Chapter 8 #2
A second later, Frank Churchill appeared at her side and handed her a drink. She smiled at him, and her entire countenance changed.
I grinned and shook my head. That explained that mystery.
Even if Mary didn’t enjoy parties, she loved spending time with her boyfriend.
He had been great at helping her come out of her shell.
Plus, they were adorable together. Seeing them now made me glad that Mary hadn’t listened to me when I’d tried to warn her away from Frank.
I did a slow circuit around the room before making my way to the next, which was equally dark and decorated. Almost immediately, I recognized Lizzy wearing the same plain witch’s costume that she wore to the Netherfield Ball not that long ago.
“Lizzy?” I asked as I walked over. Lydia had mentioned she was coming, but I hadn’t heard anything from Lizzy about the party.
She spun around, her dark hair held in an elaborate bun under her witch’s hat. “Oh, hey Kitty,” she said as Jane, wearing a long gauzy white dress that made her look like a Roman goddess, came over holding two drinks.
Jane smiled at me and offered the drink that must’ve been for her. “Here. You can have this.”
“That’s okay.”
Lizzy scanned the room, then turned to me. “You haven’t seen George, have you?”
“George Wickham? From the Grey Doors? Um, no.” If you’d asked me last month, I would’ve guessed Lizzy and Darcy were headed for something, after all the time they’d spent together. But then George Wickham showed up.
“Actually Lizzy, I’ve got some bad news.” Jane put a hand on her arm. “I heard he couldn’t come tonight.”
“Are you serious?” Lizzy’s jaw tightened, then she blew out a breath. “I knew I shouldn’t have come. Tonight is a total bust.”
Considering how into Wickham Lizzy seemed to be, would I have a chance with Riley after the potion wore off? Not that her feelings determined his, but if she wasn’t available it would at least up my chances.
My gaze landed on a short figure making his way toward us, and I winced and muttered, “I think it’s about to get worse.”
“What do you mea—”
“Elizabeth,” Mr. Collins said as he made it to her side in a Phantom of the Opera costume. He flung his cape behind him, although it got tangled in his legs. “I was trying to locate you, and I’m glad that I’ve succeeded.”
“I’ve been keeping an eye out for you too.” Lizzy gave him a strained smile.
“Might I get you a drink or something? The refreshment table is impeccable.” He traced the cuff of his sleeve again–maybe a nervous tic.
She shook her head. “I’ve got one. Thanks.”
“Then might I have the next dance?” He held out a hand.
Lizzy barely seemed to hold back a sigh as she nodded.
“Poor Lizzy,” Jane murmured.
“I know.” I elbowed her and gestured across the room where Charles Bingley headed our way in a bow tie, suspenders, and a dark tweed coat that made him look like The Doctor. I didn’t see his friend Darcy around. “But it looks like you might have better luck tonight.”
Jane glanced over, and her face lit up as she took in Charles. “Sorry. You don’t mind if I…”
Laughing, I gave her a playful shove. “No, of course not.” I was here on a mission anyway, and I shouldn’t let myself get distracted by my sisters. Elaine’s voice stood out across the room. If she was here, surely Caleb was too.
Scanning the group of people, I found her in a low-cut red dress covered in hearts.
She wore a bright gold crown and fiddled with her maple leaf necklace.
Caleb stood next to her dressed up as a playing card, a red can of paint at his feet.
He wore a leather-cord necklace instead of his usual leaf-shaped one.
I should hang out near them so I could monitor him tonight while searching for clues.
I waved at them before realizing she wouldn’t recognize me in my costume. Making my way toward her, I wove between clusters of party-goers. Someone with a pumpkin on their head walked in front of me, and I stopped. Could that be who we’d come to find?
With a last glance at Elaine and Caleb, whom I’d have to talk to later, I turned to follow the pumpkin-clad girl, not even slowing as she approached the bathroom.
I followed her inside, the door swinging shut behind me.
The girl pulled the pumpkin off her head before heading to a stall, revealing dark brown hair that was distinctly not red.
With a sigh, I turned to leave again and almost walked into my sister. “Oh, sorry, Mary.”
“That’s okay.” Her gaze fell on something on my left near the bathroom stalls, then returned to me. “Are you having a good time?”
“Sort of.” I glanced in that direction, but we were alone except for the girl in the stall.
Mary looked me over silently, her fingers drumming at her side. She must’ve left her book with Frank, which was weirdly cute. All I wanted was to find someone who cared about me the way Frank cared about her, someone who could share in my small moments. Why was that so hard?
“Did you come with Riley?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Is it like a date?”
“Not really.” I blew out a breath, not wanting to bring up the love potion since the other girl had come out of her stall and was washing her hands next to us. “I think he’s into Lizzy, anyway.”
Mary glanced to the side again, but not at the girl washing her hands. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“What are you looking at?” I asked, ignoring her comment about Riley. She hadn’t been there all the times he’d brought Lizzy up in conversations.
Mary waited for the girl to leave, then said, “There’s a ghost in here.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“A ghost.” She tilted her head to the side. “He’s standing right beside you.”
“Um, hi?” I said awkwardly to it before edging away. Mary had always liked cemeteries and things like that, but her ability to see ghosts was new and more than a little disconcerting.
Mary glared at the space next to me. “You really shouldn’t be in here. This is the girl’s restroom.” She cocked her head to the side and was silent a moment.
