Chapter Four
The eastern horizon faded the sky from black to gray.
Osanne braced herself for the inevitable end of a wondrous night with this remarkable man.
Her constant companions, loneliness and grief, had left her, at least for this night that she had been so blessed to spend in Rafe’s company.
She had been happy, and had finally heard more of her composition.
But this fleeting happiness would soon end.
Until that night, she had viewed her existence as the result of some cruel twist of fate, but worse still to meet Rafe now, when she could never have him!
“I must go now.” She failed to conceal the plaintive tones in her voice.
Rafe reached for her. “Don’t leave—not just yet.”
If only she could stay! “I fear I must.”
He offered her a slightly lopsided grin. “Would it be too forward of me to say that this has been the best night of my life?”
Was it possible his affection for her matched hers for him? No, surely not. If so, it could only lead to heartache, and he had already had too much of that.
She looked into his eyes, his face, memorizing every contour, every line. In the future, when her loneliness grew so deep that she despaired of ever finding hope, she would remember this magical night with Rafe. “For me, as well.”
“Must you go?” He fisted his extended hand and lowered it.
How glorious it would be to feel his touch. But such pleasures were denied her evermore.
“Rafe,” she whispered.
He paused and his gaze searched her face. Did he see the agonizing regret in her expression?
If she could have wept, she would have. “This between us...this can never be.”
He went utterly still. “In the few short hours I’ve known you, I have come to care very deeply about you.”
What might she say? Confess the depth of her affection for him? To what end?
His earnest expression transfixed her. “I won’t press you, but I must see you again. Please, I beg you.”
“I regret that is quite out of the question.”
“Why?” he whispered intensely.
She huffed a sad, hopeless laugh. “Because of what I am.”
“An orphan without dowry? Surely you don’t think that matters to me.”
How foolish to think she could pretend for this one night! Why, oh why, hadn’t she made known to him what she was?
“Forgive me for not telling you. At first, I thought you knew, but then when I realized you did not, I could not bring myself to tell you, and the whimsical notion was so sweet.”
Perhaps she need not tell him. If she could get out of his sight, he would never see the truth.
Would it be cruel to allow him to believe he could see her again, or even court her, when that was impossible? He would not know what happened to her, just as she never learned what happened to her little brother.
Gently, he said, “What is it that you’re trying to tell me? Whatever it is, it can’t be as bad as all that. I assure you that my feelings are genuine and my intentions pure.”
He reached for her arm....and his hand went right through her.
Too late!
She felt nothing, of course. She had felt nothing since she had awoken consigned to this cursed existence.
Bewildered, he blinked at his hand, then at her.
“I am truly, deeply sorry, Rafe.”
He reached for her again, and again his hand passed through her. “You feel like mist,” he whispered in awe.
Mist was a much more tangible term than what she really was.
Slowly, understanding widened his eyes. “You’re....” he stopped as if he couldn’t say the word.
She forced herself to tell him. “I have been dead for...I know not how long. But I have watched the villagers grow old and new babes grow up.”
He shook his head as that instant of understanding changed back to disbelief, then a trace of anger. “I don’t believe it. This is a ruse. A prank.”
“I died in a fall, Rafe. I woke up in the churchyard with all the other souls cursed to walk the earth on All Hallows’ Eve.”
He blinked. In a hushed voice, he said, “No.”
“Every Hallows’ Eve, I wake and walk. Then at dawn, I sleep—until the next All Hallows’ Eve.”
Predawn light brightened the landscape to a lighter shade of gray.
Her vision blurred. Nearby, that familiar bright beam of light opened up.
The frightening sensation of a current pulled on her.
She resisted as she always did. What if nothingness awaited her there?
Even this faded, lonely existence was better than none at all.
“Osanne?” Rafe’s voice cracked and his eyes grew shiny.
Her vision distorted further until he resembled a watery reflection.
“Please don’t,” he whispered.
If only she could touch him or offer him some comfort! “Thank you for a beautiful and unforgettable night. I hope you find what you seek. Fare thee well.”
She turned away from the column of light. Her eyesight faded still more. All the landscape, and Rafe, darkened.
“Noooo!” He lunged for her but all went black. She drifted in the current back to her gravesite and fell again into a dark slumber.