Liquid Glass
By Zathyn Priest

Chapter One

Present Day

She stood tall and imposing, an ominous landmark of family tragedy and scandal looming
over Hampstead Heath, London. A gothic revival mansion built in the mid-1800s as a
status of wealth, now deserted and ogled by sightseers curious to know if Lillyport House
truly warranted her title as one of Britain’s most haunted residences. A gregarious square
central turret dominated Lillyport’s three-story façade and the mansion sat amid
sprawling walled gardens showing the strain of neglect. From inhabited to abandoned,
Lillyport never allowed anyone the luxury of residing within her walls for long. Always,
she demanded solitude.

The legend of Lillyport House grew in strength each year. Everyone wanted to walk her
maze-like halls, but no one wanted to dwell there. Past residents and visitors reported a
feeling of encompassing depression within the walls and grounds. Penetrating cold
enveloped the atmosphere, biting through human flesh until bones beneath skin and
muscle seemed to painfully freeze, a sensation that grew in intensity on the second level
and became unbearable inside a bedroom situated at the front of the house. Residents
reported the fleeting apparition of a young man dressed in coattails slumped against the
bedroom wall.

Viscount Eldon Davenport, one of history’s greatest and most controversial poets, was
born on the 17

th

of June 1836. The first of two poetry collections was published in

February 1857 and the second published in May 1857. In the first week of July of the
same year, Viscount Davenport’s burgeoning career ended. Only five weeks after moving
into Lillyport with his parents, twenty-one year old Eldon was found in his bedroom with
a Colt pistol in his right hand and a gunshot wound to his head.

Only weeks after a private funeral for their son on the grounds of Lillyport House, the
Earl and Countess of Wicorby sold the property, the ultimate form of desertion after
Eldon had been caught with a stable boy in an extremely compromising position. Enough
evidence prior to the Viscount’s death suggested the striking young poet fell victim to
madness. Several historians recorded two possibilities. Viscount Davenport held the
dubious title of being the first recorded poet to succumb to the temptations of Absinthe
and many proposed this caused his insanity. Some historians speculated Absinthe was not
the reason, but instead Eldon had fallen victim to acute schizophrenia, noting there
wasn’t enough evidence to prove an illicit affair. However, there was plenty of evidence
proving Eldon had begun hearing voices and seeing hallucinations.

The majestic gothic mansion in Hampstead Heath refused to let go of Viscount
Davenport’s misplaced spirit, jailing him in death inside the room in which he’d lost his
life.

***


Parapsychologist Malcolm Ritter crushed a cigarette into an overflowing ashtray and
immediately lit another. A cloud of smoke followed Ritter wherever he went. Across the
table sat Trudy Garret, a woman in her early fifties standing barely five feet tall.

“Cameron McKenzie.” Malcolm drew heavily on the cigarette. “Why doesn’t it surprise
me that fucking moron bought the house?” He flicked his cigarette against the ashtray.
“Two village idiots existing in the same space.” Along with smoke that always clouded
him, people smelled cigarettes and heard cursing long before Malcolm entered a room.

“Cameron won’t let you continue to bleed money out of tourists and ghost hunt his
home.” Malcolm’s lack of empathy for spirits irritated Trudy and she spoke abruptly.
“Neither Eldon nor Cameron are village idiots.” She edged away from the smoke. “I’m
glad he bought Lillyport, Mal. Maybe now you’ll concentrate on something other than
poor Eldon.”

“Poor Eldon? Give it a rest, Trudy. Evil Demonport was fucking a young stable boy, he
wasn’t an upstanding citizen!”

There was a time Malcolm’s enthusiasm in the paranormal hadn’t been based on money
or fame. He and Trudy dated through university and shared each other’s interest in the
supernatural. They wed, dedicated their lives to a quest toward truth, never had children
and worked together to build The Parapsychology Unit. Slowly Malcolm changed when
his obsession with Eldon Davenport took him over. Trudy didn’t like the man he became
and they divorced after twenty-three years of marriage.

“It isn’t cut and dried, Mal. If I were you, I wouldn’t underestimate Cameron.”

He superciliously lifted an eyebrow and smirked in a way Trudy had grown to abhor.
“How many times has anyone heard McKenzie speak on his own behalf? It’s always left
up to his publicity agent. The guy can paint, but that’s all he’s got going for him.”

“He’s shy, Mal, not stupid.”

“He’s a dickhead. I like his art, but I sure as fuck wouldn’t invite him to a dinner party.”
Malcolm shrugged. “Then again, if Demonport possesses him I might consider it.”

“Cameron won’t let you into Lillyport. You can bet money on that.”

***

Across the world people associated the name Cameron McKenzie with surreally beautiful
interpretations of his dreams on canvas. Mystical images in oils were captured from his

slumbering mind and launched Cameron from obscurity at the age of twenty-nine into
artistic royalty at now thirty-one. His first painting sold for three hundred pounds and his
fifth broke the magical million. Galleries across two hemispheres clamoured for his
artwork. Collectors waited in line for his next masterpiece and prayed they’d be the latest
lucky owner of a McKenzie original.

Magazines published Cameron’s photographs in a way generally reserved for Hollywood
actors. At exactly six feet tall with soft hazel eyes and blond wavy hair, Cameron looked
like a publicist’s dream client. Exquisite art and model good looks weren’t the only
things people associated with the name Cameron McKenzie. An introverted personality
turned into crippling social anxiety whenever Cameron couldn’t avoid speaking in public.
Oftentimes, nerves resulted in blank moments when he froze noticeably and words failed
him. His agent stepped in to finish sentences seeming to vanish into thin air. Whenever
possible Cameron avoided the limelight, aware he’d become the butt of jokes and
knowing his peers in the art world considered him dull.

As a child Cameron had competed with an outgoing older brother, thirty-three year old
Jonathon, and a vivacious younger sister, twenty-six year old Carly. As an adult Cameron
felt the brunt of mocking comments from his siblings and parents, whose ribbing was
loosely disguised as harmless teasing. Docile by nature, he’d always preferred to keep
only a few select friends. Friend’s who’d now drifted away as Cameron’s media shyness
saw him slip further away into artistic recluse. Romance didn’t enter into Cameron’s life
and he kept his sexuality hidden from everyone.

Quietly creative was how Cameron described himself to others, a listener rather than a
conversationalist. He spoke softly with a Scottish accent, the remnant of a childhood in
Edinburgh. By no means overly concerned with trends, Cameron’s sense of style
revolved around denim jeans, unadventurous shirts and conservative jackets. He
possessed a sharp sense of humor, but only displayed it when completely comfortable in
the company of another. At school his grades never rose above average due to his
focusing more on art than scholarly pursuits.

The purchase of Lillyport House took place in secrecy. Cameron wanted to avoid media
headlines and he wanted to avoid his siblings and parents nagging him regarding the
pitfalls of buying the place. Lillyport, with all her legends and reputation, had been
bought for a bargain price. To buy the house once occupied by an esteemed poet, whose
work Cameron adored, was to him the ultimate in prize possessions. He didn’t believe the
rumours and hearsay regarding Viscount Davenport and a stable boy. Instead Cameron
leaned toward the schizophrenia theory and the documented testimony to the Viscount’s
rapid decline into a world of imaginary voices, hallucinations and delusions. Cameron
also didn’t believe in ghost stories.

The keys to Lillyport House were in Cameron’s possession and one of his wishes had
been fulfilled. The cramped London apartment he’d lived in for eight years overflowed
with boxes ready for the movers in the morning. Lillyport had been an extravagant
purchase in comparison to Cameron’s penny-wise nature, but she was beautiful and

inspiring. For many years he’d driven by the landmark mansion and sensed an
inexplicable need to one day reside in a house that seemed to want to offer him so much
more than just shelter.

Chapter Two

Lillyport House, Hampstead Heath, London

Saturday, July 4

th

, 1857

Two majestic crystal chandeliers hung suspended over a grand ballroom milling with
guests. Women in crinoline gowns danced with men formally dressed in tailcoats. Lilly
Davenport, Countess of Wicorby, staged the perfect society ball while Charles
Davenport, Earl of Wicorby, smugly showed off his new abode.

Striding down a gas lit hallway toward the ballroom, Eldon Davenport halted beside the
grand central staircase and took a glass of champagne from a passing servant. “Thank
you, Albert.” He spoke courteously, his interaction not one generally accepted between
the upper and lower classes.

Sapphire cufflinks caught the candlelight and glinted to match a royal blue brocade
waistcoat embroidered with red rosebuds over a pale blue shirt. His scarlet silk cravat
was tucked beneath the waistcoat and he wore an ebony tailcoat. A black satin top hat
had hours before been discarded and his shoulder length dark brown hair sat neatly tied at
the nape of Eldon’s neck with a narrow blue ribbon. High society men did not sport long
hair, nor did they wear colored shirts when the proper gentleman only wore white.
Eldon’s collection of vests and cravats included all ostentatious hues except for
traditional black. Always he matched a hair ribbon with his waistcoat and baulked at
strict Victorian fashion etiquette, letting his attire reflect a flamboyant personality.

Shocked he’d been referred to by name the young servant hesitated noticeably and
replied in a coarse cockney accent. “You’re welcome, Viscount Davenport.” A blush
swept over his face and he dared to speak again. “I have to say you look exquisite.”

Standing at a lithe five feet, eight inches, Eldon cut a striking figure. Dark eyelashes
framed the palest ice blue eyes. Eyes with the ability to sear into another brutally or gaze
upon someone adoringly. It all depended on where an individual stood on Eldon’s ladder
of respect. Titles and peerage did not automatically earn his esteem.

As one of England’s most eligible bachelors, there was no shortage of single women
vying for the Viscount’s attention and no high-society parent unwilling to give over their
daughter as his future wife. Despite Eldon’s reputation as being flighty and eccentric, he
was the heir apparent to a property worth a fortune, and a published poet. Society parents
saw in Eldon monetary stability for their daughters, whereas their daughters swooned
over the Viscount’s eye-catching good looks and his fast growing fame as a writer.
Lightly tanned skin sun-kissed a softly featured face, Eldon’s jaw and cheekbones were
not harshly masculine but subtly gentle. His lips were full without being overly generous
and his sculptured nose tilted ever so slightly upward at the tip.

Albert’s blush flamed as scarlet as Eldon’s cravat. “My apologies, Viscount Davenport,
for speaking out of turn.”

“Eldon. I insist everyone refer to me by my Christian name and not that horribly
pretentious title.” His straight white teeth flashed an engaging smile. “Who am I to stand
in the way of a compliment you had to say?”

The silver tray in Albert’s hands trembled conspicuously when Eldon reset his glass on
top of it and straightened the boy’s dress coat. “I’m aware this your first employ,
however my father is a stickler for precision. Make sure your attire is impeccable.”

“Yes... sir.” Albert’s reply was thick-voiced.

“Eldon.” Elegant fingers brushed lint off Albert’s shoulders. “My mother also insists
household staff do not have one button out of place. Are you aware of that, Albert?”

“Yes, sir.” The tray shook and rattled the crystal goblets it supported. “I am Mabel’s
nephew. Your cook.”

“Eldon!” Husky laughter coated another name correction. “I am aware of who Mabel is.”

Eldon could feel Albert’s pulse racing. He thought perhaps that to be the centre of his
attention was both frightening and intoxicating for Albert. “Sorry... sir.”

Society rumors regarding Eldon began gathering in momentum the longer he courted
Lady Genevieve whilst refusing to ask after her hand in marriage. The upper class
whispered covertly, while the lower class gossiped incessantly. Eldon’s showy sense of
fashion fuelled the hearsay, as did his equally as flashy personality. Flamboyant hand
gestures, animated facial expressions and a vivacious speech pattern set him apart from
staid Victorian men. Just because Eldon rated as a highly eligible bachelor didn’t mean
he rated as highly in society circles as a person. Many found his outspoken opinions, and
his friendliness toward the lesser class, as offensive as his garish attire.

Eldon’s hands left the boy’s shoulders and he picked up the goblet once more. “I’m sure
you will find your employ here a tedious chore and my parents to be unendurable.” An
aristocratic accent clipped Eldon’s words with rounded vowels and pristine annunciation.
“It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance, Albert.”

“If you require any service, Viscount Davenport, please call on me.” Albert’s breath
caught in his throat on a sweet gasp. “Any service you may require.”

“Does your offer extend to services outside of normal household duties?” Eldon asked
with a tilt of his head. “Let us say, for example, personal services?”

Darting his eyes up and down the hall before replying, Albert nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Eldon leaned in until his mouth rested close to the boy’s ear. “Do not proposition an
upper class gentleman in such a manner again. Do I make myself clear?”

Albert remained mute, his eyes panicked.

“Yes or no, Albert, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes.” Albert squeaked. “Sir.”

Eldon straightened. “You are far too young to be crapped. Do you know what crapped
means?”

The slang term meant hanged and Albert nodded, looking guilty.

“Had you propositioned another gentleman, one who held no regard for your welfare, you
would have lost your employment.” Eldon’s gaze wandered sternly across Albert’s rosy
face. “Not only would you have lost your employment, and quite possibly Mabel’s as
well for recommending you, you could have been arrested.”

Albert’s chin rested on his chest and Eldon knew he’d misread the physical contact and
friendliness as a clocked sexual advance. Taking a sip from the goblet, Eldon stepped
away and in his peripheral vision caught sight of Lady Genevieve observing the
interaction nervously. He narrowed his eyes and turned away from her as though she
were stranger.

“I’m very sorry, sir.” Although apologising for his indiscretion, Albert remained standing
before Eldon, making no effort to move away.

“I will not mention this to anyone, Albert. I hope you will do me the same courtesy.”

Genevieve called his name and Eldon gestured the boy toward the far end of the house.

Genevieve approached, suspiciously eying the boy coldly between questioning glances in
Eldon’s direction. “You have been behaving strangely all evening, Eldon. Leaving me
unescorted while I make excuses for your ill manners. In fact, you have been behaving
strangely since arriving in London. ”

“I despise London, Genevieve. I can smell the city stench from here.” He bent at the
waist, widening his eyes and tapping his index finger to the side of his nose. “Or perhaps
what I really smell is deceit.” From his nose his finger tapped on Genevieve’s brow. “It is
you

I can smell!

Her jaw dropped open and she jerked her face away. “I beg your pardon?”

Mimicking her offended, little girl voice, Eldon fluttered his hands around his face.
“Gracious me, Eldon, whatever could you mean?” He battered his eyelashes innocently.
“I’m sure I have absolutely no idea what it is you speak of.”

“Why are you being boarish?”

Eldon?

Abruptly Eldon’s head snapped to the right, his eyes glued to the upper section of the
staircase, his shoulders hunched slightly and he took several hesitant steps backward.
“Stop it.” He whispered anxiously.

“I will not stop until you give me an explanation!” Genevieve regarded Eldon with
annoyance. “I am simply asking you to...”

Regaining his composure, Eldon seized Genevieve’s hand and escorted her briskly down
the hall. Forced into a quick trot to remain beside him, Genevieve’s anger at his behavior
no doubt boiled. He tugged and pulled on her arm as though leading a horse from a stable
inferno until they reached the opulently furnished parlor.

Eldon closed the door and paced in harried steps. “This morning Father took me aside
and ordered I propose to you tonight. Damn it, Genevieve, you knew about this and did
not confide in me!”

“How dare you use profanity!”

“How dare you trap me in this ambush!”

“I will make you a good wife and I can give you healthy children. If you do not marry me
the rumours already circulating will grow ever more convincing. I have tried to be
patient.” An expression of fear covered Genevieve’s heart shaped face. “Marry me. The
gossip will stop if you do. You can learn to love me.”

“Love isn’t something you force!” Eldon raised his voice into a shout. “How long has this
plan to ambush me been in preparation?”

“I knew nothing of it until Thursday.” Her voice quavered timidly.

“Thursday? Did you not consider sending me correspondence to warn me?”

Eldon knew the love Genevieve felt for him was indeed real and painfully unrequited. At
the age of sixteen Eldon had confided in her that he did not ever believe he would marry
when he experienced a strong attraction to his own gender. She had expressed hope, with
childish naivety, that he would grow out this odd phase and see her in the same
passionate light she saw him. As Eldon grew older his favour toward men did not fade
and he began displaying his eccentricities openly, much to the concern of his old school

parents. Genevieve kept Eldon’s secret and never betrayed his trust, however he
suspected that marriage to another was something she could not bear to consider for the
briefest moments.

Eldon opened his mouth to speak, hesitated noticeably and then backed away while
sweeping his palm over sleek dark hair. “Do you truly wish to spend your life married to
a man who cannot, will not, ever love you?”

“Yes.” Her breathing strained against the corset until he wondered if she would faint.
“Yes, Eldon, I truly wish to spend my life with you.”

“If you force me into this marriage I shall never forgive you. Your existence with me will
be a reflection of the misery I will exist in with you.”

The forthrightness of Eldon’s statement no doubt stung brutally; never did he not mean
what he said. Eldon’s honesty was many times blunt and often hurtful to the one on the
receiving end. He did not believe in glossing over facts in favor of sparing another’s ego,
one always knew where they stood with him.

“Eldon, you cannot avoid marriage forever.” It sounded as if a lump squeezed inside
Genevieve’s throat. “Your parents will set a wedding date whether you agree to it or not.”

Eldon opened his mouth to reply and halted suddenly.

Eldon! Can you see the light in front of you?

This time the frantic voice Eldon heard seemed to seep through the walls. He covered his
ears with his palms, watching Genevieve closely and backing away.

“You have turned a horrid shade of white.” She held out her hand with obvious concern.
“Perhaps you should sit down.”

“Can you hear it? The voice... can you hear it?”

Each word he spoke increased the apprehension in Genevieve’s eyes and his skin blanch
paler as she answered. “The only voices I hear are yours and mine.”

Eldon shakily pointed his index finger toward the far side of the room. “The wall... it
came through the wall!”

“You are babbling and making no sense.” Genevieve inched toward the door. “I will call
for help, you are obviously unwell.”

The ghostly voice was occurring with increasing frequency each passing day. At times it
silenced for hours and then at other times bombarded Eldon constantly, whether awake or
asleep there wasn’t an escape.

***

Eldon placed a perforated silver spoon over a goblet half filled with emerald liquid. On
top of the spoon he placed a sugar cube and picked up a tiny silver pitcher of water. The
water drizzled over the sugar, dissolving it on contact and turning the emerald green into
foggy jade. Once the sugar dissolved completely, Eldon lifted the goblet to his lips and
downed the contents in two grimacing swallows.

A gold fob watch on the dressing table showed the time to be after midnight. Downstairs,
the party continued. The Earl of Wicorby, after being informed of Eldon’s refusal to
announce his engagement to Lady Genevieve, had relegated his son to his bedchamber.

From the corner of his eye Eldon caught a glimpse of a faceless silvery, form walking
through the locked door. In his haste to escape its approach he pushed the chair out from
under him and screamed. The chair upended with a clatter, Eldon fell to the floor with it
and the silvery phantom moved on toward the far wall and disappeared.

Lillyport House, Hampstead London

Saturday, July 11

th

, 1857

Lifting his gaze from the task of cleaning a bridle, a middle aged stable hand smothered a
gasp and watched Viscount Davenport stagger into view. Beneath an unbuttoned dark
pink waistcoat he wore a lilac shirt, no necktie and no frock coat. His hair fell loose and
tangled around his shoulders, obscuring his face.

“Saddle Permelia, Jacob.” Eldon’s voice slurred weakly and tiredly. “Please.”

Jacob averted his eyes from the Viscount’s wild appearance. Eldon referred to a chestnut
thoroughbred given as an eighteenth birthday present by the Lady Genevieve’s parents. A
horse he adored.

“Sir, Permelia is at Davenport Manor.” Jacob replied nervously. “We only have carriage
horses at Lillyport.”

Eldon swayed visibly. His right hand gripped the stable door and his legs trembled. “Why
does it not matter what I ask of you? Time and time again I ask you all to refer to me by
name and time and time again you all refuse.”

“Eldon?”

Turning swiftly, and almost losing his balance in the process, inflamed pale eyes fastened
onto the approaching boy.

“Let me take you to your bedchamber.”

Irritation switched to laughter on Eldon’s face and it only added to his look of madness.
“You do not give up easily do you, Albert?”

“Permelia isn’t here. Even if she were you’re in no state to go riding.”

One of Eldon’s eyebrows arched. “Well, well... not only are you lewd you are also pushy
and overbearing!” His eyebrow lowered into a frown. “Why are you in the stables and not
inside the manor where you belong?”

“My employ is as a stable hand.”

“Does my father know a stable hand served his guests champagne?” Before Albert
replied Eldon waved a hand in dismissal. “Never mind, I despise the man.”

“If you don’t let me to take you to your bedchamber I’ll call on one of the older men to
take you instead.”

Both of Eldon’s hands flew up to cover another round of giggling. “Will you? I dare say I
have always preferred older men.”

“Are you coming with me or should I call for the butler?”

“Goodness no! I find the butler highly unattractive!”

A line of morbidly curious stable hands stood further away and watched with a mixture
of stifled laughter and pity.

“As I have limited choice in the matter,” One arm draped around Albert’s shoulders,
“take me to my bedchamber.”

***

With one fluid stroke after another, Albert brushed Eldon’s tangled hair until it lay sleek
and reflecting sunlight streaming through the window. Eldon sat silently at a dressing
table before an ornate mirror, never lifting his chin from its downcast position. Earlier in
the day Charles and Lilly had left to attend a social engagement. Their son’s failure to
accompany them would cause gossip, however Charles preferred to fabricate an excuse
rather than risk Eldon causing a scene. Initially reticent to call a doctor in to see his son,
Charles sent for a physician three days after the ball when Eldon’s behavior worsened.
The doctor advised any Absinthe to be removed from the Viscount’s possession,
diagnosed a case of hysteria and suggested Eldon be kept away from people and ordered
to rest.

“Should I tie your hair with the pink ribbon?” Albert took a length of ribbon from an
opened mahogany box. “This one? It matches your waistcoat beautifully.”

Eldon slowly raised his eyes and watched Albert’s reflection in the mirror. “There is a
bright circle of light near the oak tree.” Eldon’s eyes flickered away from the mirror and
his chin dropped down to his chest. “He wants me to walk into it and I have tried. I am
unsure of what else I am to do.”

“Who?”

“My love.” Gingerly, Eldon stood and walked to his bed. “When I see him walking the
halls he does not see me. I call to him and he does not hear me. Yet, in my dreams we are
together as intimately as lovers should be.”

Uncertain of what to do, Albert sat beside Eldon on the bed and drew a sharp breath in
when Eldon embraced him. “Perhaps your dreams,” Albert ran his hand over Eldon’s
head with serene strokes, “is the only place you are meant to be with him.”

“No! We are destined to be together, but liquid glass separates us when I see his ghost
within the house.”

Albert’s hand ceased its gentle stroking and toyed nervously with the pink ribbon. Grave
fear washed over him and his blood ran cold. “You see a ghost?” He’d not listened to the
hearsay circulating regarding Viscount Davenport’s crumbling sanity. Now, as Eldon
talked of a ghostly lover, it seemed the only explanation. “Your love is a ghost?”

“I cannot get through the liquid glass. I hear his voice, but I can only touch him in
dreams. When I sleep I am as close to him as I fear I will ever be.”

From the ribbon Albert’s hand travelled between the Viscount’s shoulders and along his
spine. “Do you have Absinthe hidden in this room?”

“I dare not eat or drink a thing!” Eldon whispered frantically. “Father is trying to poison
me in an effort to keep me from finding my love.”

The lurching, slurring, confusion, and disheveled attire were no doubt the direct
consequence of a week without food. If Eldon truly believed everything brought to him
had been laced with poison soon he would collapse from sheer exhaustion. No matter
how highly regarded Eldon was by household staff, none had the courage to risk their
employ by undermining Charles Davenport.

It was well-known among the staff that the Earl of Wicorby was a harsh taskmaster, a
man who thought the best of himself and very little of others. Charles wanted Eldon
under his thumb where he could keep a sharp eye on his behavior and whereabouts.
Eldon’s questionable eccentricities gave Charles cause to suspect his son’s sexuality
years before. Homosexuality was a crime punishable by death and the scandal involved

would humiliate the Davenport reputation. Charles monitored the income Eldon received
from his poetry, had given permission for the poems to be published under strict proviso
all royalties were held in trust until Eldon married.

Although the only child of one of Britain’s wealthiest men, Eldon had barely a shilling in
his possession. But, Eldon was extremely headstrong despite being hemmed in. Prior to
Charles granting a clothing and personals allowance, Eldon had deliberately dug his heels
in and acted out even more flamboyantly than he had before. In return for his father
paying for his wardrobe and personal items, Eldon had agreed to tone down his behavior.

Albert gently cupped Eldon’s chin in his hand and tilted his face upward. “Would you eat
something if I brought it to you?”

“I have no appetite. I need to find my love! Father has sold Permelia and I cannot get
away. If I travel on foot I will surely get lost in the countryside.”

The Viscount grew more distressed each moment, leaning heavily into Albert’s arms and
clinging like a frightened child.

Rather than correct Eldon it seemed more beneficial for Albert to go along with his
confusion. “You should sleep.” He smiled tentatively. “Sleep and visit your lover. Do
you want me to stay with you?”

A frantic nod coupled with a rushed reply. “Stay and watch for their return. You must
wake me the moment you see the carriage and warn me Father is here.” Releasing his
arms from around Albert’s waist, Eldon grasped his hands instead. “Then you must leave
and saddle the horses. When they have retired for the evening I will meet you in the
stables. Together we will search for the light. Perhaps it is brighter elsewhere. I know
wherever I go my love will follow.”

“How can he follow if he cannot see you?” Albert’s eyebrows lifted in question.

“He knows how to find me inside dreams.”

Albert agreed only for the sake of providing peace of mind. He couldn’t let Viscount
Davenport leave Lillyport House. Eldon did not know where he was and would not know
where he headed. The Earl and Countess weren’t expected to return from their social
engagement until evening and it was only two in the afternoon. When Eldon lay down
and placed his head on the pillow, Albert drew heavy fabric drapes across the window to
block out the summer sunlight.

***

In his sleep Eldon’s expression relaxed and at times a soft smile played on his lips. Albert
took in every detail of the Viscount’s face, occasionally reaching over to caress his cheek
or touch silky dark hair. A more beautiful young man Albert had never seen and his

intense infatuation burned. He lay down on top of the bedclothes, rested his head on a
pillow and soon drifted into sleep.

Two and a half hours later Albert jolted awake and immediately rushed to check Eldon’s
fob watch. The anxious beat of his heart slowed. Four-thirty in the afternoon and no one
expected the Earl or Countess home until at least six that evening.

Albert quietly returned to the bed and stood gazing down at Eldon’s sleeping figure.
Youthful fantasies of dashing Viscount Davenport invaded Albert’s dreams as forcefully
as Eldon admitted to a phantom lover invading his. Here he lay, the object of those
fantasies, close enough to ache for and real enough to reach out and touch.

Albert carefully peeled away the bedclothes and maneuvered beneath them until his body
lay pressed against Viscount Davenport’s back. The sweet, herbaceous and lime scent of
perfume mixed with the clean smell of Eldon’s skin. Albert gently wrapped his left arm
around Eldon’s torso and took hold of Eldon’s hand. With his nose buried into the nape
of Viscount Davenport’s neck, Albert closed his eyes and inhaled the intoxicating aroma.
It combined with the sensation of being hedonistically near to a forbidden desire and
Albert pressed as close into Eldon’s spine as he dared. He allowed his hand to run down
the outside of Eldon’s thigh, feeling the form of lean muscles taut from riding horses,
shapely and pleasurable to his fingertips.

Beneath his hand Eldon stirred and Albert watched the wistful, sleepy smile accompany a
longing sigh. He knew each move he made was translated inside Eldon’s mind into the
gentle touch of his imaginary lover and not the hands of an infatuated stable boy. Albert
listened to Eldon speak softly in a faraway whisper as he rolled onto his back and turned
his face to the left. His mouth was tantalizingly close and Albert concentrated solely on
Eldon’s slightly parted lips and murmurs.

Eldon’s hand enclosed around Albert’s hand, leading it away from his thigh and up over
his stomach until he pressed Albert’s palm against his cheek. “Kiss me again, dearest,”
Eldon whispered to the man within his dream.

Even Eldon’s breath smelled as sweet as the perfume lingering on his neck. Yearning
overshadowed good judgement. Albert inched in closer, bowing his head in an illicit kiss.
Albert’s heart pumped hard behind his ribs, kissing Eldon with the same passion Eldon
kissed his dream lover with, too absorbed in the moment to hear the door open.

Startled out of his sleep by the sound of his father’s enraged voice, Eldon scrambled
away from Albert beneath the bedclothes. Wide eyes stared in accusing horror and
bewildered disorientation. Having dropped a silver tray of food to the floor in shock,
Mabel watched The Earl of Wicorby lunge for Albert and seize him by the collar,
throwing him violently to the floor. Charles then turned on his heel and descended on
Eldon cowering against the headboard.

Lillyport House, Hampstead London

Tuesday, July 14

th

, 1857

After twenty years in the Davenport’s employ, Mabel received instant dismissal along
with her shamed nephew. To call in the police would mean confiding the sordid details to
outsiders, a disgrace Charles wanted avoided at all costs. However even The Earl of
Wicorby, with all his influence, could not halt the gossip gathering credence among
house staff.

Once dismissed from the Davenport employ Mabel willingly discredited Eldon as a
crazed predator. No matter how fervently Albert defended Viscount Davenport,
desperately trying to explain Eldon’s innocence, Mabel wouldn’t hear of it. Every stable
hand had witnessed Eldon staggering half dressed and slurring. The conversation between
the Viscount and stable boy, in front of other men, was filled with homosexual innuendo.
They’d then seen Eldon leave the stables with Albert.

Soon the fierce gossip would seep like sludge via loose-lipped, lower class servants. Of
this Charles was certain. Mabel wanted retribution for the supposed advantage Eldon
took and the injuries the Earl of Wicorby inflicted on her nephew. Now Mabel was no
longer in the Davenport employ, and with her reputation discredited, there stood a high
chance she could take the incident to the authorities herself. After all, she had several
witnesses to the Viscount’s state of mind and his squalid conversation. No amount of
money or social standing could quash a criminal charge of homosexuality.

The Earl refused anyone the opportunity to see the Viscount reduced to a trembling,
weeping, feeble shell of his former self. Eldon had fallen into the depths of insanity; there
was nothing any doctor could do to cure a disease of the mind. He needed to be hidden
without compassion or aide. Charles needed to prevent further shame brought on his
family’s status.

***

In the late hours of Tuesday evening household staff retired to their quarters. The
Countess slept soundly. Lillyport House fell silent except for the rattle of a key turning
inside a locked door.

Charles stepped inside the room and his cold stare settled on Eldon cringing against the
furthest wall. The soles of his shoes clipped the floorboards briskly as he strode toward
one of two wardrobes. From the wardrobe he removed an emerald waistcoat, a paler
green cravat, formal black tailcoat and a pair of black leather shoes. He laid the clothes
on the bed, fetched a hairbrush from the dresser and an emerald ribbon from a wooden
box.

“It is not safe for you in London. I have arranged a carriage to return you Davenport
Manor as quickly as possible.” Charles crouched before his son. “I will assist you into
clean attire for I cannot have you travelling looking like bemoaned street urchin.”

Charles promptly set about the difficult mission of dressing Eldon while he sat on the
floor against the wall. He ignored the crying frostily, raking the brush harshly through
Eldon’s hair and battling to tie it into a presentable ponytail.

Some fifteen minutes later, with the task complete, Charles returned the hairbrush neatly
onto the dresser. “You have shamed me beyond all comprehension.”

“I am trapped behind the liquid glass!” Eldon’s words tangled amid wretched sobs.

“Filthy, disgraceful deviant!” Charles’s spat. “Liquid glass? You’re a gibbering fool! I
cannot have you tarnish the Davenport name any further. I will not face the humiliation
of having you publicly hung for your mad perversion.” From inside his dress coat Charles
removed a pistol. “There is no carriage, Eldon.” He placed the cold steel barrel to the
centre of his son’s brow. “I would rather have no heir at all than pass my title and fortune
onto the likes of you.”

Eldon’s wan pallor faded to white. “No! Father... please, I beg you to listen! The glass...
the liquid glass...” Eldon’s right hand gripped around Charles’ wrist and his left clutched
a handful of dress coat fabric. “It keeps me from...”

The Earl of Wicorby hesitated not a second longer and pulled the trigger. Eldon’s head
snapped back, blood splattered the wall and his body slumped forward.

Charles placed the pistol inside Eldon’s limp right hand and stepped away. “At least you
had the decency to suicide looking like a gentleman.”

Chapter Three

Present Day

Stepping into Lillyport House felt like stepping inside a time warp and a rush of
exhilaration swept through Cameron’s body. In keeping with the mansion’s heritage he’d
chosen an eclectic mix of Victorian antiques to furnish the many rooms and halls, all of
which had been delivered earlier in the day. The walls needed repainting and papering,
the carpets needed replacing and the floorboards needed buffing. Aside from those
decorating details, Lillyport dazzled.

Mid-January and winter weather darkened the sky by five o’clock in the evening.
Outside, the temperature plunged and the wind picked up, promising a deluge of rain.
Cameron flicked on the kitchen light and placed a large cardboard box onto a bench top.
Certainly Lillyport had a decisive chill in the air, but with the heating not on, Cameron
was able to rationalize the cold. He felt no eerie presence as previous owners had
reported, although his elation prior to entering the house had been replaced with
melancholy. Again he rationalized the feeling, putting it down to unhelpful family
members who’d declined assisting him move in, each with a plethora of weak excuses.

From the kitchen Cameron walked along a hall toward the grand central staircase. All the
bedrooms were located on the second floor, including that of the late Viscount
Davenport. Cameron climbed the stairs slowly, taking in everything around him and
marvelling at the majestic old home. He peered through black metal-framed glasses and
strained to see through the darkness. When he reached the landing, he ran his hand
blindly over the walls, feeling for a light switch. The floorboards creaked underfoot and
Cameron continued on toward the fateful bedroom.

In comparison to the rest of the house the temperature inside Eldon Davenport’s bedroom
dropped several degrees colder. Condensation covered glass windows and Cameron’s
breath formed foggy clouds as he exhaled. He shivered, feeling the cold bite down into
his bones and his mood shift from melancholy to deep depression. Suddenly he wasn’t at
all confident the legends surrounding Lillyport House were the imaginings of overactive
minds. A dull ache throbbed in the centre of Cameron’s brow, building steadily until he
winced. The pain in his head increased until his temples felt squeezed inside a vice and
the sense of sadness brought him close to tears. He strode for the door and closed it
behind him.

By the time Cameron reached the bottom of the staircase the sickening headache had
lessened and the depression lifted somewhat. Still, he experienced no sense of

malevolence inside Lillyport, no sense of being watched and at no time did he feel that he
was in danger.

He continued into the informal sitting room and turned the television on for company. He
lit a fire in the hearth and rummaged through a box packed with books until he found the
one he was looking for. Sitting in an armchair beside the fireplace, Cameron opened the
book and stared at a picture of Viscount Davenport. Victorian photographs always
appeared stern and the people posed with little expression, yet there was no mistaking
how striking the young poet was. Cameron loved looking at Davenport as much as he
loved reading the great writer’s work. Eldon’s pale blue eyes appeared white rimmed
with brown due to the sepia film. It gave the Viscount a sinister quality as he peered into
the camera lens. The same sinister quality Cameron saw in all Victorian men, women,
and children with ultra light eye colour.

Another rush of sadness flushed through Cameron’s heart, only this time in empathy for
Eldon’s plight rather than an unexplained feeling coming from the house. Perhaps there
were logical reasons for the cold inside the upstairs bedroom and the freezing
condensation on the windows. Plausibility couldn’t argue strongly enough to counteract
Cameron’s gut reaction to the phenomenon. Surely science couldn’t explain a searing
headache and the overwhelming urge to cry when inside that room.

While Cameron unenthusiastically watched a movie until eleven o’clock, the house
stayed still and silent, save the odd creaks and groans expected from all old buildings.
The melancholy remained on a base level, not increasing but also not fading completely.
Usually a night owl, up until the early hours of the morning painting, Cameron’s eyelids
grew heavy and he yawned. The bedroom he’d chosen to be his own was located across
the hall from Eldon’s. He’d chosen it for the view, but now nervousness crept in. On the
upper level, the sense of depression heightened in comparison to the ground floor. With
no one around to judge his anxiety, Cameron decided to spend his first night at Lillyport
on the sofa.

After quickly fetching a pillow and quilt from upstairs, Cameron kept the television on
and stared into the flames burning bright inside the hearth. He fought the urge to close his
eyes, sensitive to every slight noise around him. By midnight he could fight tiredness no
longer and fell into a light, guarded sleep.

Dreams of Viscount Davenport replaced the surreally beautiful images Cameron
generally dreamt of while sleeping. Visions of elegant Victorian society milling inside
Lillyport combined with the sharp crack of a pistol and shocking visions of Eldon on a
floor awash with blood. Pitiful wailing and agonised crying rang loud and clear, twisted
within the gruesome nightmares. The wailing and crying rose in pitch until it consumed
Cameron entirely, jolting him awake and into the reality of knowing the noise was not
inside his mind but inside the house.

Reacting on impulse, Cameron jumped to his feet and made hurriedly for the door before
sliding to halt and reconsidering. If he were to run toward Eldon’s bedroom there was no

telling what would confront him. His breathing rasped and his heart pumped. The
tortured cries flowed down the grand central staircase like a spine-chilling river of
suffering, immersing the entire house in grief and despair.

Cameron’s fear shifted into an entirely different emotion. Compassion outweighed the
urge to vacate the house. Viscount Davenport’s spirit could not exercise the same option
to leave. The cries were not evil; he doubted they were filling Lillyport for the sole
purpose of eradicating unwanted residents. They sounded heartbreaking and pained with
misery.

Inhaling a deep, calming breath, Cameron edged out of the sitting room and headed for
the stairs. The jugular vein in his neck pulsed and his limbs shook. Holding onto the
banister for support, he slowly climbed one stair at a time, aware of his breath condensing
in foggy clouds. When he reached the landing he flicked the light switch. The overhead
fittings flashed and the globe erupted in a burst of brilliance before shorting out and
plunging the hall into darkness.

Cameron gathered his composure and ran his hand along the wall for guidance, staring at
the light creeping out from beneath the farthest bedroom door. When he’d left the room
earlier the switch had been flicked off. One cautious step after the other took Cameron to
the end of the hall and his hand hovered over the doorhandle. Others had reported seeing
the slumped apparition of Viscount Davenport and this is what Cameron prepared for. He
turned the handle, exhaled slowly and stepped inside.

Fine sheets of ice covered the glass windows from the inside. A droplet of frosty water
fell onto Cameron’s face. He raised his eyes upward to see the ceiling coated with ice and
then noticed sections of the walls were also freezing over. The wall bled, oozing red,
though no apparition could be seen beneath it.

Braving his fear and the deafening wailing, Cameron inched closer to the far wall. He
winced as the pain tore into his forehead. The closer Cameron neared to the bloodied
wall, the more intense the headache became. He started to lose feeling in his feet and
hands, numb due to the arctic cold. Ice water dropped from the ceiling like smattering
rain and tiny rivers dripped down the walls.

Cameron crouched near the bloodstain and his knees grated as though suddenly arthritic.
He reached out to test whether the blood would transfer onto his fingers and promptly the
miserable wailing dropped into a distressed whimper. Cameron’s hand felt gloved in dry
ice and a strange tingling sensation of static electricity. He withdrew his hand before
touching the wall and the bodiless whimpering steadily increased into howls and wails.

“You felt that, didn’t you?” Cameron’s words shook in time with his hand. “You knew
you weren’t alone.”

Cameron carefully sat down on the floor with his back to the wall, uncertain of where
exactly Eldon’s body would’ve lain when he died. Little by little he shifted to his right

until he felt the cold static travel from his shoulder to his thigh. The wailing ceased and
the whimpering started.

“I don’t think you know I’m here but I know you feel something.” Cameron let his head
rest against the wall, aware the pain behind his brow had eased. “Maybe all you’ve ever
wanted is someone to stay with you.”

***

By the early hours of the morning Lillyport once again rested in calm and Cameron
drifted into sleep, propped up against the wall. The icy condensation inside the bedroom
lessened except for on the windows. Unlike when he’d slept fitfully on the sofa, this time
Cameron’s dreams revolved around Viscount Davenport and he walking hand in hand
around Lillyport’s grounds deep in conversation or blissfully enjoying the silence. He
experienced dreams of looking into Eldon’s pale blue eyes and seeing their true colour,
dreams of hearing Eldon’s laughter for the first time and dreams of lying naked together
in bed exchanging fond, loving caresses and slow, meaningful kisses.

In the hall a grandfather clock struck three in the morning and stirred Cameron from his
slumbering fantasies. He momentarily felt disorientated, taking several moments to
gather his thoughts and remember where he was and why he sat on the floor of an empty
bedroom. He shifted uncomfortably, stretching out his legs and arms. From shoulder to
thigh he still experienced the static electricity, only now the icy cold had subsided to a
slight chill.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” He whispered. “I’ll come straight back.”

Whether Eldon heard what went on or not, it made no difference to the way Cameron
spoke to him. The intimacy of his dreams had been so real, to the point where he could
feel Eldon’s silken smooth lips still lingering on his and the scent of Eldon’s skin left
Cameron with an aroma of herbaceous lime.

