“No one showed to see what transpired? An earl disappears, and nobody is curious about it?”
“Villagers visited, but I couldn’t let them stay. The chap who ran the inn was the final death here. He returned with the intent of running the inn, and Margery seduced him little by little until he was her pawn and brought her an innocent child. I saved the little girl and murdered my old employee and then ensured no one would sleep here ever again.”
“Does Margery have freedom like you?” Maggie asked.
“No, Margery only wakes at three in the morning. I guess that was the moment we stopped each other. Margery usually spends an hour attempting to escape the inn while I thwart her efforts, but she must enter her portrait at four am. That is strange. Margery cannot return to her room and doesn’t occupy the bedroom during the day. She simply isn’t here. It’s as if she lives in her portrait, enters our world through her suite, and leaves through the painting.”
“Isn’t that odd?” Maggie asked.
“That is what you believe is unusual from this muddled story?” Lucian inquired, amused. Maggie shrugged and smiled.
“It sounds like a programme for a sci-fi channel on tv. But the fact is you are here, and Mariah’s inn is also haunted.”
“What is your friend Mariah’s inn called?”
“The Black Cat, it is at…”
“Stapleton and was my brother Benedict’s,” Lucian said, sending Maggie a sceptical look. Maggie blinked.
“And it’s haunted,” Maggie whispered as Lucian stared at her. “Could Benedict be there?”
“I hope not!” Lucian exclaimed as intense anguish crossed his face. Maggie decided not to mention the other four inns her mates had bought. Should they be his relatives’ former holdings, Lucian would wish to know if they were haunted. And if they were? Then he and his siblings have been trapped for three hundred years. That would be cruel knowledge to impart. Maggie made several mental notes to investigate her friends as soon as possible.
“So, where do we go from here?” Maggie demanded, and Lucian rose to his feet in shock.
“You pack your items up and leave,” Lucian said.
“Not happening. No, wait, listen, please. I’ve always wished to own a character inn and run a bed-and-breakfast. I searched for months before finding this, and it called to me. Lucian, I belong here. I’m meant to be here. So maybe we need to exorcise Margery?”
“You think I haven’t tried Maggie? Margery’s strength is too strong. We are both evenly matched, which is why we can’t beat one another.” Lucian growled.
“So, weaken her.”
“I beg your pardon…” Lucian paused, interested in what Maggie had just said.
“You stated Margery was a formidable witch, but she was killing those poor children to gain their power to open a portal.”
“Yes.”
“So where did Margery stick that energy, Lucian? Did Margery absorb it or store it somewhere?” Maggie asked simply.
“I don’t know!” Lucian exclaimed.
Why had that never crossed his mind? Maggie wondered idly. That had been the first thing she thought of.
“So, you inflicted mortal wounds on each other, and that was it? Nothing until the next day when you’re a ghost?” Maggie pushed.
“As crazy as that sounds, yes.”
“Interesting,” Maggie mused. Her gaze wandered the room and focused on the panelled-up part.
“What’s behind that?” Maggie asked.
“I’ve never been able to see. I can’t pass through it,” Lucian admitted somewhat sheepishly. Maggie’s eyes narrowed on the false wall. She craved to know what it covered up.
“I wonder if Mr Evans can knock through,” Maggie wondered out loud.
“No one has ever tried before. I’ve rarely allowed people to stay long enough.”