Crystal Gardens Read Online Free PDF Page A

really must return to the cottage.”
    “By all means, but not before you finish your nerve tonic.”
    She looked down at the glass in her hand and saw that there was some brandy left. She raised the glass and downed the remaining liquor in a single swallow, a very large swallow as it turned out.
    She did more than gasp for air this time. She choked and sputtered in a thoroughly embarrassing manner.
    “Are you all right, Miss Ames?” Lucas sounded genuinely concerned.
    “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She set the glass down hard on the nearby table and made a weak, fluttery motion with her hand, as if trying to fan herself. “But I fear you are right to be worried about the state of my nerves, sir. Indeed, I believe they have been quite shattered. I need my bed and my vinaigrette.”
    “Something tells me that you have never used a vinaigrette in your life.”
    “First time for everything.” She got to her feet. “Forgive me, Mr. Sebastian. I am very grateful for all that you did for me tonight but I must return to the cottage now.”
    “Very well, I will see you home.” Lucas set his own glass aside and stood. “We shall continue this conversation tomorrow.”
    “Terribly sorry, I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” she said smoothly. “I’m expecting friends from London tomorrow. They will be staying with me for two days.”
    “I see.”
    She thought quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was find herself alone in the cottage when Lucas came around to continue the conversation.
    “Probably much longer,” she said. “A fortnight no doubt. We plan to explore the local ruins. Very scenic, you know.”
    “So I have been told.”
    He took her arm and guided her out of the library and down a long hall. Her curiosity was aroused once more.
    “My daily maid mentioned that you have not hired any staff,” she ventured.
    “Stone is all I need.”
    “This is a very large house for one person to keep in order.”
    “Stone and I are the only ones in residence and I intend for matters to remain that way. We will not be staying long. All we require are the kitchen, the library and a couple of bedrooms. The rest of the house is closed up—has been for years. When Uncle Chester was alive he and his housekeeper, Mrs. Buckley, kept only a few rooms open.”
    “I see. You are here to settle your uncle’s affairs, then?”
    “I am here to do a bit more than that, Miss Ames. I intend to find out who murdered him.”

Three

    E vangeline was shocked into what Lucas was certain would be a very temporary silence. While she grappled with the ramifications of his announcement, he eased her out the front door and into the night. They started down the moonlit lane toward the cottage.
    “I was under the impression that your uncle died of a heart attack,” Evangeline said at last.
    “So I’m told.”
    “You don’t believe that?”
    “No, Miss Ames, I don’t. What is more, I think there is a possibility that Mrs. Buckley, the housekeeper, was also murdered.”
    “Good heavens.” She glanced at him very quickly and then turned her attention back to the lane. “May I ask if you have some reason for believing that his death was due to foul play?”
    “At the moment all I have is suspicion.”
    There was another short silence from Evangeline.
    “I see.”
    He knew then that she had already heard the rumors of madness in the Sebastian family line. It was only to be expected, he reminded himself. The gossip was rampant around Little Dixby. Chester had lived at Crystal Gardens for nearly thirty years, certainly long enough to impress the locals with his odd behavior.
    I should have expected that she would think me delusional
, Lucas thought. Even though she possessed considerable talent herself, it did not follow that she would ignore the gossip.
    Having learned at an early age that his own paranormal talent made others uneasy and often fearful, he had gone to great lengths to conceal his true nature. But it had been