Hurrying out of the bedroom, Cameron slowed his pace down as he negotiated the
darkened hall toward the bathroom. Without his glasses, left downstairs when Eldon’s
wailing had begun hours ago, Cameron’s eyesight deteriorated substantially in the dim
light. Although needing to wear them all the time he often kept his glasses tucked in his
pocket and only put them on when absolutely necessary. After several close calls nearly
colliding with furniture, he threw open the bathroom door with one hand while undoing
his jeans with the other.

Eldon’s blood curdling wailing started up again.

Battling to finish as quickly as possibly, Cameron zipped his fly and darted out into the
pitch-dark hall. The more he tried to hurry the more he bumped into furniture. He used
the light from Eldon’s bedroom as a guiding beacon. The noise escalated and then

switched into distinctive crying. Gut wrenching sobs intermingled with the wails, filled
with pain and raw distress.

“I haven’t left you!” Cameron called out as he stumbled toward the door. “It’s okay,
Eldon, I’m…” His words stopped mid-sentence and his complexion greyed.

An ocean of scarlet washed the floorboards, pooling onto the floor and forming a grisly
lake of blood. Cameron lurched into the centre of the room, swaying on unsteady legs
and suppressing the sickening nausea eddying inside his stomach. Despite the horror of
what he saw, Cameron knew Eldon’s terror stricken soul endured far worse. Eldon
couldn’t have survived the gunshot wound for a second and his physical body would have
died instantly, yet his spirit existed on to suffer ceaselessly. Walking away wasn’t an
option and Cameron approached the scene with shaking steps. His being close quietened
the wailing and it was the only action Cameron could think of repeating in an effort to
end the Viscount’s pain.

The soles of Cameron’s shoes slid on the ghastly liquid and he slipped before righting
himself. Taking up his prior position meant sitting in the pool of blood and Cameron tried
desperately to convince himself it wasn’t real but a phantom death scene. Once on the
floor that conviction became less easy to believe as the blood seeped wet and cold into
Cameron’s jeans.

Whether it was shock or the oppressive atmosphere inside the room, the energy from
Cameron’s body drained. His eyelids and limbs grew heavy. The room, although lit from
the fixture above, began to dim. He leaned back against the wall and gave in to the
overpowering urge to close his eyes. Within moments he drifted into a deep sleep.

***

Fractured, swirling images filled Cameron’s sleeping mind with colours and shapes
forming behind what appeared to be dense liquid glass further in the distance. Cameron
followed where the dream led him down the wide halls of Lillyport House. Like a
mirage, the liquid glass moved backward as he moved forward. An unseen energy
continued to pull him toward it as though a promise of something bewitching lay behind
the barrier if only he could pass through it.

Making his way down the last hallway leading to the rear of the house, the only sound
Cameron heard was the clip of his footsteps resounding off the floorboards. He arrived at
a solid mahogany door and noticed how it shimmered and pulsed like waves rippling on a
slightly windswept ocean. The liquid glass no longer beckoned in the distance but instead
was reachable. Cameron took hold of the handle, turned it slowly and opened the door.

Immediately, everything beyond the door fell back into the mid nineteenth century and
the liquid glass barrier shimmered off slightly in the distance. Only this time it seemed
weaker, the density lessened and what lay beyond it wasn’t so obscure. An oak tree,

approximately sixty feet from Cameron, stood amid shaded lawn edged with yellow and
white flowers. Without hesitation he walked toward it.

Eldon lay on the lawn behind the oak with a frockcoat bundled beneath his head. Around
him the liquid glass glinted like a transparent pearlescent cocoon. Cameron dropped to
his knees, captivated by Eldon’s sleeping figure and feeling the unseen energy pulling
him closer, urging him to break through the barrier and meet with Eldon inside his
dreams. Indecision didn’t plague Cameron as it would have in wakened reality and he
reached out his hand to touch Eldon’s face.

Lillyport House vanished, the gardens and grounds vanished, and Cameron plunged into
a vortex where nothing existed except sensory overload. Eldon’s heated, naked body
seemed to envelop Cameron entirely, though he remained blinded in darkness. Behind
him Cameron sensed a cushion of softness while above him he felt the rhythmic grind of
Eldon bearing down on him. In response Cameron pushed his hips upward harder and
faster. Eldon’s noisy groans of pleasure sliced through the blackness. It was lustful and
salacious, but not without impassioned craving for the other emotionally as well as
physically. Fingers entwined with fingers in one instant only to disengage to allow hands
the gratification of rediscovering bodies they already knew well. Cameron felt veiled in
the darkness yet completely unmasked in the same instant, free to explore every aspect of
a previously reserved sexual nature with a partner who knew no limits.

***

The grandfather clock in the hall struck nine in the morning and Cameron stirred out of
the lust filled dream. He stretched his legs and cringed, immediately aware of the bulge
straining against the denim of his jeans and the throb of being cruelly awakened before
seeing the dream through to the end. Not until Cameron flexed his arms did he swiftly
remember where he was and what had happened.

His eyes flew open in expectation of seeing the macabre death scene. A quick, rasped
gasp snatched in Cameron’s throat and for a moment he could breathe neither in nor out.
Eldon lay in Cameron’s arms in pristine Victorian dress, his eyes closed, and his face
exquisite with its peaceful expression. Not a trace of blood remained on Eldon, on
Cameron, or on the mahogany floorboards. The ice covering the windows, walls and
ceiling had melted. The bloodstain on the wall vanished without a trace.

Like a spring-loaded coil, Cameron jumped to his feet and unceremoniously dislodged
Eldon off his lap and onto the floor. Lying splayed out on the floorboards, Eldon looked
like a corpse that had fallen out of a coffin.

Chapter Four

Cameron gnawed on the edge of his thumbnail and stared nervously at the locked
bedroom door. He slipped the skeleton key into his pocket and hurriedly headed for the
stairs. He knew nothing of the supernatural, but had never heard of a ghost taking on an
almost solid form that didn’t feel in any way human.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Cameron continued on into the kitchen. Rummaging
through an unpacked box for the Yellow Pages, he then snatched his mobile off the table
and exited the house via the backdoor. Every slight noise set his heart thumping. Eldon
had definitely looked harmless enough, but that did little to ease Cameron’s fear of the
unknown. He didn’t want to vacate the house and become another Lillyport statistic and
he certainly didn’t want it to be front-page news.

Crossing the lawn and moving toward a bench, Cameron sat down and rested the
phonebook on his lap. His fingers shook the pages as he flipped them over until he found
listings for psychics. Every few seconds he lifted his gaze to the door and windows,
checking for movement inside the house and breathing a sigh of relief each time his
check revealed nothing else out of the ordinary.

Without his glasses Cameron needed to lean in close and squint. “This is ridiculous.” He
mumbled, noticing nearly every psychic promoted themselves as world renown. “I need a
bloody miracle not a Yellow Pages psychic.”

Muttering to himself had been a habit of Cameron’s from an early age. Rather than keep
internal dialogue quietly inside his mind, he spoke out loud and at times didn’t even
realize he’d done it.

Figuring he was wasting time trying to seek help from a phonebook, Cameron pushed it
aside and stood. Before stepping away from the bench. he noticed a familiar name used
as a reference within someone else’s listing. Trudy Garret. She was indeed a well-known
psychic who made appearances on television and worked with a group known as TPU,
The Parapsychology Unit. Although many tried to prove Trudy Garret a fraud, none had
been able to. Her accuracy in predictions and mediumship even assisted in solving crimes
and murder cases. Those credentials spoke volumes and she certainly didn’t need the
Yellow Pages to find work. If Cameron called The Parapsychology Unit there’d be too
many questions asked and he’d have to leave a contact number along with his name. He
needed anonymity and didn’t want to reveal his name to anyone, including Trudy, unless
positive she could help.

Where Trudy lived wasn’t a secret to the public. Like most celebrities their addresses
were common knowledge, but that didn’t mean access to their front doors was as simple
as wandering up a driveway. Cameron wasn’t hounded by the paparazzi in the way pop
stars or actors were and, from what he knew, neither was Trudy. That gave Cameron a

little more leeway to live his life relatively paparazzi free, unless he made a slip up and
threw himself into the limelight.

“Think about this logically, Cam.” Setting the phonebook aside, Cameron stood and
began pacing near a row of neglected rose bushes. “Logically? There’s a dead poet lying
in one of my bedrooms, how can anything be logical!” He chewed the edge of his
thumbnail. “Shit! What if I’m the only one who can see him?”

Cameron foremost needed to prove to himself he wasn’t going mad before trying to
convince Trudy Garret. To confirm undoubtedly Eldon wasn’t a figment of his
imagination meant going back inside and taking a photograph. If Eldon’s inanimate
figure could be caught digitally, then it would authentically verify it without a doubt.

The thought of re-entering Lillyport made Cameron’s stomach lurch into twisted knots.
His hands and legs trembled, his breathing rasped in short bursts, and his pulse
accelerated. If Eldon was still lying on the empty bedroom floor, Cameron knew he could
keep his fear somewhat in check. If Eldon had disappeared from the floor, there was the
possibility he was gone for good. Cameron didn’t like his chances on that scenario and
dreaded a full apparition indiscriminately roaming the halls.

Painfully slowly, Cameron approached the house and walked inside. He checked every
dark corner and every reflective surface for a clue he wasn’t alone. Suddenly Lillyport no
longer appeared charming to Cameron, but eerily evil. Thoughts and images of Eldon
flashed randomly through his mind. Some were innocent, but mainly the thoughts
replicated the erotic dream in startling clarity, taking Cameron off guard with their
forceful realism.

Rather than choose the grand central staircase, which meant walking deep into the heart
of the house down darkened halls, Cameron instead chose to take the nearby spiral
servants staircase. His hand gripped the rail as he ascended one step after the other,
forced to halt several times as the vivid images of Eldon and him together assailed his
thoughts with such clarity his sight was lost to all else around him.

On the second floor landing he reached for the light switch. Every fixture that had blown
out now once again worked faultlessly. Ahead of him the hallway seemed twice as long.
Arched gothic windows streamed sunlight onto confined areas, but didn’t illuminate the
halls entirely. Hastily arranged furniture threw dark, misshaped shadows against the
walls.

Cameron inhaled a shaky breath, composed himself as best he could, and warily
approached the bedroom. He stood with the key in the lock, breathing in slowly and
counting to ten several times before finally turning the key and swinging the door open.
Eldon hadn’t moved. Cameron quickly pointed his mobile and snapped a photograph.
The picture of Eldon on his mobile was as clear as Eldon himself where he lay on the
floor.

Eldon sprawled in an awkward position on his side with his neck bent backward, his head
twisted to the right, his arms splayed out and his legs crooked. Taking time to make sure
the Viscount lay comfortably hadn’t been a priority when Cameron had fled the room.
Empathy started to edge out fear. In his head Cameron visualized those stunning pale
blue eyes gazing adoringly into his.

“I can’t leave you like this.”

Cameron reasoned if he could sit amid a pool of blood he could ensure Eldon at least lay
on the floor with some dignity. From his own bedroom Cameron fetched a pillow and a
blanket. His empathy didn’t extend to allowing Eldon to occupy his bed.

When he returned, he approached Eldon carefully. The static electricity pulled Cameron
nearer rather than repelled him away. It wasn’t an objectionable sensation, causing
goosebumps of pleasure rather than a feeling of resistance. With the pillow in his left
hand, Cameron knelt down and slipped his right hand under Eldon’s neck.

Eldon’s head arced backward, his body jolted, and a searing surge of electricity ripped up
Cameron’s arm. Unable to break the contact, he howled with pain while his insides felt
twisted within an inferno. The surge broke swiftly, throwing Cameron across the wooden
floor and slamming him into the wall. Eldon’s phantom figure crumbled into itself until
all that remained on the floor was a small skeleton lying on its back with its arms crossed
over its chest and a shattered skull.

Cameron tried frantically to rise to his feet, pawing for traction and ignoring the pain of
hitting the wall with force. His body refused to comply and his widened, aghast gaze
pinned onto the grisly scene taking place in front of him.

Like a horror movie on rewind the skeleton began the process of un-decomposing.
Leathery skin crawled over bones, black and charred looking as though burnt in fire,
inching in sections until those sections met and covered the skeleton completely.
Matted dark hair formed like a cushion behind the corpse’s head, snaking in knots until it
anchored into the scalp. The sunken appearance of flaky, grey skin plumped and bloated.
The putrid odour of rotting flesh enveloped the room and Cameron gagged on the stench.
Fatty liquid pooled around the floorboards. The corpse sucked it back in like a sponge,
making a tearing sound in reverse as split flesh rejoined. Burial attire wrapped around the
body, mouldy and tattered at first before regaining colour and form. The bloated corpse
deflated and the stench vanished. Clothes no longer strained around a distended abdomen
and returned to the immaculate form Eldon’s body had been dressed in. Matted long hair
snaked and tied into a ribbon matching a royal purple waistcoat over a lavender shirt. A
purple cravat twined and knotted around a starched collar.

Horror-struck, Cameron crawled from the bedroom, bracing himself on the door and then
slamming it closed and fumbling to lock it behind him.

***

On autopilot, Cameron drove his blue Vauxhall Astra from Hampstead Heath toward the
London suburb of South Kensington. Even if it meant parking his car outside Trudy
Garret’s home for hours, Cameron wasn’t returning to Lillyport House without her at his
side. If he was spotted by paparazzi in the process, he no longer cared.

Cameron pulled his car onto the curb and eyed a row of two story townhouses all looking
frustratingly similar. He climbed out of the car and approached a long, high iron fence
linking all the townhouses together. Each gate had a separate intercom and Cameron
wandered aimlessly back and forth.

“Are you looking for me, Cam?”

He jerked his head to the right and saw a small, inconsequential woman standing on her
porch. “I need your help!”

Trudy jogged toward the gate and held out her hand. “Car keys, sweetheart. You’re in no
condition to drive.”

***

“What if he’s gotten out of the bedroom?” The words whispered over Cameron’s
shivering lips as he stared with dread at Lillyport House.

Even in the dim light of rainy wintry weather Trudy could see his sickly ashen
complexion. The photograph on Cameron’s mobile phone confirmed Eldon had indeed
been a full apparition, but what Cameron described happening afterward sounded
fantastical. Due to his distress she couldn’t clearly read him psychically.

“I’ll go upstairs and check while you wait in the foyer.” She opened the car door and
peered toward the second story bedroom window.

“What if he attacks you?”

“Then I’ll run like hell!”

Waiting until Cameron climbed nervously out of the car, Trudy settled her hand on his
lower back and let him toward the house. “Give me your mobile number, love, and I’ll
call you when I know it’s safe.”

She keyed Cameron’s number into her mobile and then recited her number to him. When
she opened the front door Trudy immediately felt the omnipresent atmosphere of
Lillyport had altered into an entirely different mood. There was no indication of spirit
activity at all.

“Call me if you see or hear anything.” Her eyebrows met in a frown and she kept her own
nervousness hidden. “Give me the bedroom key, love.”

He passed it over.

“Is this a skeleton key to all the rooms?”

“I think so. It fits the bedrooms, I haven’t tried the other rooms.”

“Alright. Stay here.”

Leaving Cameron standing in the entrance foyer, Trudy climbed the central staircase.
Above all else she needed to keep Malcolm Ritter in the dark. If Malcolm caught a whiff
of what had taken place he’d slay God himself to capture his own inarguable proof on
film.

Trudy ran her hands over walls and the house vibrated with past psychic imprints. She
had never been able to access Eldon’s spirit psychically and that hadn’t changed, but she
could finally read what Lillyport had to tell her. A strong sense of separation
overwhelmed her with regards to the Davenport family structure. She felt the
estrangement between the Earl and Countess when it came to their son. Eldon was, as far
as Trudy could conclude, nothing more than an heir apparent. They didn’t love him and
he didn’t love them. High society Victorian children were raised by a nurse and barely
saw their parents until adulthood.

Something else struck her and that was the inconsistency in what history recorded as
Eldon’s character. The Viscount had always been described as temperamental with an
explosive disposition, a pleasure to be around sometimes and a nightmare to contend with
at others. Historians described him as a duel personality dependant on his mood and not
someone you’d cross for he knew how to hold a grudge and wasn’t afraid to bring it into
play. This totally contradicted the imprint his presence left on Lillyport. From what
Trudy could sense, Eldon was not at all moody and, although outspoken, he kept a lid on
anger until pushed to the limit. What Eldon did possess was a strong desire to defend
those he cared for. He fought for the underdog, even when it meant risking his reputation.
Viscount Davenport may have been a brilliant writer but he’d led an extremely sheltered
life and was emotionally very young.

Trudy continued on toward Eldon’s bedroom. The closer she came, the more
concentrated the past imprints became. This had been the place where Eldon spent most
of his time at Lillyport, where he wrote and most importantly the place he’d been found
in bed in with a stableboy. She immediately sensed the discrepancy and it took her by
surprise. During tours with TPU, the illicit incident hadn’t been something she’d picked
up at all. Now it overpowered everything. She stood, unmoving, outside the bedroom
door and closed her eyes, needing to let the energy form pictures in her mind. What she
sensed from Albert’s imprint on the house was clear and apparent. Eldon had been found
in bed with him, but Eldon was the innocent victim of a starry-eyed teenager’s

infatuation. What Trudy sensed from Eldon’s imprint was confused, fractured, frightened
and exactly the type of residual energy expected from someone who wasn’t coherent
during the time leading up to death.

Trudy pressed her ear to the wooden door and heard nothing. The door was solid
mahogany and could easily mask the sound of movement. She slipped the key into the
lock, hesitated briefly, and turned it. It rattled metal against metal and she pushed the
door open. Trudy’s heart jumped from her chest into her mouth. In the far corner of the
room, huddled into a tight ball with his arms wrapped around his head, Viscount
Davenport trembled and whimpered.

Not wanting to startle him, Trudy lowered her voice to a hush and approached on tiptoes.
“Eldon? Can you talk to me?”

The whimpering increased and Eldon rocked back and forth, slamming the heel of his
hand into the side of his temple. “Stop! Voices…stop!”

“You poor little thing.” Tears stung inside Trudy’s muddy green eyes. “What on earth is
going on here?”

Eldon continued to smack the heel of his hand to his temple and Trudy winced in
reaction. Quietly, she walked over and when she settled her hand on his shoulder the
whimpering stopped and Eldon froze. Before he had the chance to pummel at his head
again, she took hold of his wrist. Beneath her fingers she felt the unmistakable rapid beat
of an anxious, frightened pulse.

“Good God!” Beneath her Trudy’s knees buckled. “This can’t be possible!”

To save herself from falling, she sat down and carefully moved Eldon’s hands away from
his head and enclosed them inside hers. Rivers of tears chased each other down Eldon’s
cheeks, but her soothing contact seemed to ease his fear enough for him to peer up.

“It’s alright, darling.” Her thumb caressed his fingers. “I know you’re scared, but I won’t
hurt you.”

“Father was going to shoot me!” Whether Eldon thought Trudy was a hallucination or
not, he spoke directly to her in a terrified rush. “Now he has locked me in this room and
everything is gone. Everyone has left me!”

“No, not everyone has left you, Eldon.” She said soothingly. “I’m here with you. My
name’s Trudy and I promise to help you.”

“I am trapped behind the liquid glass and locked inside an empty house!”

The desolate look of abandonment broke Trudy’s heart. Somehow she knew she had to
figure out what had taken place and how to ease Eldon’s distress. Only now he wasn’t a
trapped ghostly spirit. His heart beat and he breathed with life.

“Did your father point the gun at your head?” Trudy made the shape of a pistol with her
forefinger and thumb then placed her finger in the middle of her brow. “Here?”

“Yes! I tried to explain. I tried!”

“Your father won’t come back, love.” She smiled gently. “You’re safe. If you come with
me we can leave this room now. The house isn’t empty anymore.”

“I hear my love through the walls.” Eldon clasped Trudy’s hands. “I see him walking
through this house, I see him in my bedchamber, but he cannot see me until I sleep. When
I sleep we are together until the liquid glass separates us again. He talks to me inside my
head. I hear him through the walls. He loves me as passionately as I love him. I know not
where to search for I fear he is from another world.”

Trudy nodded and smiled, squeezing Eldon’s hands and wishing fervently she could
access something from him psychically.

From her pocket she removed her mobile phone. “I’m going to press some buttons on
this, Eldon, and then I’m going to hold it against my ear and talk into it. There’s nothing
to be afraid of.”

Eldon edged away, eying her suspiciously and startling when the mobile’s screen lit.

Cameron answered the call almost immediately and Trudy spoke at normal pitch, not
wanting Eldon to feel as though he were being whispered over. “Everything’s fine. I’m
here with Eldon and we’re both alive and safe.”

Trudy listened to Cameron’s agitated reply and couldn’t help the smile at the dubious
expression on Eldon’s face.

When Cameron stopped talking, Trudy spoke again. “I think schizophrenia. Makes things
even more difficult.” Schizophrenia wasn’t a term coined until late in the Victorian era
and Trudy knew she could say it without Eldon realising its connotations. “We can’t
leave Eldon locked in this room, Cameron…”

“Cameron!” Eldon lurched forward. “My love! You must help me find him!”

The phone slipped from Trudy’s ear and she stared into Eldon’s widened light blue eyes.
“Can you tell me your love’s surname?”

“McKenzie.”

Chapter Five

With coaxing and liberal use of encouraging words, Trudy convinced Eldon to take her
hand and follow her downstairs to the library. She imagined that so much looked familiar
to Eldon and yet it appeared frighteningly dissimilar.

Taking a box of books off an armchair, Trudy sat Eldon down and placed the blanket
Cameron left on the bedroom floor around his shoulders. “Wait here for me, love, I’ll be
back soon.”

“Where are you going?” Fear of being abandoned again drained the colour from Eldon’s
face. “We must find Cameron before Father does.”

“Cameron is perfectly safe, I promise you that.” She ran her hand over the top of Eldon’s
head. “Your father can’t hurt you or anyone else.”

“Trudy? May I ask you a question, please?”

Bracing herself for a request to explain, Trudy nodded. “Of course you may, dear.”

“Why are you wearing underclothes?”

It wasn’t the question she’d expected and Trudy broke into a wide smile. She wore a knee
length skirt with a shirt and cardigan. For Eldon, used to seeing women dressed in
crinoline gowns, Trudy indeed appeared as though she wore next to nothing.

“Can I explain it to you when I come back?”

“Certainly.” Eldon bowed his head in a mannerly nod. “I am not sure I am ready for the
explanation anyhow. If you are liberated, wearing your underclothes it is of no business
of mine to question you. I shall keep my eyes averted as best I can from your exposed
lower half.”

“You are a true gentleman!” Her broad smile widened and she tightened the blanket
around him. “No wonder you had all the girls in a tizzy! Sit tight, I’ll be back soon.”

***

Crossing the expanse of lawn toward where Cameron sat on the bench under an umbrella,
Trudy folded her arms over her chest to fend off the cold. When she reached the bench
she sat close beside him to shelter herself from the drizzling rain.

Cameron’s complexion still hadn’t returned to a normal colour and he looked as though
he hadn’t seen sun for a year. “Is he gone?”

“No.” What he’d seen take place was enough to terrify anyone and Trudy completely
understood Cameron’s shock. “He’s in the library. I thought he’d be frightened if I took
him to the lounge room and he saw all the modern contraptions. I haven’t explained to
him yet he’s in twenty-first century. Though he knows something’s going on because he
can see the house is much older than he remembers.”

“What did you mean when you said he was alive?” Cameron shakily pointed a finger
toward the headstone beneath the oak tree. “He’s dead and buried over there! How can he
be alive in my house when that’s his grave?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Eldon wasn’t seeing and hearing schizophrenic
delusions, he was having premonitions of a century and a half into the future. Absinthe
used to have a hallucinogen in the mix it doesn’t have now. A hallucinogenic has the
ability to trigger psychic predisposition. He was seeing and hearing you, Cameron. He’s
madly in love with you.”

“In love with me? He has a strange way of showing it, he fucking electrocuted me!”

Trudy broke into laughter.

“This isn’t funny!” Handing the umbrella over, Cameron started pacing in front of her.
“I’ve got the undead in my house! Have you told him I’m not gay?”

Trudy promptly quit laughing. “For a straight man you certainly enjoyed the sex you had
with Eldon last night!” She smirked. “Sorry, love, that was right in the front of your mind
and I read it like a dirty magazine.”

It appeared nothing was sacred from Trudy’s searing insight and Cameron retaliated
without thinking. “I didn’t have sex with him it was a dream.”

When she pursed her lips the wrinkles around Trudy’s mouth puckered. “What you
experienced was one of Eldon’s dreams passed on through him to your subconscious.
Eldon’s ‘dreams’ were premonitions.”

“This is crazy.” Cameron covered his face with his palms. “Now you’re telling me I have
a psychic undead in my house?”

“Eldon isn’t the undead, Cam. Whether Eldon still has psychic ability remains to be seen.
Without Absinthe it’s possible the sixth sense has been shut down. On the other hand...”
She twisted her lips to the side thoughtfully. “I can’t read a damn thing from him. That’s
usually a very good indication of powerful mind over matter. I don’t think Eldon is at all
aware of closing me out, he’s doing it subconsciously.”

“Can you make him dead again?”

Trudy’s eyebrows flew up. “I don’t think so, dear, not unless I kill him! He’s already
been murdered once by his father, this time we can spare the poor boy a break!”

“The Earl shot him?”

“Point blank, in the head, blew his brains out the back of his skull onto the wall behind
him.”

The ashen colour of Cameron’s skin became shaded with green.

“What would you suggest I do, love? Go back inside and tell Eldon you want me to kill
him again?” She stood and jammed one hand on her hip. “Cameron, Eldon’s your soul
mate, although he should’ve been your soul mate reincarnated. Reincarnation is
impossible when the soul from his previous life is trapped, but it doesn’t alter the fact he
is

your soul mate and always will be.”

“Soul mate? Are you forgetting who he is? He’s one of the greatest poets of all time. A
Viscount who had the best education money could buy and is used to being treated like
royalty. I come from a village in Scotland and dropped out of high school!”

“Excuse me while I correct you. When Eldon died he wasn’t one of the greatest poets of
all time, he’d only just been published and his reputation as a writer was in the process of
being built.” Her eyes followed Cameron while he paced. “His parents pressed the
honour title of Viscount onto him, Eldon hated it.”

“Get him out of my house.” Cameron spat. “Now!”

“This all boils down to you being afraid of falling in love.”

“What?” Sparks of anger lit behind Cameron’s eyes. “No! This all boils down to having
the walking dead in my house! I’m not going to fall in love with the walking dead! What
do you think the media will do when they realise I’m living here with a guy? Especially a
guy who happens to be the splitting image of a poet who’s supposed to be six feet under
in my backyard! Not only will rumours about my sexuality run rife, there’ll be rumours
concerning my sanity when everyone wonders why I bought Lillyport and then hooked
up with a Viscount Davenport clone!”

“Is that what you’re going to do for the rest of your life?” Trudy folded her arms over her
ample bosom, refusing to be intimidated by Cameron’s height looming above her. “Deny
yourself the chance of true love because you’re worried what others will think of you?
Obsessing about other people’s opinions hasn’t exactly made you happy, has it? All
you’ve done since you burst into the art world is perpetuate gossip.”

Clearly highly offended, Cameron retorted, “I’ve done nothing to perpetuate anything!”

“Time to stand up for yourself.” Trudy replied calmly. “Time to figure out if this is how
you really want to live your life or if you want something better. You’re not happy and
you grow unhappier each day. You’re lonely, you’re angry, you feel like an outcast and
you’re fed up baring the brunt of innuendo and snide remarks. And,” she poked him in
the chest, “you’re sick and tired of pretending you’re straight when you’re not. Take it
from me, sweetheart, your career will not suffer in the slightest once the world knows
you’re happily living with your lover.”

“Who died in 1857!”

She ignored his irritated comment. “Most importantly, you’ll feel a sense of taking
control over your life. At the present time you feel like you’re stuck in a place where no
one understands you. Especially your family.” When Cameron looked away Trudy knew
she’d hit a raw nerve. “There is someone who will completely understand you and he’s
sitting in your library. Eldon loves you. Go to him. Please.”

“Get him out of my house!”

***

Eldon said little once Trudy explained the unexplainable. He sat in the armchair with his
hands firmly clasped on his lap. With his faraway expression he looked young, fragile
and frightened. He’d lost everything, including his life and struggled to understand how
he now sat in another century when his very own headstone marked his grave in the
grounds. Cameron had chosen not to be with him and Eldon’s heart splintered. If
Cameron refused his love there was nothing Eldon wanted to stay for.

“Does he not even wish to meet me?” Eldon toyed with the buttons of his waistcoat and
his eyes misted over. “I will not force myself onto Cameron, but,” he swiped a tear
tumbling over his bottom lashes, “why did we meet in dreams if he does not want to love
me?”

“He does. It’s not you Cameron doesn’t have faith in, it’s himself. He’s afraid to love you
in case one day you decide he’s not the one for you.”

“Oh, he is! He is the only one for me. If Cameron refuses my love I shall curl up and die!
I shall cry lonely tears until they form an ocean to sweep my battered, loveless body into
nothingness.”

***

Biting down hard on her bottom lip, Trudy tried hard not to laugh as Eldon poured out his
grief like a Shakespearian tragedy. “Shh, it won’t come to that, dear.” She stroked his
hair. “No one will be battered and loveless. Trust me.”

The past one and a half centuries spent trapped in spirit form didn’t seem to have yet
registered in Eldon’s memory. Soon it would and, when it did, he’d need Cameron for
encouragement and consolation. Eldon had taken the news of his resurrection as well as
could be expected considering Trudy could supply no information on how it actually
happened. Once Eldon left the library he’d be confronted with modern appliances not
even in conception stages during the Victorian era. The television, telephone, stereo, and
electric lights to name a few. On the outside he’d be confronted with cars on busy roads,
planes flying overhead and a computerised world. Eldon had no money, no birth
certificate, no identification, no clothes, no family, no friends and no home other than the
one he shared with Cameron at Lillyport House.

No amount of coaxing could convince Eldon to eat. He continued to cling to Trudy
emotionally, asking several times for reassurance and willingly accepting her touch. He
appeared to have no difficulty accepting her as a medium and psychic. The spiritualist
movement was born in the nineteenth century and had quickly became commonly
acknowledged among the upper and lower class. Trudy knew she’d been spot on with
predicting Eldon’s personality. He presented as the quintessential 1800’s gentleman
during his lifetime but he only portrayed what he’d been taught. He acted the part without
ever connecting with it on a personal level. When Cameron came to his senses, and met
the real Eldon not the one he perceived as aristocratic royalty, he’d realise Eldon was
exactly the breath of fresh air he needed. Trudy was sure of it.

“Perhaps if I write Cameron a letter expressing my love, he will truly know he is the only
man in my heart. Do you think that is a good idea?”

“I think it’s a lovely idea.” Trudy touched her fingers to Eldon’s cheek. “You have a
beautiful soul, Eldon Davenport.”

“As do you, Trudy…”

“Garret.”

“Trudy Garret.” For the first time Eldon smiled and it brightened his entire expression. “I
am quite sure there is not another woman in the world who could have gained my trust
whilst parading in front of me in underclothes.”

Breaking into laughter, Trudy leaned over to hold Eldon in familiar hug. She firmly
placed her right hand at the back of his head and her left arm around his waist. Suddenly
her laughter stopped and her breath snatched in her throat. Tears sprang into her eyes
from nowhere; she buried her face into Eldon’s neck and held tight.

***

After half an hour of Cameron keeping as far a distance as possible, Trudy went
searching and found him sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in his hands.

He’d withdrawn from the situation completely, wanting nothing more to do with it. He
flicked over the pages of the morning newspaper and sipped his coffee distantly.

“Eldon’s still in the library.”

Cameron ignored her as though she weren’t there.

“I need to borrow your car. I’m going out to buy him some clothes and…”

Slamming the newspaper closed, Cameron stood towering over Trudy. “Take him with
you! I don’t want to be stuck in my own home with… it!”

“Good idea, Cam!” She nodded mockingly. “I’ll take Eldon into London and no one will
look twice at a young man dressed in Victorian coattails!”

“Then you stay here and I’ll buy him clothes.”

“Stop behaving like a petulant child.” His jaw dropped and Trudy narrowed her eyes. “I
have things I have to take care of while I’m gone. One of them has to do with a colleague
of mine by the name of Malcolm Ritter. Believe me you do not want him landing on your
doorstep! I don’t have the foggiest idea what has happened to Eldon or how it’s even
possible. The fact remains, it has happened and now I need to figure out why. While
you’re down here carrying on like Eldon’s a demon who deliberately electrocuted you for
his own amusement, Eldon’s upstairs writing you a love letter.”

“How can you be so bloody sure he’s harmless?” Cameron removed his glasses and
placed them onto the newspaper. “You said yourself you can’t read anything from him.
He’s a ghost who’s come back to life, what else is he capable of?”

“He’s capable of making you blissfully happy. All you have to do is give him the
chance.” Trudy’s anger calmed and she sighed. “Eldon has a heart of gold. I don’t have to
read him to know it. I can feel it in my own heart.”

***

Eldon waited on the bottom step of the grand staircase, sitting silently with his arms
hugging his knees and a folded piece of paper in his hand. The ribbon tying his ponytail
had been removed and Eldon’s hair was parted in the centre and tucked behind his ears.
From the library he’d heard the click of Trudy’s heels walking the boards toward the
front door and Cameron’s voice as he followed her through the foyer and outside to the
driveway. He waited patiently for Cameron’s return, knowing Trudy had recommended
he stay in the library but unable to resist meeting with the lover who had invaded his
dreams and overtaken his mind.

When finally Cameron did walk into the foyer he took one look at Eldon and stumbled
backward, grappling for the doorhandle.

“Please, do not run away from me, Cameron!” Eldon’s heart skipped several beats and he
extended the hand with the folded paper. “I have written my love for you in a letter and I
only wish for you to read it.”

***

Now that Eldon stood before him, alive and innocent looking, there was nothing about
him Cameron perceived as deathly or fearful. No old photograph could prepare anyone
for how strikingly beautiful the Viscount really was.

“Will you read it? Please?”

“No.” Cameron avoided eye contact and cautiously approached the stairs. “I have work to
do.”

***

As Cameron climbed the first few steps Eldon reached for his hand and was immediately
rebuffed. “Will you take it from me and read it later perhaps?”

They reached the second floor before Cameron replied. “This room is my art studio and
it’s off limits to you. I don’t like disturbances when I work.”

“I understand that, Cameron.” Eldon forced a pained smile. “I am much the same way
when I write. I write poetry you see.”

“I know. Everyone knows.” When Cameron stepped into the art studio he left Eldon
standing outside in the hall and started closing the door without another word.

Eldon backed away. “I shall leave you to work in peace and disturb you no longer. Am I
permitted to take to a walk in the rear gardens? I would like some fresh air.”

“No, you’re not ‘permitted’. Don’t go wandering around my house and don’t touch
anything. Understand?”

“Yes.” The nastiness in Cameron’s tone hurt Eldon as painfully as if he’d been physically
struck. “I understand, Cameron. I shall do as you have asked.”

***

Three hours elapsed while Cameron worked half-heartedly on his painting and Eldon sat
obediently silent on a chair at the end of the hall. Occasionally he lifted his eyes to the
Grandfather clock and prayed for Trudy’s return.

Inside the dreams everything had been wholly perfect. Eldon hadn’t for one moment
doubted Cameron’s love and not for an instant believed the man he adored would turn
him away. As he sat on the hard wooden chair, watching the hands on the clock tick by
excruciatingly slowly, Eldon was hit with powerful realisation everyone he knew during
his lifetime was gone. Although Genevieve wanted to force a marriage near the end, they
had always been the best of friends. Now she was dead. Eldon didn’t know if she had
ever married, ever had the children she longed for, if she died young and unhappy or
lived a full, rich life. The nurse who had raised Eldon, a woman he adored, was also dead.
Friends and acquaintances were dead. Permelia was dead. Everything was lost and it
seemed Cameron was lost to him also.

Eldon shifted uncomfortably on the chair, squeezed his knees together, clamped his hands
on his lap, and rocked slightly back and forth. Stabbing pains shot through his lower
abdomen, his mouth was dry and his head swam with dizziness. Unable to remain seated
any longer, Eldon gingerly made his way down the hall toward the art studio. Once he
reached the closed door he knocked lightly and waited to be asked inside. Cameron
gruffly gave the order to enter.

“I am sincerely sorry to disturb you, Cameron.” Eldon pressed his hand to his lower
abdomen. “I have been sitting in the hall waiting for you to finish your work.”

“Does it look like I’ve finished?”

“No.”

“Then get out! Now!”

The shouted order made Eldon cringe obviously and he took a quick, defensive step
backward. “Please… I need to…”

“I don’t give a fuck what you need!” Hurling a paintbrush across the room, Cameron
stood and stalked toward the door. “Out! Get out!”

“Use the lavatory!” Eldon blurted out as he scuttled away from Cameron looming toward
him. “I am only asking for permission to use the lavatory and then I vow not to disturb
you again!”

The fear in his voice and eyes softened Cameron’s expression immediately. “How long
have you needed to go?”

“I have a terrible pain in my stomach for I have needed to use the lavatory for hours.”

“Come with me.”

***

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to phone you and left four messages.”

“I’ve been shopping, Mal.” Trudy placed her handbag on a nearby chair. “We’re not
married anymore, remember? I don’t have to tell you where I go.”

Malcolm picked up a cardboard folder off his desk. Eyewitness accounts from those
who’d spent time in Lillyport House were jammed within the covers, along with readings
taken from electrometers and photographs of wispy, non-descript shapes Malcolm
interpreted as phantoms. Trudy had seen the reports and photographs many times before
and none of them proved anything conclusively

“Cameron McIdiot has already moved into Lillyport.” He flipped through the folder
contents. “We’re going to pay him a visit. Demonport would’ve made some noise by now
for sure.” From within the pages Malcolm withdrew a series of infrared photographs. “If
we can get McIdiot to let us inside for forty-eight hours…”

“We? Count me out, Mal.” A coffee pot bubbled tar black liquid to Trudy’s left and she
reached for mug. “It doesn’t matter what you think of Cameron personally he’s a busy
man and he doesn’t have time for TPU. If you’re so sure the Viscount will send Cameron
running within a week, why not wait until the house is vacant again?”

“Because Lillyport is always more active when it’s not vacant.” Malcolm folded his arms
over his chest and eyed her suspiciously. “You know that.”

“I know Cameron’s not an idiot and you’re underestimating him.” She took a sip of
coffee, screwed her face, spat it back into the mug and turned toward Malcolm. “You’ve
lost your objectiveness and it’s severely compromising TPU’s reputation. Stop thinking
about yourself for a change and think about the organization instead. We worked hard to
build the status of TPU; it took us years. You’re throwing all our work away because
you’re fixated on Viscount Davenport. Just…” In frustration Trudy threw her arms in the
air. “…concentrate on another location instead. We live in a country littered with haunted
properties. Lay off of Lillyport and maybe we can save TPU’s reputation in the process.”

Blinking back at her several times, Malcolm shook his head and grabbed the cardboard
folder off his desk. “Lay off Lillyport? We’ve gotten more evidence from that house
than…”

“No!” She took the folder out of his hands and removed a clutch of photographs. “You’ve
got pictures of strange light formations. You’ve got pictures of shadows. There is nothing
here vaguely resembling Eldon or any other full apparition!” Throwing the photographs
aside she then removed papers filled with statistics. “Electrical surges, lights going on
and off, a feeling of depression inside the house… what does any of this mean to the
sceptics?” She threw the entire folder down. “It means bugger all, Mal! You’re becoming
a laughing stock and TPU is becoming a laughing stock right along with you.”

“What about the eyewitness accounts?” he retorted sharply. “Are you forgetting all the
people who’ve seen a full apparition?”

“Their word against the sceptics!” Protecting Eldon was Trudy’s main priority and she
felt a strange rush of emotion overtaking her again. “You’re job as a parapsychologist is
to do everything you can to disprove a haunting. Only then… only when you’ve done
everything possible to explain the photographs and data should you deem a house
haunted. You’re working in reverse, Mal. Can’t you see that?”

“Why are you so upset about this all of a sudden?” Trudy wasn’t one to cry easily, but
she was Malcolm could easily see the mistiness in her eyes. “You’ve been working less
and less with TPU for months, it’s not as though it’s your priority anymore.”

“Because I don’t want to be the next laughing stock!” She picked up her handbag and
turned toward the door. “If you start hounding Cameron McKenzie, the press will make
you look like a fool. A bigger fool than you’ve already made yourself look!”

Chapter Six

Davenport Manor
Wicorby, Hampshire England
Friday July 31

st

, 1857

Acres of green fields stretched into rolling hills painted with summer wildflowers. A line
of pristine stables housed carriage horses and thoroughbreds ridden primarily for
foxhunts. In the hands of a stable boy a fiery chestnut mare inside a stall reared and bared
her teeth, kicking out randomly and testing the wiry build of her handler.

“The beast is of little use.” The Earl of Wicorby stood well away, leaning on an ivory
walking stick and glaring at the horse with disdain. “I have always said those of little use
to society are only worth the wastage of one bullet.”

“Eldon was a fine horseman. I dare say no other will ever be able to control that mare.”
An aristocratic older male, and long time acquaintance of the Davenport family, eyed the
chestnut mare admiringly. “Dreadful shame, Charles. The whole unfortunate business is a
dreadful shame.”

“Yes, Reuben, it is.” Brushing off talk only led to more hearsay and the Earl replied with
a shake of his head. “Shocking how quickly madness overtook him.”

Although rumours in concerns to Eldon’s sexuality had escalated before his death, high
society chose to believe Charles Davenport’s side of the story. A story revolving around
Eldon and Genevieve’s impending nuptials and the sordid accusations pointed toward
Albert and Mabel Jones. Charles invented a tale of attempted extortion orchestrated by
Mabel and executed by Albert.

