Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (22 page)

Chase smiled. “She didn’t carry a huge handbag, at least not that I could see.”

“Is she as taken with you as Jackie Blake is?” Reggie tried to look unconcerned.

“Not that I noticed.”

That meant the woman had to be either happily married, lesbian, or dead. Reggie smiled happily and ate her dessert.

“How was your bath?” Chase asked.

With her mouth full of chocolate cake, Reggie nodded and took a huge gulp of her milk. “Glorious, thank you. It was a very smart suggestion.”

He leaned toward her and sniffed. “Lavender.” He lifted his arm to the back of the couch. She leaned against him and put her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She fit perfectly in that particular part of his body as if it had been molded to her specifications.

She sighed with contentment.

Chase pinched the flannel on her arm and rubbed it between his fingers. “New flannel?”

She looked up at him and blushed. “Not really, I just haven’t worn them before. Some women have a weakness for lingerie. Besides shoes, flannel jammies are my weakness. Sorry.”

He laughed. “No need to apologize. I know what’s under all that flannel. It helps to keep my imagination fresh. Reggie, you don’t have to dress sexy to turn me on. You can pretty much take my arousal as a given…when you’re in the room, when you’re outside…downtown…in the county…okay…on the planet.”

Reggie snuggled closer and said, “For a man who’s never been much for words, you use them beautifully.”

She turned her face to the fire. Finally, the excitement of the day seeped in, and she dozed off.

* * * *

The next morning, Reggie found herself alone in the massive bed in the master bedroom. She turned and looked at the pillow beside her. Chase had slept with her. Good. She stretched until her bones cracked and then snuggled back under the covers and savored the warmth. She could stay here all day except that her stomach growled so fiercely it made her nauseated. When she looked outside, she could see heavy gray clouds gathered. It looked pretty bleak. Rain fell in a steady rhythm and showed no inclination to stop anytime soon. Sighing, she slipped on her robe and walked with Pru down the back staircase.

Chase wasn’t in the kitchen, but he’d left a muffin and a banana on a plate for her. She opened the door and said, “I know, Pru. The weather sucks, but out you go.”

Reggie watched Pru pick her way around the garden. She peeled the banana and took a big bite wishing she could spend the day in bed. Her head pounded from her little adventure the night before. She didn’t even want to inspect the bruise she knew she had on her butt, figuring what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

Her spirits hadn’t lifted much after her shower. She dressed in beige and wandered about the house making lists of what she still had to do and taking notes of creative thoughts as they occurred to her. If she worked it just right, she might not need to leave the house at all. The thought appealed to her even more when she heard the wind outside. Looking out at the little gate that Constance favored, Reggie wondered if ghosts got wet.

“We don’t, you know,” Constance said softly.

Reggie turned in the direction of the voice. “Don’t what?”

“Get wet. We are not affected by the weather in such a way. I can sense the dampness and cold, but I don’t actually get wet or suffer from the cold.” Constance said.

“Ah, but you don’t much like the rain or you wouldn’t have come inside today.” Reggie said.

Constance laughed. “No my dear, I knew you weren’t likely to venture outside today so if I wanted to talk to you I had to come inside.” She looked around. “You’ve done wonders with the place. I don’t know if you intended to or not, but you’ve put your own stamp on it.”

Reggie frowned. “It’s not my house, but I guess every designer puts their own stamp on everything they do.”

“Well, it’s far more beautiful than it was in my day.” Constance looked sad.

“What was it like coming to this house as a new bride?” Reggie asked tentatively, not really expecting an answer.

“While Vincent was building Bennett House the entire town was energized. It was exciting. He was such a mystery, and the house was so grand. It fired my romantic imagination. I think I was almost half in love with him before I even set eyes on him. My father wouldn’t tell me anything about this exciting stranger, so I was left to fabricate his life story.”

Constance shook her head with regret. “New Crescent was so boring to me, and Vincent Bennett brought the outside world with him. I was eighteen years old, beautiful, and inexperienced…ripe for the picking. My power was irresistible to him.”

