the man she’d decided to lay with, I informed her that she would be promptly removed to Fennly House – a property of mine in York – where she would live out the rest of her life alone.” His breaths came in short little bursts and he now gripped her hand hard. “Her betrayal broke my heart, but at least it opened my eyes to the truth. I just wish I…”
His words fluttered off into obscurity.
After a number of seconds, Angelica quietly prodded, “What?”
He started. Blinked. His expression hardened, not with anger this time but with pain. “She died because of me. It’s only fair to tell you the truth so you don’t get trapped with a monster. For that is what I am. If it weren’t for me, Katrina would still be alive.”
Angelica stared at him. Hard. She didn’t believe him for a second, no matter how convinced he was of what he’d just told her. “How?” A straightforward question with no room for ambiguity.
A lost gaze collided with hers. “Things were said. Despicable things.” His voice faltered. “Had she not feared me, had she not run…” He was shaking.
“You are not to blame.” Angelica’s voice was firm. Whatever had truly transpired, whether his wife had cuckolded him or something more sinister was at play, Randolph wasn’t at fault. “Any other man in your position would have done as you did. Your reaction is perfectly understandable.”
“Angelica.” Her name carried a world of doubt with it.
“No. Wait. There’s something I must tell you, something you will not want to accept but… If you give me a chance to explain, it may shed new light on what happened.”
His eyebrows drew together. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Angelica took a deep breath. “Your wife’s soul is restless, Randolph. I don’t know why, but she’s not at peace. I think—”
“What are you saying?” His voice had dropped so low she could barely hear him.
Angelica plowed ahead, undaunted. “She’s been communicating with me from the beyond. She’s—”
He shot to his feet and stepped back so abruptly he almost knocked over the chair. His eyes were wide, his expression one of stark disbelief. “Is this a joke to you? A game perhaps?”
“No. Of course not. It is a serious matter.” She struggled to sit up straighter. “Your wife—”
“Was a whore. An adulteress. An outright liar who pretended to love me when clearly she didn’t.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Randolph, something’s not right, I can feel it.”
“Oh you can, can you?” His mocking tone took her aback even though she’d known to expect it. After all, she herself had dismissed all the sounds and sensations even though she had experienced them for herself. It wasn’t until the vision that she’d allowed herself to believe. “Is it perhaps your attempt at making up stories about the impossible that seems a bit off? Ghosts don’t exist, Angelica. Shame on you for supposing I might believe such claptrap.”
The air instantly cooled. Angelica caught a swift movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head. “See that? The way the curtain is moving?”
“A draft is most likely to blame.” Annoyance dripped from every word. “Christ, what a fool I have been.”
“No. Please.” She held her hand toward him. “Randolph, you have to believe me. You have to—”
“No.” He slashed the air with his arm. “Good God, you sound just like her, begging for me to have faith in something that obviously isn’t true. Does my forehead have ‘gullible’ written upon it in big bold letters?”
“Of course not.”
His mouth flattened and his eyes hardened to shards of flint. “I want you gone,” he said with low and deadly precision. “Pack your bags and leave. Immediately.” He turned for the door.
Angelica squared her shoulders and straightened her spine. “No.”
He halted, his hand on the handle. Slowly, he turned back to face her. “You plan to defy me?”
“If necessary. Yes.” She pulled back the covers and climbed from the bed. He should not see her like this, clad only in her nightgown. It wasn’t appropriate and yet she had no choice but to go to him. “I will not leave you. Not like this. Not while you need me.”
His eyes flashed and his nostrils flared. “Never presume to know what I need.”
She tipped her chin up. “Fine.” She gave him her best glare. “But perhaps you should ask yourself if it is possible for me to go mad within a few days. Think back to our conversations, Randolph. Consider your foremost reason for