“I’ll take the mare off your hands if you plan to shoot her.” Reuben replied, changing the
awkward subject.

“The beast is yours.” Charles tipped his hat. “I sincerely hope the offspring are not as
crazed as the mother.”

The two men shook hands and Charles waited until Reuben left the stables before
addressing the stableboy curtly. “You will arrange for the horse to be delivered to Lord
Wooldridge by tomorrow evening.”

How to deliver Permelia, when she refused to settle for anyone except her deceased
master, posed an immense problem. It wasn’t an issue the stable boy would take up with
the Earl of Wicorby and he nodded obediently.

Charles strode toward the stable exit and stepped outside into the bright summer sunlight.
He lowered his face from the sun’s glare, following a cobbled pathway that eventually
led into gardens and back to Davenport Manor. As he rounded a corner alongside a high
stone wall, he skidded to a startled halt.

“You may be able to fool the foolish, Charles.” Blue eyes seared through shadows cast
over the woman’s beautiful face. “You should know you cannot fool me.”

“How did you access my property?”

“You are not a well liked man.” She curled her top lip in a sneer and pushed away the
dark cloth covering her head. “I have allies among your household staff whereas you
have only made enemies.”

“What do you want?”

“Retribution.” The sneer reshaped into a vicious smile. “You are a murderer.”

“The boy took his own life.”

“The boy did no such thing! You will pay for what you’ve done to Eldon.”

Inside Charles churned with apprehension though he forced himself to appear calm and in
command. “How dare you threaten me!”

She re-covered her head with the cloth, began walking away and spoke over her shoulder.
“You know me better than to presume I would ever make an idle threat.”

Chapter Seven

Modern day appliances in the living room kept Eldon engrossed until he noticed an open
book beside an armchair. Looking guardedly over his shoulder toward the door, checking
to see if Cameron were on his way back from the kitchen, Eldon cautiously left the sofa
and picked the book up. He recognised the photograph immediately, remembering the
afternoon he’d posed for it and the arguments with his father that morning. Eldon wanted
the picture taken without a top hat and his father insisted it to be worn to obscure his long
hair. Trivial, petty arguments that happened on a daily basis, but never did Eldon think
his father would stoop to murder.

The book lay open on Eldon’s lap and he sat in the armchair reading about himself in the
past tense. To see his name mentioned in the leagues of Lord Byron didn’t stoke Eldon’s
ego, instead it stunned him and set in a feeling of astonished disbelief. Rather than
continue to read a historical recount of his poetry, he scanned the text for anything
relating to what occurred after his death.

“I couldn’t find the tea.”

Eldon startled at the sound of Cameron’s voice and slammed the book closed.

“I hope water will do. I’ll be in my studio if you need anything else.”

Bowing his head and nodding compliantly, the indifferent attitude Cameron showed
didn’t appear to Eldon as if it would ever change. Nothing said had been endearing and
there had been no offer of friendship or conversation. Trudy assured Eldon all would fall
into place and nothing had.

“May I ask a question before you leave?”

“Yeah… okay.” Cameron replied unconvincingly.

“Do any of these history books,” rather than risk seeing disinterest in Cameron’s eyes
Eldon kept his face downcast, “tell of what became of my friend, Genevieve Wilson?”

“She married Lord Roderick Abbott.”

Carefully Eldon set the book aside. “When did they wed?”

“1858.”

“I am glad. Roderick was very fond of her, although not terribly fond of me.” Tentatively
Eldon smiled and dared to look up. “Genevieve wanted desperately to marry and have
children of her own.”

Looking as though he didn’t want to reveal the truth, Cameron appeared to choose his
words carefully. “I don’t want to tell you this but…”

Childbirth was a dangerous time for women in the Victorian era and the expression on
Cameron’s face confirmed it had claimed Genevieve’s life.

Eldon’s shoulders slumped, his chin dropped to his chest and his hand went to his brow.
“I am trapped in a nightmare, everyone I know is dead!” He left the chair and wandered
aimlessly around the room. “I am dead and yet I am alive in a nightmare of unrequited
love. I believed you would love me, Cameron.”

“I don’t know you.”

“You do not want to know me!” For the first time Eldon raised his voice. His shouted
reply went with the heel of his shoe striking the boards and his index finger shakily
pointed in Cameron’s direction. “You cannot bear to be in my company for longer than a
minute and you look at me as though I am vermin! I have done everything you have
asked of me to the point I almost burst my own bladder in the process! I have asked
nothing of you except to read the letter I wrote and you did not even show me the
courtesy of taking it from my possession.” Eldon jammed his hands on his hips and
strode forward. “You are rude and you are obnoxious, Cameron McKenzie!”

Wordlessly, they faced off. Cameron stood staring down at Eldon with a slack jaw and
Eldon glared with enraged fire in his eyes and hands unmoving on his hips.

Demandingly, Eldon broke the thick silence. “Do you have nothing to say for yourself?”

Under a spotlight of wrathful insistence for an answer and it seemed speechlessness had
grip Cameron by the throat. “Not…not…really…no,” he stammered.

“No?” Throwing his hands in the air, Eldon stifled a scream and then hit Cameron with
round two of his verbal tirade. “I am not asking for much, but perhaps an apology would
be the decent place to start!”

“You…you electrocuted me!”

“Are you dead?”

“Well, no…but… you…you did!”

“Trudy has told me what happened. I certainly did not mean to strike at you like
lightening and I apologise if I caused you pain. If by chance you have forgotten, Mr

McKenzie, I was dead at the time! Do you think it is easy to make a conscious decision to
intentionally harm someone when you are dead?”

Eldon’s piercing eyes pinned Cameron to the spot and gagged him as surely as tape over
his mouth.

“Now would be an exceptionally good time to apologise to me, Mr McKenzie! I have had
the courtesy to apologise to you.”

“Sorry.”

“That is the weakest apology I have ever heard!”

***

The way Eldon’s jaw jutted forward, the way his blue eyes lit up, the way his hands on
hips defined a narrow waist, and the way his faultless face contorted slightly with anger
all combined to present an incredibly sexy picture of perfection. He’d taken as much
dismissal as he was willing to take and now challenged Cameron in a highly evocative
way.

“I am not vermin and I refuse to--”

Shooting his right arm out, Cameron snared Eldon around the waist and pulled the man
roughly against his body. “Kiss me.”

Never had Cameron experienced such desire at what was an extremely inappropriate
moment to feel aroused.

“I would rather press my lips against a pig’s rectum than kiss the likes of you! You are
nothing but a cad!” Turning his face away, Eldon pushed at Cameron’s chest with balled
fists. “Unhand me this instant!”

Obeying the order, he let Eldon go.

“Cameron!” Again Eldon struck the boards with his heel and flicked his hair over his
shoulder in irritation. “Have you never read a romance novel? The cad does not unhand
on request! You were supposed to kiss me while I, for a brief moment, resisted you.”

In old photographs Eldon appeared beautifully sinister and appropriately aristocratic. In
reality he was beautifully captivating and downright camp.

Quickly Eldon smoothed down his tailcoat. “You shall snatch me again and this time you
will do it correctly.”

“God help me if I don’t!” Mimicking what he’d done before, though with a little more
tentativeness, Cameron snared Eldon around the waist again. “Kiss me.”

“You are nothing but a cad!” Balling his fists Eldon pushed at Cameron’s chest. “Unhand
me this instant!”

Cameron played along, realising his trepidation had vanished and changed into
exhilaration. “Not until I kiss you, Viscount Davenport.”

“Viscount Davenport?” Eldon winked playfully. “That is very good, Cameron. Very good
indeed!”

Immediately Cameron knew Trudy was correct, Eldon was the breath of fresh air he
needed.

“I’m really sorry for treating you the way I did. I’m not usually a bastard, I was…”
Admittance wasn’t easy and Cameron shrugged. “…scared. Petrified actually. I’m not the
bravest guy in the world, Eldon. It won’t take you long to figure out I’m not the hero of
romance novels.”

“I love you.” With his right hand Eldon combed through Cameron’s hair and gazed
adoringly into his eyes. “When I look at you I am lost within you and I never wish to be
found.”

Bowing his head, Cameron brushed his lips against Eldon’s mouth, taking a second to
indulge in the moment and the sensation of Eldon trembling with expectation in his arms.
Running his right hand up Eldon’s spine, he cradled the back of Eldon’s head and felt
Eldon part his lips in invitation. The inside of Eldon’s mouth tasted sweet, his lips were
velveteen soft and his kisses spellbinding.

“Ahem?”

At the sound of Trudy’s voice Cameron broke away from the kiss abruptly, releasing
Eldon from his arms without warning and almost depositing Eldon onto the floor in the
process.

“Trudy! How long have you been standing there?” He’d forgotten the doorbell didn’t
work and Trudy had his keys.

“Not long. I see things have improved since I’ve been gone.” Trudy stated with a smile,
placing several plastic bags onto the sofa. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your
smooching and come back tomorrow morning. Call a cab for me, Cam, and tell them to
pick me up from The Spaniards Inn in about forty-five minutes. It’s best a taxi doesn’t
pick me up from here and I don’t want anyone seeing you drop me off home.”

“You’re not walking from here to Spaniards Inn!” It grew dark outside and Cameron
refused to allow Trudy to walk by herself. “Take my car. I won’t need it tonight.”


***

Trudy anticipated a long, sleepless night ahead of her. She drove in silence toward
Kensington, trying to make sense of the impossible. Eldon’s spontaneous resurrection in
many ways mirrored the old Voodoo legends of necromancy, but never had Trudy heard
of a corpse literally regenerating into living form.

Necromancy in the twenty-first century was indeed practiced by some mediums as a way
to call spirits to appear, generally quite unsuccessfully. Necromancy required a skilled
ritual to be performed; it wasn’t something a spirit did by itself. If indeed necromancy
played a part in Eldon’s resurrection, he hadn’t initiated it. Someone else laid the
foundation and Trudy believed Cameron was the key to unlocking the ancient spell.
Whoever that person may have been already knew Eldon was having premonitions and
knew Cameron was his soul mate. Somehow, after Eldon’s murder, this person managed
to cast a spell to ensure Eldon rose from the dead when united with Cameron.

It was the only theory Trudy could make any semblance of sense from. The entire process
was based on love and wrapped up in a potent rite by a person who had practiced, and
completely mastered, witchcraft.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, Trudy took her ringing mobile phone from her pocket
and frowned at Malcolm’s name on the screen. “Yes, Mal?”

“Tried to call you at home, where are you?”

She rolled her eyes. “Haven’t we already had this conversation today?”

“I was just wondering because I want you to look over some paperwork in concerns to
Woodchester Mansion.”

The famous unfinished gothic Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire hadn’t been a
priority for Malcolm in years. Not since his obsession with Lillyport House had begun. It
surprised Trudy to know he’d even taken paperwork out of hiatus. If it meant shifting the
heat off Cameron and Eldon, then Trudy was willing to suffer Malcolm’s company.

“I’ll be home in around ten minutes. Can you come by around sevenish?”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, too.”

She swore under her breath, Malcolm was sure to ask why she drove another car instead
of her own yellow mini. “That’s not convenient. I want to have a shower and grab
something to eat first. I’m starving.”

“McIdiot didn’t offer you anything while you were there?”

Her heart missed several beats and she saw in the revision mirror the car behind flashing
lights on high beam.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, Trudy.”

***

On Cameron’s bed, Eldon organised his new clothes in neat piles of jeans, shirts, jackets,
shoes, socks, and underwear. Once the shock of the price tags had worn off, he revelled
in the fashion and mused over which item to wear first. Trudy had purchased strong,
vibrant colours in shirts and bought matching lengths of ribbon for each one. Wanting to
dress and then parade his new look, he’d assigned Cameron to fixing dinner.

After fifteen minutes of decision making, Eldon chose a pair of blue denim jeans and
teamed it with a slim fitting orange shirt. He opted to forego a ribbon and left his hair
loose around his shoulders, dishevelling it slightly with his fingers. A full-length mirror
in the centre of the wardrobe reflected the ideal image of a youthful, vibrant, twenty-first
century guy.

Picking his discarded Victorian attire up off the floor, Eldon bundled it together and hung
the black tailcoat over his arm. From an inside pocket fell six small white cards, each one
in perfect condition and each with a miniscule ink picture. Eldon cautiously bent down to
retrieve them off the floor. All were drawn in black except for the largest of the six drawn
in red. A scarlet winged angel was the only image Eldon could somewhat make out; the
others were far too small to see clearly. He placed them back inside the tailcoat and
walked out of the bedroom.

As Eldon made his way downstairs he made a decision to give the cards to Trudy in the
morning. To show them to Cameron seemed like a bad idea; the last thing Eldon wanted
to do was cause further anxiety. The cards meant something; they weren’t anything Eldon
had seen before and he hadn’t placed them in his tailcoat pocket himself. They should’ve
been aged and worn, eaten away over a century and half, and not in the pristine condition
they were in.

Outside the kitchen door, Eldon stopped to check his composure. He dishevelled his hair
again and shook his head to make sure it sat cascading provocatively around his
shoulders.

Cameron stood at the sink with his back facing the kitchen entrance.

Leaning with one arm reaching up the doorframe, and the other hand on his hip, Eldon
cooed seductively, “Hello, dearest.”

***

Cameron dropped a plate into the soapy water, splashed suds up onto his glasses, and
jerked his head around to stare through obscured lenses.

Eldon slowly let his fingers trace down the doorframe and then sidled into the kitchen.
“Do I look,” he fluttered his eyelashes, “beautiful?”

“Yes! Yes.” Cameron nodded rapidly. “Yes…yes…you do.”

“I chose your favourite colour.”

How Eldon knew orange was his favourite colour didn’t matter, all Cameron could focus
on was the vision of perfection moving toward him. “You look incredible!”

“How I do adore your Scottish accent.” Taking the glasses off, Eldon wiped the suds onto
his sleeve and replaced them on Cameron’s face. “You should wear your glasses all the
time, dearest. It is bad for your eyes not to wear them.”

“They make me look old and dull. I only wear them when I have to.”

“That is a shame. For when I see you in your glasses it makes me feel,” Eldon fanned at
his face with one hand, “flushed and hot on the inside.”

When Cameron fell victim to voicelessness once again, Eldon smiled and stepped away.
“Shall we dine? I am ravenous.”

***

Rather than eat dinner together at the table, they shared their meal in front of the fire,
exchanging conversation peppered with laughter. Cameron’s nervousness around Eldon
dimmed substantially. Eldon was easy to talk to, unpretentious, and a thoughtful listener.
Eldon was the only person Cameron had ever been able to relax and converse with
without feeling as if he were being constantly judged.

At the end of the meal, Eldon glanced at the clock on the mantel and reached for
Cameron’s hand. “I have been wondering what tonight’s sleeping arrangements will be.”

“Ah…well…” The smile dropped from Cameron’s face and performance anxiety set in.
“…you can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the sofa.”

“Would you not rather share the bed with me?” The tip of Eldon’s thumb stroked
Cameron’s fingers. “We could keep each other warm.”

“I can’t.” Cameron withdrew his hand from Eldon’s grasp and leaned away. “I can’t… do
that… with you. Yet.”

Hurt washed over Eldon’s face and he tilted his head questioningly. “You do not want to
sleep with me?”

“No, I don’t! Not yet.” Getting up from the floor, Cameron paced and a film of
perspiration formed across his brow. “You’ve got all these dreams in your head, Eldon.
You think I’m some kind of…of…of…”

Eldon followed Cameron’s pacing, confusion clear on his face. “Of what, dearest?”

“Sex God! You think I’m a sex God and I’m not! I’ve only just met you and you want to
get into bed with me and see if the sex is as good as your dreams.”

A frown sprang between Eldon’s eyebrows and he held out his hand in a clear attempt to
coax Cameron out of pacing. “I asked you to sleep with me, I did not mention sex.”

Cameron abruptly quit pacing and realised, with intense embarrassment, he’d jumped to a
conclusion based on an era language barrier. When Eldon said “sleep with me,” he’d
meant it literally.

“This is what I do all the time.” Refusing to sit, Cameron covered his face with his palms.
“I make a fool of myself and put my foot in my mouth.”

“You have not made a fool of yourself, dearest. Please, sit down and let us discuss this
for it is obviously an issue causing you much anxiety.”

On the second request Cameron warily retook his position in front of the fireplace. “I’m
terrified I’ll disappoint you.”

“What makes you so certain you will disappoint me?”

“I’m not… it isn’t… I’m not good at it.” Humiliation bound every word Cameron spoke.
“I haven’t had sex for over two years. The two guys I have had sex with… they didn’t
hurry back to do it again. The last guy told me I was the worst lay he’d ever had. I’m
thirty-one and I’ve only been with two guys. I was a virgin until I was twenty-six… I was
too bloody nervous to get it out of my pants. And the only reason I did then was because I
was drunk! I’m no expert at sex.”

“I am sure I will not be an expert either, Cameron. I have not had any experience. After
all, I was always too scared of the…” Rather than finish his sentence verbally, Eldon
rolled his eyes back, stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth, and imitated a noose with
his hand over his head.

The feigned hanging broke some of Cameron’s tension and even allowed a moment of
laughter. Eldon had way about him, an ability to remain unruffled and ease an awkward
situation with composed words and an injection of humour.

“It’d kill me to look into your eyes and know you’re thinking the same thing.” Looking
for disillusionment in Eldon’s face, and finding none, Cameron continued in a flurry of
fast paced explanation. “Thinking you’d rather kiss a pig’s rectum than ever endure
having sex with me again.”

“Under no circumstance would I ever really kiss a pig’s rectum, therefore it is something
you need not concern yourself over.” Reaching out, Eldon took both Cameron’s hands in
his. “You have had little sexual experience, I have had no sexual experience, and so we
shall learn together. I see no shame in that.”

“You don’t mind if we wait a while?”

“I do not mind at all, dearest.”

Dearest. It was an old fashioned term of endearment and it warmed Cameron’s heart each
time he heard Eldon say it. Whereas Cameron usually always searched for hidden
derision in conversation, he trusted Eldon and everything he said.

“When I awoke from sleep I would lie in bed and imagine myself encircled in your
embrace.” Moving closer, Eldon guided Cameron’s arms around his waist. “It was the
words I heard you say to me. The way you made me feel when I looked at you. The way
you would kiss me.” Satin smooth lips touched against Cameron’s mouth. “And hold me.
Those were the things about you I fell in love with.”

Soft compassionate kisses, unhurried and reassuring, took away Cameron’s tension and
replaced it with intimate sensuality. One by one Eldon opened the buttons of Cameron’s
shirt, stopping after each one to allow his hands the pleasure of gradual discovery.
Beneath his fingertips Eldon, Cameron’s heart thumped and his body relaxed with each
tranquil touch. As the last button opened, Eldon eased the shirt over Cameron’s shoulders
until it fell away. When he whispered a suggestion to lie on the floor Cameron obliged
with no hesitancy.

The subtle, delicate way Eldon’s tongue touched against Cameron’s in one moment, and
then delved deeper inside his mouth in the next moment, tempted responsiveness without
lustful demand. Every now and then Eldon broke away from the bottomless kisses to
allow his lips to wander over Cameron’s neck, each time he did so it encouraged
Cameron to give in to his own desires and let his hands venture under Eldon’s shirt and
indulge in the warm, soft skin beneath.

***

Eldon lightly stroked his fingers just above the waistband of Cameron’s jeans, never
moving down any further, but aware his touch was the reason Cameron’s breathing
increased to match his heart rate, knowing this, each soft sigh worked to lift his
confidence. In comparison to Eldon’s own svelte physique Cameron was strong and

masculine, his muscles more pronounced and they contracted pleasurably whenever
Eldon placed his lips on Cameron’s chest or abdomen. To be this close to another man, a
man Eldon loved passionately, was shamelessly arousing. He wanted to pamper every
sexual curiosity while pampering every hidden desire Cameron had yet been daring
enough to explore.

Taking the initiative and going with his instincts, Eldon led Cameron’s hands to the
buttons of his shirt. Cameron needed guidance, someone to take the lead and move him
forward slowly without triggering anxiety. A sexual encounter wasn’t where Cameron
wanted to go just yet, a sensual encounter of closeness was the place Eldon wanted to
take him.

Once free of the shirt, Eldon shuddered and gave a sharp gasp when Cameron’s fingertips
ever so lightly brushed across his chest, caressing each nipple while his other hand
followed the dip in Eldon’s back to rest on his rear. Another gasp was silenced as
Cameron began a slow, deep, stirring kiss that went with his hand firmly rubbing Eldon’s
butt and dipping occasionally between the back of his upper thighs. Edging closer,
Eldon’s muffled sighs of pleasure grew louder at the sensation of a hard erection against
his legs and the knowledge Cameron would also be able to feel an equally as hard groin
pushed in against him.

Cameron disengaged from the kiss and placed his lips beside Eldon’s ear. “I love you.” In
his arms Eldon went weak at the words. “I don’t understand any of this, but I do know I
love you.”

Chapter Eight

Dorset, England
Saturday, August 1

st

, 1857

In a two room stone cottage on the outskirts of Dorset, pelting rain fell in sheets and
pounded against glass windows. Lightening flashed in threatening forks across a char
blackened sky and thunder cracked in deafening blasts. Outside the window a colossal
English Elm slammed its branches into the cottage with each powerful gust of wind,
scraping its twiggy fingers against the glass and groaning under the stormy strain.

A small fire burning inside a broken down hearth barely lifted the biting cold. Mabel
Jones stirred an iron stew pot suspended over the flames, taking what little she possessed
in food and trying desperately to tempt her distraught nephew into eating just a mouthful.
It had been over two weeks since Viscount Davenport had been found dead in his
bedchamber with a Colt pistol in his hand. Nothing could sway Albert’s conviction Eldon
died because of him. Mabel feared the madness that had taken over the Viscount now
consumed her nephew.

The Earl of Wicorby had denounced Mabel and Albert’s reputation among society and
both were unemployable. Whereas Albert mourned the Viscount’s death more profoundly
each day, Mabel still believed Eldon had lured her nephew into his room for his own
perverse sexual gratification. She despised the Earl and Countess of Wicorby and she
loathed any mention of Eldon Davenport’s name.

On a straw mattress laid out on the cold stone floor, Albert shivered beneath threadbare
blankets and cringed each time the Elm’s skeletal fingers scratched and scraped at the
window. One candle burned almost to its end. The pounding on the window grew louder
until Albert thought the glass would shatter into slivers. Unable to stay in the room alone,
he threw back the covers. A massive fork of lightening lit across the sky, illuminating the
outside. Albert stumbled backward and sheer terror struck him mute. A ghostly vision of
Viscount Davenport slammed his palm repetitively against the glass.

Chapter Nine

From the warmth of sensual discovery beside the fireplace, to the comfort of a king sized
mahogany bed, Cameron and Eldon continued the fond caresses and closeness into the
early hours of the morning. At no time did Eldon push for more than subtle, gentle
touches and luxurious kisses. In the process he gained Cameron’s complete trust and built
his confidence.

When sunlight lifted the darkness of the bedroom, it fell across Eldon’s face and made
him appear like slumbering angel. Cameron lay awake and watched him dotingly, smiling
every time Eldon mumbled something incoherent. A sleep talker, during the night he’d
awoken Cameron more than once with nocturnal chattering.

The phone rang and its shrill demand to be answered resulted in Eldon snapping out of
his sleep with a scream as ear-piercing as the phone.

“Shh.” Cameron grabbed the phone off the bedside table with one hand and Eldon’s arm
with his other hand. “It’s okay, baby, it’s just a telephone.”

“Where am I?” Tangled dark hair stuck out at all angles and Eldon brushed it frantically
away from his eyes. “Oh,” one eye peered through a messy curtain of hair and a happy
smile of recognition beamed over Eldon’s lips. “Good-morning, dearest.”

Shifting the hair away from Eldon’s face, Cameron leaned over and kissed him,
forgetting the ringing phone in his hand. “Good-morning, gorgeous.”

“Will you please make that confounded thing stop?”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” He pressed the answer button on the handset. “Hello?”

One of Eldon’s eyebrows lowered and the other rose. He’d seen Trudy talk into a phone
the day before, but clearly didn’t understand its use.

“It’s Sunday, I’m in bed and you disturbed me.”

The lowered brow lifted to match the other and Eldon watched Cameron sceptically.

“You know I work late, I’ve asked you not to ring until after eleven.”

“Dearest?” Eldon placed his hand on Cameron’s shoulder. “Surely you do not owe that
object justification for its silence.”

Realising how it must look to Eldon, and also realising his mother may have heard
another male voice, Cameron placed his finger against Eldon’s lips and smothered a
laugh. “I’ll call you back later.” He hung up before Miriam could reply.

“It’s a telephone, baby.” Free from being overhead, Cameron could no longer stem the
laughter and attempted to explain. “I was talking to my mother through it.”

“I see,” replied Eldon nervously. “Are you feeling unwell?”

That comment only increased Cameron’s chuckling and he picked up his mobile phone
from the bedside table. “This is another type of telephone.” He found a number and
pressed dial. “Hold this to your ear, speak into that part, and you can talk to Trudy.”

***

Doing as Cameron asked, Eldon took the phone warily and jumped when he heard a
familiar voice.

“Hi, Cam, I’m glad you called I…”

“Trudy, it is you! I am Eldon, I am speaking to you through the telephone.”

“Hello, darling! What a lovely surprise.”

“This is marvellous!” Snuggling in beside Cameron, Eldon looked set to settle into the
conversation indefinitely. “I hear you as thought you were standing beside me.”

“Did you and Cameron have a nice night?”

“Yes thank you, we had a lovely night. We spent hours making love and have only just
woken.”

Cameron’s mouth dropped open and his eyes doubled in size.

“This telephone woke us when Cameron’s mother wished to speak through it.”

“Sweetheart, can you give the phone to Cameron for a moment, please?”

“Yes certainly.” Promptly Eldon handed it across.

***

“We didn’t make love!” Cameron whispered in dismay and then put the phone to his ear.
“Hi, Trudy.”

“Cam,” Trudy giggled, “back in Eldon’s day ‘making love’ pretty much meant kissing
and cuddling.”

“Oh right.” Another era language barrier and Cameron flushed with relief. “Yeah, we did
do that,” he added sheepishly.

“I’ll be there in about an hour and half, honey. There’s something we all need to talk
about fairly urgently.”

“What?” Instantly Cameron’s anxiety rose. “Eldon’s going to be okay, isn’t he? He’s not
going to…”

“Eldon will be fine. I’ll see you soon. Give my love to that little Victorian sweetheart
next to you.”


***


Whatever Trudy needed to urgently discuss played on Cameron’s mind but he kept his
concern as well hidden from Eldon as possible. His excitement over using the telephone
refused to wane, and he chattered non-stop about it, asking Cameron to explain exactly
how it worked. Not being an authority on telecommunications, Cameron did his best to
satisfy Eldon’s curiosity and made a note to look up the details later. Also playing on
Cameron’s mind was whether or not his mother had heard Eldon’s voice after she’d
already been informed Cameron was still in bed.

Together they shared breakfast on the porch, looking over the backyard, though Cameron
made certain the headstone remained out of view. When they wandered back inside
Eldon took another fifteen minutes to pick what he’d wear while Cameron opted for the
first thing he took from the wardrobe.

Finally Eldon stood with a bundle of clothes in his arms and followed Cameron into the
bathroom. “I do like the taste of the teeth paste. It tastes like spearmint sorbet.”

“Toothpaste, baby.”

“I am used to using teeth powder, however it did not bubble like toothpaste. Bubbly
toothpaste is far more fun than teeth powder. It made me appear as though I were a victim
of rabies.”

Even brushing his teeth was an exciting event for Eldon, and Cameron grinned at the
thought of how he’d react when confronted with the shower. “Yeah, but you’re not
supposed to let it froth out of your mouth and run down your neck.”

“Where is the fun if you do not?”

“Good point.” Cameron opened the shower door. “I’ll have to try it next time.”

Eldon took two steps backward when steaming water sprayed from above the shower
alcove.

“It’s safe.” Underneath the water Cameron lifted his arm to demonstrate the shower’s
harmlessness. “See?”

“Where shall I place my clothes?”

“Here, give them to me.”

Cameron took the clothes and placed them on the vanity unit. When Cameron turned
back around Eldon had begun removing his shirt.

“Umm, there’s shampoo and conditioner to wash your hair if you want. Soap in the,” he
watched Eldon slip the shirt off and discard it to the floor, “soap…dish. This thing,” he
picked up a loofah, distracted as Eldon started unbuttoning his fly, “you can soap me
up… I mean this… up… and… and…”

Flicking open the last button on his jeans, without taking his gaze off Cameron, Eldon
slipped the top of his fingers inside the open fly and parted the denim slowly. Responding
to the temptation to look down, Cameron stared at the defined, lean lower abdominal
muscles dipping seductively to lure eyes just above Eldon’s pubic bone.

“Right… well… umm… I’ll let you… shower… and…” Cameron watched Eldon slip the
fingers of his other hand beneath the denim. “…and…”

Lustfully fired up by the sultry temptation, Cameron lunged forward and gripped his hand
to the back of Eldon’s head, guiding Eldon’s face upward into a heated, greedy kiss. His
other hand fumbled blindly, pushing Eldon into the shower until they felt the hot water
beating down on them from above. Hands flurried with hands, desperately trying to
remove wet clothes and fulfil the burning need to feel naked skin. Denim peeled down
Cameron’s legs and he scrambled to step out of the jeans, discard them and liberate Eldon
of his jeans.

With clothes finally off and out of the way, Cameron pressed Eldon against the wall of
the shower alcove, crouching slightly to maximise the feel of hard crotch against hard
crotch. Cameron’s left hand cupped around a firm rounded rear, encouraging Eldon to
push his hips forward in time with Cameron’s. His other hand roamed over Eldon’s wet,
naked body, lost in the moment of salacious kisses exploring mouths and lips.

***

For Eldon the lustful, once forbidden desire stirred his appetite to experience everything.
Impassioned kisses, sensual kisses, raw sex, and intimate lovemaking: he wanted it all.
His hands followed every curve of Cameron’s body, over his torso and broad masculine
shoulders, wandering across his butt and finding their way between his legs. Knowing
finally what it was like to touch another man and learning where his hands and fingers
incited an enraptured response. A delirious dizziness swamped Eldon’s mind, everything
else faded except for Cameron and the all-consuming intensity of two bodies blending
together as one.

“Stand there, baby.”

Cramped in the small alcove Eldon watched Cameron crouch down in front of him,
relishing the touch of Cameron’s hands and fingers over his wet skin. He emitted a husky
groan and allowed his head to rest against the wall at the feeling of Cameron’s lips
enclose around his rock hard erection. His pelvis moved back and forth and his fingers
combed through saturated blonde hair. Breathing increased between moans of ecstasy as
Cameron took him deep into the luscious mouth. He feltCameron’s tongue tantalise and
the heat at the back of Cameron’s throat.

An uncontrolled tremble swamped Eldon with another bout of light-headedness until he
thought his legs would soon be unable to support him. He braced against the shower
alcove with one arm, thrusting faster into Cameron’s mouth the harder Cameron sucked
and teased. Between hoarse moans, he called out Cameron’s name repeatedly, bracing
against the alcove while pushing into the hot mouth around him. He fought to keep his
head down and eyes open without being blinded by water showering onto him and dark
hair plastered to his face. He wanted to watch Cameron’s every move, to see as well as
feel, to sense everything with no boundaries in every way possible.

***

The taste of pre-come sat warm and salty on Cameron’s tongue. He pulled away, looking
up at the euphoric expression on Eldon’s face while continuing to stimulate Eldon gently
with his hand. “Part your legs a little.”

“I cannot!” Eldon braced even more against the alcove. “I am shaking too much!”

“Just a little, baby.”

Eldon’s feet slid on the floor of the shower until he dared not move them any further
apart.

Cameron inserted a finger inside Eldon and massaged against his prostate.

“Am I hurting you?”

“No!” His left hand clamped to the back of Cameron’s head. “Oh… my… Lord!”

Cameron smiled, bowed his head and took Eldon into his mouth again.

“Lord above!” Eldon released Cameron’s hair and braced with his other arm as well. “I
am never bathing alone again!”

It was an inappropriate time to laugh and Cameron gagged slightly, losing his rhythm
momentarily. Once thing was certainly obvious, Eldon wasn’t shy in vocalising and it
succeeded in turning Cameron on even more. Eldon grunted, he groaned, he said
Cameron’s name over and over again and the closer he neared to coming the louder his
vocalisation grew.

The sounds of moaning increased and Eldon’s entire body shuddered against the alcove,
rattling the plexiglass. One loud gasp and Eldon came forcefully inside Cameron’s
mouth.

Kisses smothered the insides of Eldon’s thighs, up over his stomach, over his chest, until
Cameron reached his mouth and smothered Eldon’s lips with his. With his arms about
Eldon’s waist Cameron held him upright until the shaking calmed.

Eldon’s arms wrapped around Cameron’s neck and his breath panted into Cameron’s ear.
“Cameron! I have never… that was… I thought you said you were no expert!”

“I’m not.” Cameron leaned away enough to stare into exhilarated blue eyes. “It’s only the
second I’ve done that and the first time I’ve done the… the… finger… prostate… thing.”

“Lord help me when you’ve had some practice!”

When Cameron laughed he inhaled a mouthful of water, coughing and spluttering to
catch his breath.

“Was that… is what you did to me illegal?”

“No.” Laughing and spluttering increased the coughing as Cameron tried to reply. “They
don’t hang homosexuals now.” He regained his composure though couldn’t halt the
laughing. “Men can marry in this country.”

“Wonderful!” One hand slipped across Cameron’s shoulder, down his arm, across his
stomach and squeezed teasingly between his legs. “We must discuss this at more length,”
Eldon crouched down and winked, “when I have not got my mouth full!”

***


Silence engulfed Lillyport House when Trudy closed the front door behind her and
walked through the foyer. The doorbell hadn’t worked for as long as she could remember

and, after knocking for ten minutes without a response, she used the keys to let herself in.
Cameron wasn’t answering his mobile and Trudy didn’t know the landline number. There
was no sign of Cameron or Eldon anywhere on the ground floor and no noise coming
from the second level. Frowning, she headed for the living room and screamed when
someone jumped from the shadows, snatched her around the waist and whisked her off
her feet.

Laughing at a scare well executed, Eldon lowered Trudy to the ground. “I did not mean to
frighten you that much.”

“Yes, you did!”

“Yes, you are correct, I did.” He enclosed Trudy in a bear hug. “I had a feeling you
would walk in through the door at any moment.”

Every time Eldon held her Trudy felt the well of emotions build inside her heart and the
intensity took her off guard. “Where’s your Scottish lover, honey?”

“Cameron is preparing coffee.” Looping his arm through hers, they walked together
toward the kitchen. “I shall learn domestic duties so I can take care of my husband.”

“Husband? My, my, did I miss the wedding?”

“There have been no nuptials yet.” Eldon checked his appearance in a hall mirror. “I have
not had my wedding dress made.”

Before approaching the kitchen door, Eldon stopped and took out six small cards from his
jacket pocket. “These fell out of my tailcoat. Cameron does not know of them, I felt it
would be better to show you first rather than risk worrying him.”

She took the cards and squinted at the tiny pictures.

“The only picture I can make out is the red angel.”

“I think it’s a phoenix, sweetheart, not an angel.”

The first clue was now in Trudy’s hands, though they’d make little sense until she could
look the drawings over with a magnifying glass. Plainly Eldon had no intention of
discussing the cards further, leading Trudy into the kitchen and picking up a tray of
coffee. She followed Eldon and Cameron both into the living room, slipping the cards
into her handbag on the way.

“I used toothpaste this morning, Trudy. It is ever so much more fun than teeth powder.”
Taking a biscuit from the tray, Eldon picked up his coffee mug and sat beside Cameron.
“It tasted like spearmint sorbet.”

It crossed Trudy’s mind, as Eldon continued to chatter about toothpaste, that quite
possibly his innocent topics of conversation were another thing frowned upon by
Victorian society. Eldon had a childlike manner about him, an aspect of his personality
that couldn’t have always been concealed by mimicking the strict formality the Earl and
Countess enforced.

“I must thank you profusely for these wonderful clothes.” With Eldon too busy talking,
the biscuit in his hand had been relegated to waving around absently. “I also was
introduced to the shower, Trudy, and Cameron and I showered together.”

“Eldon!” Half of Cameron’s biscuit broke and plopped unceremoniously into the coffee.
“Trudy didn’t have to know that!”

“She is psychic, I am sure she already knew.”

Trudy sat gazing adoringly across the room at Eldon, a smile firmly on her face.

“Then you didn’t have to tell her again.” Cameron rolled his eyes and smirked. “I thought
sex wasn’t discussed openly in your era.”

“I am not in my era anymore, dearest.” Taking a teaspoon off the tray, Eldon fished out
the biscuit half from Cameron’s coffee and then handed him another. “Although I once
mentioned masturbation to Genevieve and she almost slapped me.”

The idea of a Victorian girl being confronted with a conversation of masturbation broke
Trudy into fits of giggling. “Why on earth did you bring up that topic with a young
lady?”

“I was curious to know if she did it, too,” Eldon replied matter-of-factly.

Squeezing his fingers to the bridge of his nose, Cameron shook his head and laughed
along with Trudy. “I didn’t know Victorian people even did it.”

“I did it every day. Sometimes twice a day.” Eldon shrugged. “In fact, there were days
I…”

To ensure Eldon didn’t reveal any more, Cameron reached over and covered his mouth
with his palm. “We get the idea, baby. Enough said!”

The change in Cameron’s entire demeanour had changed. He had a spark in his eyes and
pep in his step. Trudy didn’t want to bring either of their moods down, but Malcolm was
hot on their trail and more determined than ever to figure out why she was secretly in
Cameron’s company.

“I have a bit of bad news.”

In unison Cameron and Eldon’s faces dropped their smiles.

“Malcolm Ritter took a gamble on a hunch and it payed off.” She set her mug down onto
the coffee table. “He had a feeling I was hiding something from him in concerns to you,
Cam, and the house. I didn’t see his car parked up the road when I left and he followed
me home.”

Cameron tightened his arm protectively around Eldon’s shoulders. “How could you not
know? You’re psychic!”

“I can’t read Mal. I never have been able to and I’ve never figured out why. He isn’t
psychic and usually that’s the only reason I might not be able read someone. He worked
out how to block me a long time ago.”

“What did you tell him?” demanded Cameron. “Did you tell him I went looking for
you?”

“No, darling, I didn’t.”

Eldon glanced from one to the other, saying nothing but listening to every word and
clearly taking in every nuance of their expressions.

“I told Mal nothing. The problem is, love, the best I could do last night was bide some
time by refusing to answer his questions.”

“We have to think of something.” Leaving the sofa, Cameron began his habitual pacing.
“Eldon and I can’t live our lives together confined to this house. Who isn’t going to take
one look at him and put two and two together?”

“May I interject?”

“Of course you may, sweetheart.” Trudy nodded, encouraging Eldon to put forth any
suggestion.

“It seems to me no one would take one look at me and put two and two together. After
all, who would honestly believe I rose from the dead?”

“This Ritter guy probably will, Eldon!”

“Quite possibly, dearest, yes. However,” with his hand Eldon tapped the sofa to tempt
Cameron from pacing, “Malcolm Ritter is a man of ego. If he were to openly state he
believed your beau was Viscount Davenport raised from the dead, well, I assume he
would be looked upon as a fool.”

Trudy narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in silent question.

“Perhaps the best way to deal with this problem is to play up to my uncanny resemblance
to myself. We shall invent a story of meeting prior to your purchase of this house and say
we have been courting secretly for quite some time.” He waited until Cameron sat down
and then continued. “You shall call me by a different name and completely agree I am the
very image of Viscount Davenport. Certainly we can expand on this story once we have
thought about it some more.”

“That could work.” This time Trudy jumped out of her seat and began pacing. “There’s
someone who owes me a big favour and could very well make this work.”

“I agree Mr Ritter will not give up easily, it is not in his nature to do so.” Calmly Eldon
sipped his coffee. “He will risk his reputation both personally and professionally should
he openly state he believes I am the real Viscount Davenport. A man of his ego prizes
highly the opinion of others. I know this as I was brought up surrounded by his type.”

Wordlessly Trudy watched Eldon before stepping forward and sitting on the edge of the
coffee table in front of him. “Honey, I haven’t told you anything about Malcolm Ritter.
I’ve only warned Cameron about him, but I didn’t say anything more.”

“You told me about Mr Ritter only moments after I jumped out and frightened you.” A
baffled frown set a fine line between Eldon’s eyebrows. “You warned me.”

“No, honey,” she took Eldon’s hand and smiled in baffled wonder. “I didn’t say anything.
You know because you read it from me.”


***


Hiding away inside Lillyport House would only increase Malcolm’s suspicions. Cameron
wasn’t a social man by any means, though he wasn’t a complete hermit who veiled away
from sight. If Malcolm staked out Lillyport the night before then both Eldon and Trudy
knew he’d more than likely repeat the process again. Eldon had a plan and he wanted to
put it into action as quickly as possible, despite Cameron’s trepidation. He’d orchestrated
a scheme of reverse psychology and wanted to play Malcolm against himself.

Trudy left the house to put her own plan into action. She needed to provide Eldon with a
background and she needed to do it fast. There was no longer a mystery surrounding
whether or not Eldon still possessed any form of psychic ability. He’d read Trudy without
effort, though not realising until she’d pointed it out to him. His ability wasn’t controlled
and Eldon hadn’t yet learned how to separate what he heard inside his head from what he
actually heard people say verbally. Yet it gave Trudy an alibi to pitch against Malcolm,
one Eldon willingly agreed to go along with.