Constance paused a moment lost in silent reflection. Reggie listened to the rain and waited. “I entered this house with such anticipation. We’d eloped. The very word sent exhilaration through my veins. My friends were so envious, and when you are young, the admiration of others can mean so much.”

“You eloped, so your wedding night was spent where? In Boston?”

Constance looked at her as if just remembering she was there. She shook her head. “No, my husband didn’t touch me until my first night in Bennett House. I had a virgin honeymoon. Every night I’d go to bed and prepare for my husband, but I woke every morning alone, untouched. Vincent wouldn’t discuss it. He told me that I was too precious to spoil thoughtlessly. By the time he brought me home, I’d given up the hope that I’d ever be a true wife. I told no one. I was ashamed. Foolish child, I thought he’d tired of me, so I went to extravagant lengths to temp him. It shames me to remember.” She blushed crimson and looked away from Reggie.

“I’m so sorry, Constance.” She could think of nothing else to say.

“It was my own fault. My father disapproved of the match and wouldn’t speak to me after the wedding. My mother cried whenever she saw me. I came to understand that my father blamed himself. Instead of telling me what he knew of Vincent Bennett, he sought to protect me from his depravity and held his tongue. He could not have known I would be so headstrong as to elope with the man.”

“It sounds like your parents loved you very much.”

Constance nodded. “They did. And because of that, I couldn’t go to them when I learned the truth about my husband, because I knew it would only cause them more pain. I suffered in silence. I was a Guardian. I had a great power.” She took a deep breath. “Vincent Bennett came to me our first night here in this house. I welcomed him when he came to my bedchamber, but he didn’t want that. He wanted my tears and my resistance. He hurt me. That night, I slept in sheets soaked with my own blood.”

Reggie moved toward Constance as if to hug her. Realizing she could not comfort the woman, Reggie froze and said, “Oh my God, Constance.”

When the ghostly woman looked at Reggie, there were tears on her cheeks. Ghosts could cry. They could feel pain, and it sounded in her voice when she spoke again.

“He was so cruel. You see, as a Guardian, my power was sweet. My virginity was like ambrosia to a man like him. He took so much from me that night.”

Listening to her sorrow, Reggie felt utterly helpless. She longed to soothe her but knew she couldn’t. No one could. Finally, she said, “Constance, is there anything I can do for you?”

The face Constance turned to her showed signs of tears but held great determination.

“Yes, Regina Stanton, you must destroy Vincent Bennett or die.”

“She said what?” Chase was incredulous.

“She said I would die,” Reggie said with a forced laugh. “Believe me, I wish I’d heard her wrong, but the look on her face pretty much convinced me that I heard her perfectly well.”

“Get your rain coat. We’re going to see Ernestine. She has to be able to tell us more, give us some direction.”

Reggie peered outside. It was still raining. With a long, suffering sigh, she said, “Okay. Give me a sec.” She walked out of the kitchen to fetch her raincoat.

Chase drove while Reggie shivered in the seat next to him. He’d turned on the heat, but it hadn’t seeped into her damp limbs yet. He looked over at Reggie helplessly.

“I should have warmed the car up before you got in. Sorry.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I think I’m nervous about what Ernestine is going to tell us.”

Chase grabbed her hand and placed it on his thigh. He covered her hand with his. He said, “Ernestine loves you, Reggie. She’ll do whatever is best for you. For us both.”

“I know you’re right, but she can be pretty cryptic and I’m not sure I’m up for that right now.”

Chase said, “Leave Ernestine up to me.” She was happy to do so.

* * * *

They caught Ernestine as she was heading in to dinner. They smiled in greeting, and she said, “You can take me out for dinner. It’s fish tonight. You’d think living in New England they’d know how to cook fish.”

Chase and Reggie exchanged glances. They let Aunt Ernestine pick the restaurant. Molly’s Famous Barbeque was busy but Ernestine was well known and much admired, so they got a booth without too much fuss.

