Daughters of Silence Read Online Free PDF Page B

darling, is that our guests?”
    Angelica’s voice came from a doorway at the rear of the foyer. She stepped into view, her cream-colored gown seeming almost to glow with a light of its own. Her hair had been pinned into a crown of raven braids. For a moment she looked like a young girl. Then she tilted her head, flashing that stripe of white hair.
    â€œGuests?” Simon asked, glancing over his shoulder at his wife.
    â€œThese are the girls I met last night,” she explained. “Remember? I told you all about them.”
    â€œAh,” he nodded. His dark brows rose and his eyes widened. “Those girls. I remember.”
    Something glinted in the murky, shadowed pools of his eyes. Something chilling, Jenna thought.
    â€œPlease forgive me for temporarily forgetting my manners, ladies,” Simon Fear murmured as he pulled the door open wider. “Allow me to welcome you to our home.”
    Jenna saw sunlight flood into the foyer, erasing the eerie shadows that had hidden his deep-set eyes. She met his penetrating stare, then looked away.
    His eyes chilled her. Close-set and black, they peered out at her from beneath discolored, lizardlike lids.
    A black waistcoat and trousers draped his tall, thin figure. Above his stiff white collar, his face lookedgaunt and angular, his yellowish skin tinged with an unhealthy pallor. A thin, jagged white scar trailed from the corner of his left eye down to his jawline. His long, hooked nose reminded her of a pointed beak. Combed straight back from his forehead, his black hair appeared slick and greasy. He wore no mustache, but large, bushy sideburns covered his hollow cheeks.
    â€œDo come in,” he invited.
    Jenna felt a prickle at the back of her neck. Then she felt Hallie push her across the threshold.
    The inside of the house felt cool, and a musty, moldy smell tickled her nose. Dark shadows shrouded every corner, from the deep-green curtains draped over every window to the black marble staircase that curved up to the second floor.
    Jenna heard the sound of tiny bells. She looked up. A crystal chandelier, stirred by the breeze, tinkled overhead. Shards of rainbows twirling across the floor and walls as the breeze shook the prisms. Then Simon closed the door, plunging the room back into darkness.
    â€œWe’re so glad you came,” Angelica told them. “Come into the drawing room, and we’ll see about getting some tea. And you must forgive the lack of light,” Angelica murmured. “My eyes are very sensitive. The doctor gave me strict instructions just last week to keep the curtains drawn in the daytime. Simon and I know our way around so well that we rarely use the lamps.”
    It looked to Jenna as if the curtains hadn’t been opened in years. Not just days.
    â€œIt’s been so long since we’ve had visitors,” Angelicatold the girls. “I can’t tell you how happy we are to have you. Isn’t that so, Simon?”
    â€œAbsolutely, my love,” he replied.
    Jenna glanced over her shoulder at him. He seemed taller somehow as he strode along behind them. His face wore no expression. His eyes burned with a secret, dark fire. She could understand how some of those terrible rumors had started.
    â€œHere we are,” Angelica murmured, leading the way into the drawing room.
    Jenna had never been in such a luxurious room before. She’d never seen such rich furnishings or thick carpets. Heavy curtains shrouded these windows, too, but a round stained-glass window high up on the south wall filtered a jewel-hued light into the room.
    â€œSimon, dear, will you ring for tea?” Angelica asked as she sat on the sofa. She patted the cushions beside her. “Come, girls.”
    Simon tugged at an embroidered cord that hung in the far corner of the room. Then he sat on the chair opposite the sofa and studied his guests. “So, girls, why don’t you tell me about yourselves?” he asked.