Cameron had his own personal issues to confront while growing ever more apprehensive
over Malcolm Ritter. He had a family to come out to and a new boyfriend to introduce
before the press learned he now lived with male lover.

Chapter Ten

“This is a very bad idea.” Cameron blocked the front door with his arm. “The more I
think about it, the more I know it’s a very, very bad idea.”

To execute his plan to its full effect, his new clothes had been removed and Eldon stood
dressed in Victorian attire minus a ribbon tying back his hair. Rather than have Trudy
leave by the main gates, Cameron escorted her via the backyard to the rear gates. From
there she walked to the closest road and called a taxi. From the third level of the house,
through the turret window looking over the front gardens, they could see Malcolm’s
ruby-black BMW sports car parked on the kerbside.

“Then try to not think about it, dearest.” Rising on tiptoe, Eldon kissed Cameron on the
mouth and pried his arm off the door. “Malcolm will not wish to stay in my company for
long, I assure you.”

“Don’t get scared by cars or if you see a plane in the sky.”

“I am not scared. I saw them on the television.”

Relenting, Cameron squeezed his eyes closed and opened the door. “I can’t believe
you’re doing this.”

Eldon strode confidently out on to the sweeping veranda, skipped down the steps and
crossed the lawn toward the driveway. He followed the drive, never hesitating in his step
toward a letterbox attached to the gates.

On the footpath, with his head bowed trying to light a cigarette in the wind, Malcolm
stood in full view. Eldon smirked, thrilled by the adventure and showing no sign of the
nervousness Cameron waited inside with. He flicked his hair over his shoulders and
jogged toward the car.

“Excuse me? Hello?”

“Holy mother of hell!” Malcolm spluttered, stumbling backward and dropping the
cigarette onto the pavement. “Get the fuck away from me!”

The man was obviously no hero when it came down to the crunch and Eldon almost
broke into giggles. “My name is Felix, Mr Ritter. I wish to talk with you about the ghost
of Viscount Davenport.”

Frozen to the spot, Malcolm said nothing and turned a horrid shade of ash.

“I see you have noticed my uncanny resemblance to the Viscount.” Looking in every
direction, with his shoulders hunched slightly, Eldon placed his hand beside his mouth as

though worried he’d be overheard. “Shh… do not speak to me loudly in case the
Viscount may be hiding amongst the shrubbery or in the trees.”

Malcolm dipped his chin and raised his eyebrows in slow motion. “What did you say
your name was?”

“Felix.”

“Felix who?”

“No.”

“No what?”

“Who is not my surname.”

The initial horror seemed to be wearing off and instead Malcolm no doubt feared a
Viscount look-alike lunatic confronted him.

“He is hiding from Trudy.”

“Who?” Replied Malcolm warily.

“No.”

“What? No what?”

“Who is not my surname.”

A pained expression of trying to make sense of the nonsensical painted Malcolm’s face.
“Who is hiding from Trudy?” He spoke slowly.

“Shh!” Eldon waved his finger frenetically in front of his lips and then pointed to the
hedges. “The Viscount of course.”

Eldon stopped abruptly, widened his eyes and peered up into the branches of a leafless
tree. Malcolm followed his gaze and backed away when Eldon took another step closer.

“He blends with nature. One can never be too certain he is not listening in.” Tapping his
hand to his chest, Eldon inhaled deeply through his nose and slowly out his mouth. “He is
hiding from Cameron also. He is pretending not to haunt Lillyport for he is insanely
jealous of me.”

“The Viscount?”

“Yes. One cannot deny the Viscount was an incredibly attractive young man. Incredibly
attractive! But, his jealousy has sent him into a silent rage for he knows, despite my
resemblance to him, I am far more beautiful than he. And…” Eldon waved his hand over
his head. “…a quarter of an inch taller.”

Malcolm scratched his head and sighed painfully. “For fuck sake, are you on drugs?”

“Not at present.”

***

Disappointment mixed in with anger. No doubt the male in front of him was a carbon
copy of Viscount Davenport, but to Malcolm he was also a ranting idiot dressed up like
he was on his way to a costume party. No sense could be made of him and he wasted
more and more of Malcolm’s time the longer he stood waving his hands around like a
camp showgirl.

“I would like you, Mr Ritter, to help me.”

“No one can help you, son, except maybe a shrink.” From his pocket, Malcolm took a
packet of cigarettes. “I’m busy and you’re wasting my fucking time.”

“I used the telephone to ask for Trudy’s assistance, though it seems the Viscount has
fooled her into believing he is no longer inside the house. She said he has moved on into
the after world. Alas, I know he is waiting for the chance to snatch my body, a more
beautiful body than his was, and then he will kill my soul and take Cameron. Cameron is
unaware of this and I think it is best we keep him so until we capture the Viscount.”

A curl of smoke puffed through Malcolm’s nostrils. “You always walk around dressed
like that?”

“I am wearing these clothes in an effort to entice the Viscount out of the shrubbery. His
jealousy in seeing me dressed like him, looking more beautiful than he, is the only way I
believe we can catch him.”

“Felix?”

“Yes, Mr Ritter?”

“You’re a fucking dickhead!”

***

When Trudy opened the door to find Malcolm fuming on her doorstep, she curbed the
urge to break into a wide grin and knew immediately Eldon’s scheme had worked in
exactly the way he’d foreseen it. She gestured Malcolm inside, acting as naturally as

possible while she offered him coffee. She was bolstered by the knowledge her plan to
provide Eldon with a background had also run smoothly.

“Who the fuck is that crazy fucker?”

“There are a lot of crazy fuckers in the world, Mal.” Slipping off her shoes, she sank into
a plush armchair, “Who are you talking about?”

“The Demonport look-alike!”

Trudy chuckled. “Felix?”

“Yeah, fucked up Felix! Friend of McIdiot!”

“He’s harmless, Malcolm. A little eccentric but totally harmless.”

“A little eccentric? The kid’s a nutcase!”

Although knowing Trudy hated people smoking in her house, Malcolm lit a cigarette and
his face flushed red in anger. “Why fart arse me around last night being mysterious? Why
didn’t you tell me Felix called you there and why didn’t you tell me he’s a lunatic?”

“Actually Cameron asked me to visit not Felix.” Trudy reached for the nearest thing for
Malcolm to use as an ashtray. “The only reason Cameron called me was to try and give
Felix some peace of mind. Felix is under the impression the ghost of Viscount Daven…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that part.” Malcolm grumbled irritably. “So, he didn’t call you there
because he heard or saw anything?”

“No.”

“Why all the mystery? Why did you lie about it?”

“Because…” She exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “This is between you and me, Mal, and it
goes no further. It has nothing to do with Lillyport House or the Viscount; it has to do
with Cameron personally. If it does go any further then you can consider me out of TPU
for good.”

Malcolm had his faults, but he knew Trudy was the best psychic medium in the country.
She knew that Malcolm knew that losing her from TPU was a threat she’d make good on,
especially as she grew more disillusioned with TPU each week.

“Fine. Spill it.”

“Felix has a psychological disorder.”

“That’s a fucking secret? No one needs a bloody medical degree to figure that out!”

“He stopped taking his medication.” She continued the lie calmly. “When he stops his
medication he becomes a bit obsessed with Davenport. You’re right, he’s the splitting
image of Eldon. It gave me a shock when I first saw him! When Felix normally goes
through these… episodes… he thinks he’s linked to Eldon in some way. Normally it’s
not detrimental and the worst that happens is he dresses up in Victorian clothes until he’s
stabilised again. This time, because he’s at Lillyport, he started worrying the Viscount is
after his soul. Worried the Viscount is also after Cameron. You see…” She paused for
effect. “…Felix is Cameron’s partner. Romantic partner.”

Silence followed for several stunned moments before Malcolm burst into fits of laughter.

“It’s not really funny, Mal.” Trudy feigned a deep frown. “Felix isn’t a well boy at the
moment and Cameron’s trying to ease his mind.”

“This is priceless!” Malcolm doubled over in sardonic cackles. “McIdiot’s a fag? And
he’s fucking that mental case?”

“When Felix is on medication he’s quite rational. He normally doesn’t even believe in
ghosts, so Cameron told me.”

“Why the fuck would he buy Lillyport House if he knows his boyfriend thinks
Demonport wants his soul?”

“Felix adores the Viscount’s poetry, you could say he’s Eldon’s number one fan.
Cameron bought the house for them both to live in. Like I said, it wasn’t until Felix was
in

the house that he started having delusions about Eldon trying to take over.”

With the heel of his, hand Malcolm rubbed the tears of laughter from his eyes. “I rest my
case, McKenzie really is a moron.”

“By the way.” Trudy added. “There is no spiritual energy in that house at all anymore. If
the Viscount was there, he isn’t now.”

“He wouldn’t have just packed his ghost bags and left, Trudy. Unless he has possessed
that dumb fucked up mental case. Let’s face it, Demonport was just as insane.”

***

They’d managed to bide their time with Malcolm Ritter by orchestrating a scheme so
bizarre it became believable. Trudy knew Malcolm had fallen for it, at least for the
moment. It didn’t mean he’d give up on Lillyport House forever or believe it suddenly
wasn’t haunted. Knowing the fictitious Felix also resided at Lillyport made it all the more
difficult for Malcolm to push Cameron into agreeing to let him inside. What Malcolm

believed, for the time being, was that Cameron’s main concern would be Felix’s mental
state and keeping his sexuality hidden.

***

Cameron’s apprehension lowered the instant Eldon skipped back inside the house
wearing a Cheshire grin. At no time had Cameron truly thought the fantastical plan would
work and yet Eldon succeeded in making the ludicrous appear factual. A phone call from
Trudy informing them of Malcolm’s visit to her home calmed Cameron even more, as did
the knowledge Trudy’s plan to give Eldon a history also went without a hitch.

Eldon now had a surname to go with his chosen pseudonym of Felix and a complete
history. After working closely within Scotland Yard, Trudy knew one particular detective
who owed her big. She’d assisted in helping him solve a major crime while keeping her
mouth closed in regards to an affair he’d had with one of the witnesses who was, at the
time, also a well-known prostitute and one of the prime suspects. The only way she could
think of providing Eldon with a background, complete with paperwork, was to call the
favour into play and utilise the witness protection program. The detective came through
with few questions asked.

One other thing remained to be sorted and Cameron felt ill at the thought of putting his
part of Felix’s public debut into motion. Every Sunday night the McKenzie family
gathered together for dinner at Ben and Miriam’s modest three bedroom home in the
middle-class suburb of Sutton, London. It was only a fifteen-minute drive from
Hampstead Heath, but a world away from the affluent properties and beautiful surrounds
of Lillyport House. Over the past year Cameron sometimes showed up for dinner, though
most times didn’t. It was easier to avoid the gatherings altogether than to endure them.

A phone call to Miriam McKenzie confirmed she more than likely hadn’t heard Eldon
that morning when she failed to raise the topic. Cameron informed her he’d be attending
the family get together that night and bringing along a friend.

***

Aware of Cameron’s disquiet, Eldon never the less couldn’t contain his excitement over
his first car ride and first glimpse of modern day London. No longer was the city the
stench-ridden place he’d once abhorred. Instead it was exhilarating, filled with new
things to see and cars on the streets much faster than horse drawn carriages. It seemed
nothing fazed Eldon and everything turned into a thrilling adventure.

Cameron wondered if the past century and a half in distressed spirit form would ever
register in Eldon’s memory, he’d shown no sign of remembering it as yet. There was so
much Eldon didn’t know, so many things that could possibly be brought up in
conversation during dinner to leave Eldon floundering for a reply. None of it appeared to
worry Eldon in the slightest, but it terrified Cameron.

“What a charming, quaint little house!”

Cameron unbuckled Eldon’s seatbelt and leaned over to assist him in opening the car
door. “I think I’m about to throw up.”

“Throw what up, dearest?”

“Never mind.” With less eagerness Cameron climbed out of the car, joined Eldon on the
pavement, and began escorting him toward the house. “Remember your name’s Felix Fox
not Eldon Davenport.”

Ben McKenzie opened the door, paying minimal attention to either of them aside from a
few words of greeting, and then left them standing in the hall while he returned to his
spot in front of the television. Not much distracted Ben from a soccer game.

Helping Eldon out of his coat, and then removing his own, Cameron hung them both on a
rail on the wall and ventured slowly to the dining room. As he passed the living the room
he noticed his brother Jon sitting beside his father, equally as engrossed in the game.

Miriam stood at the table with Carly and Cameron’s sister in law, Nicola. They fixed the
final preparations of dinner and talked amongst themselves.

“Hi.”

All three turned at the sound of Cameron’s voice, stopping their chatter and eying Eldon
curiously.

“This is Felix.”

Miriam wiped her hands on her apron. “I gathered that, dear.” She smiled and stepped
forward. “Hello Felix. You look very familiar.”

With a courteous bow of his head, Eldon acknowledged Miriam. “It is a pleasure to meet
you, Mrs McKenzie. Thank you for your hospitality in allowing me to join your family
dinner.”

Victorian etiquette. Cameron had forgotten to tell Eldon to relax his formal manners
around strangers. It reflected in Eldon’s clipped words and a decisive drop in his vocal
tone, making his voice lower and more masculine than usual.

***

Miriam let the familiarity of Eldon’s face pass to the wayside and ordered Carly to fetch
Jon and Ben away from the television. During the course of dinner there were the
predictable questions in regards to Lillyport House, the ghost of Eldon Davenport, and
Felix’s resemblance to him. Eldon smiled and answered questions politely, all the time

noticing how everyone tended to leave Cameron out of the conversation until Eldon made
a direct effort to include him. There were snide remarks in Cameron’s direction, some
were subtle and some were blatant. By the end of the meal Cameron had barely eaten
anything and sat quietly in a reserved shell. To Eldon it appeared the McKenzies were too
busy making underhanded comments to pursue why their son had turned up to dinner
with a male friend in the first place.

Once the awkward dinner was over everyone retired to the living room where Ben
promptly turned the television on and zoned off into a world of his own. In comparison to
Eldon’s era, where manners were uppermost, it was all incredibly discourteous. Miriam
served coffee, Nicola and Carly talked amongst themselves, and Jon micked his father’s
fascination with soccer.

On a few occasions over dinner Cameron had tried to inform his family of a matter he
needed to discuss and each time he’d been fobbed off in favour of their own
conversation. They chipped at Cameron continuously until Eldon could plainly see the
humiliation saturating his expression and body language.

***

“Hey Cam?” Out of the blue Jon took his attention off the television and demanded his
brother’s attention. “If Felix went to Oxford he’d probably be able to tell you where
kangaroos are from.”

Everyone in unison, except Eldon and Cameron, chuckled over Jon’s comment. During
an interview over a year ago Cameron had succumbed to anxiety and made a faux pas no
one let him forget.

“I meant to say Australia.”

“Yeah but you didn’t!” Laughed Carly, ignoring the reddish tinge highlighting
Cameron’s face. “That was a classic, kangaroos in Austria. Did you hear about it, Felix?
It was in the papers and everything!”

Unable to take any more, Eldon fired up to step in on Cameron’s behalf. “Why do you
say such hurtful things and treat Cameron in this manner? He is a good, decent, caring,
talented man and you should be proud of him.”

“Excuse me, lad?” Ben sounded as though he had little time for those he considered
upper crust. “Drop your attitude and opinions when you’re in my house, you stuck up
Oxford snob! Who do you think you are?”

Trodden down enough to take insults directed entirely onto himself, Cameron was not
prepared to allow anyone to abuse Eldon.

“That’s it!” He slammed his coffee mug onto the table and turned on his father. “Don’t
you ever insult Felix like that again! In case you didn’t notice all he did was defend me.
More than you’ve done in years. I’ll tell you who Felix is, Dad, he’s my boyfriend.”

They all stared in stunned silence.

“Come on, baby.” Without hesitation, Cameron grabbed Eldon’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter Eleven

Wicorby, Hampshire England
Saturday August 1

st

, 1857

A feathered quill pen sat in a crystal well of black ink. Gathering five small cards
together she set them aside on the wooden alter and picked up a cutthroat razor. She held
it just above her left breast and dug the tip into porcelain white skin. Blood trickled
between her cleavage, staining the pale blue bodice of her dress and turning the razor red.

From inside a drawer she removed a magnifying glass and an unused quill. She held the
quill tip to her chest to collect scarlet liquid in its writing chamber. When it would hold
no more she leaned close over the sixth small card and began the task of drawing a
minute phoenix in her own blood.


Davenport Manor,
Wicorby, Hampshire England
Saturday, August 1

st

, 1857

In a large, decorative vase the Countess of Wicorby arranged a display of roses and
watched her husband pack tobacco into a pipe. “You have been frightfully moody since
yesterday, Charles.”

Without taking his ice blue eyes off the pipe Charles remained silent and refused his wife
the courtesy of a reply.

“Are you frightfully moody for any particular reason?”

He raised his gaze, picked up the packet of tobacco, and stood. “I am not in the temper
for conversation, Lilly. I am retiring to the library. Do not disturb me.”

“All of this could have been avoided.” Stepping away from the vase, she admired her
roses. “Still, you have always thought you knew best.” She flickered light green eyes in
the Earl’s direction. “How wrong you were.”

Chapter Twelve

For the first time in a long while Cameron experienced the confidence lifting results of
taking a stand and having someone take a stand on his behalf. What was said after he and
Eldon left the McKenzie house Cameron didn’t know but could imagine. It didn’t matter
anyway. He’d walked out with Eldon’s hand in his and left them all behind without worry
of their reprisal.

As he lay in bed, spooning into Eldon’s back, he listened to quiet, slumbering mumbles.
Eldon’s smaller lean body fit in against his body perfectly and the warmth of unclothed
skin felt both sweetly sensual and lustfully erotic. Eldon slept heavily and, once he’d
fallen into dreams, it didn’t matter how often Cameron moved it did nothing to stir him.

“You must hurry, dearest. Finish the Dorset cottage. Dorset. Paint faster.”

Closing his eyes, letting the enticement of sleep begin to envelop him, Cameron kissed
Eldon’s shoulder and tightened his arm around his lover's waist. “Okay, baby.” He smiled
at the sleep chatter and found Eldon’s hand in the dark. “If a cottage in Dorset is what
you want, a cottage in Dorset is what I’ll paint you.”

***

In the early hours of the morning Eldon threw off the covers and scrambled out of bed.
Heading directly for the door, he left Cameron behind in a deep sleep, completely
unaware of Cameron's presence inside the room or inside Lillyport. In his mind Eldon
saw an empty house and himself, not naked but dressed in Victorian clothing.

Searing pain knifed through Eldon’s brow. He stumbled backward and braced against the
wall, pressing his hand to his forehead in an attempt to alleviate the agony and stop a
deluge of blood streaming through his fingers. Dropping to his hands and knees, unable
to stand, Eldon crawled the length the hall toward the grand central staircase. He could
only see the flow of scarlet blood drenching the floorboards.

“Mareema.” When Eldon forced out the word he tasted blood in his mouth. “Help me!
Someone help me!”

When Eldon reached the staircase he grappled for the banister and dragged himself to his
feet. He needed to get outside Lillyport House, knowing if he didn’t find aid soon the
gunshot wound inflicted by his father would kill him. Not understanding how he’d
survived this long with massive blood loss, he was aware he’d been made captive and his
parents left him to die. He feared the next victim the Earl would hunt down and take
would be the lover he met with in dreams.

Losing his footing on the second step, Eldon’s legs buckled beneath him and he tumbled
to the halfway landing of the staircase. Around his face Eldon saw hair hanging in long

blood-saturated sections. Desperation kept him pushing through the pain and he shakily
tried to bear his weight to move forward in his quest to reach the lower level of the house.

“Mareema!” Frightened tears turned to hysterical screaming and crying when Eldon
realised he no longer had the strength to move any further. “Mareema! Help me!”

***

Eldon’s agonized wailing jolted Cameron out of sleep. He frantically snatched a pair of
jeans off the floor and pulled them on while trying to exit the bedroom in a panicked
rush. He fumbled for the light switches, cursing his weak eyesight and following the
sound of Eldon’s crying to the central staircase.

Immediately, Cameron saw Eldon splayed out on the staircase landing and, in his initial
dread, feared Eldon’s habit of sleep talking also included sleepwalking. Cameron though
Eldon had wandered off, fallen down the stairs and injured himself badly in the process.

Taking the steps two at a time, Cameron hit the landing and knelt at Eldon’s side. “Talk
to me!” He held Eldon’s hand tightly and placed his other hand against Eldon’s face.
“Baby? Talk to me!”

Aside from abrasions on Eldon’s thighs and left arm, Cameron couldn’t see any serious
injury. It didn’t mean Eldon hadn’t hit his head hard, hurt his back, or possibly broken a
bone. The hysterical crying pitched in waves, stopping and starting, and Eldon screamed
the same thing over and over again. It made no sense to Cameron, sounding as though he
pleaded for ‘mar reem mar’.

“I’ll call an ambulance, baby! Hold on!”

Making it to the bottom of the stairs, Cameron halted in his tracks when Eldon’s pleads
for ‘mar reem mar’ changed into horrified shrieks about being left alone to die. Eldon
screamed about the blood, a gun, clamping his hands to the front of his head and howling
over the pain. If Eldon had fallen down the stairs, Cameron realised that wasn’t the main
cause for his distress. Sprinting to the phone, Cameron dialed Trudy’s number as he ran
back toward the staircase, praying he’d remembered the correct digits in his panic.

Nothing calmed Eldon’s crying or stopped his ceaseless calls for ‘mar reem mar’.
Cameron knew Eldon's physical agony, no matter the fact it was imagined in his mind,
replicated the agony his soul had been in for over one hundred and fifty years. It had
obviously all come flooding back and now looked as though it refused to stop. Eldon
shook almost convulsively on the floor, staring into nothingness with round, terrified eyes
and dilated pupils.

In the fifteen minutes it took Trudy to arrive at Lillyport, Eldon hadn’t quieted for a
moment. Cameron rushed her inside and had no time to explain anything before she flew
into action and ran for the staircase. Not wanting to leave Eldon at any time prior to

Trudy arriving, Cameron suddenly realized she would be confronted with not only
Eldon’s distress but also the fact he was completely nude.

Almost throwing herself at Eldon’s side, Trudy cradled his head in her arms and shouted,
“Get a blanket, Cam! Quickly!”

***

As Cameron disappeared up the stairs Trudy attempted to maneuver Eldon further into
her arms, wanting to use the warmth of her body against his and rocking him soothingly.
“It’ll all be alright, sweetheart, it’ll be over soon.”

“I am dying! They have left me alone to die.”

“You’re not dying, darling, and you’re not alone.”

“I must save Cameron! Mareema!”

She smothered kisses over Eldon’s brow and watched Cameron dash down the stairs with
a blanket. “Cameron’s right here. He’s safe, you’re safe, we’re here with you and you’re
not alone.”

***

It took over half an hour before Eldon started to calm and finally relaxed in Trudy’s arms.
When he did, when the crying and desperate pleas ended, Trudy gave Eldon up to
Cameron and allowed him to lift Eldon and carry him to the bedroom. Slowly dragging
herself off the floor, Trudy used the banister to support her trembling steps and made her
way toward the kitchen.

***

Inside the bedroom Cameron lay with Eldon for a further twenty minutes before tending
to the abrasions and helping him dress. Just after four in the morning Eldon accompanied
Cameron out of the bedroom and into the living room.

“Do you want a cup of tea?” Cameron plumped cushions behind Eldon’s back and fussed
over his comfort. “Or hot chocolate?”

“Yes.” A dull headache lingered between Eldon’s eyes and he massaged the spot with his
fingers. “Hot chocolate would be lovely. Thank you, dearest.”

“Okay.” He kissed Eldon’s lips. “You relax and I’ll be right back.”

Relenting to the urge to close his eyes, Eldon rested his head against the cushions and
tried to rid his mind of the gruesome images now so clearly imbedded in his memory. He

remembered his father holding the gun to his head, remembered him pulling the trigger,
and remembered the agonizing pain that followed and how it refused to cease for what
seemed like an eternity.

“How are you feeling, darling?”

Eldon opened his eyes and fought another onset of tears. “It felt so real.”

“We knew you’d remember it sooner or later. I wish I could’ve done something to
prevent it for you, but I couldn’t.”

“I always knew my mother and father did not feel affection for me, Trudy.” Despite his
stoic attempts the tears tumbled over Eldon’s lower eyelashes. “But I never for a moment
thought Father would...”

With her thumb she caressed his cheek and wiped away the tears. “You’re safe now,
sweetheart. Cameron loves you very much.”

“Yes.” Eldon nodded. “I am blessed to be with Cameron.”

“I love you, too.”

Surprised though warmed by Trudy’s words, Eldon pushed her playfully in the shoulder
and rolled his eyes. “You only say that after you saw me naked.”

A wide smile broke over Trudy’s face and turned into soft laughter.

“How dreadfully embarrassing to know you have seen me naked.” Eldon giggled in spite
of his very real humiliation. “I shall have to sleep in bedclothes in future.”

“If it makes you feel any better, darling, I was too concerned for your welfare to look at
your penis.”

“Perhaps you did not stare at it but I presume you still would have seen it.” Eldon’s
giggling grew louder and it relieved his tension considerably. “Before you judge me too
harshly, Trudy, please remember it is an extremely cold night!”

***

Together they laughed freely over the nakedness incident until finally Trudy gathered
back some composure and took Eldon’s chin in her hand. “I would never judge you
harshly on anything, honey.”

Her fingers moved upward over Eldon’s cheeks to his temples, she then retraced the line
down over his jaw until they crept around to the nape of his neck and became lost in his
dark hair.

“I meant it when I said I love you.” Inside her chest her heart thumped and she felt the
agonizing tears of loss mixed with found. “I really do, Eldon.”

She leaned in and kissed the bridge of Eldon’s nose, the tip of his nose, and then lightly
kissed his lips. She circled Eldon in her arms with the same sweeping feeling of never
wanting to let him go.

***

By five-thirty in the morning Eldon lay asleep on the sofa with his head in Cameron’s
lap. Trudy fixed a supply of coffee to assist her and Cameron in fighting their own lack of
sleep. It was difficult to know whether Eldon’s memory of the murderous event would hit
him again or whether it was a one off. For his sake they fervently hoped for the latter.

“Mar reem mar.” In loving strokes Cameron combed his fingers through Eldon’s hair.
“He kept saying it over and over. Mar reem mar.”

When asked what mar reem mar meant, Eldon’s expression had turned blank and he
couldn’t think of any logical explanation for saying it.

“I wonder if it’s one word, Cam.” Trudy watched Eldon’s sleeping face, thankful he now
appeared peaceful. “Mareema not mar reem mar. When I heard him say it there wasn’t a
definition like there would’ve been if it were three words. It sounded more like three
syllables. He’d say it and then scream for help. ‘Mareema’ and then ‘help me’. Maybe
it’s a name?”

“Why can’t he remember it? If Eldon was calling for someone named Mareema then
obviously he knew and trusted this person. That part doesn’t make any sense seeing as he
can’t recall who Mareema is.”

From beside her Trudy picked up her handbag and rifled through the contents. Early that
evening she’d spent hours pawing over the small cards with a magnifying glass trying to
place the tiny symbols and work out how they were connected with Eldon’s resurrection.
Keeping Cameron in the dark about them wasn’t beneficial.

She laid the cards out on the coffee table. “Eldon found these yesterday in his tailcoat
pocket. He didn’t want to worry you if they were nothing and gave them to me.”

Leaning over as far as he could without disturbing Eldon, Cameron squinted and then
shook his head. “I can’t see them Trudy, sorry.”

“The one in red is a phoenix. The other five are the symbols of alchemy, elements, the
ankh, a chalice, and a pentagram.”

“Pentagram?” Cameron immediately moved away from the cards. “Isn’t that used for
devil worshipping?”

“Not when it’s pointing up.” She tapped her finger on the card. “When it’s pointing up
it’s a powerful symbol of protection.”

“How do you know it was drawn pointing up? Maybe you’ve got the card the wrong way
around.”

She shook her head. “It has a small dot on the top outside the circle. Whoever did these
made sure the pentagram indicates it points up not down.”

“What do the others mean?”

“They’re all symbols of witchcraft and spell casting. They’re part of the reason Eldon’s
lying here with you and not still trapped as a ghost in his bedroom.” Picking up the red
card she stared at the beautifully drawn picture. “A phoenix represents resurrection and
immortality. Rising from the ashes, total destruction followed by rebirth. Whoever did
these was a prevailing witch the likes which of I’ve never seen before.”

“Mareema?”

“Hmm, I wonder. It still doesn’t solve the mystery though. There’s always the chance
Eldon didn’t actually know Mareema personally but did know psychically she was the
one who could help him.”

Seeming overwhelmed by things he had no understanding of, Cameron scratched his
head and then rubbed at his gritty, tired eyes. “I doubt a Victorian socialite family kept
company with witches.”

“So do I, love.” Trudy gathered up the cards and placed them safely inside her handbag.
“On the other hand, Mareema... if that’s her name... knew Eldon. Somehow she knew
him and she cared enough to draw these cards and managed to place them in his
possession before his body was buried. Which begs the next question...” Her eyebrows
lifted and she shrugged. “...how did a witch get inside Lillyport House, open a closed
casket, place the cards inside Eldon’s pocket, and leave with no one seeing her do it?”

Chapter Thirteen

Davenport Manor

Wicorby, Hampshire England

Sunday, August 9

th

, 1857

The gardens of Davenport Manor were a spectacle of roses in bloom and wide sweeping
lawns. Although tended by a team of diligent groundsmen, the Countess of Wicorby
prided herself on the roses and willingly showed them off at any possibility. An afternoon
garden party had been arranged six weeks prior, before Eldon’s death, as a celebration for
Lilly’s forty-first birthday.

For many guests the mood was sombre and most kept any reference to Eldon firmly
behind closed lips. They talked amongst themselves though said nothing within earshot
of the Earl and Countess. All noticed Lady Genevieve and her parents had remained in
London and not attended the birthday celebration. Genevieve’s grief over Eldon’s death
was common knowledge among the upper and lower class.

Under the shade of a large tree, Lilly sat opposite a friend and attempted to cool away the
summer heat by fluttering a fan beside her face. From the corner of her eye she watched
her husband mingling with other gentlemen, leaning on an ivory topped walking stick he
used for fashion purposes only.

“Are you eating, Lilly? You look awfully pale.”

Taking her eyes off Charles, Lilly smiled at her friend and picked up a glass of lemon
water. “I fear the heat is getting to me, Katherine. It is frightfully warm today.”

Setting her own lace fan aside, Katherine placed her hand over Lilly’s. “To lose a child
must be heartbreaking.”

Straight away Lilly’s posture stiffened and she removed her hand from beneath that of
her friend. “That it is.”

“I apologize. I should not have mentioned it.”

“I very nearly died giving birth, Katherine. Then as the cruel turn of fate’s hand would
have it,” accusingly, Lilly glared in her husband’s direction, “I live on and my child is
beneath the earth.”

Those who had known the Countess intimately knew of the difficult labor she’d endured
and how it had almost claimed her life. Known only to the Countess' close friends and
family, Lilly miscarried twice before carrying full-term and providing Charles with the

heir he so impatiently demanded. For over two months Lilly had recuperated after the
birth and was never able to fall pregnant again. Charles planned for at least two sons, a
back up should one not make it into adulthood. Children died often, it was a sad fact of
the times, yet Lilly could not fulfill Charles’ wishes. The Countess played the part of a
loyal wife and perfect hostess to society, but her contented marriage to the Earl was a
myth.

Following the line of Lilly’s gaze toward Charles, Katherine spoke, “He must be
devastated also. Though putting up a brave front.”

“Please excuse me, Katherine.”

Holding the skirt of her crinoline gown as she crossed the lawn, Lilly smiled politely at
guests and tailed Charles as he went into the manor house. When he entered the library to
fetch his pipe and tobacco she closed the door behind them and alerted Charles to her
presence.

“I’m not in the temper to deal with your surly conversation, Lilly. Return to your guests
and leave me in peace.”

“Your arrogance never ceases to astound me.” With furious light in her eyes she crossed
her arms over her chest and regarded Charles bitterly. “Do you honestly believe I am that
so foolish and ignorant to not see you for the man you really are?”

“You are my wife and it would serve you well to remember your place.” He packed his
pipe without obliging Lilly eye contact. “Foolishness and ignorance is a blight
handicapping all women. Perhaps you should concentrate on what you are adept at, Lilly,
and entertain yourself with needlepoint rather than irritate me.”

“Such superiority from a murderer.”

At last Lilly snatched the Earl’s attention.

“Eldon did not know where you kept the pistol.” Casually Lilly crossed the library floor
and removed the pipe out of Charles’ hand. “In fact, Eldon did not know you kept a pistol
at all.”

“There again, Lilly, you are merely displaying your...”

“Ignorance? Yes, predictably that would be your defense, Charles.”

“Plainly the boy did know where I kept my Colt as the results of his knowledge are all
too conclusive!”

“Let us entertain the idea, for just a moment, Eldon did know of a pistol and did know
where you kept it.” Tobacco fell out of the pipe as Lilly tapped it back into its tin. “How
did Eldon escape his locked bedchamber to retrieve it?”

Always Charles underestimated Lilly in the way he undervalued all women. This time
she knew she had him outsmarted and there was nothing he could think of quickly
enough to say.

“I cannot help but wonder what would happen to you, Charles, if I were take my
knowledge to the police.”

“Are you forgetting the boy fell into madness? Have you forgotten his sordid,
reprehensible behavior with a common stable hand?” Losing his composure, Charles
roughly gripped Lilly by the tops of her arms. “The boy was a filthy homosexual and had
no right to live with my name or inherit my wealth!”

“You will treat me with respect from now on, Charles.” Defiantly, Lilly glared into ice
blue eyes. “You will provide me with an allowance far more generous than you provide
me with currently. You will no longer force me to obey your conjugal rights and you will
never raise a hand to me again. For if you do,” she shirked off his grip and stepped away,
“you will be one the one swinging from the gallows.”

“Bitch!”

“Such language for an educated, high-class gentleman!” Lilly turned and strode for the
door, peering over shoulder. “It must be awful to realize what an appalling mistake you
made and yet be unable to do a thing to rectify it.”

Dorset England,

Monday, August 10

th

, 1857

Over the three and a half weeks since the Viscount’s death Albert Jones had whittled
away to a silhouette of his former self. Blackened circles beneath his eyes, and sunken
cheeks from weight loss, had turned a once healthily strong young man into a boy who
could barely hold his own head up.

Each night Albert experienced the same hallucination. The Viscount pounded on the
cottage window with his hands, ghostly and terrifying. Albert feared the Viscount's
resteless spirit sought revenge and would not end its torment until vengeance had been
paid.

The longer she watched her nephew suffer the more Mabel despised the Viscount and the
Davenport family. She’d watched Eldon grow up, had always felt fondness in her heart

for the cheerful little boy who brought smiles to the faces of all the Davenport house
staff. Mabel remembered him sitting in the scullery, happily enjoying her company,
swinging his legs back and forth on a chair too big for him and chattering away about
anything and everything he’d seen or learned. When he walked the ground with his nurse
he’d pick flowers for his mother in the hopes Lilly would pay him a visit that day. Ever
optimistic his parents would want his company even though, many times, Mabel dried his
tears because they didn’t. Then, without warning, Eldon changed from the darling she
knew then into the evil she loathed now.

***

Although Albert grew more afraid of Eldon’s ghostly retribution each moment, he still
loved the Viscount. Eldon had shown him kindness when the Earl and Countess had only
shown contempt. Eldon could have easily taken advantage of his offer of sexual favors
but instead he sternly warned Albert away. When Eldon needed comfort and support, he
allowed Albert to provide it. Only Eldon never knew how terribly he’d be taken
advantage of by a boy who worshipped the ground he walked on and then ripped that
ground out from under him. Albert’s love for the Viscount was very real and his heart lay
inside his chest in splinters. To save Eldon, Albert would have given his own life. To
save Eldon’s wayward spirit, he still would.

“Albert Jones.”

Albert listlessly forced open his eyes and looked upon a cloaked woman with startling
sapphire blue eyes.

“I do not have much time, Albert, your aunt will return from the village soon.”

Had Albert had the strength he’d have run from the strange woman’s touch, but when she
settled her hand on the top of his head he experienced a serene calm.

“That’s it, child.” Crouching before Albert, she smiled warmly. “Hush now for you are
not to blame.”

“I kissed Eldon.” Tears trickled down Albert’s face and his bottom lip quivered. “He was
peacefully sleeping and I climbed into his bed and kissed him. Now he’s dead.”

From a cloth pouch attached to her cloak she removed six small cards. “You must take
these and you must keep them safe. Eldon has exact replicas of these cards in his tailcoat
pocket.”

Her words confused him. Eldon was dead, buried alone in the grounds of Lillyport
House, and Albert couldn’t understand why the strange woman spoke of cards in his
pocket.

“I must give these cards to you, Albert, for you are the only one Eldon can return to
should he...”

Albert’s chalky pallor paled to ashen grey.

The woman drew in a sharp breath and her calm composure unsettled. “What I feared has
already come to pass.” She placed the cards in Albert’s hand and enclosed his fingers
around them. “Do not fear Eldon. He has not come back to seek vengeance, he has
returned to you for help.”

She knew of the visions and Albert’s fear of this strange woman escalated.

“You must let Eldon inside, child, for the painting can only do so much!”

“Painting?”

“The future has not yet happened and yet it has. Eldon has not yet returned to this time
and yet he has done that also. Please,” her hands held fast to the sides of Albert’s face, “if
you are frightened to let Eldon inside the cottage you must meet him outside. You must
give him these cards.”

“Eldon will punish me for what I did!”

“No, child. No.” She straightened and covered her head with the hood. “The painting has
brought Eldon to you. Now you must assist Eldon toward the painter and his peace. It is
your fate. When you do, you will find your peace.”

Without another word the woman in the dark cloak turned and walked away.

Two miles from the cottage

Dorset, England

Monday August 10

th

, 1857

Within a clearing amid forest trees and wildflowers, the woman knelt amongst lush
undergrowth and bowed her head. Above her the sky had begun to darken with early
evening. Birds sang around her as they prepared to sleep and welcome a new day in the
morning.

“I am sorry, Eldon.” Tears obscured her vision and she closed her eyes. “For the many,
many years your soul will be trapped in pain and sorrow I am sorry. I have tried to
release your spirit and I cannot. All I can do now is ensure you will one day unite with
your soul mate and I give you everything I have to make sure it happens. You will live

again, Eldon. Cameron’s touch will bring you life, his energy can sustain your life, but
only after the sacrifice of another.”

She raised her face upward and shouted, “Like the phoenix let the rebirth cycle begin!”

Slipping her hand beneath her cloak she pulled out a dagger and plunged it into her heart.

Chapter Fourteen

A trip into central London was the suggestion Eldon needed to take his mind off the
harrowing events of the night before and give him something exciting to focus on.
Cameron had the entire day planned, including taking Eldon on The London Eye, letting
him experience his first movie in a cinema, spoiling him with a clothes shopping spree,
and dinner in one of the finest restaurants.

To fit everything in without being rushed, Cameron wanted to be out of the house and on
their way by eleven o’clock. As the time drew closer to noon Cameron quit pacing the
living room floor and made up the staircase for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
Eldon had to be the vainest person he’d ever met and, although it didn’t reflect in his
easygoing personality, it did result in long stints in front of a full-length mirror.

“Baby?” Before Eldon had the chance to take out another shirt Cameron closed the
wardrobe. “Any chance we can get going within the next week or so?”

“I am not quite sure this shade of blue enhances my complexion.” Eldon began
unbuttoning the shirt. “Perhaps I should wear purple instead.”

Deciding the best way to deal with Eldon’s vanity was to pander to it Cameron turned the
corners of his mouth down and frowned. “Shame. The blue shirt makes your eyes look
even more captivating.”

“Really? Do you not think it makes my skin appear pale?”

“I think it gives you a healthy glow.”

Quickly Eldon buttoned up the shirt. “Yes, you are right. It does.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Cameron covertly rolled his eyes and took a jacket from the
wardrobe. “Here, it’s cold out there.”

“Not that one, it makes me look pounds heavier than I am.”

“When you tried it on yesterday I thought it accentuated your slim waist and made you
look incredibly sexy.”

“Pass it over, dearest.”

Cameron handed over the jacket and silently congratulated himself on figuring out how
to hurry Eldon up and get him away from the mirror. Ten minutes later he had Eldon out
the door, in the car, and they were headed toward central London.

***

Standing amid a throng of tourists all queued for their spot on the London Eye elevated
Eldon’s excitement to the point Cameron thought he’d soon have to slip Eldon a Valium
to calm down. It brought a wide grin to Cameron’s face to watch Eldon squealing with
delight every time one capsule moved forward to allow the next empty one to fill. At one
hundred and twenty-five metres tall, and an icon of modern day London, The Eye had
Eldon in raptures before he’d even set foot inside it.

When their turn to board finally came around, Eldon was close to hyperventilating with
anticipation. Clutching tightly to Cameron’s arm, he rushed into the capsule and
immediately pressed his face to the glass.

“Sit down, baby.” Tugging at the back of Eldon’s jacket, Cameron tried to prise him
away from the window. “You can’t stand there.”

Reluctantly, Eldon allowed Cameron to guide him toward a long bench seat. “I am so
excited I do believe I may soon lose complete control of my bodily functions!”

An old couple to Eldon’s right chuckled at the comment.

Once the capsule had been filled to capacity the door closed and Eldon squealed again.
“It is moving!” His hands flapped and fluttered around his face. “We are moving! Oh, I
shall soon be amongst the clouds like a bird!”

