Sadie #2
Sadie laughed for the first time since she got married. Angus’s plans aside, it sounded as though things might work out, after all. And when they arrived at Wild Hill, she no longer had any doubt.
THE MOMENT THE GATES OPENED, Sadie felt the power wash over her like water rushing from a ruptured dam. The mansion came into view, its doors and windows sealed by vines and guarded by thorns. She sensed someone watching them as they pulled up in front of the caretaker’s cottage.
“There’s a powerful genius loci here,” she told her husband.
“A powerful what?” he responded. “I don’t speak French.”
“There’s a spirit that resides on this land,” she said. “I can feel it.”
“I told you about the ghost,” Angus said. “Apparently, she makes quite a ruckus at night. We’ll be staying in the caretaker’s cottage for the time being.”
“Do you know who the spirit is?”
“Haven’t a clue.” He didn’t seem terribly interested, either. “I do hope she keeps it down this time, though. You know how I enjoy my sleep.”
Angus thought sex was the best sleeping draught.
He climbed on top of Sadie that night as he did every evening.
There was no getting out of it, as he was a very large man.
Sadie did her duty, though it wasn’t the one he thought she was fulfilling.
After it was over, all was quiet, and with the help of a few drops of opium she’d added to his regular nightcap, Angus fell into a deep sleep.
Sadie slid out of bed and left him behind.
Outside, the moon lit a vast meadow that rolled down to the ocean.
Beneath one of its beams stood a woman in a white gown, her chestnut hair tousled by the wind.
“Hello,” Sadie said to her in the language of the north.
“You speak my native tongue,” the woman replied. They were the first words she’d uttered since she’d cursed the colony’s men.
“Yes,” Sadie said. “My ancestors taught me.”
The woman nodded. “So we are of a kind.”
“If you are a witch, then the answer is yes,” Sadie said.
“When is the best time to harvest herbs?”
“The last phase of the waning moon.”
“And when does the hag gather wood for the winter?” the witch asked.
“Imbolc.”
The witch nodded. “You wish to stay here on this hill?”
“Only with your permission,” Sadie told her.
“You may make your home in the cottage, but you must promise the mansion will remain untouched for now. Its use will be made known in time.”
“You have my word,” Sadie agreed, sensing it would not be wise to argue.
“In nine months’ time, you will give birth to twin girls. More generations will follow. Then will come The Three. The Old One will be waiting for them.”
“What will she do with The Three?”
“Begin the end of the rule of men,” the witch told her.
That sounded quite right to Sadie.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING AT brEAKFAST, Sadie revealed that she’d had a chat with the ghost the previous night.
Her husband must have known something interesting had happened in the wee hours.
Sadie’s silk robe was ripped to shreds and her slippers covered in mud.
There were leaves sticking out of her wild red hair. She looked absolutely ravishing.
“The spirit is quite pleasant,” Sadie announced while slathering a scone with clotted cream. Her mood had never been brighter. “And she says we can stay.”
“She’ll let us stay?” Angus replied with a snort. “How kind of her. I’m afraid she’ll have to go, though. I’ve arranged to have the old mansion knocked down. Now that I’m married, I’ve come into my inheritance. We’re going to rebuild even bigger and better.”
He might as well have hit Sadie with a sledgehammer. She’d promised the ghost that the mansion wouldn’t be touched. “Angus, you can’t tear it down!”
“What are you talking about? Of course I can,” he said.
A servant appeared in the dining room. “Pardon me, sir. The architect has arrived to inspect the grounds.”
“Thank god,” Angus said, tossing his napkin down on the table. “Did he bring workers from the village to remove those dreadful vines from the facade? I’d like to get into the mansion and see if there’s anything I care to salvage. My father had a magnificent art collection.”
“Yes, sir,” the servant reported. “He has the workmen with him.”
Sadie flung herself across the table to stop her husband. “Angus, don’t do this. Please! For me!”
“Tell them I’ll be with them in a moment,” Angus instructed the servant.
The pause gave Sadie enough time to rush round to his side of the table. “Angus! Please!”
He slapped her across the face. “Stop this at once. You’re hysterical.”
Sadie stopped. “What did you do? I’m your wife,” she muttered in astonishment. No one had ever hit her before.
“Yes, you are. Know your place.” Angus peered down at his wife’s dressing gown. “Don’t you dare follow me outdoors in that.”
Sadie watched in horror from the window as her husband set off across the grounds to join the architect and his workers.
“Do you feel it?” a voice asked her.
Sadie spun around to see the ghost standing behind her. “I’m sorry?”
“The power of this place. It’s inside you,” Bessie told her. “Make use of it.”
“I don’t—” Sadie started to say before she realized she could feel it. It built quickly, until her body throbbed with it. Every atom buzzed. Every nerve tingled. Then the power burst forth like an orgasm, and she whooped with ecstasy.
Angus was almost to the mansion when the sky lit up.
Just before she was blinded, Sadie saw her husband’s hair stand on end, his body rise into the air, and his shoes fly from his feet.
Thunder boomed and Angus Campbell hit the ground.
A wisp of smoke rose from his mouth, like a soul slipping free of its mortal cage.
No one blamed Sadie. That would be silly, of course.
But she knew exactly who was responsible.
Her first act of business as Angus Campbell’s heir was to kick the architect and his men off her land. Exactly nine months later, Sadie gave birth at home. She named her twin daughters Ivy and Rose Duncan.