Chapter 36
Gideon sat on the steps of his porch, waiting for Sabrina to arrive even though she wasn’t due for another thirty minutes. He’d been ready early. He wanted out of the house. After Sabrina had left last night, he’d smelled smoke.
He’d found the source in the living room, a lamp that wasn’t even turned on. The plug was charred, partially melted, and so hot to the touch he’d had to use a kitchen towel to yank it free from the wall. He’d gotten to it just in time.
After dealing with that, he’d spent the rest of the evening curse-proofing the house as best he could and cleaning up a mirror in the upstairs guest bath that had shattered. He’d cut his finger, which now wore a Band-Aid as proof.
Living this way was tiresome. He couldn’t imagine another forty or fifty years of this. Whatever Sabrina could do, he prayed she was successful. Even so, he knew it was an impossible task. She would fail, feel terrible, and he would be forced to leave.
Nothing would change. He’d make sure she had possession of the gear before he departed, though.
Currently, it was on a chair in the bedroom, next to where Korrin was sleeping. Gideon had set the gear in its glassine bag beside the sprite before coming outside. That way, if Korrin wanted to leave, he could.
Gideon took a deep breath of the cold morning air. It was refreshing, but going to see Amelia Marchand had not been part of his plans. He should be finalizing the move. Arranging a place to live in his new hometown, a small place just up the coast.
Instead, here he was, foolishly putting everything on hold so a woman could attempt to fix him.
Exactly what he hadn’t wanted to happen. But he couldn’t deny the reality that Sabrina was no ordinary woman. She was something special.
But special enough to suss out where his curse was coming from?
Could it truly be possible that the Locke family curse was attached to the clock?
Once again, he thought about the history of the clock as he knew it, which wasn’t much.
Just that it had always been in his family. The Lockes’ most valuable possession.
And the one thing that never seemed affected by the curse. His eyes narrowed. That alone was suspicious.
But why would the curse have been put there? Who would have done that?
There was one person who might know. His mother. He glanced at the time on his wristwatch. Sabrina was still twenty minutes out.
He dialed.
She answered on the second ring. “Good morning, Gideon. What’s happened now? Are you all right? Are you in the hospital?”
“No, not this time. I’m fine, Mom. You all right?”
“I’m very good. Going out with the girls for lunch later. But you didn’t call to listen to my plans. I can hear it in your voice. Something’s going on.”
“I do want to hear about your day, but you’re right. I need some answers. How did the curse come to us? I need to know.”
She sighed. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing to be gained from that. You’re only going to make yourself angry.”
“Mom, I need to know. I can’t be any angrier than I am right now.”
“Talking about the curse only gives it power.”
He closed his eyes. He understood she wanted to protect him, but he was a grown man dealing with a very real issue. There was nothing she could do. He had to live his life his way. And something needed to change. “If it gets any more powerful, it will kill me. I need to know.”
“Gideon …”
“Where did the clock come from, Mom? Tell me that much.”
“The clock? What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Humor me.”
“All I know is what your grandmother told me.”
“And that was?”
Another sigh, this one longer and slightly disgruntled. “This isn’t going to help you.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Please, Mom. I’m a Locke. I should know my family history.”
“I can’t argue that. From what your grandmother told me, which is the story she heard as a little girl, the clock was given to your great-great-great-grandfather Emerson by Aldric Nachtmann.
The man was one of Emerson’s less ambitious students, and he desperately wanted to marry Emerson’s daughter, Nadia.
Emerson believed Aldric only apprenticed with him to get closer to Nadia. ”
“So the gift was to ask for her hand in marriage?”
“No, he’d already done that, and Emerson had turned him down.
Emerson thought the man had a questionable background because his mother was a gypsy who told fortunes and sold potions.
Emerson also wasn’t happy that Aldric wasn’t more attentive to learning the family trade.
More interested in making a better life for himself and by extension, Nadia. ”
“Clockmaking.” It had been in their family for ages but had morphed into repair work as clocks had become mass-produced.
“That’s right. Emerson encouraged his daughter to entertain other suitors, and she did, falling in love with a different young man. The night before her wedding, Aldric presented the clock to Emerson, to show him how far he’d come and that there were no hard feelings.”
“Well, that was nice.” Gideon still didn’t see how any of this had anything to do with a curse.
His mother took a breath. “Nadia’s carriage was in an accident on the way to the chapel the next morning. She was killed, and Emerson, who was riding with her, was seriously injured. He walked with a limp the rest of his life.”
Gideon’s mouth fell open. “That’s terrible.”
“It was. Emerson considered that accident the start of the curse. He believed it was because he wouldn’t let Nadia marry Aldric.
That Aldric’s mother had put a curse on the Locke family because of it and that Aldric had known that and made the clock as a way of protecting us, which he believed was evident in the eyes carved into it.
Emerson also never took on any other students, keeping the trade in the family.
And the clock, as you know, has been passed down along with it from generation to generation. ”
He nodded, even though his mother couldn’t see it. “To the best of your knowledge, has the clock ever been damaged? Ever stopped working?”
“Not that I know of. I personally witnessed your grandfather and father taking care of it. Emerson trained it into his son that it must always be looked after.”
“So the curse never did anything to it?”
“If it did, it’s not something I’m aware of. Why?”
“No reason. So Emerson thought the clock was there to protect him?” That directly contradicted what Sabrina had said.
“Yes. From what your grandmother told me, he felt it was the last good thing that had happened to him. For him, it also served as a reminder that he shouldn’t have judged Aldric so harshly. He believed that if he’d let Nadia marry Aldric, nothing bad would have befallen her.”
“He blamed himself for the curse?”
“Yes. And that’s why no one ever wants to talk about it. Because all the Locke men believe Emerson brought it upon them. They all have enough guilt already. You included. You don’t need to let this weigh on you, too.”
“I won’t.” He leaned back. “Thanks for telling me this. I needed to hear it.”
“Promise me you won’t blame yourself or your family. This is just something that happened. No one’s to blame.”
He didn’t believe that for a moment. “I won’t, Mom.” Sabrina’s car pulled into the driveway. “Thanks again. I have to go, but I’ll call again soon.”
“All right. Be careful. I love you.”
He stood up. “I love you, too.”
He tucked his phone away and went to the car and got in. “Morning.”
“Morning. How was your night?”
“Fine.” She didn’t need to know about the nightmares he’d had.
“Really? I thought you’d be complaining about how Korrie kept you up all night.” She shifted into reverse and backed out of the driveway.
“He fell asleep pretty quickly. He was still asleep when I left.”
“Did you let him watch TV? He loves Westerns.”
“I didn’t stop him from watching, but I went to bed not long after you left. He might have. I have no idea.”
She shook her head. “He must have gone to sleep, too. If he’d had the TV on, you would have known it. He likes the volume up.”
A smirk raised one corner of Gideon’s mouth. “I take it you let him watch TV?”
“Yes, but the sound was a constant battle.” She glanced at him. “You seem different this morning. Something happen?”
He shook his head. “I just talked to my mother this morning and got some new and interesting information.”
“Oh. Good info?”
He squinted. “I suppose that depends on your point of view. I didn’t think it was good, but it did confirm one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I now believe you were entirely right about the curse being in the clock. And I think I know who put it there.”