Chapter Five
Lying in bed and remembering every subtle touch and look, Evelyn pressed her fingers to her lips and closed her eyes.
He was commanding, yet gentle; passionate, yet patient.
And she loved every minute of her time with him.
He promised he would call on her bright and early as, though the rain had finally held up a little, it was still too wet to ride, by his estimation.
He would take her for a tour in his carriage instead.
Of course her mother must attend with them, for though they were engaged, they were still not permitted to be without a chaperone.
Evelyn wrapped her arms around a pillow and turned to her side. She smiled into the darkness with a light heart as she drifted, mind full of the irresistible Mr. Shaw.
Dark clouds wafted across the pale moon until it was covered completely.
Evelyn stepped forward with confidence though the light was dim.
She knew this path instinctively as though an invisible line tethered her to the destination.
Before long, lights appeared in the distance on tall posts.
Dozens of them flanked a pathway leading to a thicket of trees with a small opening.
She passed through to find many headstones, and when she turned around the gates of Highgate Cemetery were behind her.
But how?
“You came back,” a silky voice said. “You took my advice and rejected that man.”
“What man?” Evelyn asked as she turned around. The woman from weeks prior stood before her as beautiful and wretched as before. She wore both in perfect duality.
“You have been dreaming of a man who now wishes to claim you. But you must not. And I now know you will not, because tonight you have come to me instead of him.”
“What? No. I am dreaming. You have infiltrated my dream and I wish to wake.”
“You may wake whene’er you wish, Miss Evelyn. You are in control of your dreams, not I.”
That wasn’t true. Evelyn didn’t plan what she wanted to dream before going to bed each eve. “I do not have power over my dreams.”
“Ah, but you do. Because you worry over if you were seen at the Fry ball even though a proposal was immediately forthcoming. That you would be seen to have been compromised and that result was the only one that could save you.”
“That is not true,” she whispered. Was it? Did she conjure this spirit to ask a question she’d not consciously thought plagued her?
“Is it not? Then I guess you do not want to ask me if, in fact, someone did see you.”
Evelyn was confused. Was this a dream or was she losing her mind?
The woman rushed at her and dissolved in a gray mist surrounding her as the words “someone did” sent shivers through her body.
She bolted upright, her brow bathed in sweat. She swiped it as she worked to steady her ragged breathing. Wrapping her blankets around her tighter, she curled up into a ball on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut trying to block the woman from her senses.
“I want to dream of Mr. Shaw,” she whispered.
“You want to know who saw you,” the woman’s voice sounded in her head.
But she was awake now. How was that possible? Evelyn bounced out of bed and lit a candle. She cupped her hand around the flame and turned to look all around the room only to find it empty.
“If I tell you, promise you will reject this man. You can be with me forever and you will never grow old or feel the sting of rejection and humiliation. This man will reject you in time; never doubt it. They all do!”
Evelyn placed the candle on the table and covered her ears. “No! I love him!”
“Then you will suffer as I have suffered. So be it!”
With that the noise in her head and the writhing in her veins ceased and a calm settled over her. She got back into bed and pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Moments later her mother entered the room in a flurry.
“Darling, are you unwell? I thought I heard shouting.”
She sat on the side of the bed and stroked Evelyn’s arm.
“I had a bad dream,” she said. That was quite an understatement. She glanced into the corners of the room, and still nothing of the woman remained. Could she trust that this was over?
“Would you like me to sit with you until you fall asleep?”
Evelyn felt like a foolish child at the thought of her mother having to sit with her because she’d had a nightmare. On the other hand, a part of her was vulnerable at the moment and the company might not be so bad. No one had to know.
She nodded at her mother and snuggled into the covers tucking them under her chin.
“You know, it is quite normal to have a case of the nerves after you become attached to your future husband.”
“It is?” Was that the source of the dream? If so, her subconscious had a twisted way of getting a point across.
“I remember when your father and I first courted. Oh he stole a kiss or two, but it was after on particular night at a ball I had the most frightening dream of my life.”
That was not possible.
“I dreamed when I walked down the aisle to wed your father, I was completely naked and everyone pointed and laughed at me. I was so mortified I could hardly speak to him the next day. It was so bad we almost called off the whole thing until he finally convinced me to tell him what was wrong. He laughed so hard I almost did call off the engagement,” she said with a smile.
The dreams were not quite the same, but Evelyn appreciated her mother’s attempt to comfort her.
With a kiss on the head, she moved to the door and said, “Sweet dreams of your Mr. Shaw. And may you always be clothed on your way down the aisle.”
Evelyn didn’t blow out the candle right away. She had something to do first. Sitting up she said, “Whatever your name is, you have had tragedy in your life and for that I am very sorry. But I am not you. And my Mr. Shaw is not the same man as the one who wronged you.”
A soft sizzling sound began all around her. But she would not relent. Allowing her heart to fill with only thoughts of Mr. Shaw, she said, “I banish you from my home and free you from the bounds of the cemetery as long as you harm no other in this life or any other.”
Suddenly the sizzling stopped and a soft weeping surrounded her. Not the kind to put hairs on the back of one’s neck, but almost that of relief.
Before her the image of a beautiful young woman glowed softly. She held her hands across her heart and smiled as tears washed down her cheeks.
“You have freed me.”
Evelyn blinked a few times and when the spirit before her did not vanish, she said, “You are welcome. What is your name?”
This made her smile more. “My name was Charlotte. I lived a long time ago and my anger bound me to that place all those years. But in you I saw a light and I wanted so very much to cling to it. I never thought it would free me so that I could find my own light.”
The woman smiled warmly at her once more and then faded into nothing. Peace settled over Evelyn. She snuggled under the covers once more and this time slumber came immediately. Her dreams did not plague her, nor did they come to pleasure her that night.
When she woke in the morning, the sun’s bright rays streaked across the floor. She put her arm over her eyes to shield the brightness from having spent so many days under the cover of dark-gray skies.
She sat up flicking the bed cover back to hop out of bed. She ran to the window and looked up. Not a cloud to be found. Today he would take her riding; be damned with the carriage.
Evelyn rang the bell for aid, which was something she did not do often, but today she wanted everything perfect. Sometime later when she had broken her fast, was dressed in her riding gown, had her hair perfectly tucked beneath her hat, and donned her gloves, she paced.
She drew in a deep breath as she waited. Her mother fussed over her and once or twice she may have swatted her hand out of the way. Somehow, this moment was the first where she could breathe freely around him. Like there was no longer a shackle holding her back.