Part 36 (2/2)

”Toni, you're dreaming, and that's all.”

She turned away from him, rising, heading back to her own room.

He followed her. ”Toni! Don't be angry with me. I'm trying to help you,” he said, following quickly behind her.

She had the bathroom door halfway shut, but he stopped it from closing.

”Excuse me,” she said coolly, ”did you want the bathroom first?”

”I want you to listen to me!” he said. ”Toni, suppose there was.. .a ghost. We all know that history was tragic. Okay, he led you to a tomb. He wants Annalise in it. So, we'll get her in it. I was at the autopsy today and I made it very clear that once my blood proves her my ancestress, I want her back. She'll lie in the tomb next to the great MacNiall. So why would this ghost still be haunting you?”

”He wasn't haunting me. He was showing me what happened.”

”Why?”

”So that we know.”

”Once they found the scarf, the truth was fairly evident.”

”Maybe he just wanted the full story known. Bruce! It tore my heart out, really. When he was threatened, it didn't matter. He said that he was already dead, because his Annalise was gone. And he said something about vengeance, even though he was half dead already.”

”Dead men don't find vengeance, Toni.”

”d.a.m.n you, I was glad that I saw it! I wasn't afraid in the forest then.”

”You should be afraid in the d.a.m.ned forest. Someone--who isn't a ghost!--is killing women and discarding them there,” he said. ”Toni, your imagination is very vivid--”

”Do you know what?” she interrupted. ”You're right. It's late. It's always your own business if you care to join us or not, but I owe a lot to this group. It is time I got ready.”

”Toni--”

”If you're going to mock what I'm saying, or tell me that my imagination is too vivid, or that I'm losing a grip on sanity, you can just let it wait. Now, we do need to be ready. I repeat, did you want the bathroom first? It is your castle and your bathroom.”

He didn't reply, but he closed the door sharply on her.

Toni winced at the anger she felt from him. Gritting her teeth, she turned the water on high and stepped into the shower, letting it cascade quickly over her. Never! She was never sharing any of this with anyone, ever, ever again!

Once again, his castle was full. Standing outside with Shaunessy, decked out for their grand entrance, Bruce looked at the tour buses with amazement. He'd have never believed that people would flock out like this-- and pay the price charged--f or a living history tour. But they did.

It still made him uneasy. But then, it had been a long time since he hadn't been uneasy, with regard to the castle--and the forest.

Shaunessy pawed the ground, as if he, too, was anxious to be at it, and over it.

”Hey!” Ryan came from the stables, leading Wallace. ”I'm sure we've told you, but it really is d.a.m.ned decent of you to let us do this--and to pitch in.” He cleared his throat. ”We should probably do a legal contract with you, though. I mean, you didn't get the money, so we do owe you, but we can't pay you unless we're making it. Which we are. Gina has been meaning to talk to you. She just hasn't had the chance.” He smiled awkwardly.

Bruce understood. Aye, he was helping them. But then, it was his property, wasn't it? And he could change his mind at any time.

”I'm sure we can work something out,” he told Ryan.

Ryan let out a sigh. ”I was so afraid I'd offend you,” he murmured.

”I'm not offended.”

”Good, thanks.” Ryan inhaled deeply again. ”I'm just thanking G.o.d old Wallace here has come through okay. If we'd lost our money on the castle, and then on the horse, too.. .well, it would almost seem as if someone was out there to get us!”

”Aye, it would, wouldn't it?” Bruce murmured.

A white flag was suddenly waved out the doorway.

”My cue,” Bruce murmured.

”Go for it, man,” Ryan said.

And he did.

There was always a fine line between acting and truth, he thought, as he played out the role, mounting the steps in a fury. Her words were right, her plea, brilliant. A pin could have been heard dropping from below. But her eyes... Aye, she was pleading all right. And she was still furious. He suddenly felt a great weight around his shoulders. He was sick to death of the myth and legend surrounding his ancestor, because it would start up all the rot about Bruce MacNiall roaming the forest. And since he and his ancestor were supposedly spitting images of one another, there would be those who stared at him, superst.i.tious, thinking that the sins of the past were coming alive through him.

Except that she hadn't been unfaithful. And the great MacNiall hadn't killed her.

Staring down into Toni's eyes, recreating history, he wondered if it had been like this. Had Annalise looked up at her husband all those years ago with eyes this blue.... Challenging and angry?

Ryan made his entrance then and they went into their mock battle. Soon, the tour group was moving on into the kitchen. Ryan, deeply pleased, clamped a hand with Bruce's. ”d.a.m.ned, but we're good. And we still haven't had a chance to ch.o.r.eograph anything. Toni,” he said, looking up the stairs, ”weren't we phenomenal?”

”Absolutely,” she said, but she was hurrying toward the kitchen. ”Big group. I'm going to give the boys a hand.”

”She p.i.s.sed at you or something?” Ryan asked Bruce.

He shrugged. ”You can tell?”

Ryan grinned. ”I know Toni. Actually, I thought you were going to be angry with her. For being in the forest again, I mean.” He was studying Bruce's face intently.

”The remains of two murdered women have been found in those woods,” Bruce said.

”Three, if you include your ancestress. She was murdered, too. Why, I'll bet you the place is full of bodies, considering the history here! Oh, man, sorry. I mean, I hope it doesn't have any more bodies.”

”Thanks, Ryan. I hope it doesn't, either,” he said. ”I'm going to take old Shaunessy out and put him up for the night. Then I'm to bed. You can tell the others goodnight for me, all right?”

”Yeah, sure. And thanks.”

He departed, anxious to have his horse bedded down and himself upstairs before the tour group began filing out. He wasn't much in the mood to be pleasant to strangers.

In his room, he started a fire, stripped down and stretched out in his bed, lacing his fingers behind his head as he watched the logs catch.

Should he relent? Just say, I've had a few moments like that myself. It's all right. h.e.l.l, no! He'd never seen his ancestor prowling the place.

She was getting too carried away. It was dangerous. There were bad things happening, really bad things. Ryan's words came back to him-- It was almost as if someone wanted them all to go down --and then his conversation with Jonathan Tavish that day.

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