The Haunting at Hawke's Moor by Camille Oster Read Free Book Online Page B

mentioned in
years and I had actually forgotten about it. What fortuity that it
is now yours.
    From my recollection, the
house is very remote. Still, this is such an exciting development.
While serving as a companion to Lady Willowford has afforded me a
level of comfort I will always be grateful for, there is nothing as
important as family. If you should need me, I would, of course,
come. You have but to say the word and I will be on my
way.
    Anne felt her heart twinge that her
aunt would sacrifice all the comforts of living in a large, wealthy
house to come join her. Obviously, it was not something she could
ask while there was still so much work to be done in the
house.
    She understood her aunt's position. While a
life in luxury had it benefits, the lack of freedom ultimately
grated. It was the thing that had been given her with this divorce,
the freedom to lead her own life.
    When there was order in the house, Anne
would invite her aunt to come stay as long as she wanted. She would
always be welcome, and it please Anne to no end to be able to offer
that to her aunt.
     
     
    It was getting colder outside; she wouldn't
be surprised if it snowed.
    Out the window, she could see Alfie in the
distance, walking alongside the cow out to pasture, a stick over
his shoulder. Anne couldn't afford to send him away. They needed
him.
    Anne found herself in the same
position after supper, sitting in her parlor, now lit by a candle,
as Alfie had taken the lantern to go check on the stables. The wind
had picked up again. It was unrelenting along the moors.
    A banging noise was heard upstairs and Anne
looked toward the staircase where heavy footsteps were heard. Lisle
appeared, looking drawn. "I hate this house. Always whispers and
shadows."
    "It's the wind," Anne said.
    "Even when there is no wind, it's the wind.
And it isn't the rats," Lisle accused. "This house isn't
right."
    Anne didn't know what to say. Everyone
accused this house of malice and Anne was starting to feel
protective of it. They owed everything to this house. "It is still
a damned side nicer than some decrepit room in
Spitalfields."
    "At least in Spitalfields, there are
other people."
    Lisle had a point. This place was desolate.
Maybe it was the desolation that everyone found so oppressive. It
did take some getting used to—feeling so small in the world.
    Turning warily, Lisle looked up the
stairs again as if she was expecting someone to come down them.
"Where is Alfie?" Anne asked. Surely Lisle wasn't silly enough to
bring him up into the upper stories. He had no business being there
now that he'd taken up residence in the attic in one of storage
buildings that kept old and rusted farm equipment.
    "Taken to his bed, I suppose," Lisle
said.
    Anne wondered again if she should
bring up the inappropriateness of Lisle's relationship with him,
but Lisle wasn't silly enough to be unaware of that, or even the
risks she was running, making herself available to him.
    "I'll go check on him," Lisle said.
    "Do you think that's a good idea?" Anne
said, relieved to finally have a way of voicing her concerns.
    Lisle turned suspicious eyes on her. "Why?
It certainly shouldn't be you."
    Anne's eyebrows raised. There was that
tone again, and accusatory, this time. It dawned on her that Lisle
might see her as competing for Alfie's affection. What a ridiculous
notion and couldn't be further from the truth. How could Lisle even
think so? Perhaps Lisle wasn't quite as intelligent as Anne had
given her credit for, if she thought that Anne had any interest in
Alfie other than his work as their… well, she didn't quite know
what title suited him, Field hand, maybe.
    Had the world turned against itself and
nothing made sense anymore? Lisle strode out of the parlor and
walked through the kitchen to the back door. Anne only stared after
her. That conversation had certainly taken an unexpected turn, not
without a fair measure of absurdness.
    Maybe Lisle's place in this household
was more temporary