Soon everyone in the capsule, including Cameron, started sniggering.

“First time on The Eye, dear?” asked the old woman to Eldon’s right.

“Yes!” Eldon twisted in his seat to reply. “It is so exciting!”

Through the entire London Eye experience Eldon had all the passengers laughing with
his animated account of everything as though they couldn’t see for themselves. Under
normal circumstances, having that much attention brought onto him, even by proxy,
would’ve unsettled Cameron into a bundle of nerves. This time he revelled in Eldon’s
excitement as much as Eldon did. Knowing several people in the capsule recognised him,
knowing they cast each other questioning glances every time Eldon clutched his hand, he
cared not in the slightest.

Originally planning the day trip as an antidote to lower Eldon’s stress levels, the time
spent out in his company boosted Cameron with a new sense of adventure and inner
harmony.

They disembarked The Eye and headed toward the shopping district. The assortment of
fashion stores sent Eldon into a tailspin, not knowing which door to enter first or which
rack of clothes to assail. Cameron’s pennywise nature didn’t extend to scrimping on
Eldon’s fashion-passion, allowing him to run wild with his choices and not saying no to

anything. Parcels and packages piled up at each cash register and, rather than cart them
around to their next destination, Cameron arranged for everything to be delivered the
following day.

Catching a cab to London’s West End, Cameron waited patiently while Eldon stared with
wide eyes at the promotion posters of each movie showing. The television had captured
Eldon’s imagination the moment he first saw moving pictures blaze into life. The thought
of seeing something on a massive screen excited him as much as the London Eye. Unable
to resist the temptation of robots taking over the world Eldon opted for a science fiction
film, much to Cameron’s distaste. Science fiction rated low on Cameron’s list of
preferred entertainment. He brought the tickets and kept his dislike hidden.

Hovering one hundred and twenty-five metres in the sky seemed like the one thing
Cameron thought Eldon may have shown fear over, but at no time did The Eye scare him.
The same couldn’t be said for the movie. With everything larger than, life Eldon cleary
had a difficult time accepting the realistic special effects weren’t genuine. Several times
he almost landed in Cameron’s lap, spraying popcorn in all directions, gripping his arm
around Cameron’s neck and screaming every time one of those robots he so desperately
wanted to see claimed another human victim. Any moment Cameron thought security
would throw them out or the people around them would demand they leave.

Cameron had never been so glad to see the credits roll at the end and he whisked Eldon
out of the cinema before the lights went up.

“How absolutely terrifying!” With both hands Eldon gripped the lapels of Cameron’s
jacket as they stood on the city sidewalk. “It was fabulous!”

“All that screaming and you actually enjoyed it?”

“Oh yes! I especially loved the part when the robot tore the gentleman’s head from his
shoulders and then crushed it like a melon with his metal hands!”

“Yeah, a classic moment in cinema history for sure.” Cameron laughed. “Ready for
dinner?”

“Where are you taking me now, dearest?”

“Somewhere candlelit and romantic.” Uncaring if anyone judged them, Cameron took
Eldon by the hand. “You and me, table for two, good bottle of wine...”

“Will they serve Absinthe?”

“I doubt it! And, why do the words Absinthe and romance not seem to go together?”
Through narrowed eyes Cameron peered to his right. “Anyway, Absinthe doesn’t have
the hallucinate in it anymore so it’s not what you remember. Damn potent though and I
don’t want you getting so drunk I have to carry you home.”

“Absinthe is very romantic, dearest. When I consumed it I would have the most intimate
dreams of you and I together.”

“No Absinthe!”

“Have you tried it?”

“No and I’m not going to try it tonight either.”

“You may like it if you try it. Perhaps we shall a purchase a bottle and take it home with
us.”

“Perhaps we won’t.” Leaning down Cameron whispered into Eldon’s ear. “When I make
love to you tonight I want us both sober.”

Like Velcro was attached to the bottom of his shoes Eldon halted. “When you say ‘make
love’ what exactly do you mean?”

“I mean...” Finding the funny side to something that in the past caused him major
distress, Cameron laughed while he clarified. “...I’m gonna go for third time lucky and
see if I can at least make your earth move a little!”

“Cameron!” A rosy flush swept across Eldon’s cheeks and his fingers hovered beside his
mouth. “I do believe you have made me blush!”

“I do believe I could be the one blushing if it’s anything like the other times!”

***

A box of condoms and sachets of lube, purchased on the sly from a vending machine in
the cinema toilets, felt like a leaden weights in Cameron’s jacket pocket when he walked
inside Lillyport with Eldon at his side. His bravado started to fade the instant dinner was
over and the car ride home began. The day had been perfect; Cameron feared it would
end in disaster.

“Do you want coffee?”

“No, thank you, dearest.”

First strike with an attempt to stall and Cameron hesitated in the foyer, knowing if they
went directly up to the bedroom there wouldn’t be much room for excuses.

“Hot chocolate?”

Eldon shook his head. “No, thank you.”

“Tea?”

“Cameron.” Eldon ran his hand up Cameron’s arm, soothingly. “If you are nervous and
have changed your mind, I understand. I am also nervous.”

“You are?”

“Yes.” Looping his arm through Cameron’s, Eldon headed toward the staircase. “It is all
new to me. I have had dreams, or premonitions, but it will be my first time and I am
nervous I will disappoint you.”

“I’m thirty-one and I’ve had sex twice. You could fall asleep during it and I’d still be
satisfied.”

The reached the second level and continued on to the bedroom, closing the door behind
them. Eldon sat on the edge of the mattress, kicking off his shoes while Cameron kept
clear of the bed and sat down on a high back, antique chair.

“Let us look at this logically, dearest. If we do not succeed in getting it right the first time
we shall continue to practice until we do get it right.”

There was something about the way Eldon removed his clothes that hypnotised Cameron
whenever he watched it. Eldon did it without rushing, taking his time so Cameron could
savour every second of it, opening each button slowly and then slipping off a shirt or
jacket seductively.

“Let us imagine for a moment we were not nervous.” The jacket Eldon had hanging over
his arm fell to the floor. “Let us imagine you have been working terribly hard on your
painting and are in need of my... shall we say... spousal company.”

The corner of Cameron’s mouth lifted in a shy smile.

“And let us imagine you walk into our bedchamber to find me...” With his legs hanging
over the side of the bed Eldon lay back onto the mattress. “...thusly.”

Sexual fantasies stepped far outside the reserved boundaries Cameron hemmed himself
into. Obviously Eldon, although admitting he felt nervous, didn’t share Cameron’s role-
playing unease. While Cameron looked on, feeling the heat in a cold bedroom decisively
increase, Eldon closed his eyes and unhurriedly opened his shirt buttons.

“You are standing in the doorway, dearest, watching me clandestinely for you know I am
not yet aware of your presence. Yet you do know I am picturing you inside my mind for
my hand is...”

The last of Cameron’s awkward smirk faded and his pulse soared as he fixated on
Eldon’s hand as it skimmed lightly over his chest toward his navel. For a teasing moment
Eldon said nothing, caressing his own stomach with his fingers and sighing. Cameron
adjusted his position in the chair, uncrossing his legs to accommodate an erection, never
taking his eyes off the erotic display.

“And... let us imagine...” From his stomach Eldon travelled his fingers to the zipper of his
jeans. “...you are standing in the doorway watching me...” He unzipped the fly and slid
his hand inside his boxers. “...visualising you in my mind...”

When Eldon arched his head back and emitted a long, husky sigh, Cameron stared
lustfully at the movement of Eldon’s hand beneath the cotton fabric. Eldon shamelessly,
leisurely stroked himself and plainly knowing he had Cameron’s undivided attention. He
writhed under his own touch, gradually changing his breathing up into quiet panting,
letting the fingers of his other hand wander over his bare chest and acting out the first
heady stages of an ensuing climax. It was a bawdy, lewd exhibition and it had Cameron
burningly spellbound.

“What would you do?” Eldon asked breathlessly, keeping his eyes firmly closed. “Would
you continue to watch on or would you join me?”

Aroused to point where watching, no matter how voyeuristically exhilarating, was no
longer an option, Cameron lunged out of the chair. Every nerve ending in his body flared
with desire. He smothered Eldon’s mouth with his while blindly dragging jeans and
boxers down over Eldon’s thighs until they bunched around his ankles and were kicked
away in a scuttle of shuffling feet.

Any of Cameron’s remaining performance anxiety had vanished the instant Eldon began
brazenly masturbating in front of him. He wanted to be the one to make Eldon writhe and
pant. Everything else disappeared from Cameron’s mind.

Snatching the box of condoms and lube from his jacket pocket, Cameron tossed them up
onto the pillow and allowed Eldon to shed away his clothes until they piled on the floor
next to Cameron’s feet.

Slipping his hand under Eldon’s head, Cameron hoarsely spoke an urgent order into his
ear. “Put your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist.”

Doing exactly as asked, Eldon obeyed and was promptly lifted off the bed in a change of
position. It had Eldon sitting astride Cameron’s lap, his legs still wrapped tightly behind
Cameron’s lower back, and gave unhindered gratification to both as two hard cocks
pressed in and moved enticingly against the other. Kisses were deep, bottomless and
intense. Cameron tasted the craving on Eldon’s lips and the hunger on his tongue. It
matched the way his fingertips dug firmly into the nape of Cameron’s neck and knotted
through his hair, the way his hips shifted forward and backward in time with the gentle

pressure of Cameron’s hand on his butt and small groans of pleasure escaped the confines
of his kiss.

Cameron ceased guiding Eldon’s pelvis forward and broke his lips away to whisper,
“Stop it, baby.”

“No!”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Cameron firmly gripped Eldon’s hips. “I’m gonna come way too soon
if you don’t stop.”

Flustered, Eldon ceased moving and peered with confusion. “Come where?”

“Everywhere!” Cameron laughed, knowing Eldon had no idea what he meant. “Trust
me.”

Not wanting to break the mood entirely, but needing to slow it down if was to make it
passed heavy petting, Cameron stood and carefully laid Eldon down on the bed, making
sure his head rested comfortably on the pillow. He took a condom from the box and set it
down on the bedside table.

Crawling over the top of Eldon, Cameron gazed into expectant blue eyes and smiled.
“Feeling yourself up like that...”

Eldon returned his smile with a sly smirk.

“Hot! Unexpected, but smoking hot!”

“Kiss me.”

Rather than pick up the heat right where they’d left off, Cameron gradually lowered his
face and kissed Eldon in slow, placid stages. Lying down beside him, he led Eldon onto
his side also, and kept the caresses subdued and mellow. The last thing Cameron wanted,
now that his own desire held no reservation, was to come too quickly and have it all over
before it began. But, Cameron’s change of pace wasn’t only for his own sake. Eldon had
countless dream fantasies circling inside his mind, but, Cameron presumed, no real
understanding of why taking it easy was a better option than rushing.

Minute followed minute and Cameron kept the pace at a constant, tranquil level,
pampering the places on Eldon’s body that caused shivers and sighs, lost in the feeling of
Eldon returning the exquisite indulgences. With Eldon everything felt right when in the
past it had only ever felt wrong.

Placing his hand behind Eldon’s knee, Cameron lifted and positioned Eldon's leg over his
own. He took his lips off Eldon’s, nibbling into Eldon’s neck before reaching for the

condom. Cameron slipped the small square packet under the pillow, licked his fingers,
and then covered Eldon’s mouth with his.

Eldon’s head bent back sharply with a loud grunt when Cameron inserted two fingers
inside him.

Cameron moved no further. “Are you okay?”

“Yes!” Eldon’s fingernails dug into Cameron’s shoulder. “Yes! Oh... yes!”

The expression of pure ecstasy Eldon wore blazed Cameron’s arousal higher, and his
heated gaze never left Eldon’s face for a second. Moving his fingers inside Eldon gently
at first, he studied the way Eldon licked his lips one instant and then bit down on his
bottom lip in the next. He felt Eldon’s pelvis move forward and his body squirm
responsively. Cameron had never experienced the hedonistic buzz associated with
watching someone in the heights of pleasure. Together with Eldon’s earlier masturbation
display, it unleashed a whole new element of kink Cameron had never known he
possessed.

“Feels good does it?” He brushed his lips over Eldon’s mouth. “Hmmm?”

The fact Eldon gasped on his reply and couldn’t answer only inflamed Cameron more.
He withdrew his fingers gradually, letting his hand linger and stroke Eldon’s cock for
several seconds until he stopped and retrieved the condom from beneath the pillow.

“Why did you stop? Do not stop!”

A licentious thought flashed through Cameron’s mind and he didn’t hesitate in going
with it. Snatching another pillow, he placed it near Eldon’s feet and calmly asked him to
turn around and face the other direction. Obviously willing to do anything asked of him,
Eldon complied with the request.

Making sure his eager to please lover again lay comfortably, Cameron lifted Eldon’s legs
until they bent at the knees and parted. He tore open the condom packet with his teeth,
discarded the wrapper, and rolled it on. Next he tore open the packet of lube.

Kissing up the insides of Eldon’s thighs, Cameron teased a rock hard erection with his
tongue, listening to Eldon’s moans before then allowing his tongue to track up to Eldon’s
navel, his chest, and then his lips. Cameron kissed Eldon lustfully and then broke away to
lift his eyes to the wardrobe against the wall opposite the end of the bed. A wardrobe with
a full-length mirror.

Eldon drew in a short, sharp gasp followed by a hoarse grunt when Cameron entered him.
In reaction Cameron’s entire body shivered. Eldon was tight and virginal, but he thrust
his hips upward forcefully and willingly. He gripped tight to Cameron’s bicep and
reactively covered his face with his other arm as he moaned.

“Let me see you, baby.” Cameron forced the words out through a constricted throat and
peeled Eldon’s arm away from his face. “That’s it. I want to see you.”

“Oh... my... Lord!” Both hands gripped onto Cameron’s arms. “Oh... oh... oh... Cameron!
Lord above!”

The more Eldon moaned, groaned, grunted, and called out his name, the hotter Cameron
burned and the harder he thrust. Alternately watching the ecstatic expression of his lover
intermingled with long, hungry moments of watching in the mirror. Aching to get even
deeper inside Eldon, Cameron manoeuvred his arms under Eldon’s legs and pushed them
as far back as he could without causing Eldon pain in the process. The move resulted in
another vocal round from Eldon and matching verbal appreciation from Cameron.

“Faster!” Eldon breathlessly ordered Cameron to comply. “Harder! Faster!”

“Fuck!” Cameron gritted his teeth together, wanting to delay coming for as long as
possible and indulge in the carnal reflection he saw in the mirror. “Fuck!”

Once again Eldon let go of Cameron’s arm and covered his eyes with his hand.

“No don’t!” Grabbing Eldon’s wrist he moved his hand away and pinned Eldon’s arm
behind his head. “Don’t cover your face, baby!”

Knowing he wasn’t going to last much longer, and determined to watch Eldon come first,
Cameron barked a husky order for Eldon to put his other hand behind his head as well.
As soon as he did as asked, Cameron pinned both Eldon’s wrists down to the mattress
with his left hand and adjusted his position just enough to stimulate Eldon hard with his
right hand.

With a sharp arch of his spine, Eldon’s neck bent backward, he shuddered and came
powerfully, screaming Cameron’s name as he did so. Seconds later, having succeeded in
quenching his salacious need to watch, Cameron followed and came just as hard with a
loud groan.

Taking several moments to catch his breath, Cameron released Eldon’s hands and
languished in a long, heady kiss. Beneath him he felt Eldon trembling and his own body
shook in exactly the same manner.

Finally, Cameron pulled away and stared down into satisfied blue eyes. “I love you. You
have no idea how beautiful you are when you have an orgasm.”

Brushing away hair stuck to his face, Eldon exhaled a heavy sigh and answered in a
breathless voice. “For the first time in my life I am speechless.”

Lying close beside one another, listening to the sounds of their hearts slowing down into
a normal rhythm, Eldon ran his fingers through Cameron’s hair and creased his brow in a
tiny frown. “May I ask why we are lying in the wrong direction on this bed?”

A wide, mischievous grin preceded Cameron’s laughter. “Look behind you.”

Eldon looked and shrieked. “How deviant!” He slapped Cameron in the arm. “I love it!”

Chapter Fifteen

Holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while he dressed, Cameron listened half-
heartedly to his sister and allowed his sight the pleasure of peering in through the open
ensuite door. Aside from shaving cream frothed on the lower half of his face Eldon stood
in front of the mirror completely naked. Cameron smiled, knowing Eldon’s nudity while
shaving was purposeful, aimed at spoiling Cam's voyeurism.

“Felix defended me like I defended him.” The manner of Cameron’s voice, and the
forthrightness in his conversation, was a direct result of increased confidence gained the
night before. “If anyone should apologise it should be you lot.”

“I am sorry, Cam.” Carly replied honestly. “We belittled you in front of a friend...
boyfriend... and I agree, Felix didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. Mum and Dad are
shocked, you have to understand that. None of us ever thought you were gay. This is
going to take a while for them to come to terms with, especially for Dad.”

“Fair enough, I do understand. But, I’m furious Dad dared say what he did to Felix.”

“Please... talk it over with Felix and then call me back.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

Angst with his family marred Cameron’s mood and he wanted to forget it all in favour of
living with Eldon inside a protected cocoon of contentment. Carly had made the first
move to apologise and for that Cameron was thankful. He hadn’t expected the call and he
definitely hadn’t expected the sincerity in her admission of guilt. It seemed as though
Carly didn’t have an issue with Cameron’s sexuality, but she did have a problem with it
affecting family dynamics. Something that increased Cameron’s annoyance as family
dynamics hadn’t been a priority before. At least not in relation to him.

Lying the phone aside, Cameron wandered into the bathroom and toward a far more
enticing situation than family squabbles.

“Damn, you’re sexy.” He pressed in against Eldon’s back and ran his hands down the
outsides of lean, taut thighs. “There’s not one thing about you that doesn’t make me hot.”

“I can tell.” The razor glided down Eldon’s cheek and he locked eyes with Cameron in
the mirror. “I can feel you hard against me already.”

Teasingly, Cameron squeezed Eldon’s semi-erection and winked. “Do you feel like a bit
of bathroom fun in front of the mirror?”

Before Eldon replied, he rinsed the razor beneath running water and reached for a towel.
“I could not help overhearing your side of the conversation with Carly.” He wiped the

remaining shaving cream off his face and turned around. “Perhaps you should reconsider
her invitation.”

“That wasn’t the reply I was hoping for.”

“If your mother and father are willing to discuss this, should we not take the opportunity
while it is available to us rather than risk the doors of communication closing once
more?”

“Eldon,” A line between Cameron’s brows deepened when he frowned. “You’ve been
parading in front me without a stitch of clothing for over half an hour. You’re the
opportunity I want to take right now.”

“Have you considered asking your family here?” Stepping away, Eldon wrapped the
towel around his waist and exited the ensuite. “Rather than us visit with them at your
parents home to discuss the matter of our relationship, would you feel more comfortable
in the surrounds of our own home?”

Plainly Eldon had no intention of pandering to his desires this time and Cameron sulkily
followed his lover into the bedroom. “I’d feel more comfortable if we could drop the
subject and talk about something else.”

“Have you not always wanted for them to listen to you?” From the wardrobe Eldon
pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt. “Are you not perhaps missing a ripe opportunity by
denying yourself the chance speak your mind?”

“According to Carly the only reason Dad’s willing for us to go there and discuss anything
is because Mum forced him to agree to it.” A snarky edge blistered Cameron’s tone.
“Why is this so important to you anyway?”

“I love you, Cameron, and you love me.” Eldon dropped the towel and pulled on a pair of
butt hugging boxer shorts. “I would like for us to have the chance to prove this to your
family. And I would like you to have the chance to show your family once and for all that
you are strong and able to stand up for yourself.” Well fitted blue jeans went on next.
“You deserve this chance, dearest. It is long overdue that they listen to you and your
opinions.”

Cameron flopped down on the bed with his arm covering his eyes. “I can tell I’m going to
hate it every time you’re right!” He felt a soft pair of lips kiss his and took his arm away.
“Fine. I’ll call Carly back and ask them over here. Happy?”

“Yes.” Eldon smiled and kissed Cameron again. “Deliriously.”

***

Like the ideal host, Eldon wanted everything to be faultless for Cameron’s family and
Cameron obliged by driving to the supermarket in search of the perfect supper. Seeing
Eldon racing through aisles, awestruck by the array of items available, made the trip
worthwhile. Only Cameron knew if they purchased grocery items, the one who’d be left
slaving in the kitchen would be him. Instead of falling victim to that scenario, they
bought staple items Cameron needed anyway and opted for a bakery to provide ready-
made cakes. According to Eldon tea, coffee and cakes were the proper things to offer. It
wasn’t worth arguing with Victorian etiquette, though Cameron would have been
prepared to simply rip open a packet of biscuits and leave it at that.

Carly had welcomed Cameron’s return call, promising to step in on his behalf should
Ben’s temper get the better of him. She’d made mention of the fact Jon, although just as
shocked by the revelation, was prepared to accept he had a gay brother. This eased
Cameron’s mind somewhat but not entirely. His main concern was not just for himself
and facing the wrath of his father; Cameron didn’t want Eldon further insulted and feared
this could quite likely happen. Ben’s dislike for white-collar society was deeply rooted. If
Ben believed anyone had life handed to them on a silver platter, he gave them little room
for acceptance.

Cameron wanted to forget about family and spend a romantic night alone with his
newfound love. In many ways he didn’t want to share Eldon yet. He wanted Eldon to
himself while they continued to learn about each other wrapped in secure sensuality. Too
many nights of Cameron’s life had been spent alone; now he wanted the bliss of
togetherness. The closer the time neared for family members to arrive, the moodier
Cameron grew.

“What time is it, dearest?” Eldon stood back and admired the cakes he’d arranged on
large china plate. “Please, put your shoes, on for they will be here soon.”

“Nearly seven-thirty.” Cameron unenthusiastically shoved his feet into a pair of runners.
“I can’t believe I spent fifty pounds on bloody cakes.” He grunted.

“They certainly look delicious.”

“They’d want to for that much money!”

“Do stop being grumpy.” In a mirror above the mantel Eldon smoothed down his hair and
made sure his ribbon sat neatly at the nape of his neck. “If you do not improve your mood
then it will only reflect badly on us.”

“I deserve a medal for agreeing to this.” The scowl on Cameron’s face grew harsher each
minute. “We’re not going to get anything out of it.”

“You do have a sullen side to your nature, Cameron.” From the mirror Eldon turned and
returned the scowl. “I shall keep all my clothes on in bed tonight if you do not cheer up.”

A twitch of a smile broke through his surliness. “Are you bribing me with sex?”

“Of course.” Eldon grinned. “What better bribe is there?”

“None I can think of.”

When Cameron tapped his knee in a request for Eldon to take a seat on his lap, Eldon
sauntered over and took up the invitation. Wrapping his arms around Cameron’s neck,
Eldon kissed Cam lovingly, and took Cameron’s mind off the family visit.

“I have been thinking about what we shall do together tomorrow,” said Eldon as he eased
away from the kiss.

“Believe me, baby, so have I!” Cameron quickly replied. “But I’m going to behave
myself, so I don’t have to wait until tomorrow.”

“You certainly have put your nervousness in concerns to intimacy to rest.”

“Uh-huh.” A wandering hand snuck between Eldon’s legs. “I’m ready to go at a
moment’s notice.”

“Your family will arrive soon and it would surely not be proper for me to greet them at
the door with an erection.” Eldon sternly removed the offending hand. “I thought perhaps
tomorrow would be a nice day for riding.”

“You don’t mean riding me, do you?”

“No, dearest.” Inside his fingers Eldon twirled a lock of blonde hair. “I thought perhaps
we could go horseback riding together.”

“Erm, no.” Cameron shook his head. “I’ve never ridden a horse and I don’t intend to. I’d
rather not risk breaking every bone in my body.”

“Where is your sense of adventure?”

“I don’t have any.”

With a wide grin, Eldon rolled his eyes. “I am a very good rider. If you mount up behind
me you will be safe.”

Cameron pressed his lips together and lifted his brows before answering. “I’ll mount up
behind you any time you like, but not on a horse.”

“I will change your mind.” Eldon slipped out of Cameron’s arms and off his lap. “Your
family have arrived.”

The brows Cameron had raised lowered in question. “How do you know?”

Eldon held out his hand. “I know.”

Carly had arranged to call Cameron when they arrived after being warned the doorbell
didn’t work. The conviction in Eldon’s announcement left absolutely no doubt he
believed for certain they were already there. It unnerved Cameron, sending a shiver down
his spine and making the hairs on his arms stand on end.

Holding fast to Eldon’s hand as they walked the long hall toward the front of the house,
Cameron’s mood fluctuated between annoyance and apprehension. He put up high
defensive walls, not at all confident of a positive outcome to the evening.

Just as Eldon predicted, by the time they arrived at the front door, the McKenzie’s were
climbing the steps onto the veranda.

“Eldon,” Cameron whispered as though his family could already overhear. “Remember to
relax the formality a bit.”

“I will, dearest.” Eldon confidently reached for the door handle. “And you must
remember to call me Felix.”

The door swung open and immediately Cameron’s eyes locked with his father’s. He
looked away and stepped back as Eldon stepped forward.

Carly greeted them with a broad smile, thrusting a large round potted cactus into Eldon’s
hands. “Happy housewarming!”

“Good gracious!” No doubt never having seen a plant quite like it, Eldon held the
ribboned pot warily. “It looks vicious.”

“It’s called a Golden Barrel Cactus.” Carly led the way into the foyer and the rest of the
McKenzie’s followed with Ben lagging behind. “I bought the biggest one I could find.
Looks a bit like a cushion but I wouldn’t recommend sitting on it.”

“I shall try to refrain!”

Carly laughed and shirked off her coat. Ben glared at Eldon. Miriam hung back
tentatively. Jon held Nicola’s hand, silently sizing his brother and male lover up. Nicola
smiled uncomfortably.

Clearly unsure of what to do with the strange looking plant, Eldon looked around for a
suitable place to set the pot down, found nowhere, and handed it across to Cameron.
“Here you are, dearest. It is a cactus.”

“Yes it is.” Sniggering despite his awkwardness, Cameron took the cactus out of Eldon’s
hands and smiled at his sister. “Thank you. I think.”

“You know me.” She kissed Cameron on the cheek. “I love cactuses.”

“Cacti.” He corrected and began leading them down the hall.

“Cactuses, cacti, same thing.” A bright smile beamed at Eldon and Carly circled her arm
around his waist. “Good to see you again, Felix.”

Cameron knew that to Eldon the closeness was overly familiar from a woman he barely
knew, but he took her lead and placed his arm around Carly’s waist. “Lovely to see you
also, Carly. It was thoughtful and gracious of you to bring us a gift.”

“You’re so cute!” Carly giggled. “I love the posh way you speak.”

Behind him Cameron heard his father scoff and his hands strangled the pot in reaction.
He set the cactus down on a console table just inside the living room and inhaled a deep
breath. He didn’t plan to bend to his father’s discourtesy or intimidation attempts.

Cameron waited until they were all seated and then took his place beside Eldon,
immediately taking his hand. Thick silence filled the room and the atmosphere hung
heavily, like blackened tar.

Eldon cleared his throat, squeezing Cameron’s hand encouragingly. “We would like to
thank you for visiting with us tonight. We appreciate...”

“How long has this been going on?” demanded Ben of his son, cutting Eldon off as
though he were nobody of significance.

“Felix was speaking.” Cameron glared icily at his father. “You’re in my house now and
no one disrespects me or my partner.”

“It’s fine for him to disrespect me in my home, is it?” retorted Ben.

“Have a think about the reasons why Felix said what he did.”

“Please!” interrupted Miriam, her eyes watery and her voice shrill. “I don’t want this to
end in an argument. We’re concerned, Cameron.” From her handbag Miriam removed a
tissue. “All of a sudden you’re gay, Felix appears from nowhere, and you buy this
extravagant house for you both to live in. Can’t you see why we might be worried?”

“I’m not gay all of a sudden, Mum.”

“What do you do for a living, Felix?” Ben took up where Miriam left off. “Oh, that’s
right, you’re an Oxford graduate without a job. Who’s supporting you?” Eldon hesitated
enough for Ben to smirk arrogantly. “Cameron?”

An underhanded comment calling Eldon a gold digger and Cameron’s first reaction was
to react with a verbal attack of his own. Then common sense took over and he thought
about Eldon first and his anger second. To react to Ben aggressively would be playing
into his father’s hands. Ben wanted to cause an argument and Cameron didn’t want to
play his game.

“Yes, Dad.” Rather than pretend otherwise, Cameron agreed with his father in a calm
manner. “I am supporting Felix at the moment because--”

“I knew it,” huffed Ben with a triumphant smile on his face.

“No, you really don’t know anything and that’s why you’re jumping to conclusions.
None of you know Felix and you, Dad, are judging him purely on his accent.” Before
Ben could snap out a reply, Cameron held his hand up to stop him with a firm expression
of command. “Felix hasn’t judged any of you. In fact, I didn’t want you lot here tonight;
it was Felix who invited you.”

“Cam,” Miriam interjected. “We know what you’re like. You can be taken advantage of
easily. You have a lot of money, Felix is younger than you, and--”

“That’s where you’re wrong and where you’ve always been wrong about me.” At his side
Cameron sensed Eldon watching him between glances around the room. “There are very
good reasons why Felix doesn’t have a job and we’re under no obligation to explain those
reasons to you. I’m not an idiot and I never have been. I’m supporting Felix while he gets
back on his feet, like any loving partner would do.”

“It’s disgusting.” Ben sneered. “To think about what my own son is doing in the bedroom
with another man!”

“Well you know what, Dad?” replied Cameron without missing a beat. “It’s not exactly
pleasant for me to imagine you and Mum doing it either.”

“Amen to that!” sniggered Jon, finally breaking his own silence. “I’m still recovering
from when I walked in on them ten years ago.”

Carly, Nicola, and Eldon all chuckled reservedly at the comment. Cameron returned his
brother’s grin appreciatively.

“It goes against God!” His eldest son’s joke seemed to only infuriated Ben more. “It’s
unnatural!”

“Give it a rest, Dad.” Again Jon stepped in. “Probably the last time you went to church
was when you were baptised. There was nothing holy in what I saw you and Mum and
doing!”

This time Jon managed to break all, except Ben and Miriam, into bursts of laughter. The
tension in the air lessened until Ben pushed out of the sofa huffily and snatched Miriam’s
hand. Cameron shook his head in disbelief.

“I knew this would be a waste of time.” Bypassing Cameron, Ben glowered in Eldon’s
direction. “We’re leaving.”

No one else stood and Ben’s bravado in announcing their departure sank. Only Miriam
stood at his side and yet Cameron could tell she wasn't convinced Ben was right.

“We’re gonna stay.” Jon draped his arm comfortably around Nicola’s shoulders and lifted
his eyebrows toward Eldon. “If that’s okay with you?”

Thankful, Eldon smiled and replied gratefully, “We would love you to stay.”

“I’m staying, too,” said Carly. “I want these cakes!”

***

“Need any help, bro?”

Disappointed his parents had left without anything being resolved, Cameron none-the-
less felt gratified his siblings and sister-in-law chose to stay. Jon walked further into the
kitchen and leaned beside the countertop while Cameron organised coffee.

“No, thanks.” He set a small jug of milk onto a tray and shrugged. “Felix is a stickler for
etiquette.”

Jon smirked. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“He is.”

“I didn’t really come in here to help you with coffee.” The smirk changed into a wry
smile. “I was a bit iffy about you being gay. But, as long as you’re happy.”

A thankful smile crossed Cameron’s lips. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”

“I’ve fucked a few arses myself.” When Cameron stared in astonishment, Jon clarified
while laughing, “Of the female persuasion.”

“Probably more information than I needed from you, Jon! By the way, thanks for
staying.”

“No problem.” Jon's eyes wandered over Cameron’s face and he frowned slightly.
“Whatever gets you through night, Cam. If you like fucking guy’s arses and sucking
cock, well, who am I to judge you on it?”

“You have a way with words.”

They exited the kitchen together and headed back toward the living room.

“I’d keep my eye on Carly if I were you.” Jon glanced sideways at his brother. “She’s all
over Felix like flies on shit. I think she’s trying to steal your guy.”

To talk with Jon in this relaxed manner, without any sign of snide degrading remarks,
lightened Cameron’s soul. “I don’t think I have to worry.”

Several metres from the living room Jon stopped Cameron in the hall and dropped his
voice a little lower. “We were never close growing up, Cam. We’ve drifted further apart
over the last few years.” He placed his hand on Cameron’s shoulder. “That’s been my
fault and I’m sorry. Is it too late to rebuild bridges?”

“We already are.”

Chapter Sixteen

Never had Cameron supposed he could spend an evening with his siblings and
completely enjoy the experience. After Jon’s approach, his acceptance and apology, they
re-entered the living room to find Carly and Nicola absorbed in Eldon’s company. Eldon
had a way with people, an inviting manner that drew them to him. Both women were
besotted by Eldon’s charm and, Cameron reasoned knowingly, his striking good looks.

The evening continued until after three a.m. When their guests left, Cameron and Eldon
collapsed into bed, falling asleep almost immediately in each other’s arms, exhausted but
content.

Only Ben had remained obstinate, and Cameron knew Miriam hadn’t wholly shared his
pig-headedness. He believed Miriam would grow to accept his sexuality and Eldon as his
partner. Cameron figured she’d also eventually talk Ben around. She made the effort to
phone in the morning, to say sorry for walking out, and to tell Cameron she loved him. It
was a start.

When the call from Miriam had woken them, Eldon left Cameron speaking with his
mother and showered. Then he offered to make breakfast and gave strict orders for
Cameron not to venture into the dining room for the following half an hour. In the
ninetieth century men weren’t known for their cooking skills. Eldon remained determined
and Cameron didn’t have the heart to talk him out of it.

Instead, he showered after Eldon and took another call. This time from his brother,
phoning to thank them for the great evening and returning the invite: asking Cameron and
Eldon over for a barbeque on the weekend. The smile on Cameron’s face lingered when
he pushed the mobile phone into his jeans' pocket and headed for the stairs, checking his
watch and preparing to find the kitchen in disarray with unpalatable food on the table.

Outside the dining room entrance Cameron stopped. “Can I come in now?”

“Yes, dearest, breakfast is served.”

“I just had a call from--” Cameron slid to halt mid-stride inside the dining room. “God!”

“Really?” Lying naked in the centre of the dining table, with one arm casually folded
behind his head, Eldon reached for a small container and squeezed honey over his
stomach. “And what did God have to say?”

“That I am a very, very, very lucky man!”

Eldon returned Cameron’s wide grin and beckoned him over with a wink. “I am feeling
rather cold, dearest. Eat your breakfast and then,” from behind his head Eldon produced a
condom, “heat me up.”

Taking hold of Eldon’s ankles, Cameron slid him down the table until his legs hung
dangling over the edge. Trickles of honey ran enticingly down the side of Eldon’s torso
and Cameron caught them with his tongue before they dripped onto the wooden surface.
He felt Eldon’s muscles contract under the sweep of warm licking at chilled skin and his
instant erection rubbed against a hard bulge demanding to escape the confines of denim.

Honey never tasted sweeter to Cameron than it did at this moment, mixed with desire and
the guarantee of sexual gratification to follow. Eldon lay in a position of complete
submissiveness, totally nude while Cameron remained fully dressed. Having never played
a dominant role in any part of his life, the thrill of sexual domination had been discovered
the night before along with Cameron’s newfound lust for voyeurism. But, Eldon was
unpredictable and unafraid to venture into the wide abyss of unchartered sexual territory.
This Cameron knew positively and it added to his ecstasy.

Amber liquor disappeared off Eldon’s stomach until all Cameron tasted was the aroused
tangy flavour of smooth skin over lean, defined abdominal muscles. Tiny murmurs of
pleasure teased Cameron’s ears as he licked upward over Eldon’s chest and neck until his
mouth met with the warmth of impatient lips. Cameron let his hands travel across Eldon’s
body, venturing now and then between Eldon's legs to tempt and coax further receptive
sighs.

Running his fingers through blonde hair, Eldon eased Cameron away from the kiss. “You
love to look at me when I am naked, do you not?”

The mischievous glint in Eldon’s eyes promised more than to be content with a simple
yes or no answer with a return into steamy kisses. Cameron nodded wordlessly.

“I love to know you appreciate my body.” In a relaxed manner Eldon combed his fingers
through Cameron’s hair. “Really appreciate it.”

Eldon gently pushed Cameron away and sat up with his legs on either side of Cameron’s
thighs. Without losing the eye contact Eldon unzipped Cameron's jeans, lowered his
boxer shorts, and began stroking.

“Don’t do it too hard, baby.” Cameron's request strained at a whisper. “You get me so hot
and I’m still trying to build my stamina, remember?”

“I will not do it too hard.” Eldon took his hand away and leaned back. “You will.”

The fiery expression on Cameron’s face faltered. “What?”

“You watched me in the mirror last night.” Ignoring Cameron’s look of disquiet, Eldon
smiled. “Now I wish to watch you looking at me while you masturbate.”

The only reaction Cameron mustered was a slight rise of his eyebrows and mute silence.
He’d discovered a liking for voyeurism, but plainly Eldon had a kinky side involving
masturbation.

“Consider how much it will please me if you do.”

“Eldon... I don’t think I can.”

“Oh, I think you can.” Scooting off the wooden surface, Eldon placed his hands on the
side edge of the table and seductively leaned over. “While you do it, imagine taking me
from behind.”

An erection, that had gone somewhat flaccid when Eldon suggested masturbating in front
of him, hardened the moment Cameron feasted his gaze on the bent over vision in front
of him.

Over a firm, rounded rear Eldon’s hand followed the curves of his buttocks. “Imagine it
slow and easy. Imagine it fast and rough. Imagine anything you wish.”

Cameron’s right hand moved tentatively from his side and he immediately saw Eldon’s
eyes lower expectantly. A flush of aroused rose highlighted Eldon’s face and suddenly
Cameron realized voyeuristic pleasure would work for them both. While Eldon got his
kicks watching Cameron stroking himself, Cameron knew his hunger would escalate by
watching Eldon get off on his fetish.

Hesitating no more, Cameron slowly took his hand up and down the length of his shaft
and eyed the physical changes taking Eldon over. The deep pink just above his
cheekbones matched with the deeper colour of arousal in his lips, lips Eldon licked
occasionally and chewed in copy of his pleasured reaction the night before. He moved
ever so slightly back and forth with his hands on the table edge, rocking in time with the
movement of Cameron’s hand and his breathing picked up quickly.

“What are you thinking?” Eldon asked hoarsely. “What are you imagining?”

“Being deep inside you.”

“Describe it to me.”

The tip of Cameron’s tongue ran over his top teeth and he breathed a husky laugh before
replying. “Do I get to do it once I’ve described it?”

Eldon’s gaze refused to move away from Cameron’s hand as it continued easy strokes up
and down a long, thick shaft. “Yes.”

“I’m imagining standing behind you, making sure your legs are spread apart and you're
leaning over that table, ready for me.” A sly grin settled permanently on Cameron’s face.
“Fingering you…‘cause I know how much you like that.”

Cameron paused only long enough to watch Eldon remove one hand off the table and
start to stroke himself also. “Put your hand back on the table, baby. When I get to you I
want you aching for me.”

Eldon replaced his hand on the edge of the table. “I am already aching for you.”

“Good, keep it that way.” Cameron took a step closer; the buzz of domination took him
over again. “Because the next thing I’m imagining is sliding my fingers out and
stimulating your ass with my tongue.”

A lock of Eldon’s hair tumbled forward from behind his shoulder and partly obscured his
vision. The way the dark brown colour contrasted starkly against burning ice blue eyes,
sticking to moist parted lips, made Eldon appear wild with urgency and Cameron eased
off the stroking friction. The twitching hard-on inside his hand begged to be indulged
deep inside Eldon’s tightness.

“Do it now!”

“No, not yet.” Revelling in watching Eldon shaking against the table, Cameron stopped
stimulating himself and reached for the condom. “You started this, baby, you’re gonna
have to see it through.”

“I do not think I can wait!”

“You’ll have to.”

With his foot, Cameron shuffled Eldon’s legs apart. “Then I imagine you begging for
more when I push just the head of my cock inside you, massaging your balls in my hand.
You’re calling out my name. Telling me you want it harder and faster, just like you did
last night.”

“Please!” He could hear the ache in an untouched body edged beyond bearable as Eldon
pleaded through gritted teeth. “I need you now, Cameron!”

There was a fine line between pleasure and pain and Cameron didn’t want to push over it.

He opened the condom packet and whispered in Eldon’s ear, “Part your legs a little
wider, sweetheart.”

***

Whether it was a matter of temporary afterglow insanity or not, Cameron found himself
and Eldon in the car an hour after their sexual interlude, driving toward riding stables.
He’d been assured, when he phoned to make a booking, the horses were quiet and
temperament tested. Bomb proof for the inexperienced rider. That only lowered
Cameron’s anxiety slightly.

The horses were used to being ridden through Hyde Park’s Rotten Row, they did it daily
without fault. Though Eldon expressed that his thrill came more from knowing know
Rotten Row still existed as a popular London attraction. In Victorian times it was the
place to be seen if you wanted to make an impression. Society gentlemen would ride up
and down Rotten Row, wearing their finest attire especially for a Sunday and display
themselves and their finery. Carriages joined the procession and it was pure pageantry of
the elite.

After parking the car, Cameron allowed Eldon to take his hand and lead him toward the
main stables. A middle-aged woman wearing jodhpurs and a navy blue puffer jacket
greeted them. Once Cameron handed over enough cash for a two-hour ride, she led them
toward two horses saddled and tethered to a fence.

