Page 40 of Whispers of Shadowbrook House

Oliver laughed. The sleepless night was beginning to take its toll. He felt himself growing silly with exhaustion.

Madame Genevieve didn’t seem tired, though. “You found connection beyond the house. Friends. Other children. You’re still close with them.”

He couldn’t deny it, but her knowledge of his past made him uncomfortable. “Why do you think so?”

“Not hard to see there’s something tying you to this place. It’s not the house itself. You can’t wait to see the building gone. You’ve got very few happy memories inside these walls. So, whatever it was you loved, you found it outside.”

Oliver shook his head, hoping to clear away the cobwebs of sleepiness. “How in the world would you know that?”

Madame Genevieve shrugged. “It’s a bit of a talent.

Connecting the things I can see with what I know about how human hearts and minds work.

How do you think I’m such a success in my work?

I can read you. Well, to be honest, not you so much as people who are willing to be read.

Imagine how much I could know if you weren’t so determined to hide from me. ”

“I’m not hiding.”

“You’re not terribly honest, either, though, are you? Not that you’d lie. I can see that. But you’re keeping much of your heart wrapped up tight. Very much like your Pearl.”

Oliver was beginning to realize the woman was much cleverer than he’d imagined, and she had seen more about him than he was entirely comfortable with. He needed to change the subject.

“And are you here to read my uncle? Does he know that’s what he’s paying you for?” Oliver’s questions came out sharper than he’d intended, edged with defensiveness.

“He’s been working with me for many years through letters and has shared with me his heart’s wishes and regrets.

Of course, there is much he will not speak of.

I don’t believe he is ready to open every door of his memory.

But he does not dismiss my gifts. I don’t think he’d be shocked to learn I know a great deal about things he never speaks of. Subtext is my specialty.”

“That, and scarves.”

Madame Genevieve smiled but did not dignify his impertinent remark with an answer. She kept talking, so Oliver assumed she was unoffended.

“Dear Arthur seeks answers. Connections. Resolution. He’s lost so much.”

“And you’ve come here pretending to help him find it? The lost connection?”

Madame Genevieve folded her arms across her chest, a shielding gesture. “Nobody’s pretending, Mr. Waverley.”

He sighed. “I don’t mean to offend you. Clearly something is changing in my uncle.

He speaks to Maxwell, spends time with him, and that’s more than he ever did with me.

” The self-pity tasted like vinegar in Oliver’s mouth, but he finished saying the words he wanted to speak to her.

“I’m confident some of their relationship is due to your influence. ”

“Very kind of you to say so, but I believe it’s all the boy. He’s a special child.”

The next words Oliver spoke seemed to shoot out of him without passing through his brain first. “Will Max be all right?”

For the first time, Madame Genevieve looked genuinely surprised. “How would I know?”

Oliver stammered and shook his head. “No, of course not. You’re not a magician or a prophet. I don’t think you’re able to see into the future. I didn’t mean . . .”

Madame Genevieve put her hand on Oliver’s arm and stopped his speech with another serious look.

“I do the work of bringing comfort. People wish to see that in different ways. Some like to gather in groups around a table in a dimly lit room and summon the spirits of their beloved dead. Others wish to speak to me alone, cataloging their life’s mistakes.

Your uncle wishes he could go back in time and heal the gashes in the history of his family, but years of grief have sapped his reserves.

He thinks he’s got nothing left to offer but protection behind these crumbling walls. ”

How was it possible this woman knew his uncle so much better than he did?

Oliver sighed in frustration. “Maxwell isn’t being kept safe here. The house isn’t protecting him from his sickness.”

Madame Genevieve nodded. “I understand how you see the situation. But can you see it through your uncle’s eyes? You know there’s no guarantee the boy would survive a journey to London, and no promise of healing there either.”

“Then he should bring a specialist from the city here to the house, someone who can actually help Maxwell heal.”

“Arthur isn’t eager to welcome strangers to Shadowbrook.”

“He invited you.”

Madame Genevieve made a gesture with one hand suggesting Oliver was only partially correct. “I’m hardly a stranger. And it wasn’t as easy as you make it sound. We’ve been corresponding for years, and even so, I had my work cut out for me.”

“I imagine it wasn’t long before you regretted convincing him to bring you to this tumbledown wreck.”

“Oh, no. Exactly the opposite. This house is astounding. There are so many memories locked up in the hidden rooms and hallways that I can feel them pressing against my skin. Shadowbrook House is a treasure trove of spiritual energy.”

With a shake of his head, Oliver gave a grudging smile. He was beginning to like Madame Genevieve, to understand better how she operated, but this kind of talk frustrated and—if he was honest—frightened him.

“You resist my language, but all it means is the house is steeped in love.”

A short laugh escaped him. “If you were to ask anyone who lives or works here what the house is full of, none of them would say love.”

“Is that what you think? Maybe you don’t know the people who live here as well as you think you do.”

The clock in the upstairs hall tolled, and Madame Genevieve smoothed the sleeves of her dress. “I have to meet with your uncle now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Oliver held out his arm. “I’ll join you. I have a few things I’d like to say to him this morning.”

The woman shook her head. “This is not the time for your discussion. I suggest you get some rest, then you ought to reach out to those childhood friends we spoke of. Perhaps they’d like to see Shadowbrook again before anyone makes decisions that will change this house forever.”

“Are you suggesting I invite people to come and stay? When I myself wasn’t even invited?”

Madame Genevieve winked. “It is my intention to make sure you’re invited now. If anyone asks, I’ll say the house wishes to be filled with young people enjoying the Christmas celebration.”