Was she listening to the ghost? If so, maybe I could use that to my advantage.
“Hey, could you ask the ghost a question for me?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Ask him if he’s seen anyone else in a pumpkin costume tonight.” My heart pounded as I waited for Mary’s response.
She cocked her head to the side as she listened. “He has.”
I froze. The girl we’ve been looking for was here. “Did he say where he saw her?”
Mary focused on the air again, then turned to me. “She went through a passage behind a mirror in the annex off the living room.”
“Thank you, Mary. I’ve got to go.” I gave her a quick hug, then shot a text to Riley telling him to meet me in the annex, but I stopped at the bathroom door and turned to Mary again. “You haven’t seen Graham’s ghost around, have you?”
She pushed her glasses up her nose. “No. Not everyone’s ghost lingers once they die.”
“Okay,” I said. It was a relief knowing he wasn’t haunting the town, but also having the chance to talk to him sure would’ve made it easy to find his killer.
I made it back to the main room and almost ran into Mom, who was sipping a drink and gossiping with friends while watching Charles and Jane dance.
Just barely I kept myself from saying, “Mom” and ruining the anonymity of my costume.
While I was dying to ask her what she and her busy-body friends were doing here, I had a feeling I already knew if the way she watched Jane and Charles dance was any indication.
She really needed to stop crashing events that people over fifty had no place at.
“If Jane keeps this up, we’ll have another marriage in Austen Heights soon,” Mom said in a voice that was too easy to be heard even over the music. “In fact, if my girls play their cards right, we might even have two.”
I winced at her words and the looks she was getting from some of the other party-goers. Two weddings? Was she trying to marry off Frank and Mary? That was the only thing that made sense considering the rest of us didn’t even have boyfriends.
Before I had to watch any more of Mom’s embarrassing display, I slipped into the annex.
Now wasn’t the time to let my family distract me.
It was time to find Eve. I turned on my phone flashlight, but it abruptly died.
Pulling my hood off once more, I flipped the switch on the wall, but it didn’t work.
Shapes and lights flashed on the surface of the mirrors from the corner of my eye, but anytime I looked directly at them, they disappeared.
I forced myself to go deeper into the room and feel along the edge of the mirrors. The first few I tried refused to budge, but I continued on, pressing against a mirror whenever I found one to look for the hidden passage.
“Kitty?” Riley asked a minute later.
“I’m in here,” I said, a strange sense of relief going through me at his return.
“Why are you in the dark?”
“The lights won’t turn on.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got this.” A golden flame appeared over his palm, highlighting Riley’s outline. He pulled his mask off and stepped closer. “What are you—”
His flame flickered out, then blazed to life again, illuminating the furrow in his brow.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” He frowned down at the fire as it sputtered then came back stronger. “It’s like someone is constantly blowing at my magic to put it out.”
“That’s not creepy at all.” With the extra illumination, I checked the mirrors around the perimeter much faster, a layer of dust building along my gloved fingertips.
“Did you find something?” He stepped closer.
“It’s a long story, but I think our suspect went through a hidden passageway in here.”
“What hidden—”
The next frame I pushed on slid to the side, revealing a dark hole that smelled musty.
He sighed, but a corner of his mouth lifted. “Do I even want to know how you know about that?”
I thought of Mary and her ability to see ghosts. “Um, probably not. But a girl with a pumpkin costume supposedly went this way.”
“Let me go first. I’m not sure what we’ll find.” He offered his hand to me, and I took it against my better judgment. My breath caught at his touch, and I fought to breathe normally. Riley couldn’t know the very real effects he had on me—not while everything was fake for him.
Riley led the way, the golden flame above his open palm throwing dancing shadows on the stone walls. I moved closer, letting the brush of his shoulder steady me. The tunnel sloped upward, the floor turning into roughly hewn steps that must’ve led us to the upper floor.
A cool breeze blew across the back of my exposed neck, raising goosebumps.
We made it to the top and Riley pushed open a door that led us out on the other side of a painting. It slid back into place once we were through. Lanterns flickered on and off down the hall, flaring to life then dying again just as suddenly.
The echo of footsteps reached us, and I stiffened and grabbed the back of Riley’s costume with my free hand. “Do you think that’s real?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “It might be Eve or it could just be…” He trailed off, which wasn’t very comforting. “Either way, I knew you’d end up holding onto me tonight.” He gave me that cheeky grin, the one that drove me mad but also made my heart pound.
I tried to pull my hand back, but Riley tightened his grip and prowled down the hall. The feel of his hand was warm and steady, and the flickering lights led us across the threadbare carpet and creaking floors.
An indistinct voice drifted down the hall from a room, and Riley turned toward it. “Do you think that’s her?”
“Only one way to find out.” I sped up so I could walk beside him, though I couldn’t bring myself to let go of his hand.
Riley reached for the door, which creaked open before he even touched it. “It wasn’t closed all the way.”
“Right.” I followed him inside, looking around. Pale sheets covered furniture, filling the room with the shapes of immobile ghosts among the darkness.
“Relax, Kitty.” Riley ran his thumb across the inside of my wrist, revealing my racing pulse. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I couldn’t tell him he was the reason my pulse raced. “I know,” I whispered.
A gust blew through the room, putting out Riley’s flame, and the door snapped shut behind us.