“Haven’t you got anything smaller?” asked Cameron warily, stepping further away from
the fence.

“He’s the gentlest horse we have.” The woman untied the reins. “His name’s Rufus and
he’s been doing this for thirteen years without fault.”

Rufus stood easily sixteen hands, jet-black with a flash of white from beneath his
forelock to between his nostrils. Beside him stood a slightly taller bay horse, pawing
impatiently at the ground and snorting through flared nostrils. Cameron kept his distance
from them both.

“Hello, Georgia.” Without worry Eldon stepped up to the bay and ran his hand down her
neck. “You are anxious to go for a ride.”

The woman opened her mouth, plainly confused over how Eldon knew the horse’s name
when she hadn’t yet mentioned it. When Cameron turned to ask her a question, she
stopped short of querying.

“You sure it won’t like... run off... or... throw me.”

Giving the black horse the once over, Eldon laughed softly and shook his head. “Dearest,
I am not entirely convinced this horse is capable of walking!”

Rufus stood state-like, his head drooped over the fence and his eyes looking somewhat
glazed as though he’d smoked one too many joints.

“May I have a lead rope?” Eldon asked the woman. “I am an experienced rider, however
my partner has not ridden before. Perhaps he would feel more comfortable if I were
leading Rufus.”

The woman fetched a lead rope and snapped it onto the snaffle bit. After a few ungainly
attempts to mount the horse, Cameron resorted to standing on a wooden block while
Eldon sprang onto Georgia’s back like a cat leaping onto a low fence. Georgia threw her
head up, shaking a long, thick black mane and eager to leave the confines of the riding
stables. Rufus, on the other hand, didn’t move a millimetre and kept staring blankly off
into the distance.

Cameron clung to the reins as though they were the salvation between life and certain
death. Eldon made a few gentle clucking noises, Georgia responded to his requests
promptly and Rufus followed beside as though clouded in a semi-coma haze.

Though terrified before entering Hyde Park and the famous wide sandy track of Rotten
Row, Cameron soon relaxed and enjoyed viewing the vista from horseback. Eldon sat in
perfect equestrian style, completely in control of his frisky mare while also totally in
control of the snail paced Rufus. Other riders went by, trotting or cantering confidently.
People strolled near the track and watched the horses and riders pass. Other’s picnicked
on the lush lawns and tourists snapped photographs. Soon Cameron conversed with
Eldon while they rode the Row and forgot his fears.

Detouring off to the side of the track, Eldon approached the fence and dismounted.
“There is a lovely nook.” He pointed behind a shrubbery surrounding gardens. “Shall we
sit for a while?”

“How do I get off the horse?” It looked a long way down to the ground. “More
importantly, how do I get back on again?”

Eldon gave instructions on how to dismount and convinced Cameron he could easily
mount up again by use of the railing on the fence. He tethered Rufus, took hold of
Cameron’s hand, and led him to a park bench in the centre of the garden. Even though the
trees lacked their greenery, they still provided enough privacy from Rotten Row and
those riding along the sandy track.

Once seated, Cameron rested his elbow on the back of the bench and drank in the beauty
of Eldon’s face beneath the dabbled sunlight. “You really are the best thing that’s ever
happened to me.”

Eldon smiled, caressing Cameron’s jaw with the tips of his fingers. “Do you find it
breathtaking to think of our future? To know we have so many years of happiness ahead
of us?”

“It’s an overwhelming feeling, isn’t it?”

“Very much so.”

“You must miss some things about your life back then.” When Eldon’s hand neared his
lips, Cameron shifted his head just enough to kiss his lover's fingertips. “Genevieve
especially.”

“Yes.” Eldon agreed and a glimpse of sorrow glinted in his eyes. “I will always miss
Genevieve. She and I were very close.”

“Do you have any regrets?” Cameron combed his fingers through Eldon's hair. “Am I
really worth everything you’ve lost? I mean... if it weren’t for me, you’d never have been
caught with Albert. You never would’ve let your guard down if you were in your right
state of mind.”

“Oh Cameron...” Eldon replied in a whisper, moving closer and brushing his lips over
Cameron’s mouth. “You are literally the very reason my heart beats. Nothing I have lost
can compare with the love in you I have found.”

Cameron closed his eyes, wanting to bathe solely in the touch of Eldon’s mouth and the
way he responded unhurriedly when Cameron parted his lips, tempting the kiss with his
tongue licking beneath Cameron’s top lip, fondling the nape of his neck, oblivious to
anyone else in the world but themselves. Eldon covered Cameron’s mouth with his,
tasting the inside of his mouth, kissing deeper and sighing receptively.

Chapter Seventeen

A book balanced on Trudy’s lap lay open to reveal a full-page portrait of Lady Genevieve
Wilson. Other than being the one intended to marry Viscount Davenport, Genevieve
hadn’t done anything noteworthy in her life. She was the quintessential Victorian lady
who went to her grave at the age of twenty-three, married to another but with only one
true love captured in her heart. Eldon.

Genevieve was beautiful, petite and elfin looking. Her long russet brown hair, curled into
ringlets, complimented dark chocolate eyes. She had everything a young girl of that era
could wish for, including a title and wealthy parents, except she never had love requited.
Historians many times mentioned Genevieve and the relationship she shared with the
Viscount. History also recorded a woman who fell into the depths of melancholy after
Eldon’s death.

When Trudy held Eldon in her arms she felt the same harrowing anguish of loss and
devotion she knew Lady Genevieve experienced. There could be no denying any longer
and Trudy knew she had to admit what seemed like a warped twist of fate intertwining
past and present. With everything in her heart Trudy loved Eldon and time spent away
from his company brought forth strong feelings of estrangement.

As Trudy gazed at the portrait of Lady Genevieve she saw deep into her troubled,
saddened soul. Trudy needed to be in close proximity to Eldon but couldn’t be. Just like
Lady Genevieve.

Whereas Trudy’s heart swelled with love for Eldon, Malcolm’s entire being revolved
around abhorrence. Malcolm wasn’t an evil man. He wasn’t hell bent on making
everyone’s life miserable, yet he was hell bent on seeking vengeance on Eldon for no
good reason. Malcolm wanted Eldon’s spirit out of Lillyport and he wanted to be the one
to succeed in banishing Eldon forever. The question was why?

Everything happened for a reason. Nothing was more certain when it came to dealing
with fate and the predestined. As impossible as Eldon’s resurrection had been, it had
occurred. A series of unexplained events took place after his murder and Trudy knew
nothing was left up to chance. Mareema, if in fact she were the one who’d set the ritual in
motion, was not a woman to leave any stone unturned. She knew Eldon, but it seemed
Eldon didn’t know her. At least not in a way he consciously recalled.

Death did lead back to life in the form of reincarnation. Reincarnation had an uncanny
way of reuniting people from previous lives into present and future lives: people who
played a major role, people who loved or despised, people who had unfinished business.
Lady Genevieve certainly had unfinished business in regards to her love for Eldon. She
needed to understand Eldon’s love for her was profound but not on her level. Lady
Genevieve’s soul needed to accept it and only then could she move on to love another.

The Earl of Wicorby also had unfinished business. His life had rapidly declined after
Eldon’s death and his marriage to the Countess suffered greatly. By the time the Earl
died, four years after Eldon’s death, he’d turned into an angry, unapproachable man
who'd aged quickly and became a recluse inside Davenport Manor and its grounds. He
lost friends, he lost associates, and eventually lost his health. Wherever possible, and to
whomever would listen, the Earl of Wicorby condemned Eldon as the sole reason his
existence had shifted into misery. He abhorred his son with a passion.

Trudy’s disquiet grew the more she tried to fit the pieces together. The tiny cards held
symbolic pictures but told nothing of the powerful spell cast by a woman who literally
could reverse death. Her command over the occult had Trudy’s head spinning in awed
circles. Mareema made the impossible possible. In comparison, Trudy felt like a pitiable
novice, but her unrest went further than intimidation. Mareema had laid the path, though
it was Cameron who supplied the energy needed to give Eldon’s life back in full. Given
that fact, Trudy feared what might happen if Eldon needed to rely on Cameron’s energy
completely. If they were separated, would Eldon’s body degenerate in exact reverse of
how it had regenerated? Until Trudy knew for sure she couldn’t relax for a moment.

Eldon had psychic ability. He’d proven it when he spoke of Malcolm as though he knew
the man intimately. Perhaps in the future Eldon would develop into a psychic to rival
Trudy, at the moment Trudy knew he had little to no control over it. Something entirely
expected from one of his age. There wasn’t any point trying to force Eldon’s ability in the
hopes he could reveal the mysterious Mareema.

Trudy closed the book and stared into the fireplace. Eldon was extremely fond of her,
they’d clicked instantly and he trusted her implicitly. Lady Genevieve had felt the same
mismatched emotions with Eldon as Trudy felt. Then again, so had Albert Jones.

As far as Malcolm’s involvement in it all went, Trudy feared an even worse scenario than
unrequited love.

***

Lying together comfortably on the sofa, Eldon sat between Cameron’s legs and rested his
head on Cam's chest. The constant caress of fingers combing through his hair lulled
Eldon into complete relaxation while Cameron watched television.

“Paint the cottage in Dorset.”

Taking his attention off the screen, Cameron craned his head to see if Eldon’s eyes were
open or closed. “You awake?”

“Hmmm?”

“It’s okay, you were sleep talking again.”

“I was not asleep, dearest.” Eldon yawned as he spoke. “I heard you tell me you must
paint the cottage in Dorset.”

“No, you just said that.”

“Why would I repeat what you said?”

Cameron frowned and petted Eldon’s hand. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

Eldon closed his eyes once more, his body relaxed, and Cameron returned to watching
television.

Less than a minute passed before, out of the blue, Eldon spoke again. “Where is it?”

“Where’s what?”

“The telephone.”

“Why do you want the phone?”

“I can hear it ringing.”

“I think you’re stuck in half asleep twilight!” Laughing, Cameron removed his glasses
and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “It’s not ringing.”

Digging his hand underneath Cameron’s thigh, Eldon retrieved the phone from between
the sofa cushions and held out. “Here it is.”

Shaking his head, Cameron rolled his eyes and smirked. “Thanks sweetheart, go back to
sleep now.”

Before Cameron had time to set the phone aside Trudy’s name lit up on the screen.

***

The Parapsychology Unit occupied part of the third floor inside a high-rise building in
central London. Inside Malcolm’s office several filing cabinets filled with folders
contained information on a variety of paranormal activity ranging from UFO sightings to
hauntings. Only Lillyport House boasted an entire four drawer filing cabinet completely
to herself as a testament to Malcolm’s obsession.

“Cam, I need to call around after I’ve finished here.” Trudy thumbed through files; the
only one privileged enough to own a copy key to all of Malcolm’s cabinets. “Has Eldon
mentioned Mareema again?”

“No. But, he did hear the phone ringing before it actually rang!”

“It doesn’t surprise me. That kind of thing is typical for someone starting to tune into
their ability.” At last Trudy found the file she searched for and sat down at Malcolm’s
desk. “Typical but unpredictable and unhelpful.”

“Are you okay? You sound anxious.”

“I am anxious, honey.” Malcolm’s handwriting had always been close to illegible and
Trudy leaned in close in an effort to decipher it. “I know Mal keeps a log of his personal
feelings about haunted locations as well as data. I’m in Mal’s office trying to find it while
he’s out schmoozing his new blonde secretary.”

“Drop around any time.”

“Can you ask Eldon if he remembers anything that might connect Mareema with Lady
Genevieve?”

“Sure, hang on.”

While Trudy waited she turned over pages and grew increasingly flustered with
Malcolm’s scrawled penmanship.

“Trudy? This is Eldon speaking. I am sorry, I do not have the faintest idea who Mareema
is and I am positive Genevieve knew no one of that name.”

“Hi, darling.” She smiled into the phone. “What about Albert Jones?”

“What about Albert Jones?”

The curt abrasiveness in Eldon’s voice took Trudy off guard. “Is it possible he knew
anything of Mareema?”

“I am unsure of where you are leading with this, Trudy, but I can assure you I barely
knew Albert. In retrospect I wish I had never spoken to the lewd little bastard for it was
his

behaviour that has resulted in history claiming I was the perverted one!”

Trudy quit pouring over the file, taken aback by Eldon’s use of the word ‘bastard’ and his
furious tone. “Honey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m only trying to cover all
possibilities.”

“Albert was a stable boy, he was not my friend. We did not exchange long, leisurely
conversation in concerns to whom he knew and who he did not.”

“Okay, dear.” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “You did know Mabel Jones quite well
though. Did she--”

“I refuse to discuss either of them. I shall let Cameron speak to you now.”

“Sweetheart, wait a second!” Trudy rested her brow in her palm. “Eldon, has something
happened? You sound very jittery and abrupt. Have you had an argument with Cameron
or has he upset you?”

She heard him sigh before he changed his tone and replied quietly.

“No, Cameron has not upset me. I do not know, I am sorry. I feel uneasy. I must not
speak to you through the telephone any longer. I am being watched or listened to.”

Without another word Trudy slammed the phone onto its cradle. When she turned her
eyes to the right she experienced the dreadful sensation of her stomach plummeting to her
feet.

Malcolm stepped inside his office and closed the door behind him. “Eldon? You’re
snooping in my files, talking on my phone, to someone called Eldon, about someone
called Cameron?”

“That was Felix on the phone.” Trudy stood as calmly as she could muster. “He believes
he’s been possessed by Eldon and...” She waved a hand in the air. “...Cameron called me,
put Felix on the line, and I was simply trying to calm the poor boy down. Apparently he’s
only answering to the name Eldon now.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, McIdiot’s landed himself a right nut job! Isn’t the kid back on
medication yet?”

“Yes, it doesn’t work overnight, Mal.”

“Shouldn’t he be in hospital?” Moving to his desk, Malcolm sat down and closed the
open file. “He shouldn’t be wandering around by himself like he was the day he talked
shit to me.”

The release of adrenalin started to ease in Trudy’s veins. “Cameron takes care of Felix.
They really are very much in love.”

“He wasn’t watching him too closely the other day. Kid could’ve wandered off anywhere
spouting shit about Demonport hiding in the bushes.” He pushed the file aside and
opened the top drawer of his desk, rummaging as he spoke. “Are you sure you’re helping
the kid or are you adding to his delusions?”

“Felix calms down when he speaks to me.” Trudy sat down on a chair opposite Malcolm.
“It gives Cameron support too, Mal. It’s not easy for him looking after Felix when he’s
like this. He does the best he can.”

“Still think the best place for Felix is a hospital, at least until he’s stabilised.” The corners
of Malcolm’s lips turned downward. “Guess I should give McIdiot credit where it’s due.
Must be tough for him. No wonder he’s a fucking hermit.”

This softer side to Malcolm’s personality showed Trudy glimmers of the man she used to
know many years ago and she smiled. “The medication will work soon and then Felix
will be fine. They can get on with their lives together like any other normal couple.”

Malcolm stopped rummaging and closed the drawer. “Yeah...” His hands folded on the
desk surface and his expression hardened. “Much like they did in London, hey?”

The smile slipped from her face.

“Seems a few people saw them, some even snapped photo’s of them together and they’re
in the afternoon newspaper. Funnily enough, Felix behaved quite appropriately in the
restaurant and Cameron mustn’t have been too concerned about his mental health if he
took him out publicly.” His top lip curled. “You’d better fucking tell me what the hell is
going on, Trudy, or so help me God I’ll knock the walls of Lillyport down to get inside!”

Chapter Eighteen

Davenport Manor

Wicorby, Hampshire England,

Tuesday, August 11

th

, 1857

“I am well aware my husband gave specific instructions to remove the portrait.” Never
did the Countess of Wicorby look upon household staff with consideration and she glared
at the butler disdainfully. “I am giving you specific instructions to hang it inside the
library. You will do so without delay.”

Eldon’s portrait had hung among others decorating the entry foyer of Davenport Manor.
When The Earl of Wicorby returned from London with his wife, after vacating Lillyport
House, he’d ordered the portrait be taken down and destroyed. House staff feared his
request could possibly have been a grief reaction and, although they removed Eldon’s
portrait as asked, they took it to the cellar for storage. A fact The Countess knew. Lilly
hadn’t asked for the portrait to be hung in its previous position. Instead she requested it
be taken from the cellar and placed in The Earl’s favourite room against his wishes.

“He had his father’s eyes. The same piercing, ice blue eyes.” Lilly stepped away, tilted
her head, and studied the painted image ornately framed in gilt gold. “Eldon looked very
much like his father in many ways. Although far more handsome than Charles.”

“Yes, Lady Wicorby, he did.” The butler nodded sadly. “Eldon is sadly missed among the
staff.”

“I was not requiring a comment from you.” She turned away from the painting and eyed
the butler shrewdly. “Hang the portrait in the library immediately.”

Leaving the butler to carry out her request, Lilly climbed the stairs to the second level
and continued down the hall until she reached her dressing room. An appointment with a
seamstress would take up much of Lady Wicorby’s remaining afternoon and she then
needed to change gowns for the evening. An increased allowance meant an increase in
the size of her wardrobe.

“Good afternoon, Lady Wicorby.” A woman several years older than herself stepped
forward with a young apprentice girl at her side. “May I extend my condolences in
regards to Viscount Davenport’s death?”

“No, you may not.” Lilly checked herself in a mirror before noticing an array of fabric
piled on top of a table. “What is this?”

“The finest mourning fabric I could find for you, Lady Wicorby.”

“Black?” She lifted her eyebrows. “Am I dressed in black, Hannah?”

Hannah hung her head in a courteous nod. “No, Lady Wicorby.”

“Viscount Davenport was fond of bright colours, was he not?”

Both women nodded obediently.

With distaste Lilly turned away from the dark fabrics. “Therefore I shall wear bright
colours in celebration.” She paused over a long moment and then peered around her
shoulder. “Of Eldon’s life.” She smiled blankly. “Of course.”

“Of course, Lady Wicorby.” The seamstress quickly gestured for the apprentice to pack
up the black material. “I apologise sincerely for my presumptuousness.”

“As you should, Hannah.”

***

Over a large fireplace, Eldon’s portrait hung where a painting of The Earl of Wicorby had
taken pride of place. Lilly sat comfortably in an armchair, pulling long threads of silk
through her embroidery and awaiting the arrival of her husband from an afternoon
foxhunt. Exhausted from her engagement with the seamstress, Lilly never-the-less looked
forward to Charles’ return with anticipation.

When The Earl of Wicorby finally strode into the library he glowered first at Lilly sitting
in a room he considered his own, and then recoiled when he noticed Eldon’s portrait
leering down at him.

“I had it hung especially for you, Charles.” Lilly carried on casually with her needlepoint.
“So you will never forget your son’s face as he watches down on you.”

“You will leave this room at once!” Scarlet glowed from the rush of fury to The Earl’s
face. “I ordered that abomination to be destroyed!”

“Abomination?” Quite ‘tut tut’ condescension always infuriated Charles and Lilly played
on it coolly. “That is an unseemly way to speak of Eldon, Charles.”

“Get out, Lilly!”

“Did your foxhunt go well? Murder anything else?”

Though Lilly knew Charles endeavoured to remain in control of his emotions, unwilling
to allow her the satisfaction of causing him unease, his body trembled obviously. He’d
agreed to Lilly’s demands, yet she pushed for more, wanting to break Charles down

slowly but surely. The Earl of Wicorby had begun feeling like a prisoner, jailed to his
wife’s orders and suffocating beneath her psychological torment.

“What else do you want from me?” From his coat The Earl removed a pipe. “Do wish for
more money? More jewellery? More gowns?”

“Yes. Yes, I would like more of those things.” She nodded and smiled manufactured
sweetness. “Though I also wish for an admission of guilt from you, Charles.”

“You already know the truth.”

“Correct, I do. You have not admitted it.”

Shaking fingers scraped through greying dark hair and Charles sat heavily into the
nearest chair. “I dressed him and I shot the boy in the head.” His hand fell to his lap and
he glared viciously. “I then placed the gun in his hand and I left him.”

The needle from Lilly’s hand fell onto her embroidery, her fingers daintily covered her
mouth, and her eyes widened. From her mouth her fingers touched to her chest and then
Lilly erupted into fits of laughter. The sound shrilled and bounced inside the room,
turning the insides of Charles’ body into ice.

“Oh Charles!” Lilly continued to laugh hysterically. “Again you underestimate my
intelligence. I am well aware of what took that place that evening, as it was the only thing
that could have taken place!”

When Lilly abruptly stopped laughing, set her embroidery aside, rose out of the chair and
crossed the room, Charles slunk further into his seat away from her.

“The other truth, dear husband!” Her lips twitched and curled in a beastly sneer. “The
other

despicable truth!”

Chapter Nineteen

Restless and unsettled after speaking to Trudy on the phone, Eldon sat rocking himself on
the sofa and gnawing on the edge of his thumbnail. An intense sensation of dread
shrouded him and the touch of Cameron’s hand did nothing to ease his anxiety.

Cautiously, Cameron tried once again to tug Eldon’s thoughts into the open. “Can you try
to explain to me what’s going through your mind?”

They were more feelings than words. Emotions too concentrated to break down into
explanations and far exceeding Eldon’s realms of understanding. Although, sitting beside
Cameron, secure within the house, Eldon felt as though he’d been pulled away and
thrown into a state of terrified limbo. He felt ambushed and judged. Furious with Albert
Jones, sickened by his father, betrayed by Genevieve, and deserted by his mother: a
steady assail of flashbacks on a purely mental level, despite the safety of physical shelter
and loyal companionship.

Without hesitation Eldon dropped his hand away from his mouth and stood. “I must visit
my grave.”

***

Protecting Eldon by keeping him away from the burial spot remained one of Cameron
highest priorities. After enduring the memories of his murder in gratuitous detail there
was no foretelling how Eldon would react to seeing his headstone. There wasn’t an
epitaph of love or mourning left by the Earl or Countess for their son. Nothing inscribed
on the small bland stone except ‘Eldon Davenport 1836 – 1857’.

In an attempt to stop Eldon moving forward, Cameron took a gentle hold of his wrist.
“Talk to me first. Tell me what Trudy said to upset you.”

“Do you believe I took advantage of a stable boy?”

“Of course not!” Cameron eased Eldon into his arms, wrapping him a comforting hug. “Is
that what Trudy said to you?”

“No.” Strained words muffled into Cameron’s chest. “Yet many people do believe it,
Cameron. It was foolish of me to allow Albert into my bedchamber, however, I was
frightened and I thought he would help me. Instead he molested me while I dreamt of
you. In spite of my innocence, I am known as the Absinthe addicted poet who tempted a
boy into my bed and then shot himself rather than face the consequences.”

“Not everyone believes that, sweetheart.” In soothing circles Cameron rubbed Eldon’s
lower back. “I never did.”

“Malcolm Ritter believes it.” Eldon pushed out of Cameron’s embrace and returned to
gnawing on the edge of his thumbnail. “Malcolm Ritter will not rest until he punishes me
for what he thinks I did. Until he banishes me for good.”

***

Questioning Trudy further wasn’t going to bring Malcolm the facts he sought. Something
was going on inside Lillyport House and she refused to confide truthful detail. A search
on Felix Fox provided Malcolm with more questions and even less answers. Felix had no
criminal record and nothing standing out as dubious except for a documented history of
schizoaffective disorder. All of it fit in with the bizarre behaviour Malcolm witnessed
from Felix and also the information provided by Trudy in regards to him. Bizarre
behaviour that had suddenly ceased abruptly when Felix and Cameron stepped out
together in London.

Picking up the telephone, Malcolm dialled a colleague’s number and drummed his
fingers on the surface of his desk. “Jeff? Hi, how are you?” It was a courtesy only inquiry
and Malcolm had no real interest in the reply. “I wonder if you could do me a favour.
Could you call your son and ask him if he remembers a kid by the name of Felix Fox
attending Oxford? He would’ve been in the same year as Raymond but dropped out over
a year ago due to ill health.”

From his desk drawer Malcolm fumbled with a cigarette packet and dug around for a
lighter or spare box of matches.

“No, I can’t wait.” He rolled his eyes impatiently. “It’s an urgent matter. Can you call
him now?”

Unable to find a lighter, and growing increasingly annoyed the longer he waited for Jeff
to return with the information, Malcolm rabbited through each drawer until he gave up
and slammed them closed. Next he dug around in pockets he already knew were empty.

When Jeff returned to the phone, Malcolm gave up on the lighter search. “Okay, thanks,
Jeff.”

Without a good-bye Malcolm hung up the phone and searched through a small tattered
book laden with telephone numbers. When he located the correct number he pursed his
lips and scowled. Calling in a favour from an ex-lover, one he hadn’t spoken to for
almost two years, didn’t promise to go as simply as the call to Jeff.

He dialled the number.

“Madeline? It’s Mal...”

A strong French accented voice replied, “Malcolm Ritter. I ‘ave been waiting for zis
call.”

Psychics. They knew everything and hid so much. For some reason, unknown to
Malcolm, Trudy had never been able to read him. A glitch in her psychic ability he’d
always been thankful for considering the amount of affairs he’d partaken in during their
marriage. Trudy always believed Malcolm had figured out a way to block her when in
reality Malcolm couldn’t explain it either. The same couldn’t be said for Madeline
Prideux.

“I’m onto something with Lillyport House.” He ignored her insightfully curt tone. “I need
your help.”

“I remember offering you my ‘elp once before. You turned me down in favour of your
dumpy ex-wife. Why should I ‘elp you now?”

“I’ll pay you.”

“Ah, oui. Pay me like a common prostitute, non?”

Malcolm winced. “Pay you for psychic services, Madeline.”

“‘Ow much?”

“Five hundred pounds to fly to London and hear me out.”

“I ‘ope you will also pay for ze plane tickets.”

“Goes without saying. You need to catch a flight tonight and I’ll pick you up from the
airport.”

***

Standing behind Eldon with his hands on his shoulders, Cameron tried to massage the
anxiety out of tense muscles. For over ten minutes Eldon stood at the foot of his grave
gazing blankly at the pitiful headstone.

“We should go inside, baby, it’s cold.”

“You must come here, Cameron.” Eldon whispered in a voice sounding weakly detached
from his body. “This is the place I can return to.”

In only a matter of days Eldon’s psychic ability had grown from picking Cameron’s
favourite colour to now sensing imminent danger. It wasn’t happening in small, gradual

stages as Trudy assumed it would. Rather it burgeoned rapidly and was fast out of
control.

From his hands to his feet, Eldon’s shivering increased and his words trembled in synch
with his body when he turned. “Please, you must begin painting the cottage in Dorset.”
Tears glistened in Eldon’s eyes. “I will describe it to you in as much detail as I can. You
must paint it exactly as I say.”

“What cottage? I don’t understand what you mean. Why is your grave the place you can
return to?” The dread Eldon felt welling inside his soul transferred directly into Cameron.
“You’re not going anywhere, Eldon. This is where you belong! Here, with me. Us
together!”

Eldon brushed the tears from his face and stepped out of Cameron’s arms. “Trudy has
arrived. She is parking her car as we speak.”

***

“Just tell me how the fucking thing works!”

Unceremoniously pushed out of his seat when Malcolm came storming into his cubicle, a
young fresh-faced parapsychologist wannabe raised his hands helplessly in the air. “It’s
not as simple as clicking the mouse.”

“What’s your name?”

“Dennis.”

“You’re a geek aren’t you, Dennis? Make it simple or you’re fucking fired!”

“I volunteer, Mr Ritter.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you do here, you won’t be doing it for much longer if you don’t
tell me how the fuck this program works!”

“I can do it for you if you give me the photographs.”

Malcolm slammed his palm hard onto the desk. “Listen son...” He spoke
condescendingly. “...if I wanted you to do this for me I would’ve asked you. Now you’re
not even supposed to have this fucking program on my work computers, so don’t be a
smart arse with me!”

“All I did was offer.” Dennis pouted. “I loaded the program for research, obviously it’s
useful on these computers if you want to use it.”

“Sarcasm will get your arse kicked out of here as well, son.”

Not wanting anyone looking over his shoulder while he worked, Malcolm gestured
Dennis to stand behind the computer monitor. “Tell me how it works. Walk me through
it.”

Step by step Malcolm listened to instructions and scanned in a photograph of Viscount
Davenport he’d had stowed away in a cardboard folder. He saved the image to the
program’s database. Next he scanned in the photograph of Felix Fox taken from the
newspaper. A clear image snapped by a fellow diner at the restaurant McKenzie had
taken his lover to the night before.

“How accurate is this?”

“It’s accurate, Mr Ritter.”

“What do I do now?”

“Click ‘search’ and the program will go through the database.”

Doing as he was told, Malcolm hit the search button and waited. The program showed a
status bar moving quickly until it stopped and flashed two faces on the screen together
with the words, ‘Felix Fox -- face recognition 100% MATCH -- Eldon Davenport’

“Holy fuck!” Both of Malcolm’s hands flew to his head and his gaze speared into the
screen. “I’ve got you by the balls now!”

***

Something perpetuated Eldon’s influx of psychic ability and it left Trudy in the dark as
mystically as the small white cards had. In 1857 Absinthe opened the floodgates, now it
was something else. The frightening prospect was whether or not Eldon’s sanity would
once again break under the strain. In Trudy’s opinion Eldon was too immature as yet to
cope with such a gift. Her fears only escalated when she arrived at Lillyport to find Eldon
worked into a nervous state and Cameron doing his best to calm him down.

“Honey...” Trudy knelt before Eldon and held his hands in hers. “...there’s a very good
chance what you’re feeling is an imprint you’ve left on this house. You could be feeling
the emotions of your past. Those things can make an impression in the atmosphere for
hundreds of years sometimes.”

“No.” Eldon shook his head emphatically. “I do not feel as though it is in the past.”

Cameron sat helplessly beside Eldon with his arm around his waist.

“I know, darling.” She petted Eldon’s hand. “These things can be very confusing to
differentiate in the beginning.”

“Why is he seeing a cottage in Dorset if it’s only past imprints?” Cameron asked.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Eldon’s a sleep talker and the cottage is something he’s
said over and over. ‘You must paint the cottage in Dorset’. Those are the exact words.”

“This is Albert’s fault!” Each time Eldon mentioned Albert his rage grew. “It is Albert
who placed me in this position, for Father caught him in my bed! I can only hope that
wicked letch spent his remaining days suffering in hell!”

“From what I can sense from this house, Eldon, Albert was in misery over what he did to
you.”

“Misery?” Sharply, Eldon tore his hands out Trudy’s grasp and lurched off the sofa.
“Misery is what I went through for one and a half centuries! If Father had not killed me I
would have hunted Albert down and lynched him from the nearest tree branch!”

As Cameron stood and tried to reach out, Eldon edged away. “I’m not going to let
anything happen to you. Maybe Trudy’s right, maybe this is past imprints you're feeling
and not...”

“He molested me!” Eldon screamed furiously. “While I was sleeping he placed his hands
all over me! He kissed me, he ran his hands over my body, over my legs, and he allowed
his hand between my legs! Now he is remembered as the victim and I am remembered as
a putrid deviant!”

Eldon seemed fixated on Albert and nothing Trudy or Cameron said could placate his
feelings of anger and violation.

‘Can you see the light in front of you?’

Cameron followed the line of Eldon’s horrified gaze as it adhered to the far side of the
lounge room.

“It is happening again!” Shakily Eldon dragged fingernails down his cheek and left four
red track marks on wan skin. “You are speaking through the walls!”

“Eldon...I’m not...”

‘Eldon! You need to walk into the light!’

“Stop it!” Feverishly Eldon slapped Cameron’s hands from trying to offer comfort. “I
have seen the light you speak of, but I cannot go into it! I have tried!”

Eldon refused to allow any type of reassuring contact despite fear washing his eyes with
tears. Cameron failed to keep his own rising anxiety hidden. Prior to the earlier phone

call from Trudy, Eldon had been blissfully relaxed after returning from horse riding, now
he seemed trapped inside a waken nightmare.

“What light, baby? I haven’t said anything about a light.”

“The ball of light by the oak tree!” Eldon staggered slightly to keep his balance. “Stop
screaming through the walls and tell me how to walk into the light!”

Snatching her handbag off the coffee table, Trudy hurriedly removed a small phial of
white tablets. “I had these in my bathroom cabinet.” She held one tablet out in the palm
of her hand. “It’s only a mild sedative, Eldon. Please take it.”

‘Can you see the light in front of you?’

“Yes!” Eldon shrieked, clamping his hands to his ears. “Stop it, Cameron! Stop it!”

“Honey?” Trudy pressured. “Take the tablet, sweetheart, before you work yourself into
such a state we can’t help you anymore.”

Cameron grabbed the pill from Trudy’s hand and the instant his skin touched hers she
gasped. “Sex!”

“What?”

“Sex, Cameron!” She prised the pill out of his hand. “Sexual energy is the strongest form
there is. It’s concentrated and it’s potent. It’s too much of your energy hitting him all at
once!”

***

Cigarette ends piled high inside an overflowing ashtray and Malcolm sat in his office
chair with a myriad of incomprehensible thoughts intermingling inside his mind. Unless
the highly accurate face recognition program had made an error, Felix Fox was Viscount
Davenport. Malcolm didn’t just have the chance to capture a full apparition on film, he
now had the opportunity to capture the impossible. Only Malcolm’s bravado began to
turn shaky. Dealing with ghosts was one thing, but dealing with the undead was an
entirely different matter.

He spun around in his chair and gazed through a large window over London’s city streets.
Madeline Prideux, although not quite as talented as Trudy in her abilities as a psychic,
was a witch to be reckoned with. She too shared an interest in Lillyport House and she
too had never been able to access the Viscount’s estranged spirit. Rather than risk losing
Trudy from TPU, Malcolm had given Madeline her marching orders and ended their
affair. It had nothing to do with loyalty to Trudy on a personal level. But now Trudy was
working against TPU and Malcolm knew she also worked against him. Trudy’s
faithfulness, for reasons Malcolm couldn’t comprehend, seemed to sit with the Viscount.

She assisted Eldon and, by doing so, sanctified a sexual relationship between the living
and the undead. It sicked Malcolm to his stomach to even think of Davenport in bed with
McKenzie. To him it only proved how evil and perverted the Viscount was. Malcolm
visualised a squalid invitation from the Viscount to lure a naive stable hand into his
clutches. Now he visualised the Viscount luring McKenzie, a man Malcolm deemed as
less than intelligent, in exactly the same sordid way.

Malcolm lit another cigarette and drew the smoke heavily into his lungs. He attempted to
fathom all possibilities and came up empty with every idea. The only explanation he
could offer revolved around the chance Davenport wasn’t truly a physical form united
with his dead body. Perhaps the Viscount had found a way to use Cameron for not only
his sexual cravings but also to fuel his apparition. Enabling it to take on a solid form. An
apparition that could be touched and seen as clearly as any living human while still being
essentially spirit energy. It didn’t ease Malcolm nervousness, however it did increase his
abhorrence for Eldon Davenport.

Malcolm pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “Deviant.” He muttered. “Once wasn’t
enough, was it? I won’t rest until your body’s freezing underground you’re your soul’s
burning in hell.”

Chapter Twenty

Dorset, England
Tuesday, August 11

th

, 1857

To face the window meant facing Eldon’s phantom beating his fists on the glass. Though
Albert kept his eyes toward the cottage wall he could hear the Viscount screaming his
name in fury and desperation. The strange, cloaked woman vowed Eldon had not
returned for revenge. Albert could not trust in her words.

“I deserve to be punished.” Covering his ears did not muffle the Viscount’s screams and
Albert lay with a threadbare blanket held tightly under his chin. “I should face Eldon but
I’m scared.”

“He is dead, Albert.” Mabel replied.

“He is outside the window!”

All Mabel saw when she peered through the glass were the branches of a nearby tree, the
moon struggling through heavy grey clouds, and wintry night rains that seemed to never
cease. Mabel couldn’t ease Albert’s distress and she couldn’t bear the thought of her
nephew falling into a chasm of madness threatening no recovery. She could not afford a
physician and knew hysteria had no cure.

“The broth is almost ready.” Leaning over, Mabel kissed her nephew’s cheek. “When I
return you must eat.”

Allowing enough time for Mabel to leave the room, Albert buried his face in the blanket
and whimpered. The cloaked woman spoke of a painter, someone Eldon needed to return
to, and none of it made sense to a weakened, frightened teenage boy.

The cards she’d given Albert were hidden safely inside a hole in the mattress. They had
to be given to Eldon and Albert knew he was the only one who could do it.

With a trembling hand Albert felt beneath the blanket for the tear in the worn mattress
fabric. His fingers touched the edge of the cards and he removed them carefully. No
matter how terror-stricken Albert felt at the prospect of facing the Viscount, his heart
spoke to him more clearly. Love for Eldon, and the acceptance of responsibility to save
his soul, superseded fear.

Without looking at the window, Albert sat up and shuddered as Eldon’s shrieks and
demands became more powerful. “Please, sir. Please stop yelling.” Albert sobbed and
dragged himself to his feet. “I am coming to you. Please don’t hurt me, sir.”

The Viscount’s screaming halted and silence enveloped the cottage. Trembling and
crying, Albert turned his eyes toward the window. Eldon stood glaring with silvery
ghostly eyes piercing through the glass and an enraged sneer twisting his ashen
complexion. With his index finger, Eldon gestured menacingly for Albert to join him
outside in the freezing winter night.

Hauling one foot after the other, holding the cards hidden inside his hand, Albert watched
his aunt bending over a pot of broth. “I have been ill in my bed.”

Mabel stopped stirring the insipid liquid. “Sit by the fire, Albert, while I clean it.”

Waiting until Mabel entered his bedroom and using the wall for support, Albert slunk
toward the door. His hand gripped the handle until his knuckles turned white, struggling
to remain standing until he mustered all the courage he had left to walk out into the
darkness.

Davenport Manor

Wicorby, Hampshire England,

Tuesday, August 11

th

, 1857

“I must say, Charles,” Lilly set a solid silver fork aside and reached for a crystal goblet,
“our new cook certainly knows how to make a fine supper.”

To eat supper separately would only increase gossiping. Already the Earl knew talk
amongst the manor staff ran rampant. What they said precisely, Charles didn’t know,
however, he was aware they all questioned his recent actions. All the portraits of Eldon
the Earl demanded be removed, Lilly had demanded be returned to their place. Therefore,
they sympathised with Lilly as a grieving mother and deemed Charles an emotionless
father. The Earl had never been well liked among the staff, now he knew they abhorred
the air he inhaled. Whereas when Lilly ordered a place at the table set for Eldon,
complete with his photograph in a frame on the table, house staff did so without question.

“I requested spearmint sorbet for dessert.” Lilly flashed Charles a smile, kissed her
fingers, and then placed them on Eldon’s photograph. “Oh, how you loved spearmint
sorbet.”

“Stop all these foolish games!” Dark circles shadowed beneath the Earl’s eyes and his
voice grated from lack of sleep. “I have told you the truth, Lilly! What more do you want
from me?”

“I wish to break you, Charles.” She placed the goblet onto the table and smoothed down
her crinoline skirt. “Break you like a china teacup thrown against a wall.”

“Do not think I would hesitate in holding a pistol to your head if you continue to behave
in this manner toward me.”

When Lilly laughed her shoulders shook and she pressed her hand against her corseted
waist. “It is far too late to make such threats against me. You will be dead within the hour
due to the poison I placed in your wine.”

Before her eyes Charles froze motionless, his skin paled to light green, and his stomach
heaved in a retch.

Covering her mouth with both hands, Lilly erupted into a laugh more boisterously
spiteful than before. “If only you had a mirror to see the expression on your face!”

“Is there poison in this wine?”

“No, Charles, you will live through another night. For what would be the point of
murdering you before you admit your sins?”

His eyes narrowed and the colour slowly started returning to Charles’ skin. “Sins? Does
this have anything to do with Eldon or does it not?”

“It has everything to do with Eldon. I provided you with an heir and almost lost my life in
the process. Now you have no one to leave the Davenport fortune to. So I ask you,
Charles,” She pushed the photograph of Eldon toward her husband. “...was it worth it?
When you look at this photograph, was it worth it?”

“Would you have preferred to see him hung?” He spat. “Preferred to see the Davenport
name sullied? It is far better for others to think the boy shot himself than to have watched
him hang! I have not the slightest idea why you are behaving as though his death is a
tragedy. Either way Eldon was going to die.”

“Then I suggest you think about it a little more, Charles, before one glass of wine does
end up being your last.”

***

Dressed in nightwear, in a bedchamber three rooms away from the Countess, the Earl of
Wicorby sat with his head cradled in his hands. Lilly had always been an obedient wife.
At times she had spoken out of place, she had even pushed the limits of conversation into
argument, but always Lilly stepped back into line when the Earl ordered her to obey his
rules. Now it seemed as though Lilly knew no fear and refused to bend under Charles’
intimidation. It wasn’t in Lilly’s nature to disobey her husband yet now she menaced at
every opportunity.

‘The boy did no such thing! You will pay for what you’ve done to Eldon.’

Nausea burbled inside Charles’ stomach as he heard those words echo monotonously
inside his mind.

‘You know me better than to presume I would ever make an idle threat.’

There was only one woman Charles feared and she’d tracked him down after Eldon’s
murder to announce her revenge. Charles believed she would engage in retribution
personally and feared for his life. Now Charles realised granting him a quick death would
never placate her rage. She did not ever make an idle threat and those who crossed her
paid dearly. Cross her Charles had. Not once but twice. Not slightly but in the worst way
possible. Rather than stoop to murder she wanted reprisal via slow destruction.

