Page 30 of The Unseen

L UCAS AWOKE TO THE GRAY LIGHT OF DAWN CREEPING THROUGH the bedroom window of the carriage house. Josh had gone home after the medical team departed. Sean was asleep in his studio. Nicole was still at Belle Reve.

Lucas couldn’t blame her for being worried about her aunt. Muscular dystrophy was a killer. Rachel had already lived a longer life than many of its victims.

Grabbing a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans out of the overnight bag he’d brought with him, he left Sean’s room, padded down the hall to the guest bathroom, showered, dressed, and went into the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee.

As he sat down at the breakfast counter, he spotted the red leather volume that documented the Villard family history. Lucas took a sip of coffee, carefully opened the book, and began skimming the pages.

Most of it was information he and Nicole had discussed. How it had been Pierre’s dream to build Belle Reve as a gift for his wife. How his sons, Francois and Jules, had helped him make Villard Shipping a success.

A paragraph caught his eye: It was assumed Francois would announce his engagement to Simone St. Denis, the eldest daughter of Victor St. Denis, the wealthy owner of the adjacent estate and a close friend of the family. The two had been courting for nearly a year.

But Lucas remembered it was Jules who had married the girl.

He reread the paragraph. Definitely not what he had expected.

Instead of announcing his engagement, Francois had ridden out one morning on his way to the docks and simply disappeared.

At the time, there were rumors that an argument between the brothers had driven Francois away.

If there had been a quarrel, Lucas wondered if it could have been over this woman.

In another theory, the argument occurred between Francois and his father. Perhaps Francois had refused to marry Simone, ending Pierre Villard’s dream of a very beneficial union with the St. Denis family. Could his disappointment have somehow been involved in Francois’s disappearance?

The most common belief was that Francois had been murdered, his body never found. That much, they now knew, was true.

Lucas glanced up at the sound of the front door opening. Sunlight followed Nicole into the living room, setting off highlights in her fiery hair. Desire pulsed through him, reminding him of the empty bed he had slept in last night.

Nicole smiled. “I smell coffee—thank the Lord. Aunt Rachel is still asleep, and Sean never gets up this early.”

Lucas walked over and very softly kissed her. “Maybe that’s where we should be. Back in bed.”

She slid her arms around his neck. “It wouldn’t take much to persuade me.” She brushed a light kiss over his lips. “What about church?”

“We’ll go to a later service.” His mouth claimed hers, lingered. Nicole made a little purring sound when he pressed his lips against the side of her neck, then took her mouth again. Lucas pulled her close enough to feel his arousal and she melted against him with a little sigh of pleasure.

Damn, he wanted this woman. He couldn’t seem to get enough. Then she glanced over at the red leather volume lying open on the counter.

“You’ve been reading,” she said, and he knew he had waited too long. “Find anything exciting?”

“Actually, I did.” Resigned, he walked over to the coffeepot on the counter, next to the sink, and poured her a mug.

“I find it extremely interesting that Jules’s wife, Simone, was originally involved with Francois.

Apparently, he courted her for nearly a year.

Instead of proposing, he was murdered, and she ended up marrying his brother. ”

“Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Neither did I.” He handed her the steaming mug and Nicole took a sip.

“Delicious. You’re a life saver.” She took another sip. “I don’t want to sound suspicious, but I also find it interesting that Francois’s parents died just a few months after Jules’s wedding.”

“Leaving Jules and Simone to inherit Belle Reve.”

She sipped her coffee. “Could just be coincidence.”

“Could be.”

“Or not.”

He stood up and took the mug from her hand, then set it on the counter and pulled her into his arms. “Now that I’ve got your thoughts churning, where were we?” Lucas kissed her and she kissed him back; in minutes, they were heading down the hall to the bedroom.

For the moment, thoughts of Francois, Jules, and Simone slid away.

Sean still hadn’t appeared when Nicole went back to Belle Reve to check on her aunt. When she’d looked in on Rachel earlier, she had been deeply asleep. Figuring a good night’s rest was probably the best treatment, Nicole had left her alone.

With the morning slipping away, she climbed the curving staircase to the second floor, knocked softly on Rachel’s door, and heard her aunt’s voice inviting her in.

“Good morning.” Nicole smiled as she walked into the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better than I did last night.” Rachel did look better, rested and somehow refreshed. She was dressed in a flowing, mid-calf, flowered pale blue skirt and blue cotton blouse. Ready for church, it appeared.

“I was worried. I’m glad you’re feeling more yourself.” Remembering the dresser drawers that had been standing open last night, clothes scattered over the floor, she glanced around, but everything was back in place.

“What happened last night, Aunt Rachel? Was it Francois?”

Rachel glanced away.

“I don’t like the idea that whatever he’s doing is making you ill.”

