Free Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey Page A

scowled all the way down the stairs, at each of the Jasper ancestors in the portrait hall, and even at a potted fern that fluttered across my hem as I passed. The fashion for ferns showed not the slightest inclination of fading if Rosefield was any house to judge by. Large green fronds grasped at me like hands as I marched down to breakfast.
    I had just enough sense to pause before entering in order to collect myself. A headache pulsed viciously behind my eyes. I pasted on a polite smile before showing myself. Most of the guests were gathered at the long table. All of the men rose briefly. Frederic grinned. Since I didn’t hear Elizabeth’s customary stifled sigh, she must still be asleep, like any sensible person. One of the guests was a tall man, thin and with a predatory look about him. The effect was underscored by the way he stared, his black eyes peeling back the layers we all wore like shawls in polite society.
    Something else about him made me uncomfortable: the silver cravat pin he wore. It was the same man who’d been hiding in the gardens last night, watching Caroline stealing kisses.
    But why?
    â€œThere you are, darling.” Mother’s voice was decidedly crisp. She eyed me critically over her cup. Her smile was pointed. “Why don’t you have a seat next to your Mr. Trethewey?”
    I instantly forgot about the man with the cravat pin and instead blushed violently. One of the ladies cleared her throat sharply.
    â€œMother,” I whispered. She was being too bold. I could see the censure in Lord Jasper’s sister’s expression and the gleam in Tabitha’s eyes as she sat on Xavier’s other side, smiling prettily at him. I stifled a groan. I had no wish to play the games Mother or Tabitha expected me to play. The headache jabbed at me, mercilessly.
    â€œIt would be a pleasure,” Xavier murmured. I could only be grateful his parents were still abed.
    â€œTell Jasper I miss him.”
    I blinked, looking at the guests. No one else seemed to have heard the breathy voice, whispering.
    â€œThe locket is under the settee. Vera dropped it there last week.”
    I definitely heard that. I lifted a hand to my head, which throbbed mercilessly.
    â€œCan you hear me?”
    â€œAnd me?”
    â€œPlease, answer me!”
    There were more voices, all layered on top of one another like a windstorm. I think I might have whimpered. I really didn’t want this to be happening. Seeing spirits was bad enough; hearing them was no better. I clapped my hands over my ears. I had to get out of there.
    â€œViolet,” Mother snapped.
    Her voice, at least, was real, and it was sharp enough to cut through the haze of panic. Lord Jasper was staring at me quite intently. I smiled weakly and turned to the sideboard. I just needed to be alone, needed quiet. I was tired, that was all. The chattering and the clinking of silver cutlery frayed at my nerves.
    I reached for a plate, waving away the help of a footman. I’d never understood that. Surely I was capable of carrying my own plate, even though I felt tired and awful. I made my way back to the table with my eggs and toast, trying to breathe through the anxiety and the ache in my temples. I wasn’t paying attention to Tabitha.
    That was my first mistake.
    The second was that when she surreptitiously reached back and yanked on my elbow, I let out a most unbecoming yelp, like a monkey tumbling from a tree.
    And third, I dropped my plate.
    Or rather, I threw it.
    It sailed out of my hand and I could only watch in horror as it proceeded to make its descent. Jam-covered toast turned over once, twice … and landed on Xavier’s shoulder with a most undignified splat . The eggs rained onto the floor and the bacon slid across the pristine white tablecloth, leaving grease stains like skating grooves on an icy pond. There was a shocked silence before the ladies all gasped in unison, as if they’d just been thrown