The Earl rued the day he ever laid on eyes on the ethereally beautiful eighteen-year-old
serving girl. He allowed lust to dictate his actions, cosseting her against her will, and then
soon found himself the target of blackmail. The Earl allowed her into the manor and
employed her as Eldon’s nurse to keep her silent. For years she performed her duties,
gaining the respect of other staff members and adoration in Eldon’s eyes. When Eldon
turned eleven the Earl severed her employ, believing her influence on the young Viscount
to be highly detrimental, the reason for his flamboyant personality and his value of the
lower class. The Earl feared she could possibly instruct Eldon in the occult, passing on
her knowledge to an impressionable boy who loved her dearly. She’d been replaced with
a tutor and Eldon had grieved over her loss. Any contact between the two had been
forbidden. Charles made the mistake of presuming his debts had been paid and he would
be free of her forever.

The nausea peaked and swirled until Charles lurched for a bedpan. Lilly had not suddenly
turn from obedient wife into a niggling hellcat by her own devices. When Molly Appleby
initiated a hex, there was no escape until it finally destroyed the victim.

Chapter Twenty-One

On a sheet of art paper Eldon sketched the cottage to the best of his ability. A writer
rather than artist, the drawing lacked finesse, though Eldon supplied Cameron with clear
detail recollected from his dreams. There didn’t seem to be anything exceptional about a
basic two-roomed stone cottage, but if it haunted Eldon’s sleep then it plainly had great
significance.

The sedative provided by Trudy relaxed Eldon enough to offer him an element of respite.
No longer did he hear Cameron speaking through walls, begging him to walk into a ball
of bright light near the oak tree and beside his grave. However the mild tranquilliser
didn’t curb Eldon’s premonitions entirely. The emotions of dread and persecution still
blanketed him with apprehension in concerns to Malcolm Ritter.

***

When Trudy left Malcolm’s company to rush to Eldon’s aide she knew she’d left her ex-
husband baying for blood. Malcolm loathed being kept in the dark, presumed Trudy
owed him all her secrets, and she knew her refusal to grant him an explanation only
added an accelerant to his already burning fire of resentment. Trudy’s theory of
reincarnation grew in vigour and she couldn’t shake the thought Malcolm was indeed the
Earl of Wicorby in his past life. The Earl detested his son and lay blame on his descent
into misery on Eldon entirely. To stop Malcolm seeking his revenge, a revenge he didn’t
truly understand in his present incarnation, Trudy had to turn the tables and make
Malcolm see Eldon’s life, his death, and his rebirth for what it really was. She had to
force Malcolm to take responsibility for his hatred and accept the truth. Eldon was an
innocent victim in it all and the Earl of Wicorby was merciless.

Trudy also needed to rein in her own emotions. She felt the bond for Eldon grow with
each touch of her hand on his. Never had Trudy experienced such a deep, profound love
wrapped up in an absolute need to assist Eldon toward peace. Although she had loved
Malcolm during their marriage, until their union turned sour, it did not resonate with the
same force. Had Trudy been in Eldon’s bedchamber that night the Earl walked in with a
pistol, she’d have taken the bullet for him. Lady Genevieve fell hopelessly in love with
her best friend and grieved his death mournfully. History stated this fact absolutely but
Albert’s grief and remorse was never documented. Where Albert vanished to after Eldon
died remained a mystery to all, including Trudy, until now.

Eldon steadily became fixated on Albert and on a small stone cottage in Dorset. He held
an ocean of bitterness and fury in regards to Albert, to the point it even at times outshone
rage toward his father. The Earl was a man Eldon had never loved and certainly never
trusted with his inner most thoughts. Albert, on the other hand, Eldon had extended the
hand of trust to and it had been desecrated. The imprint Albert’s energy left of Lillyport
was harrowing. He took sole responsibility for the advantage he took of Eldon and, in
mirror of Trudy’s emotions, would have placed himself between the gun and his beloved

Viscount. Trudy’s theories on reincarnation developed whilst also becoming more
entangled.

***

For four and a half hours Cameron worked on the painting while Eldon stood behind him
and dictated instructions. Rather than use his natural technique of dreamy impressionism,
Cameron struggled with the realism Eldon demanded the cottage required. Rather than a
painting, it needed to appear more like a photograph, with nothing out of place and
everything in its place.

While Cameron worked, the sedative given to Eldon started to wear off. Trudy sat close
by in the art studio, watching for any sign of Eldon’s demeanour switching into overly
anxious. Laid out in front of her, on a round table, were the small white cards with their
pagan drawings. She knew what each of the tiny symbols meant, but they gave no clue to
the actual spell cast. If Trudy couldn’t figure out the spell, she couldn’t attempt to
recreate it should the worst scenario occur.

“Eldon,” running his hand over his brow in frustration, Cameron turned to look over his
shoulder, “it’s impossible to paint the mattress on the floor.”

“You must!”

“Sweetheart, I can’t! If the painting has to be realistic then there’s no way someone
would see a mattress through that window at this angle. If I painted it, it would look like
it’s floating in midair. The room’s too small and the window is set too high up.”

“Damn him!” The heel of Eldon’s shoe struck the floorboards hard and he pointed
accusingly at the canvas. “The coward will not leave his bed to face me!”

Cameron and Trudy exchanged nervous glances. According to Eldon, Albert was hiding
inside the cottage.

“If he would stand up like a man you could see him through the window!”

“So why don’t I just paint him standing up?”

“Because he is not standing up!” Eldon snapped. “I have told you it must be precisely as I
tell you it is!”

“Okay, okay!” Clearly discouraged and tired, Cameron set the paintbrush aside. “I’m
doing the best I can here.”

“I am sorry, dearest.” The irritation in Eldon’s tone wasn’t personal and he pressed his
palm to Cameron’s face. “I know you are trying your best and I love you all the more for
it.”

“Can I take a break, please?”

“Yes.” Eldon nodded, looking guilty. “I have been unbearable and you certainly deserve
a break away from me.”

“I don’t want a break away from you.” Cameron carefully hung a drop sheet over the
canvas and stood, stretching what had to be cramped, aching muscles. “I’m hungry. We’ll
have something to eat and then I’ll get back to this, I promise.”

“Perhaps I should attempt to make you dinner.”

Arcing an eyebrow, Cameron smiled for the first time in hours. “Your interpretation of
fixing a meal for me is always welcome.”

Eldon returned the smile. “Or perhaps you should make dinner and I will provide
dessert?”

From the corner of the room Trudy loudly cleared her throat. “Dessert is out of bounds.”
She piled the cards together and slipped them into her jacket pocket. “No hanky panky,
remember?”

Much to Cameron and Eldon’s disappointment she’d laid down the ground rules and put
a ban on any sexual interaction for forty-eight hours. Trudy reasoned two full days of
restricted energy from Cameron might be enough to slow Eldon’s influx of psychic
premonitions.

With his arm around Eldon’s shoulders Cameron headed for the door. “I’ll phone for
pizza.”

***

Beautiful, petite, blue eyed and buxomly shapely, Malcolm reasoned it was no wonder he
couldn’t resist the charms of Madeline Prideux when he’d met her at a psychic
convention. She had an air of the mystical surrounding her, a shimmering aura of
sensuality mixed in with knowing. Madeline wasn’t a woman who took rejection kindly,
though, and she made her bitterness known during the journey from the airport to
Malcolm’s home in Richmond, London.

“What is so urgent you ‘ad to see me?” As Madeline spoke she eyed Malcolm coldly. “It
‘ad better be worth my time.”

“It’s more than worth it.” From inside an A4 envelope Malcolm removed a sheet of
paper. “It’s history in the fucking making!”

“I will be ze the judge of that.” She lit an ultra slim cigarette. “You think Viscount
Davenport is ze painter’s lover, non?”

Rather than discuss anything in detail while in the car, Malcolm saved the best piece of
information for last. Madeline hadn’t picked up any psychic impression in regards to
Felix Fox and Malcolm reasoned this was due more to the Viscount than a lack in her
ability. Certainly Madeline couldn’t help note what everyone else had. Since the
photographs of Cameron and his male lover hit the newspapers, all commented on Felix’s
resemblance to Davenport. The fact they both lived together in Lillyport House was more
a topic for gossip surrounding the weirdness of it all rather than the public believing the
Viscount had risen from the dead.

“Look at the picture.” His triumphantly smug expression was deeply ingrained. “Then if
you still think I’m wasting your time, I’ll take you back to the airport.”

She took the picture from his hand, glared at him with scorn, and then lowered her eyes
to the two images. “Mon Dieu!”

“Perfect match.”

“Zis is impossible!” Madeline hastily stubbed out the cigarette and rose to her feet. “Must
be a mistake!”

“It’s no mistake, Madeline. The computer program is accurate and that,” he jabbed his
finger onto the paper, “is Evil Demonport. Doesn’t look too fucking dead now, does he?”

Madeline placed the paper on top of the coffee table and put one hand on each image. She
closed her eyes, breathed deeply through her nose, and exhaled a drawn out breath.
Gaining a reading from photographs was a common practice for psychics and Malcolm
watched expectantly.

When Madeline opened her eyes she shuddered and ran her hand through long black hair.
“Nothing. From ze picture of Viscount Davenport I still sense nothing.” She turned and
pinned her gaze onto Malcolm. “From ze picture of Felix Fox I sense nothing.”

Malcolm’s heart beat hard inside his chest.

“One in the same.” She added.

“Felix Fox is Evil Demonport?”

“Oui.”

***

While the clock hands edged toward midnight, the Dorset cottage on canvas started to
realistically replicate the image Eldon saw in his dreams. Leaving the phial of
tranquillisers in Cameron’s possession, in case Eldon’s anxiety peaked once more, Trudy
left Lillyport to spend another restless night tediously trying to force the small white
cards to reveal their enigmatic spell. Having Malcolm playing on her thoughts didn’t
assist Trudy’s concentration. What he was doing, or what he planned to do, kept Trudy’s
adrenalin running at full speed.

***

Cameron removed his glasses and rubbed at two indentations on the bridge of his nose. “I
don’t think I can finish this tonight.”

Other than taking a break to eat dinner, Cameron had worked with diligent focus on the
painting. By doing so he’d lowered Eldon’s stress levels considerably and for that he felt
thankful despite feeling exhausted.

“You have done a wonderful job, dearest.” Eldon massaged the sore, tight muscles in
Cameron’s neck and shoulders. “Should the worst happen you must paint me into the
picture. It is the only way.”

“You’re scaring the hell out of me!” His hand found Eldon’s fingers and entwined among
them. “You keep saying ‘should the worst happen’ and I’m terrified you’re going to...”

To watch Eldon’s body regenerate had been frightening enough. To witness the same
happen in reverse, after falling into Eldon’s heart and Eldon into his, was too shocking to
contemplate. If Cameron lost his love he didn’t believe he possessed the strength to live
on without him. Eldon had been through so much pain and loss already. Cameron
couldn’t bear to think of him enduring anything else when all he wanted was to wrap
Eldon in cotton wool safety and devotion.

“I will never relinquish my attempts to return to you.” Leaning over, Eldon lightly kissed
the tops of Cameron’s paint stained fingers. “You must never give up no matter how
hopeless it may seem.”

“Don’t leave me.” Cameron felt tears fill his eyes. “I won’t last a day with you.”

“I need you to be strong for me, dearest.”

Cameron tilted his head slightly, closing his eyes to the feathered lightness of Eldon’s
lips brushing ever so softly against his ear as he whispered.

“I will not find the cottage on my own if you do not paint me into the picture.” Beneath
Eldon’s fingers the top buttons of Cameron’s shirt opened easily. “Albert is a coward, he
will not willingly allow me inside the cottage and his energy to keep me out will
overpower my energy to get in.” The touch of Eldon’s hand travelled comfortingly over

Cameron’s chest. “Therefore, if this comes to pass as I fear it will, you must paint me
outside the window.”

“Do I paint you as you are now or...”

“As I was then.” Undoing the remainder of the buttons, Eldon eased the shirt over
Cameron’s shoulders. “In the attire I was buried in.”

When Cameron nodded the tears spilled over and he quickly rushed to wipe them away.
He felt the comforting weight of Eldon sitting astride his lap, leaving his eyes closed to
become lost in the luxury of an unhurried kiss. The slight shift of Eldon’s body against
his, the slow enticing movement of hips, sent shivers of longing through Cameron. A
straining crotch pushed urgently against denim and grew harder the deeper Eldon kissed
and rocked his pelvis.

To maximise the friction Cameron leaned as far back in the swivel chair as it allowed. He
pressed the heel of his shoe into the floor to roll the chair safely away from the easel. His
fingers gripped tight to Eldon’s waist as Eldon lifted his hips just enough to deftly unzip
Cameron’s jeans.

“We can’t do this.” Though he muttered the words hoarsely, Cameron made no attempt to
halt Eldon’s hand sliding between his jeans and boxers. “Baby, we can’t...”

“Shh.”

The abrasiveness of cotton mixed with the way Eldon massaged and lightly squeezed.
Warm lips kissed over his stomach as Eldon moved off his lap and parted Cameron’s
knees enough to position himself between them. Cameron’s head fell back when Eldon
freed him from the confines of boxers, stroking in a combination of light touch and
heavy-handedness. The sweep of a wet, heated tongue licked away pre-come and
flickered teasingly at Cameron’s frenulum and glans until he could scarcely control the
desire to grip the back of Eldon’s head and force Eldon to take him into his mouth
entirely.

“Oh God...” Cameron lowered his face, locking eyes with Eldon as he continued to flick
his tongue around the head. “...you’re driving me crazy!”

He bucked his hips forward when Eldon enclosed his mouth around him, sliding lips
down while pressing his tongue hard up against the underside of Cameron’s shaft. His
head bobbed slowly at first, creating tormenting suction, driving Cameron wild with
arousal.

Suddenly Eldon leaned away.

Cameron’s resistance to snatch the back of Eldon’s head failed. “I’m about to come!
Don’t stop! Please!”

Removing Cameron’s fingers from within his hair, Eldon stood and unbuttoned his fly. “I
want you inside me.”

“We can’t!”

“I do not care.” Eldon kicked of his shoes and stepped out of the jeans. “I need you,
Cameron. Right now.”

“Baby, I haven’t got a condom and I’m on the edge here!”

Eldon bent down and took a condom from his jeans. Cameron gave up the argument he
had no honest desire to win, allowing Eldon to roll on the condom and savouring in what
promised to happen next. He watched lustfully as Eldon turned around and stood with his
back to him.

Once again Cameron leaned as far into the chair as possible and reached out to take hold
of Eldon’s hips. His breath rasped as he stared at a firm round rear; he was enflamed by
the way Eldon took hold of his butt cheeks and spread them in ready to take his lover,
straddled backward over Cameron’s thighs. Cameron dug his heels hard into floor,
pushing himself inside Eldon as Eldon lowered onto him, trying to keep the chair casters
from budging and moaning gruffly.

Trying to thrust upward while also trying to keep the chair still proved impossible no
matter how hard Cameron pressed his heels into the floor.

“Stay still,” Eldon said breathlessly, grasping tight to Cameron’s arm. “Let me.”

In easy circular motions Eldon moved his pelvis, interspersing that with rhythmic back
and forth motions. Cameron allowed Eldon to take total control, though curbing the want
to thrust at times became excruciating.

When Eldon bore down, Cameron instantly ground his heels just as firmly into the
floorboards. He ceased the slow, easy motion and rode Cameron’s length hard and fast,
throwing both into a state of pure ecstasy. Cameron felt Eldon’s butt slap against his
thighs and then lift until only the head of his cock remained inside Eldon.

Unable to hold on any longer, Cameron gripped Eldon’s hips and jammed him
downward. He came forcefully, shuddering beneath his lover, feeling Eldon come and
precisely the same time.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“You want to kidnap ze Viscount?” A sardonic smile lifted one side of Madeline’s full,
scarlet painted lips. “‘Ow you suppose you do this?”

Malcolm shrugged. “Haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“Zis ‘as always been your problem.” Curls of smoke from the end of Madeline’s cigarette
formed a haze above her head. “Ze Viscount is not ze one you want.”

“Like fuck he isn’t!”

“Ze one you want is Cameron.”

“Kidnap McIdiot?”

“Non!” She rolled her eyes. “Ze Viscount did not return to life on ‘is own. If ‘e were
capable of zis ‘e would ‘ave done it a long time ago. Non...” She flicked her cigarette into
the ashtray. “...ze Viscount is using Cameron’s energy.”

“Demonport’s a soul sucking zombie?”

“Zis is not a B-Grade ‘orror movie, Malcolm, zis is necromancy in its ‘ighest form.” In
disbelief, Madeline stared across the room, wondering if Malcolm had always been this
vague or if it were a recent acquisition. “A potent Voodoo rite.”

“Cameron’s not the brightest firecracker in the box.” Talk of Voodoo rites and
necromancy set the hairs on Malcolm’s arms on edge. “He’d be likely to fuck the walking
dead and ask no questions. Hell, he thought kangaroos were in Austria! He’s getting his
cock happy with a zombie and probably Demonport’s going to literally fuck the life out
of him. That’ll leave us with a dumb dead artist and the undead roaming around London.”

“Zere is ze chance the Viscount will take all of Cameron’s energy and...”

“We’ll be left with a dumb, dead artist!”

“Possibly.”

“So we need to get rid of Demonport before he kills McIdiot.”

“Oui.” Madeline agreed with a nod.

“How?”

“What ‘appens to lights if zere is a power blackout?”

Malcolm’s eyes widened. “I want Demonport underground, Madeline, but I’m not killing
McIdiot to achieve it!”

“Cameron will survive.” She shrugged. “Ze Viscount will not.”

***

Shaking rain off a purple umbrella, Trudy left it on the veranda and roughly pushed by
Cameron into the foyer. It was after two in the morning and her temper frayed with
burning anger and irritation.

“He’s still in bed.” Cameron closed the front door and quickly escorted Trudy toward the
stairs. “It’s like he’s stuck in semi-sleep or something. I can’t wake him up properly.”

Ignoring the panic in his voice, Trudy snared the back of Cameron’s shirt and forced him
to turn and face her. “Jesus Christ! Can’t you keep it in your pants for longer than two
seconds?”

Denying the sexual interlude wouldn’t work and Cameron knew Trudy read him easily.
“It just... happened!”

“Oh, it ‘just happened’, did it?” With her hands on her hips Trudy blocked Cameron’s
access up the stairs and glared furiously. “Eldon sat down naked on your lap without
realising your penis stood up waiting for him?”

“It wasn’t as though I forced him!”

“It wasn’t as though you tried too damn hard to stop him either!” She struck Cameron
sharply on the arm with the heel of her hand. “I warned you this would happen and you
go right ahead and have sex anyway.” She took two steps up the staircase and then
blocked the way again. “You’re a bloody fool, Cameron!”

Storming up the remainder of the stairs, uncaring if Cameron followed or not, Trudy
hastened down the hall and directly into the bedroom. Eldon lay beneath the covers,
shivering and mumbling words that were sometimes cohesive and other at other times
not. His eyes flickered open occasionally, staring and glassy.

“Honey?” Losing all the antagonism in her tone when she spoke to Eldon, Trudy stroked
at his hair and held his hand tight inside hers. “Can you hear me?”

“He’s been calling out for Mareema,” Cameron said cautiously. “And talking about a
ball of light near the oak tree, beside the grave, saying I have to explain to him how to
walk into it. Saying it’s the only place he can return to. How can I explain it to him when
I don’t know what he’s talking about?”

“Do you know why Eldon can’t wake up?” The mere sound of Cameron speaking
prickled Trudy’s skin. “Because he’s stuck inside premonitions. I don’t know how long
this is going to last, it could go on for five more minutes, five more hours, or five more
days. Perhaps next time when I give you a warning you’ll take some notice, hmm?”

“Fine!” All blame was being laid on him and it seemed Cameron was snapping in
retaliation. “Yes! You’re right! We had sex and we shouldn’t have but I didn’t do it by
myself! You think this is easy for me, seeing Eldon like this? You think it’s easy for us
both to be terrified we’re going to be separated?”

The expression on Trudy’s face refused to soften.

“I love Eldon more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life.” She could see
tears threatening, but it seemed Cameron would hold them in rather than crumble in front
of her. “If I lose him then I...”

In an instant Cameron’s tanned skin drained of colour, his knees buckled, and he
stumbled to the side. Fearing an overload of emotions brought on a bout of light-
headedness, Trudy forgot her annoyance and rushed to his aide. Not only had he turned
white before her eyes, he looked to have lost all strength in his muscles while still
standing. His head dropped, his arms hung loosely at his sides and he leaned with a bend
in his spine against the wall.

Trudy pushed a chair behind him. “Sit down. Quickly, before you fall.”

To encourage Cameron to sit Trudy needed to push the chair behind his knees, hoping to
tip his balance enough for him to fall into the seat. It didn’t work as planned and he
remained leaning against the wall, saying nothing and staring vacantly. Trudy switched
places from behind the chair to in front, scared Cameron would soon fall forward rather
than backward into the seat. At six foot one he stood far taller and far heavier than she. If
he fell, Trudy knew there wasn’t a chance she could catch him.

She placed one hand on Cameron’s chest and one on his abdomen. The rush of sick
weakness moving through him hit her in a torrent. Trudy shoved Cameron hard enough
for him to stagger away from her, hit his legs on the chair and collapse into it. Once the
contact between her and Cameron broke so too did the transfer of physical symptoms.

Scrambling for her handbag and phone, Trudy frantically dialled Malcolm’s mobile. Her
eyes moved skittishly from Eldon to Cameron and her free hand clutched at a handful of
greying hair. Eldon mumbled disjointedly and Cameron slumped in the chair like a
lifeless rag doll.

“Answer your fucking phone!” The call diverted to message bank and Trudy redialled the
number. “Son of a bitch!”

When Eldon’s mumbling switched into low, inconsistent whispers Trudy hurried from
Cameron’s side to his.

When Malcolm answered the call he did so calmly. “Yes?”

“What the fuck have you done?” She screeched. “And don’t tell me you have no idea
what I’m talking about!”

“I know exactly what you’re talking about, Trudy.”

“Tell that Prideux bitch to lift the curse off Cameron or so help me God, Mal, I...”

“There’s nothing you can do,” he replied coolly. “This doesn’t have anything to do with
Madeline.”

“You lying bastard! I can feel who laid the curse; it’s Prideux’s work!”

***

Stirring from within premonitory dreams, awakening from his unconscious twilight,
Eldon rolled over to his side and stretched languorously. He yawned, pushing locks of
hair from his face, still half within a sleep state until he became aware of the bright light
and Trudy’s voice. In a daze, Eldon opened his eyes and saw Cameron slumped in the
chair.

“Cameron!” Throwing off the bed covers he scrambled to Cameron’s side, too worried
for his love’s wellbeing to take notice of the conversation Trudy held over the phone.
“Dearest... speak to me!”

Cradling Cameron’s head in his arms, Eldon turned and shouted in panic. “He will not
wake up!”

***

“Malcolm you’ve got this all wrong! Eldon and Cameron are soul mates, they’re meant to
be together!”

“Trudy!” Eldon shrieked. “Tell me what is happening to Cameron!”

“Just stop for a moment and think about why you’re doing this to them.” Trying to calm
Eldon’s fast growing hysteria, while experiencing her own, Trudy held Eldon while
Eldon held Cameron. “Has it got anything to with TPU or has it got everything to do with
you wanting revenge? Eldon’s done nothing to you in this life!”

“Is that the Viscount I hear wailing in the background?” Malcolm inquired. “Tell him
Cameron will live.”

“Mal listen to me, please. What you’re feeling for Eldon is residual. You were the Earl of
Wicorby and...”

“The Earl of Wicorby?” He scoffed and laughed. “Fuck me, Trudy, you’re clutching at
straws now!”

Eldon shirked off Trudy’s arm, falling to his knees in front of Cameron and trying
desperately to wake him out of unconsciousness. Leaning forward over his slumped body
and peppering kisses over Cameron’s face and hands, crying and shaking.

“Mal, for the love of God, listen to me! When have I ever been wrong?”

Suddenly Eldon faltered, losing his balance on weakened legs and falling away from
Cameron onto his rear. His skin paled in the same fashion Cameron’s had and he
struggled to gain his balance and haul himself onto his knees. Trudy observed Cameron’s
eyelids strain to open against the heavy exhaustion while Eldon’s eyelids progressively
grew heavier. They clasped each other’s hands, gazing into each other’s eyes through a
dazed curtain of fog, one slipping back into consciousness while the other slipped further
away from it.

“I love Eldon, Mal.” Trudy hiccoughed and sobbed into the phone. “I can’t explain to you
the depth of love I have for this boy... please... please tell her to lift the curse, I’m
begging you!”

“You love Demonport? He’s already dead, Trudy. He’s been dead since 1857!”

“Because you shot him! He did nothing wrong, Mal, it wasn’t his fault!”

“If I did shoot him then I’m not fucking sorry and I’d do it again.”

“You are doing it again!” She screamed. “You’re murdering an innocent boy and you’re
taking away Cameron’s soul mate!”

“Soul mates? McIdiot will be better of with a living fuck buddy than an undead one.”

The bedroom shook amid her choking sobs and desperate pleas. Cameron had begun to
wake and Eldon faded quickly, far more rapidly than Trudy would have ever dreamt
possible in her worst nightmares. Eldon hadn’t been in Cameron’s company long enough
to build up a surplus energy supply he could draw on during times Cameron’s health was
compromised. Now she watched on in horror, unable to do anything other than beg
Malcolm to order the curse removed before it was too late, knowing Cameron could do
nothing other than watch his love die and Eldon could do nothing to save himself.

***

Tears flooded ice blue eyes and Eldon used all the energy he had left to keep a hold of
Cameron’s hand and speak. “Please, dearest... never give up on me. Never.”

Incapable of replying, the tears in hazel eyes flowed over and chased each other down
Cameron’s face.

“Mal!” Trudy screamed in desperation. “You have the chance to put this right if you
listen to me. The Earl lived in misery after he shot Eldon, if you do this your life will end
in the same miserable way!”

“I’m willing to risk it.”

“I love you.” Eldon whispered and his hand lost its grip on Cameron’s. “Never... never...
give up.”

A gasped breath heaved in Eldon’s chest and exhaled in soft, trembling sigh. He lost all
remaining strength in the instant Cameron regained all his. Cameron had only enough
time to sweep his love off the floor before Eldon took his last, shuddered breath and died
in Cameron’s arms.

Chapter Twenty-Three

On the edge of the bed Cameron sat with Eldon on his lap and in his arms. He cradled his
love’s head next to his chest, rocking back and forth, overcome with grief and pleading
through howling tears for any sign of life to return to Eldon’s limp, unmoving body.
Cameron hadn’t even been able to say "I love you" before Eldon died. It had all happened
shockingly quickly and Cameron’s sorrow drenched Lillyport House with the haunting
misery she’d earned a reputation for.

Trudy’s tears added to the desolate atmosphere. She stood with her hands covering her
mouth, watching Cameron in the depths of despair and her darling Eldon held in death.
Wherever Eldon’s soul was now, he wasn’t inside Lillyport. The time had come for
Cameron to lead Eldon toward the cottage, though he reeled in mournful distress and was
certainly in no fit state to leave Eldon and return to the painting.

The curse Madeline Prideux had laid was a simple freezing hex with a devastating
outcome. A spell used to substantially plunge down Cameron’s energy levels for a small
amount of time, to lower his blood pressure and drop his heart rate, slow his breathing
and to scramble his thoughts. Although Madeline Prideux wasn’t as gifted in mediumship
as Trudy, her spells rarely missed their target. Malcolm hadn’t taken on Eldon in the
fashion Trudy expected him to and it led to being taken by surprise in the worst possible
way. He’d called on outside help and succeeded before Trudy, Cameron, or Eldon knew
what hit them.

Yet Trudy firmly believed they still held the upper hand. Eldon had foretold his own
demise and managed to put a counter plan into action. His premonitions warned of what
could occur and he advised on the necessary steps to be taken if it did. Trudy knew they
had to hurry, though. Should Eldon’s body start the process of decomposition, she needed
to somehow recreate the necromantic ritual to reverse it. While Eldon’s body remained as
it was, new in death and pristine, Trudy rationalised his soul could return far more easily.
They raced against the clock of nature versus supernatural.

“Sweetheart?” Having to be the brave one fought against Trudy’s deep sorrow and she
placed her hand on the side of Cameron’s face. “Eldon isn’t here anymore, darling, and
you have to lead him back.”

Cameron ignored her and held Eldon’s body more firmly in his arms.

“He’s relying on you, Cam. Eldon needs you to paint him outside the cottage window or
he won’t be able to come home to you.”

“Get out!” The order broke within strangled words. “Leave us alone!”

She sat beside them on the bed. “He is alone, honey. That’s why you need to be strong
and help him. Paint him into the picture, Cam. For some reason Eldon knew he had to

find Albert. Don’t let him down. Don’t let him spend anymore time in limbo than he’s
already endured.”

“He’s so cold.” Cameron kissed Eldon’s unresponsive, chilled lips. “I have to keep him
warm. He’s freezing cold.”

“You have to lay Eldon down and return to the painting.” She stood and turned down the
bed. “We’ll cover him with the quilt and we’ll make him comfortable.”

Trying to keep from crying burned a knot in the back of Trudy’s throat. The longer
Cameron held Eldon’s body the more Trudy knew he would not leave his love unattended
to venture into the art studio.

“I’ll bring the painting in here, sweetheart.” She smoothed down the pillow. “You can
stay with Eldon while you work. You have to do this, Cameron. You have to.”

***

Muffled footsteps grew faint the longer Cameron listened until he could no longer hear
Trudy’s heels click on top of the floorboards. Staring down into Eldon’s pale, exquisite
face, Cameron could barely see the features he loved through the wash of tears. He gently
pushed away long locks of dark hair and held Eldon’s fingers to his lips. Amid his
thoughts of grief and feelings of heartbreak, Cameron heard Eldon’s clipped, upper class
English accent speak inside his memory. ‘Please, dearest… never give up on me. Never. I
love you. Never, never give up.’

Cameron carefully stood on swaying legs and tenderly placed Eldon onto the bed, making
sure his head rested softly on the pillow and the quilt covered him snugly. Cameron's
kisses travelled over Eldon’s brow, down to the tip of his slightly upturned nose, and
rested on his mouth. To let Eldon down, no matter the pain twisting Cameron’s heart, was
out of the question. Cameron knew he needed to lead Eldon home.

The painting had to be accurate and Cameron retrieved Eldon’s folded Victorian burial
clothes from the bottom of the wardrobe. He needed to paint them perfectly, match the
colors, and leave no stone unturned. How to keep his hands from trembling and hold a
paintbrush, Cameron didn’t know. He only knew he had to.

A folded sheet of paper fell from the black tailcoat and landed at Cameron’s feet.
Immediately the tears sprang back into his eyes as he bent to retrieve it off the floor. He
unfolded the paper and read the letter Eldon had written days before that Cameron had
refused to accept.

Dearest Cameron,

I have always been a dreamer and my imagination has taken me to the loveliest places.
Ever since childhood I would fall into sleep and find myself surrounded by beautiful

countryside as though I walked through the gardens of heaven. One night I closed my
eyes and soon drifted into those gardens, walking with the strength of an angel at my
side. I knew he must have been an angel for I have never felt so loved or so safe in the
arms of another. Each night my angel waited for me, holding out his arms and looking
upon me with kind hazel eyes.

The angel waiting for me in the beautiful garden was you, Cameron. In your arms I felt
secure and I wish for you to find the same peace in my embrace. Please allow me the
chance to love you as you have loved me in my dreams. Let me be your angel. Permit me
into your life, grant me the opportunity to make you happy, and I will always repay you
with devotion and loyalty.

Forever yours, Eldon Davenport.

Tears fell onto the paper. Cameron refolded the letter and slipped it into his breast pocket,
wanting to keep it close to his heart as he worked on the painting. He heard Trudy’s
footsteps approaching the bedroom and walked to Eldon’s side.

Cameron kissed Eldon’s lips and whispered, “I’ll bring you back to me, angel. Don’t you
give up on me either.”

***

Refusing to stray too far from Eldon’s side, Cameron set the easel up beside the bed and
hung the Victorian attire from the wardrobe door. Trudy sat on the edge of the mattress
with Eldon’s hand in hers, and each of them continued to speak to him as though he lay
sleeping and not in death.

Trudy felt a well of pride in her heart for Cameron and the diligence he showed in
pushing his grief aside enough to concentrate on placing Eldon outside the cottage
window. Three hours passed and Cameron had Eldon’s figure painted beautifully: lifelike
and with no detail out of place. Trudy also felt the pang of guilt for speaking to Cameron
in the manner she had earlier that night. She’d deliberately hit him where she knew it
would hurt most by calling him a fool. He didn’t deserve to take the brunt of her wrath
when Trudy knew, through reading Cameron, that the initiator of the sexual interlude had
been Eldon. Both were equally to blame for breaking the rules she’d put down and, in the
end, it hadn’t mattered anyway. What did matter was they’d had the chance to be together
one more time before Malcolm tore them apart.

“Eldon said Albert was ignoring him and wouldn’t go outside.”

“He won’t be able to ignore Eldon forever.” Trudy held Eldon’s hand and forced a pained
smile in Cameron’s direction. “We both know Eldon isn’t one to be easily ignored.”

“Yeah but,” wearily Cameron turned away from the canvas and gazed at Eldon,
swallowing, “if Albert ignores him for days, like Eldon said he was doing, then what if
it’s too late? What if Eldon’s…”

Cameron choked on using the word ‘body’ to describe his love and Trudy interrupted.
“Time is only relevant, Cam. Remember 1857 has already happened. Three hours of you
painting in Eldon’s picture could translate to three days of Eldon outside the cottage
window.”

“How can it when Eldon said he couldn’t find the cottage unless everything was
accurate? Three hours ago all I had was a sketch of him outside the window.”

“Like I said, time is relevant. In a split second the present is the past. Eldon knew you
had to paint the Dorset cottage. He knew Albert was inside the cottage and Eldon knew
he stood outside the window trying to get Albert’s attention. Why?”

A confused, frown creased Cameron’s brow and forced his glasses to slip slightly down
the bridge of his nose. “Because Eldon’s psychic.”

“Eldon’s a very gifted psychic, darling. The most gifted I’ve ever met.” Leaving Eldon’s
side, Trudy stood near Cameron with her arm around his shoulders. “The reason he knew
all those things is because they’ve already happened. They happened back in 1857 even
though Eldon’s only just been forced out of his body in the last few hours.”

“So if it’s already happened then is this painting going to help him anyway?”

“Of course. If you didn’t paint the picture in the present, then it automatically alters the
impact of the past. Eldon has a strong link with you; that’s always been obvious. He gave
you specific instructions on how this cottage looks and where you needed to paint him.
He was able to do that because he had psychic visions of what had already occurred.
What already occurred was the direct result of you painting the picture in the future.”

“Eldon saw into the future and the past.”

“Yes, he did. He knew the two were linked.”

“What if the three hours it’s taken me does translate to three days? Or what if it translates
to three weeks? If time’s relevant then that can go both ways, can’t it?”

“Don’t lose faith now, Cam.” She kissed the top of his head. “Eldon wouldn’t have lost
faith in you.”

“Trudy you don’t even know what those cards mean!” Cameron’s distress peaked once
more. “So I’ve painted him, now what? I just sit here and hope to God Eldon
miraculously comes back to life? I can’t sit here and do nothing!”

“You keep talking to him, Cameron,” Trudy said firmly. “I’ll bet any amount of money
Eldon hasn’t lost his psychic link with you. Somehow he’ll hear you. Somehow I’ll work
out what those cards mean. Somehow we’ll bring Eldon back.”

“What if Malcolm’s intervening?” Moisture rose in Cameron’s reddened, exhausted eyes.
“What about that Prideux witch?”

“Eldon’s ability is far stronger than Prideux’s.” A sneer of resentment crept over Trudy’s
expression. “I’m not sure anyone could lay a hex on Eldon’s soul as easily as they can on
you, Cam.”

He stared at her for several moments before snapping irritably, “Thanks for that, Trudy!
I’m a sitting duck for psychics, right? It’s my fault Eldon’s dead because I wasn’t strong
enough to fight off a curse.”

“No!” Reassuringly Trudy rubbed her hand along Cameron’s arm. “Not many people can
fight off a hex, love. That’s why witches who dabble in the blacker side of Wicca use
them so effectively.”

“What if she does it to me again? Will Eldon still have a link to me if I’m comatosed
under a curse?”

“Honey! You’re getting yourself worked up over a whole lot of ‘what if’ questions when
we have to put our confidence in Eldon. She can’t lay another hex on you, Cam.” Trudy
spoke matter of factly. “I’ve already put a protection spell on you. You’ll repel anything
she might throw at you again.”

“Can I lie down with Eldon? I need to be close to him.”

“Yes, sweetheart.” She formed another pained smiled and stepped away. “I’m going to
work on those cards.”

“Might have been a good idea to put that spell on me before.”

“Yes.” Trudy agreed guiltily. “Yes it would’ve been.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dorset, England

Tuesday, August 11

th

, 1857

Blustering winter winds bent the tree branches and the moon struggled feebly through
darkened clouds. Eldon whipped his head to the side the instant he saw Albert step from
the stone cottage into the freezing night. With his mouth contorted into a furious sneer,
Eldon dipped his chin and glared, stalking toward Albert in long, angry strides.

Terrified of reprisal, Albert’s weakened body crumpled and he fell to his hands and knees
at Eldon’s feet. “Please don’t hurt me!”

“Stand up and face me you wretched, sniveling little swine!”

Albert covered his head with his arms, attempting to ward off Eldon’s shrieking screams
of rage. “Please don’t kill me, Eldon!”

“Viscount Davenport to you!” Days of standing outside the window being disregarded
fuelled Eldon’s boiling anger. “You will stand up and you will follow me into the forest
before your aunt discovers you are missing.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Yes!” Eldon bent at the waist, hands on hips, and screamed near Albert’s ear. “I am
going to sink my hand into your chest, pull out your heart, squeeze the last beat from it
and then I shall I devour it!”

Wide blue eyes stared up at Eldon in horror.

“Devouring your heart is the only way my spirit can be freed to return to Cameron where
I belong.” A crooked smile mocked Albert’s terror. “My love is consumed with grief and
it is only fair I consume your heart to ensure his heart will be mended.”

Swaying and trembling on all fours, Albert whimpered, “Will it hurt?”

“It will hurt a great deal, Albert!” Eldon spat viciously. “Stand up and follow me!”

Somehow Albert managed to dig deep, trawl up the strength to rise shakily to his feet and
stumble after Eldon into the depths of the forest. Every so often Eldon peered over his
shoulder to ensure the stable boy followed obediently. Eldon’s silvery white phantom
reflected moonbeams each time the clouds parted enough to allow the night sky to
lighten. Leafless trees reached out and snagged at Albert’s clothes and he tripped over
several exposed roots, rocks and uneven ground. Eldon strode purposefully toward a
clearing amid a glen of trees. At no time did the furious expression on his face lessen and
he goaded Albert with taunting words each step of the way.

A large rock on the edge of the clearing sat sheltered beneath a thick twine of tree
branches. Eldon headed directly toward it, flicked up his coattails and sat down. He left
Albert standing in front of him, unprotected by the trees and drenched in pouring rain.

With his head bowed, Albert knelt down and held his hands together in prayer. “I won’t
fight you, Viscount Davenport. Take my life if it will bring you peace.”

Eldon narrowed his eyes.

“Before you do,” from his pocket Albert retrieved the small white cards, “A cloaked lady
brought these to me. She told me to give them to you and said you would know what to
do with them.”

They were identical to the cards he’d found in his tailcoat and Eldon stared in utter
confusion. Trudy hadn’t figured out their meaning and Eldon certainly held no more
knowledge of them than she. If they were the key to returning to Cameron then they were
also a key to a lock draped in mystery. Eldon’s shoulders slumped and the palm of his
hand pressed hard in against his temple. It seemed hopeless.

“Did she tell you anything else?”

“She told me I am the only one you could return to.” Albert’s reply stuttered and
stammered. “That the painting had led you here and you must return to the painter. She
said I was to lead you toward your peace so I could find mine. And…” He gulped and
wiped away his tears. “…she said you had not come to me to seek vengeance.”

“I see.” Replied Eldon haughtily. “She was extremely presumptuous in suggesting I do
not want to seek my vengeance on you.”

***

In spite of escalating fear, the mere sight of Eldon pumped Albert’s blood hard and fast in
his veins. Even in death, as a silvery apparition, Eldon’s allure enraptured Albert as it had
done the very first time he’d laid eyes on the Viscount. When Eldon had died Albert
grieved never seeing him again. Yet here he was, as exquisite as ever, irate but splendid.

Gripping the cards in his hand, Albert reached out his arm and dared to speak his
thoughts. “My actions in lying with you in your bedchamber were despicable. No number
of apologies could ever truly amount to the guilt I feel.”

“I should think not!”

Albert cringed and continued. “I was taken with your beauty, Viscount Davenport.
Completely smitten by you and your loveliness. I do not think I’ll ever see another as
exquisite as you, sir, and…”

One of Eldon’s eyebrows arced when Albert hesitated and he waved his hand in a
circular motion. “Continue.”

“You showed kindness, sir, and when you smiled at me…” Through rain soaked dark hair
Albert gazed upon Eldon in a semi-trance like state of teenage worship. “…you only
became more beautiful and more lovely. I love you, Viscount Davenport. I know you
despise me for what I did. I despise myself. But I cannot help the feelings I have for you
still.”

