But it moved again, glinting, and…dripping.
Dripping blood.
And she was terrified suddenly that if it touched her…
Darcy sprang from the bed, screaming herself. The image wasn’t fading, it wasn’t a whisper, a hint of what had happened. It was pure evil. And something deeper than her intuition, than her acceptance, than any peace or calm she might have garnered over the years, deserted her completely. Terror, older and more basic than any human emotion, lit into her. She raced beneath the images, and tore out of the room, shrieking herself as she tore out of the room.
Darcy ran down the stairs, mindlessly fleeing.
She came to the landing and it was there that she heard her name shouted. She had probably been called several times before the sound had made its way through to her conscious thought.
Darcy stopped dead still, sanity filling her mind as quickly as it had deserted it.
She could have kicked herself, thoroughly.
It was Matt Stone calling her name, rushing down the stairs. He was in boxers and a robe, haphazardly cast over his shoulders.
Even as she saw him appear at the top of the stairway, Penny, gray hair tousled, came rushing behind him in a pair of pajamas.
The front door burst open as Carter, Clint slamming into his back, appeared.
It was uncanny, almost as bizarre as the dream, or reality, she had just experienced, the way they all appeared so quickly, the entire household, within minutes. She almost felt as threatened, watching as Matt and Penny came down, and Clint and Carter came forward, and they gathered in the foyer at the foot of the stairs, alarmed, and then, as they saw her, saw that she was fine, disgruntled.
Matt Stone’s eyes were hard and suspicious.
“The Lee Room sent you racing out in a panic?” Matt said, an edge of derision in his tone. “I thought you were the great ghost hunter.”
Clint was kinder. “Are you all right, Darcy?”
She stared at Matt. “Yes, and I’m terribly sorry. I must have had a nightmare.”
“Ghosts don’t scare her—nightmares do,” Matt murmured.
Penny was staring at her sagely. “You saw the lady in white.”
Carter let out a long sniff. “Oh, Penny! I used to spend a lot of time in that room. I never saw any lady in white.”
“I’ve seen her, Clara Issy has seen her, and she sent a bride running out of that room naked as a jaybird!” Penny said indignantly.
Matt stared hard at Penny, Carter, and Clint, one by one, then turned around, starting up the stairs. “Tapping on a table is one thing,” he said irritably. “But if you two have rigged that room somehow…”
“Matt, jeez, dammit, I wouldn’t do that!” Clint protested angrily.
“I sure as hell wouldn’t! I don’t believe in the damned spooks!” Carter said.
“I believe in them wholeheartedly. They are here,” Penny said indignantly. Matt had already started up the stairs. Darcy watched as the others all rushed back up the stairs behind him. She followed, protesting.
“Look, I had a dream. A nightmare. I woke you all. I’m sorry.”
Matt didn’t appear to hear her. He slammed against the door of the Lee Room, causing it to open all the way. He, Carter, and Clint walked in. Where, of course, nothing was disturbed, and nothing at all was out of the ordinary.
Matt, however, appeared determined. He threw open the closet door and carelessly rummaged through her hung clothing, looking for what in the small space, she didn’t know. He looked under the bed, then walked to the balcony doors, throwing them open as well. He walked out on the balcony, then came back in, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Darcy.
“Just exactly what did you see?”
“I didn’t see anything,” she lied. “I had a dream. That’s all. And I’m sorry. Terribly sorry.”
“I don’t think you should sleep in here anymore.”
She felt a flicker of the fear returning, but held her ground.
“I need to sleep in here.”
“Why? You can explore this room—or do whatever the hell it is that you do—by day.”
Darcy shook her head. “Look, once again, I’m really, really sorry. This won’t happen again. I swear it.”
“No.”
“Aw, Matt, you’re just down the hall,” Clint said, championing Darcy.
She flashed him a smile of gratitude, despite the fact that his words didn’t seem to help any.
“No,” Matt repeated stubbornly.
“Look, I swear to you, I’m really not a mincing little coward. I had a dream, and it gave me a terrible start. But I need to stay in that room. All right, Matt, I disturbed you. And I realize that you’re the sheriff and you have a day job, and I’m really, truly, sorry.”
“Matt!” Penny put in.