“It wasn’t his fault.”

“Then whose was it?” Irritation trickled through her. “Lucas and I are trying to help you, Aunt Rachel. We can’t do that if you don’t tell us what’s going on.”

Rachel sat down on the upholstered bench in front of the mirror positioned above her dressing table. “I’m not exactly sure. There was someone else in the room last night. A woman.”

“A woman? A female ghost? Seriously?”

Rachel sighed. “That’s right. A ghost, some sort of spirit, I don’t know.

She was nothing like Francois. She was …

Whatever she was, she was evil. Things began to happen.

The room was shaking, drawers flying open, the chandelier spinning.

Francois told her to leave, but she was very powerful. It was frightening.”

Nicole remembered the terror she’d felt in Darla Robinson’s house. “I can imagine.”

“I know it sounds crazy.”

“Yes, it does. I guess some things are out of our control.”

“You said Lucas knows about these things,” Rachel said. “Ghosts and spirits.”

“Yes. And just as crazy, his grandmother seems able to communicate with dead people.”

Rachel pleated a fold in her flowered skirt. “Do you think she would come out to Belle Reve? Maybe she could talk to the woman, make her leave us alone.”

“By us, you mean you and Francois.”

“Yes.”

Nicole blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I don’t know how any of this works. I’ll talk to Lucas, see what he has to say.” A thought occurred and she glanced over at her aunt. “Did the woman tell you her name?”

“No, but …”

“But what?”

“She said Francois belonged to her.”

“Wow! And what did Francois have to say about that?”

“I don’t think he likes her.”

Nicole frowned. “I think I hear a but in there.”

Rachel sighed. “I don’t think he likes her, but I’m not sure.”

Nicole dragged a hand through her hair, shoving it back from her face. “This is insane. All of it. It can’t be real, and yet somehow it is.”

Rachel said nothing.

Nicole managed to smile. “You’re dressed for church. You look nice. Lucas is going to drive us.”

Rachel smiled back. “I’ll put on my shoes and meet you downstairs.”

Nicole just nodded. She was worried about her aunt.

And she was worried about her brother.

She just wished things would get back to normal.

Unfortunately, she no longer had any idea what normal actually was.

The weekend came to an end. Nicole had spoken to Lucas about Rachel and the spirit of a woman who had made a violent appearance in her bedroom. Lucas told Nicole he would reach out to his grandmother and would try to arrange a meeting.

Nicole had returned the family history to Charlotte on late Sunday afternoon, then driven Sean back to the youth center hoping to prevent any uncomfortable gossip that might become a problem for her brother.

It was early Monday morning. As soon as Josh arrived to stand guard, Lucas headed for the youth center. Josh was prowling around somewhere on the property, alert for any sign of trouble. Nicole had no idea exactly where he was, but she was grateful for his discretion.

She had work to do for a show coming up in New Orleans. The Winston Gallery in the French Quarter was another venue Anne Winston owned. Slightly different from Anne Winston Fine Art, the gallery specialized in more abstract and figurative works of art.

Recently, however, Anne had approached Nicole about doing a show, certain there was an audience who would be interested in her unique Impressionist landscapes, including her dark pieces. Nicole had agreed. Now she was determined to make the show a success.

She sighed as she carried her easel and paints out the front door of the carriage house.

With everything that had been happening, she was behind schedule.

And being trapped at Belle Reve—for her protection—wasn’t helping.

She needed to get away, find new inspiration, see what intriguing subject matter she could discover.

Disgruntled, and with no other choice, she carried her art supplies toward the bayou that ran along the edge of the property.

With all the overgrown vines and vegetation, it wasn’t an easy trip, but she wanted something different, and she had painted the pond so many times she could see it with her eyes closed.

She needed something intriguing to inspire her. When she reached the edge of the water, she walked the sandy bank until she found a subject that looked promising.

At a spot surrounded by heavy foliage beneath the low-hanging branches of a tree, she set up her easel facing a sagging wooden dock, where an old pirogue was tied. She remembered the place from her childhood.

On the opposite bank, built on stilts that held it off the ground, sat the remains of what had once been a cabin.

After years of decay, it had been reduced to weather-beaten gray boards and a falling-down screened-in porch beneath a rusted corrugated tin roof.

The shack was almost entirely overgrown with wild grapevines and leafy, junglelike green vegetation.

In the past, more than once, she had painted the old cabin in full sunlight, but today the sky was overcast. Heavy, dark clouds completely changed the feel of the landscape.

The murky, brooding weather shrouded the shack in gray lifeless tones, creating an eerie feeling that drew her in and made her wonder about its past.

She let her mind wander and began to sketch, letting the scene unfold, pulling her deeper. She felt herself becoming more and more immersed in a time she couldn’t see.