The Lady in Yellow: A Victorian Gothic Paranormal Romance

Fifty-Three

Veronica paced her balcony, looking out over the lawn. Her eyes lingered over the spot where Rafe had pulled her close and walked her back to the house, glancing at her through his lashes as if he feared that too direct a gaze would reveal more than he dared. Walking by his side, her arm linked with his, Veronica had never felt so perfectly at one with another person.

But, Rafe was deceptive and----she couldn't bear to say to herself a word that seemed grotesque applied to Rafe. Yet she'd seen the wolf in him, from the very first day when he'd threatened her on the moor.

By rights she should leave. But when they reached the house, he'd taken her hand, raised it to his lips, and continued to hold it as if he could not bear to separate from her. The desolation in his eyes, his slow, sad smile told her more than words how the curses wrought by Sovay had broken his heart.

Did he expect her to save him? But what could she do? Those white wolves, with their blood red eyes, hated her. They did not seem real, for like spirits or demons or dreams, they finished their terrible deeds and vanished into the black air of night. Yet they had power. They could kill.

How could a bullet destroy a spirit? How was it possible to kill something that was already dead? And what if she failed? Would all the demons of Hell rise up against her? One could survive the bite of natural wolf, but a demon could devour the soul, and driven by revenge, would not give up even if it took an eternity to triumph.

Veronica went back into her room, and locked the doors behind her. Her tired mind tried to make sense of what she must do. Rafe's behavior was most likely driven by a need to keep her on as governess in a situation anyone else would flee. Perhaps he was afraid that if he let her go, she would talk about him in the village, and expose the goings on of the de Grimstons.

She put the tips of her fingers over her mouth. Surely the Ouija board and ectoplasm experiments had encouraged this evil. The house needed to be purged. She must summon the strength to do it.

Expelling a breath she felt she'd been holding for hours, Veronica smoothed her hair back from her forehead. Even if he was manipulating her, she couldn't deny her feelings for Rafe de Grimston. Somehow, he had broken through the shell she'd built around her loneliness, awakening her longing for love. Despite the futility of the situation, these feelings had the power to keep her at Belden House wanting the impossible.

Weary, she wandered over to the twins' rooms and peered in. Both beds were made. Everything was tidy, but no one was there. In Jacqueline's room, a low growl vibrated up her back. She spun around to find Wolfgang staring up at her. The thick fur around his neck had been shaven and the area bandaged, a reminder of how he'd bravely fought the werewolf to protect his two little charges.

The dog rose from his bed in the corner and stuck his long nose into Veronica's skirts. Poor thing. She petted him warily, her eyes darting around the room, searching the shadows for the children. Something strange was in the air, a portent.

Where were they? Where was Jack?

Veronica patted the dog, more to soothe herself than him. He panted, smiling the way dogs do. When she was sure no one was in the room, she ordered the dog back to his corner. He barked at her, and lifted his bandaged paw.

She took it. "So you don't want to be left alone either, do you, old chap?" She let him follow her out, and shut the door.

Back in her room, Veronica sank into the easy chair and leaned back. Wolfgang flopped down on the hearth, and gazed up at her like an old flame. She needed to rest her mind, but the dog kept staring at her. It was distracting. She wasn't used to pets. Saint Mary's never allowed the girls to have animals, except for the cat, an old mouser who was more of an employee than a member of the family. It was always just called Cat, or Here, kitty. Tala, the wolf girl, crept into her mind. Veronica tried to shift thoughts of her away, but they kept coming back. Tala wasn't a dog or a pet, but a human child lost in the animal kingdom.