Free 1 A Spirited Manor by Kate Danley Page B

he
replied.  They stopped in front of Clara's door.  It was open and she could see
her bag waiting for her at the foot of the bed.  He rested his hand upon her
arm.  "Let me examine your room to ensure it is safe before you go
in."
    She nodded, the frightful wisdom
of his caution chilling her almost as deeply as if she was the one who went
into the storm.  She let him go first, but followed him into her chambers.  Wesley
looked beneath the carved double bed, opened up the wardrobe to look inside. 
He tested the windows to make sure that they were locked and made sure no one
was hiding behind the curtains or door.
    He gave her a nod.  "It
appears to be safe," he said.
    "Thank you," she
replied.
    They stood there in silence for
a moment.  He reached out his hand to shake hers.  "You are quite a brave
woman, Clara.  It is a shame such a tragedy had to strike.  It was quite a
pleasure to make your acquaintance and I am so sorry that our first memories of
each other will be marred by such a terrible turn."
    She smiled at him.  "If
such horrendousness had to happen, I must say that I am glad to have you here
to take care of things.  I hate to think how different this all would be if
Norman or Horace were left to sort things out."
    He nodded, and then returned her
smile.  He gave her hand one last squeeze before saying, "Now, lock your
door behind me and promise that you shall not leave until dawn."
    "You have my word,
Wesley."
    He began to walk out, and then
paused, turning around.  "I like when you say my name," he said, and
then left down the hall.
    Clara watched him until he
disappeared into his own room, then shut her door and locked it.  She paused,
resting her hand upon its wood frame and whispered, "I like saying it,
too."

Chapter Fourteen
    C lara woke, shivering in her
sleep.  At first, she thought that one of the windows must have opened in the
middle of the night.  The room was as bright as if there was a full moon.  But
she heard the rain pelting upon the glass and realized that it was something
else.
    She turned onto her back and
there was the girl, Minnie, the ghost who had haunted her in her room at home
and somehow managed to follow her here.
    Minnie stood in her unearthly
light, her gauzy dress floating about her.  Clara tried to still the fear which
was making her heart beat fast.  Minnie motioned for Clara to follow.
    "You appeared earlier,
Minnie, and someone died.  I am frightened," Clara confessed.
    But Minnie did not make any
movement which suggested she heard Clara.  Instead, she walked once more
through the door, her hand returning to curl its single finger, calling Clara
to follow.
    Clara sat for a few moments. 
There was a murderer in this house.  If Gilbert escaped, who knew what evil
might befall her if she left her room.  But the ghost's hand remained, calling
her to leave her bed.
    She closed her eyes and thought
to herself that Minnie had led her to this house where all of these horrible
things had occurred, but by the same token, Clara was the only one who could
see her.  If Minnie had anything to do with these terrible events, who knows
what greater catastrophe would befall them all if she was not heeded.
    And so, bravely, Clara took her
robe from the foot of her bed and wrapped it around herself.  She slipped her
slippers onto her feet, unlatched the door, and followed after the ghost. 
    The strangest sense of déjà vu
filled her, as the ghost wandered down the long, dark hall.  She did not know
if it was the memory of being led down her own dark hallway at home by this
girl, or if she was aware of some other event which was to come.  The heads of
all the dead animals hung in the hall stared down at her accusingly, as if
asking why she was not still in bed when the entire house slept.
    But the ghost's reproach was far
worse than these glassy eyed creatures could ever dish out, Clara decided.  She
crept down the stairs after the ghost, into the foyer, and then