A Curse of the Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

stronger than the need for self-preservation. “It is all I know, too.”
    They sat there in silence, neither knowing what to say next. The overriding thought in her head was that she did not want him to go. It did not make any sense. Mere minutes ago she would have pushed him down the stairs with her boot attached to his behind.
    “Perhaps we should start again, Mr. Stone,” she said, feeling rather magnanimous. “It would be nice to have someone to call upon should I have a problem with one of the relics. To be able to speak to someone who understands my father’s work.”
    His lips thinned. “I was not very helpful when you asked for advice last night, Miss Linwood.”
    “Linwood is my grandmother’s name,” she clarified, noting the inflection in his tone when he spoke her name. “I prefer to use it for reasons I do not care to go into and no, you were not very helpful at all. I am grateful, however, that we had a chance to speak.” When a frown marred his brow, she added, “In arriving home late last night I appear to have missed the haunting. It was the first proper night’s sleep I’ve had in over a week.”
    His gaze drifted over her hair and face, lingered on her lips and when it skimmed the outline of her breasts, she suddenly felt a little warmer inside.
    “If you still need my help with the curse,” he began, his tone soft and rich, just the way she liked it, “then I will gladly assist in any way I can.”
    Relief shot through her. She clasped her hands to her chest feeling a renewed sense of optimism in his abilities. “Thank you, Mr. Stone. You do not know how happy I am to hear you say that.”
    His mouth curved into the beginnings of a smile, and she thought it was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen. “Would you like to see the scroll or perhaps the staff in the crate?”
    He steepled his fingers and held them to his lips, his brows drawn together in concentration. “I would like to consider all the facts without prejudice. When you say hauntings, what do you mean?”
    “It is as I mentioned last night. I hear noises coming from the storeroom —”
    “You live here?” he said with some surprise.
    Rebecca nodded. “Yes. My rooms are on the third floor.”
    “I see. Forgive me. Please continue.”
    When she smiled at him, he sucked in a breath. “It is the same every night,” she explained. “I hear whispers, scratching and moaning and then the bed shakes.”
    He looked at her a little dubiously. “And this all began when you read from the scroll?”
    She nodded.
    “This is highly inappropriate, I know, but if I may be so bold as to ask, are you alone when you experience the bed shaking?”
    Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Of course I am alone! What are you suggesting? That I am plagued by a phantom lover?”
    Mr. Stone coughed into his fist, and she could not decide if he had something stuck in his throat of if he was laughing. “Please disregard the question. And I am correct in saying that every night you experience the same thing,” he reaffirmed. When she nodded again, he asked, “Do you think I would be able to hear these strange noises?”
    “Oh, yes. I am certain you would. If you were to hear them, too, then I would know I am not losing my mind. If you are free, you may call this evening and then you will be sure to hear them. My housekeeper leaves at nine, and I am on my own all night until eight.”
    Rebecca noticed him swallow deeply. Now she thought of it, she did sound more than a little desperate.
    “When you say you are on your own, I assume you have a maid. Has she heard a similar thing, too?”
    “No, Mr. Stone. When I say I am on my own, I mean I am alone.”
    He muttered a curse and looked at everything in the room except her, and then he scratched his head and sighed. “Very well, I shall come this evening. The sooner the matter is finished with, the better. Well, what I mean is, only then will you be able to sleep again at night.”
    “Wonderful.