“We can make a deal. If I come running out again, for any reason, I’ll bow to your decision and get out of the room,” Darcy said. She was pleading with a man who now wore a grim expression on his face. She hated pleading with him.
She didn’t intend to leave the Lee Room, though. Yes, she’d been scared out of a few years of life, but that might have been the exact intention of the malignant presence. She had lived with her gift for a long time. She could still be frightened, but she knew her own strengths.
She wouldn’t let it happen again. She wouldn’t give way to the fright.
“Matt,” Carter suggested sagely, “you’re one stubborn cuss, but so is Miss Tremayne. If any one of us is going to get back to sleep, I suggest you let her go back to bed in the Lee Room. Remember, you’re the one who doesn’t believe in spooks.”
“But I do believe in the ability of man to do evil,” Matt said, staring at Darcy.
“You’re right down the hall,” she reminded him quietly. “Actually, the next room, I believe. At least, the office part of your suite.”
“All I need is something to happen to you!” he muttered.
“Bad for business?” she inquired sharply. “I assure you, I’m not going to become another ghost of Melody House,” she assured him. “And I’m adult, responsible to myself.”
“Yes, bad for business. And not only that, but whether you like it or not, I am responsible to Adam Harrison for you.”
Just how well did he know Adam, Darcy wondered. “Adam sent me,” she reminded him, outraged. “He knows that I can deal with anything that happens.”
“Um. Deal with it—by being terrorized and terrified?”
“It won’t happen again,” she repeated stubbornly. She was disturbed to realize that they had an audience for this discussion, and she was beginning to feel as if she were a child having an argument with an adult.
But apparently, she was winning.
He threw up his hands and turned away. Clint gave her a grin and a thumbs-up sign. Carter, too, was smiling beneath his beard. Only Penny looked a little perplexed.
“You are sure you’re going to be okay?” Penny asked softly.
“Absolutely,” she assured the woman.
“Well, then, I’m going back to bed,” Carter said. He gave Darcy a wink. “I know the room well. It’s brick and mortar, and nothing else.”
“Another true disbeliever,” Penny muttered.
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Clint teased, “You’ve got a threesome of Southern gentlemen here, not only offering charm, but all our valiant resources in whatever way you may need. We’ll be happy to kick ghost butt for you at any time.”
Penny let out a sound between a moan and groan. “Get out of here, go back to the stables and get to bed, both of you. You just wait until one of the ghosts does decide to make an appearance before you boys. You’ll be sorry then!”
“Oooh!” Carter said.
It looked as if Penny was about to strike him.
“We’re going, we’re going,” Clint said. He turned toward the stairway, then told Darcy, “Seriously, if Matt doesn’t make it to the rescue quickly enough, all you’ve got to do is whistle.”
“Good night, then,” Darcy said, smiling at Penny and eyeing Matt. “Honestly, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
He nodded, and walked back into his own room.
Penny was left alone to stare at Darcy. “They are real, and I know it!” Penny told her.
Darcy smiled. “We have to find out just what is going on.” She hesitated. “When the dead become violent or destructive, it’s because they want us to know something.”
Penny shivered. “I’m here for you!” she said valiantly. But her words came with a shiver.
“Honestly, I’m all right,” Darcy assured her.
“It’s getting worse and worse,” Penny said. She glanced at the closed door to Matt’s room. “Maybe he’s right. Perhaps you should sleep somewhere else, and spend time during the day in the Lee Room.”
“Penny, this is what I do!” she reminded the woman. “I was taken by surprise tonight. Startled by the force of…my dream. But it’s okay. Really.”
Penny looked at her worriedly and sighed softly.
“I swear.” Darcy gave Penny a little kiss on the cheek, and slipped back into her room.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. The room’s temperature seemed completely normal, the air as clear as a mountain morning. She was certain that she’d experienced all she was going to for one evening. And now that the fear had receded, she was all right. Stronger, more prepared. And more determined and angry.
Melody House held many haunting secrets. But it seemed evident now that the lady in white was a victim of a deadly violence in the past, and the truth regarding her murder had never been discovered.
Darcy rinsed her face with cold water, surveyed her surroundings once again, and lay back down.
She began to doze.
Then, once again, she bolted up, wide-awake.
She felt the room, but there was nothing. And yet, something had awakened her.