Bewitching the Duke

“Yes?”

He closed his eyes. “Would you please complete the cleansing of the house?”

“Of course,” she replied easily. “But I do wonder why you wish me to do so now.”

He walked away from her and sat in a chair. “I want this house to be rid of the bad memories. It seems like nothing good ever happens here.”

She glanced around as if to determine if they were alone. “Colin, I can’t guarantee that cleansing the house will rid it of the memories. Those are in your mind, not the house.”

“At least try.”

“I will get started on that after I see to your sister.”

“Thank you.” He looked over to see the slight smile on her face. “Will the cleansing work on spirits too?”

“Spirits?” she asked with a slight frown. “Do you mean like ghosts?”

He nodded sharply.

“I suppose it might,” she replied with a shrug. “I honestly don’t know for sure. Why, do you think there is a ghost in the house?”

He closed his eyes for a long moment. “I saw her.”

“Her?”

“Mary. A few times, upstairs on the third floor. I was outside at the reflecting pond and I saw a woman in white walk past the window.”

Selina’s eyes widened. “Indeed?”

Seeing the shocked look on her face, he knew he had to say something to calm her. He needed her to stay the night and she might bolt if she thought the house was haunted. “I am quite certain there is nothing to be afraid of, Selina. I’ve never heard the servants even speak of the specter.”

“Of course, you’re right.”

Hearing a bit of humor in her voice, he wondered if she didn’t believe in ghosts. Not that it mattered. Until he’d seen Mary’s ghost, he never believed either. At least she didn’t appear to be frightened of the idea of staying in a haunted house.

“I will check on Kate now.” She turned and walked out of the room with a slight grin on her face.

Why had he agreed to let her stay again? He must be suffering some grave form of madness. Now for the next few days and worse, the long nights, he would think of her.

Selina walked up the stairs attempting not to laugh aloud. A ghost! He’d thought she was the ghost of his late wife. She sobered. It was rather tragic, actually.

After checking in on Kate, Selina returned to her room to wash and change into a clean dress. She pulled her sage out from the nightstand where she kept it. Today, she would cleanse the rooms on the third floor again, ghost or not. She giggled slightly again. She hoped if he knew she was performing the ritual, it would give him some peace.

While the sage might help remove the negative spirits in the house, she wondered if it would help Colin. She doubted it would make any difference since his issues stemmed from the negative emotions he carried inside of him.

If only she could help him with that.

She lit her sage in the ceramic bowl and headed for the west wing. The rooms had yet to be made up for the wedding so the furnishings were still covered with white cloths. She walked through each room wondering what was underneath. She peeked under a few cloths in each room. Based on the ornate style of the wall coverings and the gilt furniture, most of the rooms must have been decorated by Colin’s grandmother.

She refocused her thoughts on the task at hand and chanted about removing the negative spirits in the house. So intent on her work, she walked out of one room directly into Colin. He laughed softly as she looked up at him.

“Why are you up here?” he asked. “I thought you would have started downstairs.”

She needed a quick excuse for starting up here. “It’s always best to start at the highest floor and work my way down.”

“Why is that?”

Why indeed? She needed an explanation that would give him some comfort. “The negative spirits only move down and then out the door.”