Page 47 of Ghost

“It’s been so many years, but I held my tongue, mostly to protect you from your own momma.

That isn’t the way it should’ve been, but it was.

That woman was just evil.” Lizzie sat back and looked at Francis.

“I knew in my heart that it was your momma who killed you.” She shook her head sadly.

“I couldn’t protect you then. You was a grown man by then.

You was a fine gentleman who should have had many more years that just the twenty-seven you had. ”

“Thank you, Lizzie for all the times you did.” Francis looked as if someone had punched him in the gut and he was about to cry.

“Now,” Lizzie said sitting up, “where do you think your daddy is?”

Francis stood up and walked to the window, looking out onto the street.

He turned back to look at those in the room.

“My father and uncle had a terrible argument, and then a fight, right in the front yard. My uncle felt that he had the right to bury Aunt Agnes at their home, and father was adamant that she be laid to rest at the family home, Hobonny. It was well known that if my father were to die, I would inherit the plantation.”

“Wow, that’s just... just wow,” Mason said.

“Mother didn’t even wait until he was declared dead before she moved into town.

” Francis shook his head. “My uncle expected me to stay and run the plantation, which also benefited him, since he was given a portion of the profits, if there were any. He didn’t want the responsibility of running a plantation and a law office.

Of course, I had been helping run it with my father long before he went missing.

” Francis looked at Lizzie and Ellen. “I only came to Savannah when I had to. Mother was impossible to deal with. The only time she wanted to see me was when she wanted money. What she didn’t know was that if anything happened to me, the plantation would go to my uncle, not her. ”

“Do you remember the day she... killed you?” Ellen stood up and walked to stand next to Francis.

Francis lowered his head. “Yes. She had sent me a letter asking to see me. She was supposedly going to go back to Hobonny for my birthday and didn’t want to make the journey alone.

I did not consider that she had ulterior motives other than asking for more money.

” He raised his head to look at Ellen and then Mason.

“We had a brief chat and then she asked me to help her move an old stove away from the wall as she had sold it and wanted to have the new one installed before it was moved out of the house. When I bent over to get a good handle on the thing, she hit me in the back of the head with a large cast iron skillet. The front of my head hit the top of the stove hard and I fell over. The last thing I remembered then was her hitting me again on the forehead. That should have finished me off, but it only rendered me unconscious.”

Francis sighed heavily. “I awoke, not knowing where I was, and I do not know how long I had been unconscious. My hands and feet were bound, and a rag of some sort had been pushed into my mouth and secured. It was pitch black. I could not see nor hear anything. I remember that I was so very thirsty and hungry. Those are the memories I died with.” There were tears flowing freely down Francis’ cheeks.

“My own mother left me to slowly die in what I now know was, behind a brick wall, a tomb of her making.”

“She made the trip to Hobonny for your birthday, as planned.” Ellen was standing in front of Francis now. “She said that you never arrived in Savannah and she thought you must have changed your mind, so she made the trip on her own.”

Francis only nodded.

“She stayed a few days and then left, returning to Savannah.” Ellen used her handkerchief to dab at her eyes.

“Father found out a week later that she had left for France for an extended period of time. He searched and searched for you. He had this house inspected numerous times. He knew she had killed you but couldn’t prove it.

” Ellen took a long drink of her lemonade.

“She did not return for over a year. That’s when she started selling off bits and bobs from the house.

She must have spent all her money and then found herself in dire straits.

It makes sense that she would come back thinking that she could sell Hobonny and have money left over. ”

Lizzie motioned for Fred to help her stand. She had tears on her own cheeks, which she wiped away with a hanky. “Pure evil, I say. I’ve always said it.” She stood next to Ellen. “She was always awful to mah Frankie.”

“So... do you know where your father is?” Mason asked gently.

Francis turned towards Mason. “I would be willing to bet that she buried him in the grave that my uncle had dug for Aunt Agnes. She would only have needed to cover his body enough to make it appear as if the grave were empty.”

Lizzie nodded. “Yep, I’d say that’d be about right.”

“But that house was sold ages ago,” Ellen declared.

Gerald appeared beside her looking quite upset. “Do we know who the owners are now?” He asked.

Lizzie chuckled. “I do indeed know.” She looked at Francis. “I do. I own it outright. Always have.”

Francis smiled at the old black woman in front of him. “When Uncle moved to Savanah when his law office moved, he put his former home up for sale. I had a solicitor purchase the property on my behalf. I then gifted it to my dear Lizzie.”

Ellen looked from Francis, then to Lizzie and then the rest of her family. She started to laugh. “Oh my, Imogene would have been furious. Fit to be tied.” Ellen clapped her hands together. “Well done, Francis, very well done!”

It wasn’t long before everyone in the room was laughing.

