Fables & Other Lies

“I bet. Men usually don’t pick married women.”

“Not for lack of wanting them or because of decency.” She shot me a look. “I knew many women having affairs, but they’d never do anything to display it openly.” She glanced back at the wicker basket on her lap. “My marriage was awful. My husband ridiculed me for not being able to get pregnant and we’d just had a huge fight about my worth and how little I was contributing, so when Wilfred called my name, despite reason, despite knowing how awful it would make me look, I was glad.”

“It sounds like he saved you in a way.”

“In many ways.” She smiled. “And I saved him in many ways as well. River was in boarding school at the time. They’d just lost Rosie, River’s birth mother.” She looked at me. “The house shook when I got here. Visibly shook, as if grieving. I know the island is dark and can be a little spooky, but the house isn’t the problem, it’s the curse that looms over it.”

“The curse set on it by my family.”

“I’ve been told you don’t believe in curses, but if you were to see a picture of the house before the curse and after you’d be forced to question that notion.”

“Is there a way to get rid of it?”

She smiled sadly. “Some of the staff thinks that when my husband dies, the curse will lift. They could be right. There’s no telling. You know what they say about the island though.”

“It takes one and gives another back,” I whispered.

Sarah nodded slowly, sadly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was any other way, one that didn’t require death.

Chapter Twenty-Two

River

He thought there must be another way. It had taken six years to get her back on Pan Island and a lifetime to get her on Dolos Island, and yet he wanted to look for another way. Any way that would spare both of their lives, but it seemed impossible. Maybe it was a doomed plan from the beginning. Maybe he should do what he was supposed to and take her to the cave, to the part of the island where, according to legend, according to the man in black, he could reverse all of this. He could restore everything back as it once was. He hadn’t expected to enjoy her company as much as he did. He hadn’t expected to enjoy laughter. Or light. Or any of the things he often read about but hadn’t truly experienced in this way. He hadn’t expected her to be the way she was, and so, he had to look for another way.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Penelope

It was dark and dreary, which wasn’t a surprise, but it was also raining hard outside, and that hadn’t happened since I’d arrived. I sighed, stepping away from the window and going back to the dinner table. River, Sarah, and I had finished having dinner, and she excused herself to go back to her room, leaving him and me here. We’d dressed for the party—him in a tuxedo, me in a floor-length silver and ivory gown. I’d said I didn’t want to dress up, but when I saw it, I couldn’t not wear it. It was similar to last night’s in that it was also simple, also made of fine silk, and also didn’t allow me to wear a bra.

“I want to show you something.” River stood from his seat and held his hand out to me.

I took it and followed him out of the dining room. He walked down the other hall, the one that led outside, but instead of going to the backyard door, he opened the door to the left. He let me walk inside first, following closely behind and shutting the door. It was dark. Pitch black, not even a gas lamp to light the way.

“River?” I whispered.

“One second.” I heard him fussing with something, but I didn’t know what, until the light illuminated. He held a lantern between us. “You need to follow closely behind me.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, then paused when I heard a drip, then another. “What is that sound?”

The room was empty as far as I could tell. River walked and I followed and when we reached a rope hanging from the ceiling, he lifted his hand and pulled it down, bringing a staircase with him. He placed the lamp on the step in front of his face and looked at me.

“You’ll have to trust me.”

I stared at him. I didn’t trust anyone. Especially not after yesterday.

“You’ll have to at least trust me to ensure your safety.” He searched my eyes. “What I want to show you is up there. You’ll have to take your heels off, unless you trust yourself in them.”

I reached down and slid off my shoes, carrying them by the heel in my right hand. “Now what?”