Echoes in the Darkness Read Online Free PDF

at long last.”
    “Nonsense!” she replied briskly. “He has fallen in love with her face.”
    “Ah, but what a face!” Tynan interrupted her. “My God, Lucy, Mother Nature must feel very proud of her achievements whenever her gaze lights on our prospective daughter-in-law.”
    “But don’t you see, Tynan? That is not love. Eddie has always been overly susceptible to beauty, and, you are right, the girl is dazzling. You can’t base a marriage, however, especially
this
marriage, on looks. He wants to paint her or write poems about her, or whatever his current artistic fancy may be. Well, let him. But why on earth he had to propose marriage, bring her here to our home…”
    “To be fair to him,
hweg,
I suspect he wants to do more with her than just get her likeness down on canvas or extol her beauty in rhyming couplets! As well as being quite heart-wrenchingly lovely, she also exudes a remarkable physical energy. A sensuality that makes even a sick old man’s heart sing a new song. Initially, I thought her hold on him must be purely sexual, but I noticed how much calmer he is in her presence. She may be exactly what is needed to rejuvenate this family. God alone knows how hard it was for Eddie to return. I consider it a positive development that he has a beautiful woman at his side to take his mind off the transition from feckless wanderer to eminent landowner and businessman.”
    I heard her heavy sigh. “I’m not a prude, Tynan, as you well know. He wants her in his bed, and it sounds like she is only too willing to oblige. For a price! But marriage? No.
That
price is too high. We both know, my dearest, that Eddie is just not strong enough to resist the lures she must have cast his way. And there is also the future of the Athal line to be considered.”
    He laughed. “Listen to yourself, Lucy-love! You sound like Demelza in her heyday.” I heard her mutter an outraged protest, and then there was silence. When Tynan spoke again, his voice was muffled and I sensed he had drawn his wife into a soothing embrace. “The Jago name is not untainted, as we both know only too well. This girl cannot do more harm than that which past generations have already inflicted. My God, remember the days when we’d have counted ourselves blessed to escape from Tenebris with our lives, and be known forever as plain Mr and Mrs Smith? Eddie is twenty-eight years old, and we have indulged his wild whims for long enough. I cannot forbid this marriage, so we must make the best of it. The important thing now is to make him face his responsibilities.”
    I decided it was time to make my presence known. I tiptoed a little distance away and then, making sure my footsteps echoed on the wooden strip of floor that was not covered by carpet, approached the open door again. Their conversation ended abruptly and they both turned to look at me. Tynan’s eyes were warm on my face, but Lucy’s attempt at a welcoming smile was strained.
    “Yours seems to have been a whirlwind romance,” Lucy remarked as I retrieved my purse. She had an unusual knack of managing to convey volumes, without any added inflection in her voice or change in her expression. “How did you meet Eddie?”
    “We were introduced by a friend,” I said quietly. She regarded me steadily, and I felt an unaccustomed blush tinge my cheeks. It was true. In a way. A mutual acquaintance, one of the artistic community, had told Eddie my name as I slipped off my robe and applied a touch of rouge to my nipples.

Chapter Three
    Is this a dream? Or a memory? He already knows the truth, but is afraid to hear it spoken, even inside his own head.
    Haunting the narrowest lanes and alleys, he blends into the night streets. No one suspects his intention. How can they when he can deceive even himself? Watching. Brooding. Waiting just beyond the circle of the lamplight. He is a nightmare unseen but not unknown. Life is his gift for the taking. Lovingly, his fingers caress the blade.
    Splinters