicle, it appeared more like an angry jungle, naked branches
entwined, clawing at the structure.

As Valerie turned the vehicle to cross the bridge, Rena
gazed up at the tall walls to find a lone figure standing between the
battlements. Synn. A shiver raced down her spine. As attracted to him as she
was, he caused her insecurities to surface. One minute she wanted him to kiss
her and the next she wanted to sink to the floor in shame. Her gut said he was
upper class, but her mind said he was penniless.

Valerie pulled the Expedition to a stop. “I’ll bring in the
bags of ice if you grab the cooler. Then we can dump all the cold food in it as
we bring it in.”

She nodded and picked up the new red Igloo they’d purchased.
A refrigerator would be at the top of the priority list…once they had
electricity.

After dumping the cold food into the cooler, they strolled
back outside for the last of the bags. Valerie grabbed two more. “It would be
nice if our resident guest would help us with all this stuff.”

Rena hefted the last bag. “I’m sure he would have, but he’s
on the roof. I bet the sunset is amazing from there. Maybe we can see the
ocean. It was only a few blocks west when we were driving in town today.” An
image of the lone man standing on the battlements crowded her head. “Do you
mind if I run upstairs? I really want to see the sunset.”

Valerie took three loaves of bread from the first bag.
“Yeah, yeah, go. But don’t expect me to make dinner.”

“That’s a deal.” Spinning around, Rena ran up the stairs to
her wing of the Abbey. Striding through the hallway toward the back, she found
another set of stairs leading to the floor above, which had a similar hall. By
the time she reached the end of that hall, she was at the front of the Abbey
again, only here there was a stone spiral staircase. Carefully, she ascended.

At the top, a wooden door stood open and she stepped outside
into the fading light of day, but it wasn’t the sunset that arrested her
attention. Synn stood, one foot braced on an embrasure, one hand resting on the
crenellated stone of the battlement. The breeze lifted his long brown hair away
from his face and off his shoulders…his very bare shoulders.

Oh shit. She hadn’t expected his back to be so broad and
muscular. His biceps stood in stark relief as if he worked construction. Below
his narrow waist, his firm ass and muscular thighs were outlined by his tight
gray pantaloons, if she had the term right. She’d bet the boots he wore were
Hessians because those were the only nineteenth-century boots she’d heard of
that rose to the knee. To call the man handsome would be to belittle his
sculpted perfection, and her heart increased its beat as raw, sexual attraction
rifled through her limbs.

He brought his arm down, causing the muscles in his back to
ripple before he turned to catch her staring.

Her gaze shifted to his eyes and for a moment they revealed
such heartbreaking anguish that all sexual heat fled and her stomach tightened
into a sorrowful knot. He shuttered his gaze and smirked. “Were you looking for
something?”

Confused, and more than a little distracted by the man’s
emotions and his highly defined pectoral muscles, one of which had a fist-sized
dark spot, she grasped for logic. “Yes, the sunset.”

“Ah, then you are just in time.” He stepped to the side,
bowed and swept his hand toward the battlement. “It’s ready for you, my lady.”

She searched his eyes for any sign that he made fun of her,
but found only sincerity. “Thank you.”

She stepped up to the place next to him as indicated and
gazed across the town. As she suspected, the ocean was a few blocks past the
shops and it glittered red as the setting sun shimmered off its dark surface,
its waves lifting and lowering the dazzling color as it moved.

“This is breathtaking.”

“Yes, it is.”

His tone made her glance up, and she found him staring at
her. She swallowed.

He released her hair from its clip and the breeze swept it
from her face. She couldn’t have looked away from his eyes even if the sun had
turned green.

He cupped her jaw with his hand. “You are exquisite.”

Her breath hitched at his words, but her mouth parted as his
face drew closer to hers. When their lips were but a breath away, he spoke
again. “You are made for passion, Rena.”

She let her eyes close, his words shooting pure desire
through her, and then his full lips were upon hers. It was not a gentle kiss,
but neither was it harsh or demanding, simply controlled. The hand holding her
face encouraged her to open her lips and she did.

She grasped his biceps as his tongue swept into her mouth to
explore. He tasted like cinnamon spice but not sweet. When his arm snaked
around her waist and pulled her closer, she entwined her arms around his neck,
her body tight against his hard one. Unable to stem the growing need building
inside her, she pressed her hips into his. A long, hard cock greeted her. She
wanted him.

Synn groaned and released her, stepping away.

She grabbed at the embrasure to keep herself from falling on
her ass. What the hell was that?

He turned toward the sunset again, his body in perfect
profile, his hands clenched at his sides.

Not sure if she was upset because he stopped the kiss or
because he started it in the first place, she gritted her teeth. Her body ached
for release and she wanted him to provide it, no matter what her mind said. Her
sexual frustration gave her a bravery she rarely had. “Why did you stop kissing
me?” She had hoped to sound matter-of-fact, but hurt crept into her voice. Did
he find her beneath him?

He remained motionless, speaking to the horizon. “If I
didn’t stop now, I wouldn’t be able to. You are not ready for me yet.”

Huh? “What do you mean? It’s not like I’m engaged any—” She
clasped a hand over her mouth. Stupid, stupid. He didn’t need to know she’d
recently had her heart broken and quit her job because her ex-fiancé’s family
owned the company.

Unfortunately, her words caught his attention. He turned his
head to study her. “You were to be married?”

She shrugged. “Yes, but it didn’t work out. I didn’t fit in
with his family and friends.” He didn’t need to know the embarrassing details
of her sexual curiosity being low class and too depraved for the likes of Bryce
Lloyd. Synn seemed to be of the same class though he kissed a hell of a lot
better.

“Why?”

He startled her from her thoughts. “Why what?”

“Why did you not fit his life?”

Ah, now that explained everything, didn’t it? She didn’t fit
Bryce’s life. Rena Mills, event planner, had no family ancestry dating back to
the Civil War to prove her worth. “Let’s just say we didn’t have a lot in
common.”