Fables & Other Lies
“Why would it drive me mad? It’s all I’ve ever known.”
“You never answered my question the other day. Did you go to university? Or school in general?” I asked, correcting myself quickly. Maybe he’d been homeschooled.
“I did.”
“Up to what grade?”
“Year four of medical school.” His mouth curved. He was so amused by my questions and so damn sexy when he looked that way. I wasn’t sure which of the two was more maddening.
“Medical school?” I raised an eyebrow. “I take it you didn’t finish?”
“I didn’t.”
“But year four? You were so close to finishing. What happened?”
“Life.” He sighed heavily.
“Hm. Where’d you attend undergrad?”
“Cambridge.”
My brows rose. “And medical school?”
“Cambridge.”
My jaw dropped momentarily. “Why are you here?”
“This is my home.” He chuckled deeply. “Where else would I be?”
“This is your parents’ home. You could easily get your own or finish your studies. Why didn’t you finish?”
“My father needs me here right now and he needed someone to take charge of his investments.”
“So medical school was set aside.”
He nodded. That was commendable. It was the right thing to do. It was what my father would have wanted me to do had things gone differently between us. Then again, hindsight was twenty-twenty. It was probably something he wanted Esteban to do. Thinking about my father and Esteban made my stomach roll. I was no longer hungry.
“So my friends left without me.” I glanced toward the ballroom, where everyone had been drinking and dancing last night.
“They’ll be back tonight. It is a weeklong event, after all.” He set his napkin down beside his plate. “I expect you’ll want to join the festivities again?”
“I’m not sure I do.” I pursed my lips. “I want to see my friends, but I don’t think I want a repeat of last night.”
“That’s fair.”
“And I don’t want to dress to the nines again.”
“You look beautiful regardless of what you wear.”
I bit my lip and glanced away in hopes of hiding my blush. I needed to gather my bearings if I was going to stick around two more days. The last thing I needed was to hand my heart over to the Devil over some stupid leaves.
Chapter Twenty-One
River went to the study to take some phone calls, but I couldn’t bring myself to walk anywhere near it even after he told me that ghosts didn’t cling to one specific room. I started heading back to the bedroom, but as I neared the stairs, I spotted Sarah walking out of the hallway.
“Well, hello, dear.” She smiled brightly. “Are you busy?”
“No, I was just going back upstairs.”
“Walk with me.”
“Sure.” I followed her to the back of the house. “I didn’t see you at the party last night.”
“Oh. I heard you had a bit of a scare.” She looked over at me. It was so strange to see her up close like this after a lifetime of seeing faded pictures.
“I saw a ghost.”
“A nice one or a bad one?”
“A familiar one.”
“Those are the worst kind, aren’t they?” Her nose scrunched up. “Sometimes it’s best to do what they ask and let go of the past.”
“Are you speaking from experience?”
“I am.” She pulled open the door that led to the backyard and let me walk through first. The fog was heavier than it was yesterday, swirling all around us like a snake. “I don’t think there will be a party after all tonight,” she mused, looking around. “The conditions aren’t ideal for travel.”
“Do you ever leave this island?”
“Of course, I do.” She smiled. “I’ve spent a lot of time in France. In Spain. In Lisbon. I feel happiest there.”
“Why not move then?”
“My husband needs me.” She smiled softly. “You asked if I speak from experience in regards to the ghosts.” She stopped walking when we reached a tree. The tree. She began cutting leaves and putting them in a small wicker basket that was sitting beneath it. As she cut them, she looked at me. “My ex-husband haunted me in the beginning.”
“In the beginning?” I frowned. “But he wasn’t dead.”
“Not physically, no, and yet, he haunted me just the same.”
“How? Why?”
“I suspect he was clinging on to hope that I’d come back.” She stopped clipping, folded the scissors, and put them away in the basket, sitting down underneath the tree and patting the spot beside her. I walked closer and sat down, folding my legs to the side. The grass was surprisingly dry.
“So he haunted you because he wanted you to go back to him,” I said. “Do you think maybe it was your own guilt for leaving that haunted you?”
“No. Not really. I was horrified when Wilfred chose me. I mean, I was already the talk of the town. I’d been married five years and had no children, and when that night came and Wilfred announced it was me he wanted, I . . . it was shocking to everyone.”