Echoes Through the Mist: A Paranormal Mystery (The Echoes Quartet Book 1) by K. Francis Ryan Read Free Book Online

would have to say it has been decidedly difficult.
    “My family had old money, a thing that is rare in Ireland. As a result, I lived in a privileged world of ideas and debate with large doses of esoteric discussion. The Sight ran in the family, but that was never mentioned for reasons I only discovered much later.
    “Ultimately, I was sent away to private school and then finishing school.” Bridget smiled and gave Julian a sidelong glance. “So now you know how I came to be so terribly well educated and perfectly charming.” Julian smirked.
    “Like you, like all of us actually, I was introduced to this calling, by another. He was older, but I was just twenty. At twenty, thirty seemed ancient.
    “He was a family acquaintance and was often introduced as a professor, although no one ever discussed what he taught exactly. There were whispers, however and I found that thrilling. Still, he was always treated with great respect. Again, years later I would understand why.
    “He saw something in me. I do not know what it could have been. I was headstrong and willful, pretty and popular, ignorant and arrogant. If ever there was a more lethal cocktail I do not know what it might have been.
    “Oddly, my mentor tolerated me and introduced me to the broad metaphysical concepts and I was passed on to a teacher. The family was not pleased by this turn of events. After hushed and often heated discussions with my mentor, my parents became resigned.
    “My teacher saw me for what I was and he took a rather stern line with me, though not always stern enough.
    “I went at my studies blithely with all the diligence of one learning a few parlor tricks. I did not understand the power, the responsibility, or the consequences of what I was doing. It was all just a lovely game of make-believe.
    “Like you, I was told there were those who wished to stop my progress. I thought this wildly romantic and exciting. Because those thoughts filled my head, I had not the time or the capacity to pay attention.
    “I think of my mentor and my teacher often. They were both loving and giving men, well schooled in the ways of the real world.” Bridget closed her eyes for a long moment.
    “But,” Julian interjected, “it worked out. You learned what you needed to learn and here you are today. Doubtless, you have helped many people.”
    She drew a long breath and let it out slowly. “Everything you say is true. It did work out in the end. I did learn what I needed to learn and, as you say, here I am many, many years later having helped a great many people.
    Bridget continued. “There is no need to spare me, my dear. You have a good idea where this story leads. You need not know the details. It is enough to say others paid the price for my callow stupidity.
    “I was badly injured and my mentor and my teacher, those two remarkable and generous men, are no more because of me. The shame I felt was made far worse knowing they died willingly so that I might not suffer more.
    “So when you lightly make mention of this being a fantasy, and you have mentioned it frequently, go easily there. People die in this fairytale and I am sensitive to that.” Her voice was not unkind, but tipped with melancholy. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she did nothing to check its progress. Julian felt ashamed and stupid, awkward and incredibly thoughtless. Julian looked straight ahead and drove.
    Bridget took up her story again. “Well, as you say, it worked out. I was not given up on or abandoned. I received a new mentor and in course a new teacher. They did not need to be hard on me. I was harshness personified when it came to dealing with my failings both real and perceived.
    “I studied longer than most. You see, I was steeped in anger and bitterness and for that reason, much of what I learned, I had to relearn again and again.
    “In time I forgave myself and once I did, my path became easier. I met and married the professor. He is the perfect partner. He saw all