Beth read about how her father had died, a man who had gained a good deal of weight after her mother had passed. She knew this, of course. She had been there when he’d passed, but he’d never known what had happened to her then and she wished now, like she had so much in the past, that he’d lived long enough to save her. Kari told her of stories, small things that only her dad might have known, things that as she grew up, she’d shared with him. Beth was sobbing when she finished the last of the letter.
“I would ask that you come to see us. And failing that, we come to see you. We will understand if you do not want to have any contact with us; having us associated with that horribleness that you had to endure would have turned even the most staid person to turn away. But Steele wants to see you, if only once. He would like to meet the woman who had been wronged as he had by the family you trusted. And Aster and your dad want to talk to you as well.”
Beth sat there, curled in a ball until the sun came up and lit up the room even more. The picture she’d been working on all day yesterday was captured in the light now, and she stared at it as if she’d never seen it before. And if she was truthful to herself about it, she hadn’t seen it until now. Her muse had painted it.
Beth called softly for her. “Emil?” The ghost appeared almost immediately and sat down beside her. Her muse, her Emil, had been with her all her life, as had several other ghosts she’d gathered to her.
The whole story poured from her…what the letter had said, what Kari had wanted from her now that they had found her. She even told her that her son wanted to meet her and that she couldn’t go to him.
“And why can’t you?” Emil got up to pace and looked twice at the picture before turning back to her. “We cannot be drawing and painting in this room for the rest of your days, you know? There is a life out there and you should be living it. How many times have I said that to you?”
“I can’t go.” Emil tisked at her and sat down again. “What if he’s like his father? I don’t care what this man says or how pretty the letter is from his wife. For all we know, she doesn’t exist and my son paid this man to say these things. Or Mrs. Bennett for that matter. What if she’s right there waiting for me, laying in wait to tear into me as she had all those years ago?”
“I’ll go and find out.” Beth shook her head. “I’ll go and none will be the wiser. That way you can have a clear picture of what is happening before you go. And you will go, child. It’s the only way you can have peace and you know it.”
While it really was a good idea, it was still a bad one. She had no idea if they would hurt her Emil or not. Didn’t know what kind of people they were. Had no idea if they would—
“You’re thinking of this too hard. You always do that. What if they are just as they say they are? Your relatives wanting to see you after all these years?” She stared at her friend since birth. “I’ll return soon.”
Then, just like a snap of a finger, Emil disappeared. Beth picked up the fallen letter again and reread it, each and every line, looking for some clue that would tell her that they were not as they seemed. There was nothing there, of course. How could one read it from a letter anyway? But still holding the pictures in her hand, she went to bed. Closing her eyes, Beth expected to toss and turn again, but fell into a sleep so quickly she had no time to let her mind work out her problems.
~~~
“Hello.” Kari had been about to go outside and run when she saw the pretty little ghost standing at the door. She’d never seen her before, but would guess by her dress and shoes that she’d been gone for a very, very long time. Smiling at her, Kari decided that if she wanted to harm her, then she would have already done it. “I’m Kari Bennett.”
“I’m Emil. If I had a last name, I don’t remember it. I’ve been gone from this place for a good long time.” Kari sat down, then stood again. The woman was nearly vibrating with the need to flee, and Kari was nervous about her doing just that. “You’re the mistress of the house?”
“I am. I don’t know what you’re capable of, but would you like to have a seat? I’m just going to have a cup of tea. It’s not going to be the kind I really want, but it’ll have to do. The men in the house don’t drink caffeine, and I’ve been trying to keep it out of my system as well.” Emil sat, but she didn’t really sit so much as she hovered just above the chair. Kari was no longer freaked out about it like she used to be when that happened. “Have you been around this area for long?”
“No. Just arrived.” Kari nodded and finished making her tea before sitting again, and Emil spoke again. “You’re very pretty. Not what I expected.”
“Thanks. If I knew more about you…perhaps why you’re here…maybe I could make the same observations.” The woman smiled but said nothing. Kari had a feeling she might know why she was there but not a hundred percent.