They each ordered, and when the waitress walked away, Ernestine said, “So you know a little bit about Constance’s marriage.” She shook her head. “Such a tragic tale, unusual for this town. Guardians are supposed to see to it that such horrors never happen in New Crescent. It is supposed to be a sanctuary.”

Reggie said, “But Constance was a Guardian herself. How could she have let that happen to her?”

Ernestine frowned. “Haven’t you been listening to her? She was young, cocky, and foolish. Surely she’s come to understand that much in all these years.”

“Yes, she has. I was just wondering if there was another reason,” Reggie said.

“Oh, there are other reasons, but we rarely understand them. Things happened as they were meant to happen. Constance McCann Bennett was not meant to be happy…to have children or to live a long life. She knew it, too.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying that Constance knew her fate all along?” Chase asked.

“Constance had precognition. She could see into the possible futures each act would yield. She knew it had to happen the way it did in order to get you two where you are right now.” She laughed at Reggie and Chase’s astounded faces. “Such a thing surprises you?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Reggie said. “Of course it surprises me. I’m not a Guardian. I have no special abilities. I was passed over. That was bad enough, but to have to take on an evil such as Vincent on my own is…well…” She shrugged. “Not fair!”

Ernestine gave her a sharp look. “What makes you think you face him alone? Have I not told you never to go into that library without Chase? You are not alone, and don’t belittle yourself, young lady. You have special abilities. You’ve just been too blind to see them.”

She stopped talking when the waitress brought out their food. Ernestine waited until she left before continuing. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have so much, yet still, you obsess over what you don’t have. It isn’t that you’ve been denied the things you’ve wanted most of all. It’s that you don’t appreciate the things you have.” She slapped the bottom of the ketchup bottle. A dollop of red dropped reluctantly on her French fries, and Reggie couldn’t help but think of blood.

Noting Reggie’s expression, Ernestine said, “Knock it off.”

“Hold on, here, Aunt Ernestine,” Chase said. “Reggie has been shouldering this burden with amazing fortitude.”

Ernestine narrowed her eyes at him. “And you. You, too, need to appreciate all that you’ve got and stop living in the past. If you want it, state your intent and go for it. You’re heading in the right direction. Quit pussyfooting around, man!”

Aunt Ernestine lowered her voice and said with urgency, “Constance is right, Reggie. You must rid the town of Vincent Bennett and his evil. You have what is necessary to defeat him. It’s all just a matter of timing now. I’m sorry that’s all I can say at this time.”

The old woman refused to talk about it again for the entire meal, despite Chase’s persistence. Instead, she brought up a different but related subject.

“The people of New Crescent are gearing up for Halloween. They do tend to act a little strangely around this time of year. Horace from the hardware store swears he saw a vampire in his neighbor’s house. Mrs. Frickett, your old grade-school math teacher is encouraging him, saying that this town has always had vampires. She claims she was bitten by one back in the eighties.” Ernestine smiled knowingly, “We all know Jasper Cambert gave her a hickey the night his wife kicked him out for drinking all the elderberry wine. As if any self-respecting vampire would go near Alma Frickett…”

Reggie shared a smile with Chase. Then she sobered and asked, “Have you heard anything about the school? Is that strange flu still infecting kids?”

Ernestine sighed. “No, there hasn’t been a case since you clamped down on young Lex Luthor and his minions. There have been reports of bullying though, first time ever. Travis has had to break up a couple of fights at Kally’s Roadhouse, too.”

She shook her head. The muted light in the restaurant turned her white hair to quicksilver. She swallowed.. “It’s no coincidence that Vincent Bennett is getting stronger just as Halloween approaches. At this time of the year, the veil between our worlds thins. Vincent Bennett has failed with you two. He’s had to cast his net a little farther from home. These fights and disagreements are just little incidents, but he feeds on them nonetheless.”