Haunted Read Online Free PDF Page B

have expected as much. Rex was all about the details. Zach had been looking hard since his arrival hours before, expecting to catch them on some detail, but he hadn’t found one yet. Once the helicopter had dropped them off at the receiving station, they’d changed clothes and stepped out the other side of the building to the horse and carriage awaiting them, there was no hint that the twentieth century had even happened. The helicopter had been out of view by then, and out of earshot.
    There had only been the sound of the horses, the wind, and the sea.
    It was creepy in a way that Rex could make the illusion so complete.
    It made him wonder if they really would pull off Caitlyn’s fantasy, after all.
    Zach’s clothes were kind of cool, if a lot of trouble compared to his usual jeans and T-shirt. He was dressed in black and shades of gray, with a crisp white shirt. The dark wool trousers must have been made to his measurements—now he understood the instruction to visit a particular tailor—because they fit perfectly. His black boots gleamed and were buttoned up the side. His vest was the only colorful part of his attire, and was a plaid in silver and blue made of shiny fabric. He even had a silver pocket watch, which hung on a chain from his vest pocket, and silver cuff links for his shirt. He’d worn a black hat and a long dark coat to the house, but now his valet—his valet!—was offering a dark frock coat for dinner.
    Zach let the man help him into the jacket and, in the spirit of the moment, chose a white rose from the bouquet on the table in front of the window for his buttonhole. His valet whisked the bloom out of his fingertips, did some magic with the stem, and had it inserted in his buttonhole before Zach could say “boo.”
    “Very dashing, sir,” he said and bowed.
    “Thank you.” Zach tried to recall how people talked to servants in the period dramas Caitlyn liked to watch. “And you are…?”
    “Fletcher, sir.” The younger man smiled, a familiar light of invitation in his eyes. He was good looking, of the blond bodybuilder type, and but Zach was more interested in women. The fact was that everyone he’d seen here was physically gorgeous, just as they had been at The Plume. “You’ve only to ring for me, sir.” Fletcher gestured to the bell-pull on the wall, and Zach was glad for once to have sat through those movies with Caitlyn because he knew what it was.
    “Great,” he said, then caught himself. “I mean, excellent. Thank you, Fletcher. I shall see you after dinner, no doubt.”
    “Very good, sir. The dining room is to the right when you reach the bottom of the stairs, although no doubt Stapleton will be there to show all of you the way.” He bowed again, then slipped out the door, leaving Zach alone for the first time.
    It was weird to have another man help him to dress, that was for sure, but he supposed it offered possibilities for those inclined to play on that team.
    Zach eyed the room, with the heavy velvet drapes surrounding the poster bed, the fire in the grate on the opposite wall, the Persian carpet and pair of comfortable chairs before the fire. It was comfortable and luxurious, all done in shades of burgundy and gold, with dark wood furniture. The pair of windows looked out over the island, and he took a peek, certain the drapes would be closed by the time he returned. He couldn’t see much, just a distant wood and some outbuildings, with a paddock for horses. The “horses” pulling the carriage had actually been men in harness, another fantasy that had nothing to do with Zach’s inclinations, but it was interesting. The sky was getting dark, so presumably everyone was inside.
    There was an oil lamp on the table beside the bed and the golden light made the room look cozy despite its generous size and high ceiling. The room wasn’t a perfect rectangle, which seemed both eccentric and authentic. There was a massive armoire with a mirrored door closest to the door to