“No wonder your mother was so miserable,” Mason said, wiping tears from his face. “That would have frosted her ass that a former servant was living high on the hog while she was in poverty!”

Francis scowled and looked at Ellen. “What does ‘frost her...ass’ mean?”

Ellen was doubled over with laughter. “I’ll tell you later.”

Mason had noticed the others in the room, who could not see or hear Francis, simply smiled. It seemed obvious to him that Lizzie’s family knew of her ability and took it in their stride. Mason also noticed that when Lizzie stood up, everyone else did as well.

There was a knock on the door, which was still standing open, and Nick and Patty appeared. “May we come in?” asked Patty, who looked shocked to see everyone laughing. “Must have been some joke.”

* * * * *

Patty and Nick had brought lunch, which Ellen had arranged of course. Everyone sat in the dining room and had a sumptuous seafood meal along with a heaping platter of antipasto.

There were stories and memories shared. Gossip exchanged and overall, a good time was had by all. Ellen and Lizzie decided to have Francis’ father’s remains found and then moved to Hobonny. Francis made the request that he be placed next to him.

It was getting dark when all the Royales left, Lizzie looking tired and frail as she slowly made her way down the steps.

When standing on the sidewalk, she turned to gaze upon Francis, Ellen, Mason and Gerald.

Nick and Patty had left hours before. “I can die and rest easy now. Just seeing Francis has taken a great burden from me.”

Fred and Martin helped their great-grandmother, grandmother and mothers into the car.

“We’ll be back to fetch ya’ll day after tomorrow.

Thank you all. Your family has done so much for us.

The good Lord always provides for good people, and y’all are proof of that,” Martin said, wiping a tear away before it could fall. “G’night, y’all.”

“We’re all family,” Ellen replied.

Once the Royales drove away, they all returned to the parlor where Francis’ remains lay.

“I feel at odds knowing that my body, or what is left of it, is lying right before me,” Francis said quietly.

Gerald stood next to Francis. “I know exactly what you mean, ol’ chap. It is very disconcerting. I remember my own funeral.”

“Now, that’s not something you hear every day,” Mason chuckled, Ellen joining in.

The two ghosts turned to look at them both and smiled. “No, I suppose not,” Gerald said.

Ellen straightened herself even more. “Now then, down to some business. Francis, you need to reconnect your spirit to your remains. You will still be here, but you are now attached to this house and not yourself.”

Francis crossed his arms and looked at his cousin. “And please, pray tell, how am I supposed to accomplish that?”

“Look deep inside yourself and concentrate on where you actually are, physically,” Gerald explained. “You may have to concentrate, like meditation, and it could take a while.”

“Just as Gerald said,” Ellen added. “But you need to do that before we go to Hobonny.”

“How will I know I have done this?” Francis asked, looking somewhat intense.

“You’ll know,” Ellen answered. “You may experience flashback moments from when you were alive, and some can be rather unpleasant, I’m afraid.”

“All right. I can do this later tonight, I presume?”

“Of course.” Ellen patted Mason’s forearm. “When Mason here goes to sleep would be the perfect time. But you have to do it. Understand?”

* * * * *

M ason and Francis lay in Francis’ old bed, both staring at the ceiling.

“This will be the last time we will be in this bed together,” Francis stated softly.

“Can we please not... do that?” Mason rolled over to stare at Francis. Francis had also turned onto his side so they could look into each other’s eyes.

Francis nodded.

“Are you looking forward to returning to Hobonny?” Mason asked, a slight smile on his face.

“More than anyone could ever know.” Francis had a twinkle in his eye. “There are so many things that I want to show you.”

“I’d like that.” Mason shifted slightly, adjusting his pillow. “That was very sweet of you to buy Lizzie that house.”

Francis smiled. “I loved her so much. When Uncle said that he was selling the property, I immediately thought of Lizzie and her family. I also didn’t want my uncle to know that I was buying the home.

He would have wanted to give it to me or greatly reduce the price, and I had more money than he did. ”

“It was still very nice of you.” Mason wished he could touch Francis right then. He hurriedly pushed that thought from his head.

Francis smiled broadly. “What most people did not realize is that I had amassed a great deal of money. I had invested well in several businesses as well as made Hobonny profitable again.” Francis cleared his throat.

“There is one thing in particular I want to show you once we arrive at the plantation.”

“Okay. What?” Mason asked. “A secret hidey-hole?”

“You are very astute, my dear Mason. Yes, actually. I do have several around the property if I am to be honest, but one in particular.”

“Why and what’s in it?” Mason asked grinning. “Pornography?”

Francis frowned. “No. Nothing so... repugnant.”

Mason laughed. “Go ahead, keep your secrets. I’m going to sleep now.”

“Rest well, my beloved. I will see you in the morning.”