***

Turning away from the enamored boy, Eldon gazed through the trees and pictured those
last few seconds with Cameron before death tore him from his body once more. The look
of desolate anguish, fear and sorrow that flooded through them both haunted Eldon’s
thoughts. He could feel Cameron’s heartbreak combined cruelly with his own, tearing
strips off his soul and leaving it exposed to the harshness of their separation. Cameron
had fulfilled his promise to paint Eldon into the picture, but Eldon already felt as though
he’d failed Cameron. He didn’t know what the white cards meant or who the mysterious
cloaked woman may have been. All Eldon saw in the future was a ghostly, miserable
existence for himself and an inconsolable, lonely life for Cameron.

“One day you will fall in love, Albert, and when you do you will realize what you feel for
me is superficial.” Eldon’s bottom lip quivered and silvery glints highlighted his pearl
white eyes. “True love has little to do with physical beauty and everything to do with the
beauty of one’s soul.”

“Forgive me, Viscount Davenport, but you are blessed with the splendor of both.”

“Eldon.” Silvery lines tracked from the corners of Eldon’s eyes, down his cheeks, and
dislodged off his chin. “I abhor that pretentious honor title.”

“If devouring my heart will return you to your love,” the cards shook in Albert’s hand, “I
will not resist.”

“I am not a murderer, Albert. I am not like my father.”

Believing Eldon had taken his own life had clearly been a dagger of remorse lodged
deeply inside Albert’s chest. “The Earl of Wicorby shot you?”

“Yes.”

Albert dared to rise off his knees and cautiously approach. “I’ll help you. I am unsure
how but I will not betray your trust again. You have my word and my vow.”

Even in the dim light Eldon saw how far Albert had deteriorated from the strapping
young man he’d first met the night of the ball. In many ways Albert appeared more
deathlike than he.

“Return to the cottage, Albert. You must eat to regain your strength.”

“I will not go anywhere without you.” To protect the cards from the elements Albert
slipped them back into his pocket. “Come with me, Eldon.”

***

Mabel flew toward her nephew with open arms when Albert reappeared inside the stone
cottage. She feared the onset of madness had taken him from her protection and led him
into the woods where the cold and rain would take his life. Keeping a level head amid
Mabel’s harried words, Albert asked for a bowl of broth with bread. Thankful for his
want of food, Mabel rushed to fulfill his request.

***

Albert walked away and led Eldon toward the second damp, cramped room.

Having no chair to offer, Albert gestured to the mattress. “Please sit here and I shall take
the floor.” He picked up a flat pillow and plumped it as best he could. “If you place this
behind your back you’ll feel more comfortable. Or… shall I fetch you a chair from the
other room?”

“I am not royalty.” Eldon sat down on the mattress and clasped his arms around his
knees. “This will do fine.”

“You are royalty to me. Far more handsome than any prince who has ruled England.”

“I do believe kings rule, Albert, not princes.”

“You are far more handsome than…”

“Shh!” A quick nod of Eldon’s head signaled toward the closed wooden door. “Mabel is
approaching.”

As the warning words left Eldon’s lips the door opened.

***

Mabel entered with bread and a bowl of broth on a tray. She set it down on the floor and
smiled. Eldon knew that in her nephews eyes she saw a spark when for three weeks they
had been vacant. Eldon watched closely, taking in the way Mabel fussed to remain in the

room, wanting to provide Albert with company, and the way Albert courteously refused
the offer.

Eldon grimaced as Albert shoveled spoonfuls of broth into his mouth and took huge
chunks out of the lump of bread. It wasn’t long before every skerrick of food vanished
and Albert then wiped his mouth with his grotty shirtsleeve.

When Albert finished off with rumbling belch, Eldon frowned. “Quite a display in
gentility!”

“My aunt is a very good cook.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“She will fall asleep by the fire now.” Albert laid the small white cards on the mattress
beside Eldon. “We must figure out what these mean.”

“They are symbols of witchcraft, that is all I know of them.”

“I cannot see the symbols.”

“They are the signs of the phoenix, alchemy, elements, Om, chalice, and pentagram.”

Albert spoke in whispers; careful his aunt overheard nothing on the chance she stood near
the closed door. “Are they signs of the devil?”

“No.” A pain in Eldon’s head did not emanate from him directly but instead passed
through him via Cameron’s anguish. “Describe to me what this cloaked woman looked
like.”

“She was not very tall, with long straight dark hair and bright sapphire blue eyes. A very
beautiful lady and she spoke with a gentle voice. Her eyelashes were long and thick,
black like her hair. She was slim in build with a buxom bosom.”

The description Albert gave lit an ember of recognition for Eldon and he tilted his head in
response. “Did this woman have a small dimple in her chin?”

“Yes.” Albert nodded. “Only very slight.”

“Where did she say she was going?” Eldon demanded. “Why did she leave me these
cards and disappear?”

“I don’t know. Do you know her?”

“Her name is Molly Appleby! She raised me!”

“Then we must search for her, Eldon.” Quickly Albert gathered up the cards and stood.
“Miss Appleby only brought me these cards yesterday. Perhaps she is staying in the
nearby village. She can tell you what these cards mean.”

“We cannot travel tonight.” Though wanting and needing to leave immediately, Eldon
knew Albert was in no fit state to walk in the cold and rain. “First you will sleep and we
shall leave prior to the sun rising. Before your aunt wakes.”

Wanting to prove his masculinity and devotion, Albert argued the point. “I am capable,
Eldon. We shall leave now.”

“You will do as I ask this time!”

***

In the early hours of the morning, the stone cottage rumbled beneath sheets of rain and
hail. The trees outside creaked and groaned, knocking branches on the window as though
begging to be allowed inside for shelter. Lightning forked and thunder shook the
foundations. After tossing and turning for close to an hour, Albert finally drifted into
sleep and left Eldon gazing into the darkness, wrapped in sorrow and fatigue.

Cameron’s distress surged through Eldon’s soul in waves as thunderous as the outside
weather. Eldon’s tears were a combination of his own grief and his love’s. At times
Eldon heard Cameron’s voice speaking to him but was unsure if it were merely
imagination pandering to mourning, the need to hear Cameron rather than a true
connection linking them between eras. Eldon spoke words of love and comfort to
Cameron, praying somehow they would reach his soul. Unlike the century and half he’d
spent in spirit form previously, this time Eldon had absolute perception of what went on
around him. Eldon did not feel dead, though his phantom form taunted otherwise.

Molly Appleby had kept many things from him and Eldon had no knowledge of her
practicing witchcraft at any time. This didn’t mean Eldon doubted her capabilities to do
anything. Molly was a strong woman. She did not allow much to deter her once she’d
made a decision. She thought for herself always and showed Eldon the love his parents
hadn’t. Eldon knew if he were to put his complete trust in anyone to lead him back to
Cameron, Molly was that person. Molly Appleby gave Eldon a glimmer of hope.

“I do not know how long you have been without me, dearest.” Eldon whispered, resting
his head against the stone wall. “Tomorrow I will find Molly and she will lead me back to
you. She must. Do not give up hope, Cameron. I will come home to you, I promise.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Davenport Manor

Wicorby, Hampshire England,

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

In a fitful night of unrest and foreboding nightmares, Charles Davenport rolled over and
ran his hand over the surface of a bedside table in search of his pocket watch. Sunlight
through the crack of heavy drapes gave the bedchamber only enough dim light to see
through squinted eyes.

The pocket watch showed the time at 7:57 a.m. Charles never usually slept longer than
6:00 a.m. and he sat up quickly, throwing the bedclothes off. Beneath the sheet, on the
other side of the bed, an undressed porcelain baby doll lay with a thin rope tied tight
around its neck.

Chapter Twenty-Six

In Malcolm’s mind the deed had been done and the Viscount returned to the realm of the
dead where he belonged. He felt vindicated, powerful in his actions to outsmart Trudy
without barely lifting a finger. He kept the computer print out of Felix Fox matched with
Eldon Davenport in a folder. It wasn’t enough. It didn’t satisfy Malcolm’s appetite for
more. Arrogance always drove Malcolm forward where common sense should have
driven him backward.

What Malcolm wanted now was photographic evidence of the Viscount’s corpse,
knowing Cameron wouldn’t have reburied him yet. The rear grounds of Lillyport were
extensive, with overgrown walled gardens and large trees capable of concealment.
Sooner or later Cameron would have to bury the Viscount and the only logical place was
his original gravesite.

The main driveway led from the massive iron gates and swung around in a half-circle to
the mansion’s entrance. The gates were padlocked shut and, even if they weren’t,
approaching the house from the front raised the chances of being seen. To access the
property, Malcolm knew he needed to use the rear gate.

He parked his car in a nearby street, threw a stuffed backpack over his shoulder, and
walked the laneway leading to the back of the property. It had been over sixteen hours
since Madeline had laid the curse on Cameron. What had gone on inside the house during
that time, Malcolm could only guess. Yet the fact remained, the Viscount would probably
decompose at the rate of a normal corpse and keeping his body inside Lillyport was
impossible.

Malcolm tried the rusty gate latch and it refused to give. A padlock had been placed on
the other side. He swore under his breath and craned his neck to look at the top of the
seven-foot gate. Scaling it wasn’t unfeasible, but Malcolm lacked youth and agility. He
tossed the backpack over and gripped his hands to the top of the gate, hauling himself up
while trying to find traction with his running shoes. Splinters hooked into Malcolm’s
palms, his knees hit the oak wood hard and he heaved with all his strength to lift high
enough to swing his leg over.

After three failed attempts, Malcolm managed to scale the gate and drop into the rear
grounds of Lillyport House. He picked up the backpack, stuck close to the cover of trees,
and headed for the Viscount’s grave. When Cameron carried the body out, Malcolm
would be ready to snap the photographs.

***

The bright ball of light near the oak tree he spied made no sense to Cameron, but he felt
helpless doing nothing. The inhuman feel of rigor mortis stiffened the muscles in Eldon’s
body and the white/blue of his skin drove Cameron out of the bedroom. The hours passed
painfully slowly while rushing by at excessive speed.

Cameron’s grief drained him of tears and, after leaving Trudy to watch over Eldon, he
gradually made his way down the halls and the staircase. Beneath him his legs felt like
rubber and his limbs shook continuously. Cameron hadn’t slept; he hadn’t eaten, and his
heart was a shattered leaden weight within his chest. The bright circle of light was what
Cameron prayed to see. Some sign that Eldon wasn’t lost to him forever.

He bypassed the kitchen and took a torch from a drawer. From there he continued to the
back of the house and the door leading into the rear grounds. Wearing only a thin cotton
shirt, Cameron hardly registered the winter cold. It couldn’t compete with the chill
already encompassing every cell of his being.

The torchlight lit a narrow beam across the grounds and Cameron trudged through frost
covered grass toward the oak tree. He shone the light onto the headstone and immediately
those dried up tears threatened reappearance. Cameron knew he had to stay strong and he
swallowed hard to keep them at bay.

Other than the torch beam, the oak and gravesite were bathed in darkness. As he started
to turn away and head back to the house, movement to his left snared his attention.
Cameron shone the torch into a thick brush of shrubs, waited, saw nothing more, and then
deflated with crushing disappointment. He reasoned the movement to be a cat, a rabbit, or
maybe even a fox.

Once more Cameron started to turn away when another scurry of movement rustled the
bushes. The light from the torch cast a large black shadow across the lawn.

“Eldon?” Cameron called into the night. “Baby, is that you?”

A rat ran from under the shrubs and it was then Cameron saw the unmistakable shape of
human figure lurch into view. He shone the torch onto the spot and sprinted across the
grass. Being younger and fitter, filled with adrenalin, Cameron snatched Malcolm by the
collar before he had the chance to make it halfway to the rear gate.

***

Cameron flung open the bedroom door and threw Malcolm across the room. He then
converged on him again, ignoring Trudy’s startled screams and shouts, pinning Malcolm
to the floor with his shoe pushed hard into Malcolm's throat.

“You wanna know what it’s like to be terrified you’re going to die, Ritter?” Cameron
pressed the heel of his shoe harder against Malcolm’s neck, yelling in a furious tirade.
“You wanna be the next corpse laid out in this room?”

“Cameron!” Trudy ran from the bed and tried in vain to shift Cameron’s foot off
Malcolm. “This isn’t going to bring Eldon back! He can’t breathe!”

Releasing his foot, Cameron took a handful of Malcolm’s parka jacket and hauled him to
his feet. “Leave the room, Trudy!”

“Cameron stop it! If you kill him you’ll go to jail, do you think that’s what Eldon wants?
When he returns you won’t be here and Eldon can’t survive without you!”

Ignoring Trudy, Cameron concentrated solely on Malcolm as he coughed and spluttered,
begging for lenience. “You’ll pay, you son of a bitch!” He let go of the parka. “Move an
inch and you’re dead!”

Malcolm cowered against the wall, staring pleadingly at Trudy as she stood motionless
with her hands gagging her mouth.

In a calm manner, contradictory to his rage, Cameron walked to a chest of drawers on the
other side of the room. He opened the bottom drawer, took out a small wooden box,
flipped the lid, and removed an antique Colt pistol.

“Oh my God!” The fact Cameron owned a gun had never been in the forefront of his
mind, therefore Trudy never predicted it. “Cameron! Think about what you’re doing!
Think about the consequences!”

He loaded it from a box of bullets kept with the gun and closed the drawer. When he
turned he walked across the floor and aimed the gun in the centre of Malcolm’s brow.

“Now do understand what your son went through when you did this to him?”

“For fuck sake, McKenzie!” Malcolm scooted further into the wall and burbled though
his terror. “I’m not the Earl of Wicorby!”

Cameron shrugged. “Whether you were the Earl or not, it doesn’t really matter.” He took
a step closer. “Eldon’s dead now because of you. It’s payback.”

“I’ll help you!” Desperate pleas raised Malcolm’s voice into a shrill squeak. “I’ll call
Madeline! Maybe she can work with Trudy and we can bring Eldon back!”

“Go to hell!”

“Darling, please!” Trudy begged almost as hard as Malcolm. “Don’t do this! Eldon
wouldn’t want to…”

A sharp, loud crack fired from the barrel of the pistol.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Dorset England, 1857

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

Used to waking early to tend to stable horses, Albert didn’t need to be roused by Eldon,
and he woke before sunrise. Hurriedly, he stuffed a cloth bag with a few items of clothing
and the worn blanket from his bed. Eldon waited while he packed, staring through the
window into the trees beyond with his thoughts combining between Cameron and Molly
Appleby.

“I’m ready, Eldon.” The cloth bag was slung over Albert’s shoulder. “We must leave
before my aunt wakes.”

While Eldon stood behind, Albert cautiously peered into the other cottage room, making
sure Mabel slept in her tattered armchair. He tiptoed toward the main wooden door,
taking a loaf of bread from near the fireplace and leaving a note in its place.

Contemplation, worry, anticipation and anguish jostled for first place inside Eldon’s
thoughts and kept him silent. An expedition in search of Molly Appleby began with no
concrete evidence as to where she’d gone once she’d delivered the cards and her message
to Albert. To Eldon it resembled fumbling blindly in a pitch-black room, looking for an
exit and the promise of light on the other side of walls that seemed to rapidly close in on
him. Why Molly hadn’t waited didn’t make sense and Eldon couldn’t understand why
Albert saw his ghost, yet Molly did not. He rationalized that perhaps it connected with
Cameron’s painting and the fact the scene on canvas depicted the cottage at nightfall.
Molly had approached Albert during the day; it was all Eldon could reason.

To keep from being seen by those travelling narrow roads on horseback or in carts, they
walked deep into the forest and the cover of trees. The nearby village would take
approximately half an hour to reach on foot if they followed the road. Eldon estimated an
hour via the route through the forest. At least the weather had calmed, with heavy rain
ending and blustery winds easing to a breeze.

“May I ask you a question, Eldon?”

Having walked in relative silence until then, Eldon snapped out of his melancholy and
replied reflectively “You may. I cannot promise I will answer your question.”

“Does Cameron truly love you?” Trudging through a thicket of undergrowth, stumbling
and slipping every so often on the slimy forest floor, Albert kept his eyes downcast.
“Does he treat you well and spoil you with gifts?”

“Yes, Cameron truly loves me.” It wasn’t the question Eldon had expected and he smiled
while his heart pined. “Simply being in his company is enough to spoil me.”

“If you were my beau,” Albert slipped and then righted himself, “I’d work hard every day
of the week to bring you a gift every evening. I’d build you a comfortable house to live in
and I’d plant flowers so you always had something beautiful to look at while I was away
at work.”

Modesty wasn’t one of Eldon’s strong points, however Albert’s infatuation touched a part
inside Eldon’s soul and his anger for the stable boy no longer existed. What Albert had
done had ended in tragedy, but it was by no means a deliberate attempt to cause mayhem.
He was young with his head in the clouds in concerns to someone he'd idealized as
perfect.

“You are a romantic,” stated Eldon.

“What are your favorite flowers?”

“Daffodils.”

“Then I would plant daffodils as far as your eyes could see.”

There was such conviction in Albert’s declaration that Eldon’s sorrowful smile tipped
upward into a smile of honesty. “I have extremely good eyesight, Albert. Therefore that
would be an awful lot of flowers!”

“Then I shall build you a house in the middle of a daffodil field.”

Eldon laughed softly. “You are not easily deterred, are you?”

“Would Cameron build you a house in the middle of daffodil field?”

The mention of Cameron’s name twisted Eldon’s heart and he nodded sorrowfully. “I do
believe, if I asked him to, my love would certainly try his very best to fulfill my wishes
and desires.”

“I would not try, Eldon, I would do it.” Jealousy tinged Albert’s snarky reply. “I am not
convinced this ‘Cameron’ loves you as much as I do. ‘Cameron’ is an extremely odd
name for a man.”

A strong feeling of heading in the wrong direction inundated Eldon and he held out his
arm to stop Albert moving forward. “We need to head west.”

“The village is south. If we head west we may become lost.”

“No. We definitely need to head west.” Eldon changed course. “Do not quarrel with me,
Albert.”

“I do not wish to quarrel with you, but my duty is to protect you and keep you from
harm.” As he spoke Albert puffed out his chest. “I must insist we walk south.”

“I must insist you follow me.”

Disregarding Albert’s grumbles of protest, Eldon headed westward while the boy trudged
alongside. Eldon felt pulled in that direction, beckoned without explanation. Rather than
ignore psychic feelings he had learned, in the few days he'd experienced his intuition
heightened, to trust in them being correct.

“There is a clearing approximately forty feet behind this glut of trees.”

The trees were thick and dense. Eldon walked forward with purpose and knowing, never
hesitating in his step and refusing to meet with Albert’s sideways glances of doubt. To
create some distance Eldon quickened his pace.

“The ground is very slippery and uneven.” Catching up the space between them, Albert
jogged to Eldon’s side. “I think it wise you take my arm in case you fall.”

Rolling his eyes knowingly, Eldon looped his arm through Albert’s. Rather than pass
through it an invisible layer of electricity formed a push-pull effect between phantom
form and physical form.

“If you trip I will catch you.”

“Thank you, Albert.”

“Or I will throw myself to the ground to cushion your fall.”

To hide his smirk, Eldon turned his head and replied, “Thank you again.”

“Would Cameron throw himself to the ground for you?”

“Yes, Albert, he would.”

Each time Albert said Cameron’s name, Eldon heard it edged with more disdain than the
last. Albert’s jealousy grew and Eldon knew the boy had created a mental picture of
Cameron inside his mind, convinced he wasn’t worthy of such love and affection.
Nowhere near as worthy as Albert believed himself to be.

“The clearing is ahead of us.”

Although the sun shone brighter this day than the previous days, the canopy of trees kept
the forest in muted light. If the clearing did exist then neither man could see it yet. This
didn’t diffuse Eldon’s conviction in its reality. Once through the dense woodland he
knew they’d come across a vacant area of grass and tiny wildflowers.

Albert moved in front, taking the opportunity to hold Eldon’s right hand inside his. “Wait
while I check the clearing for dangerous beasts.”

All Albert’s actions were a peacock display of masculinity and Eldon raised his eyebrows
wryly. “Are you afraid we may be attacked by rabbits?”

“There may be a rabid fox. Perhaps more than one!” Albert petted Eldon’s hand as
though reassuring deep distress. “There is no need to be frightened, Eldon. I will chase
them away before they dare bite you.”

Arguing with Albert would only stall time and Eldon nodded, despite knowing a rabid
fox would have little effect on a ghost. “I shall await your return.”

“Be brave, my loveliness.”

Eldon frowned. “I shall try.”

Throwing his shoulders back, Albert pushed through the thicket of trees. “I shall return
for you!”

“My loveliness?” Eldon mumbled and followed it up with a twenty-first century remark.
“Gimme me a break!”

Albert was certainly trying his hardest to impress and make up for his extremely poor
judgment. Eldon had to give Albert credit where credit was due and, though he believed
he wanted Albert’s head on a serving dish, having the lad's company took away some of
Eldon’s loneliness. He felt comfortable in Albert’s presence and for that Eldon
experienced a heart full of gratitude. Despite walking beside a spectre, the stable boy now
showed no fear. Instead he showed Eldon friendship and loyalty.

When Eldon watched Albert return only a minute later, he was stumbling over tree roots,
his complexion gray, and he grabbed for Eldon’s hand to try and usher him backward.
The grisly scene Albert had come across inside the clearing conveyed through Eldon in
gruesome clarity. A psychic picture in ghastly detail sent Eldon into a fit of hysterical
screams and cries.

Eldon pushed by, weaved between the trees and staggered into the clearing. Molly
Appleby lay in a pool of congealed blood, her sapphire eyes wide and staring, her mouth
open, a dagger lodged in her chest and her hands clamped around its hilt.

Dropping to his knees beside the body of his beloved nurse, Eldon wailed with the misery
of her death and diminishing anticipation of returning to Cameron. Something had led
Eldon to this place, but for what purpose when all he found was more bereavement and
less hope? The small white cards meant nothing unless they could be decoded into the
exact spell Molly had first cast. Now Molly was dead and, it seemed to Eldon, she’d
taken the secret of the cards with her.

Beside him Albert stood with tears in his eyes and his fingers pressed to his lips. “Do you
think she was murdered?”

“Molly!” Eldon sobbed mournfully. “I need you! Please… help me!”

“She is dead, Eldon. She can’t help you now.”

“I need to be with Cameron!”

Albert sat down on the ground with his arms around Eldon, stroking at his hair as he cried
into Albert's chest. “Stay with me.” In his grief the static feel of Eldon’s apparition
increased and buzzed against Albert’s body. “I will take care of you and I will love you
as much as Cameron does.”

The earnest words were intended to soothe, but Eldon only felt more displaced and
further aggrieved. He held tight to Albert and cried, too exhausted to even think for a
moment what his next move would, or could, be. Allowing Albert’s condolences and
consolation.

“I promise I will take good care of you. Bring you daffodils every day.”

“I will exist in misery without Cameron! Cameron will live in misery without me!”

“I will live in misery without you, Eldon.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“You fucking crazy son of a bitch! You could’ve fucking killed me!”

A large chunk of plaster had ricocheted out of the wall beside Malcolm’s head, yet
Cameron barely flinched. “If I’d meant to kill you, I wouldn’t have missed.”

“Cam, put the gun down!” Trudy pleaded uselessly. “He’s not worth going to jail for!
Think of Eldon!”

“I am thinking of Eldon.” Menacing threat lingered in Cameron’s voice and his eyes
refused to budge off Malcolm. “If I have to rebury the love of my life, Ritter, I’ll dig you
a grave in my backyard as well.”

With the barrel of the gun Cameron pointed to the wardrobe and spoke to Trudy. “Find
something in there to tie him up with.”

“Fucking hell, Cameron!” Too scared to move a muscle, Malcolm remained sitting near
the wall with his arms hovering around his head. “You gonna hold me fucking hostage?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I am.”

“What the fuck are you going to do when the cops come looking for me?”

“I doubt they will come looking for you. Who knows you’re here?” Cameron shrugged.
“Did you tell someone you were trespassing on my property hoping to see me bury
Viscount Davenport?”

Cameron had a valid point and Malcolm smartly shut up while he still had his head
connected to his neck.

“If Eldon comes home to me safely, I’ll let you go. If you believe in God, best you start
praying.”

“Just lock the door, honey.” He could see Trudy panicking and knew she didn't want to
presume what his intensions might be. “You’re the one with the gun, I don’t think Mal
will take the chance to try and escape.”

“The skeleton key is with my car keys,” he replied. “In my bedside drawer. Lock him in,
then give the keys to me.”

In the background, Cameron listened to Trudy fumbling with jingly keys and the aged
lock on the door. When she finished he held out his left hand, took the keys, and placed
them into his jeans pocket.

“Please… please put the gun down now, darling.” Her voice shook. “You’re far younger
and stronger than Mal is. He won’t take you on.”

“He’d better not. Because if he does, I’ll break his neck.”

Stepping away, Cameron unloaded the gun and returned to Eldon’s side while Malcolm
remained on the floor, seeming too frightened to even stand. Cameron's fingers combed
through Eldon’s hair and he leaned down to gently kiss a cold brow.

Cameron withdrew quickly from the kiss and stared down onto Eldon’s face. Vividly
inside his mind Cameron visualized a clearing in the middle of a forest. He saw the body
of a dark haired woman and Eldon howling in anguish.

The image then fractured into disjointed colors and Cameron peered up at Trudy in
disorientated shock. “She’s dead.”

“Who?”

“Molly Appleby.” Cameron took the hand Trudy offered. “Eldon’s nurse… she’s dead.
She drew up the cards and she cast the spell!”

“Sweetheart, how do you know this?”

“I don’t know! I saw it in my head when I kissed Eldon! How can he come home now
that she’s dead?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dorset England, 1857

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

The resonance of stone carving into soil jarringly contrasted with the melodious chirrup
of late morning bird song. Eldon sat in silence, leaning against the trunk of a tree while
Albert toiled, without complaint or rest, on Molly’s makeshift grave. Walking away from
the clearing meant taking up a journey toward the unknown in search of the unlikely.
Eldon knew nothing for certain except the all-consuming feeling he must stay within the
clearing. If a solution existed, it existed inside this small patch of grassy land circled by
elm trees and dotted with tiny wildflowers.

Though Eldon now trusted his psychic instinct, he couldn’t acquire the same faith in his
intuition surrounding Cameron. Snippets of communication came through in haphazard
bursts. At times, Eldon felt Cameron’s emotions; other times, he heard his lover's words.
Whether they were true or simply imaginings, Eldon didn’t know for certain. It seemed
Cameron already knew of Molly’s death, but Eldon reasoned this to be impossible. He
rationalised it to be wishful thinking in the hopes he or Trudy could pass on a message on
what to do next when everything now appeared lost. Yet Eldon knew he’d given
Cameron strict orders to never give up hope. Eldon needed to grip optimism in exactly
the same way, or else fail Cameron.

“Albert?”

Red-faced and sweaty, Albert stopped digging. “Yes, Eldon?”

“There is a stream between the trees in that direction.” Eldon pointed to his left. “It is
close by and you are thirsty. The water is fresh and clean.”

“I am almost done.”

“Please, do as I ask. You are not a robot.”

“A robot?”

Proud of Albert’s efforts and loyalty, Eldon smiled when Albert frowned in confusion.
“Go. Find the stream and quench your thirst.”

Albert hastily disappeared through the elms and Eldon dared to look upon Molly’s body.
Over the years she’d devotedly and lovingly tended to Eldon, she never mentioned, nor
displayed, any link with the occult. Though she did, Eldon recalled with a pained smile,
have an uncanny knack for knowing if he’d misbehaved or planned to misbehave. Even

then, Molly had neither punished nor raised her voice in anger. She had been, to Eldon, a
never-ending supply of unconditional love.

From her, Eldon learned to respect all people, no matter their class or station in life. To
never judge on social status and to only dislike someone if they have given good enough
reason to be out of favour. Even then, Molly instilled in Eldon the notion that not all
people were the same and personalities, at times, did clash. She taught Eldon to accept
differences, to learn from others' opinions, and to never allow his title of Viscount to
result in shallowness or prejudice.

Eldon remained in contemplative recollections until he heard the rustle of leaves and
Albert’s voice beside him.

“I brought you a gift.”

He looked over and saw three bright yellow daffodils clutched in Albert’s hand.
“They were growing near the stream and so I picked them just for you.”

A simple, thoughtful gesture and it touched Eldon’s heart. “Thank you, Albert.” Leaving
his spot against the tree trunk, Eldon stood with arms outstretched. “They are beautiful.”

The static of Eldon’s spectre, and the close unearthly embrace, tingled through Albert’s
body. “They are shadows in comparison to your beauty.”

“Albert,” Eldon chuckled, “you are an expert in the art of flattery.”

“It’s not flattery, it is the truth.” Herbaceous lime scent teased through the air.

When Eldon kissed Albert’s cheek and moved away, he noticed a rosy glow flush over
the boy’s face. “You are very sweet, decent, and caring.”

“I love you. Please stay...”

“Shh.” Eldon lightly placed his finger on Albert’s lips. “Loving me will only break your
heart. I do not wish to be the reason such a wonderful young heart is broken.” Eldon
rested his hand against Albert's face. “I will always hold a special place in my soul for
you, Albert. I hope I will always have a special place in your soul and you remember me
fondly. One day, you will meet the one you can bring flowers to every day, but that one is
not I.”

No doubt embarrassed to shed tears in front of Eldon and wanting to keep his façade of
masculinity, Albert moved away. “I’ll return to digging Molly’s grave. I am almost
done.”

Hurting Albert’s feelings cut deeply into Eldon’s emotions. Unrequited love wounded
severely and Eldon knew the pain first-hand from those first few hours when Cameron

had denied him. Eldon’s thoughts wandered to Genevieve and how their last conversation
together had been a furious argument. She’d died less than two years later, taking the
haunting pain with her.

“Albert?”

Without looking up, Albert replied hoarsely. “Yes?”

“I feel selfish to ask you another favour, however...”

“I’ll still do anything for you, Eldon.” Throwing the rock he’d been using as a digging
utensil aside, Albert straightened and wiped his hands on his shirt. “Anything.”

“If it is at all possible, can you try and forward a correspondence to Lady Genevieve?”

“I’m not good with words like you are,” Albert said ashamedly. “I cannot read and write
very well.”

Gratefully, Eldon held out his hand and Albert took hold. “In my first poetry collection,
there is a poem simply entitled ‘For Thou’. Please, tear the poem from the book and
forward it to Genevieve. She is aware I wrote the poem for her.”

“I will, Eldon. I promise.”

It was the best Eldon could do and he prayed fervently the words of friendship and love
within the poem would be enough to erase the quarrel from her mind. Eldon couldn’t
save her life, but he hoped to save her from anguished suffering.

Albert peered at the hole in the ground, refusing to let go of Eldon’s hand. “I do not think
I can dig any deeper. The earth has become rocky and hard.”

“You have done an admiral job.” He squeezed Albert’s fingers. “May I have a private
moment to say goodbye to Molly?”

“Of course, my lovely.” A kiss on the back of Eldon’s hand accompanied a courteous
bow. “I’ll walk to the edge of the clearing and keep my back turned until you call for
me.”

Eldon waited while Albert walked away and then crouched beside Molly’s blood-soaked
body. Although Albert had lain her flat among the wildflowers, moving her out of her
death pose, the dagger was still wedged firmly in Molly’s chest. Eldon couldn’t bury his
nurse with the implement of her demise lodged near her heart. Forgetting he possessed
neither the physical form nor the ability to remove the dagger, Eldon reached out and
placed his hand around the ivory hilt.

Like an unseen snake striking from the grass, an ice-cold hand seized Eldon’s wrist and
Molly’s head rolled to the side. Horrified and struggling to release his arm from Molly’s
grip, Eldon’s curdling screams brought Albert running. Sapphire eyes pinned onto pale
blue eyes and Molly refused to release her vice-like hold as Eldon tried to wrench free.

“Albert!” Eldon shrieked in pure terror. “Albert, help me!”

Albert yelled to be heard over the screams and howls. “I will remove the dagger!”

As Molly began to speak, scarlet red blood dribbled out the side of her mouth. “Listen to
me, Eldon.”

Trembling in fear, his screams muted into silence, Eldon stared with wide, frightened
eyes.

“Repeat this incantation word for word to Albert.” Blood pooled under Molly’s ear. “Tell
him to repeat it out loud again -- word for word.”

In a short, sharp jerk, Eldon nodded.

“Lux lucis semita pro phasmastis Eldon Davenport. Permissum diligo rector Eldon
Davenport in a diligo complexo!”

Though Latin was standard education for those born into high social status, it wasn’t a
language known to those with little formal schooling. Eldon floundered in shock, staring
back and forth from Molly to Albert.

“Repeat it, Eldon!” Molly ordered. “Lux lucis semita pro phasmastis Eldon Davenport.
Permissum diligo rector Eldon Davenport in a diligo complexo!”

“Albert...” The words Eldon spoke sounded thready within weakened trembling. “Repeat
this out loud: Lux lucis semita pro phasmastis Eldon Davenport. Permissum diligo rector
Eldon Davenport in a diligo complexo. Say it out loud!”

To Eldon’s dismay, Albert entered a trace and he repeated the Latin flawlessly.

Molly spoke again. “Suscipio mutatio ex pulvis in vita. Permissum bones fio viscus.
Permissum nex fio vita!”

Eldon shouted the words to Albert and again he repeated them without error.

“Suo una duos bodies, duos animus, duos ago, duos pectus pectoris in unus partum quod
reverto Eldon Davenport in suus regenerated somes! Lux lucis via, ado Eldon Davenport
ex obscurum in lux lucis!”

Lillyport House

Present Day

Cameron stumbled backward away from the bed, losing sight of the room completely and
seeing only Eldon’s wide, desperate, ghost-like eyes pleading into his. “Lux lucis semita
pro phasmastis Eldon Davenport. Permissum diligo rector Eldon Davenport in a diligo
complexo!”

Trudy lunged for Cameron’s bedside table and rifled through the contents until she found
a notepad and pen. “Say it again, darling!”

Cameron repeated the entire incantation perfectly.

Davenport Manor

Wicorby, Hampshire England,

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

Lilly clipped thorns off a bunch of red roses and smiled grotesquely when Charles
staggered, pale and ill-looking, into the drawing room.

“Enough, Lilly!” He sounded crusty with mental fatigue wrapped tightly in simmering
stress. “You have made your point!”

“What point do you speak of, Charles?” She tilted her head to admire her floral
handiwork. “I presume you mean the throttled company you awoke with.”

“Did you love Eldon?” He seized her elbow roughly and she jerked away. “Can you look
me in the eye and tell me you loved him? Can you tell me you are mourning his death to
the point you wish to drive me into madness?”

Through narrowed eyes, she appraised her husband, chilling him to the core with her icy
laughter. “No, I cannot look you in the eye and tell you I loved a boy I despised.”

“Why are you doing this?” he demanded in a crazed shout. “You did not shed a tear when
I buried our son! Why are you trying to destroy me over this?”

“I did not shed a tear when you buried your son.” Holding one rose to her breast, she quit
laughing and her face fell into furious sadness. “Where, Charles, did you bury mine?”

Dorset England, 1857

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

“Relax now, Eldon.” Molly’s grip loosened around Eldon’s arm. “Leave the rest to me.”

“Mareema...” Terror subsided into grief and Eldon leaned close to Molly’s face. “Stay
with me, please!”

A wispy smile settled on Molly’s lips. “Mareema. You have not called me Mareema
since you were a little boy.”

“Do not leave me. I am frightened!”

“I have only limited time, darling,” she whispered. “Cameron must erase your image
from the painting minutes prior to Trudy recreating the ritual. Tell Albert this and tell him
to repeat it out loud.”

With loving sweeps of his hand, Eldon stroked Molly’s long, black hair. “I cannot do this
without you.”

“I love you and I have never left you.” Her fingers tenderly caressed Eldon’s wrist. “Do
not doubt your ability, Eldon, for you are as gifted as your mother. You take after me,
honey.”

Tears flooded Eldon’s eyes, tumbled over his lashes, and streamed down his face.

“Trudy will bring you home to Cameron, sweetheart. All you need to do is place the
cards in a circle and stand inside that circle. Wait for the light at midnight and then walk
into it.” Molly’s voice began to fade. “Trudy loves you deeply -- you are her son, too.”

Molly’s head returned to its death position and she stared vacantly toward the sky in
silence.

Chapter Thirty

Dorset England, 1857

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

Albert buried Molly Appleby in a shallow grave while Eldon paced the clearing in short,
agitated steps. Directly above, the sun shone noon-high through the tree canopy,
indicating twelve hours until midnight and twelve more hours of anxious separation from
Cameron.

An overabundance of feelings assailed Eldon and he felt interred beneath a landslide of
emotions. The Countess of Wicorby was not his mother, although Eldon knew the
resemblance between himself and the Earl left no doubt as to whom his biological father
was. What had become of the child Lilly almost lost her life giving birth to? The question
bustled inside Eldon’s mind and all his intuition pointed to foul play on the Earl's part.
Molly abhorred Charles. She had never hidden her dislike for him from Eldon or other
household staff, yet she'd carried his child. Eldon knew Molly would not have willingly
lain with the Earl of Wicorby, which left only one conclusion. A conclusion searing
Eldon’s soul with hatred and contempt for his father.

With shaky hands, Eldon covered his mouth and his thoughts turned to Trudy. ‘Trudy
loves you deeply... you are her son, too.’

Molly lay buried beneath the dark brown earth,

but she lived on in another incarnation. When Eldon returned to Cameron, the blessing
would continue into reuniting with Mareema. He speculated incessantly over whether
Trudy now knew of their link and wondered if she would greet him as a son with the
open, loving arms of a mother. Eldon knew Trudy adored him. He had always adored her,
and he wanted the parental relationship.

Most of all, Eldon wanted Cameron: to wake up in Cameron's arms and see those gentle
hazel eyes gazing into his, to feel the warmth of his body and the strength in his embrace,
to hear the Scottish accent Eldon found irresistible and hear words of love murmured
beside his ear. Twelve hours until midnight seemed like an eternity.

“I placed your daffodils on Molly’s grave.” The tone of loss already rang monotonous in
Albert’s voice. “I thought that would be where you would like me to place them.”

Eldon nodded, approaching Albert and admiring the boy’s effort to provide his mother
with a resting place. “I am aware I have asked many things of you, Albert, but I wonder if
I could impose upon you to ask another?”

Dirt smeared over Albert’s face and clothes, his shirt clung to his body with perspiration.
“Of course. Anything for you, Eldon.”

“Would you be so kind as to grant me the pleasure of your company and escort me on a
stroll through the woods?”

A wide smile beamed over Albert’s face as Eldon held out his arm. “I would be
honoured, my lovely.”

They walked from the clearing, finding the crystal clear stream a short distance off and
following it as it meandered and tumbled over rounded pebbles. Eldon couldn’t help but
smile as Albert fought hard to smooth over the rough patches of his cockney accent and
attempt to emulate the clipped manner in which Eldon spoke. He proved an excellent
conversationalist, engaging Eldon with his chatter on a wide range of subjects and
escorting Eldon like a proper gentleman with impeccable manners and a sweet
disposition.

“May I ask you a rather...” Eldon grimaced, unsure of how to word his query. “...delicate
question?”

“Of course you may, Eldon.”

“Please understand, Albert, I ask this only because I am concerned for your welfare.”

Albert petted Eldon’s hand. “Do not fret, precious. You could never offend me.”

The pet names had ceased worrying Eldon. In fact, they amused him each time Albert
said them. “Are you solely attracted to males?”

“Yes.” Albert replied without a hint of hesitation. “Though, I’m not attracted to manly,
muscular men like myself.”

Turning away to smother laughter, Eldon hid his giggle with a cough, scratching an
imaginary itch in the corner of his mouth. “Are you suggesting I am effeminate and
unmanly?”

“No!” Albert lied. “Yes,” he corrected sheepishly with the truth. “You’re a delicate
beauty, Eldon, not fit for anything harsh. God put you on this earth for men like me to
spoil and gaze at in longing admiration.”

“Goodness me, Albert!” This time Eldon didn’t hide his laughter. “Have you ever
considered trying your hand at poetry?”

“I cannot write very well, remember?”

“You are extremely intelligent. You could certainly learn to read and write perfectly well
if you set your mind onto it.”

“I guess you are right.” The longer he walked with Eldon’s arm looped through his, the
closer Albert sidled in. “I am good at sketching.”

“Really?” Being in Albert’s company, surrounded by the tranquil woods, gave Eldon a
sense of serenity. “And what is it you enjoy sketching most?”

“You’ll think me strange if I tell you.”

“I promise I will not.”

Uncomfortable, though no doubt not wanting to refuse Eldon’s inquiry, Albert shrugged
his shoulders and peered at his feet. “I sketch my dreams.”

Mid-step Eldon halted, stunned into a mute daze while overcome with a concentrated
rush of energy vibrating throughout his soul. Eldon turned his head gradually, quivering
fingers of his free hand rested atop his lips, and he stared intensely into Albert’s worried,
questioning gaze. He searched for recognition beyond the boy’s eyes, something
reflecting Cameron back at him, something to provide total clarification. Yet clarification
wasn’t necessary. Eldon already knew the honest truth.

“I knew you would think me strange if I told you.” Embarrassed, Albert’s bottom lip
pouted slightly and he blushed. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“I do not think you are strange.” Shaking his head in dismayed sorrow, Eldon ran his
fingers through Albert’s messy hair. “Oh, Albert... what a fine mess this is.”

A fallen tree made for the ideal seat. They sat side by side and in his arms, Eldon felt
Albert’s body tingle with static against him. Albert willingly embraced the closeness,
closing his eyes and immersing himself in the sensations of being so near to the one he
treasured.

“I realise now you honestly do love me. I love you, too.” In soft, easy strokes, Eldon
passed his hand over Albert’s head. “You must not grieve me when I’m gone and you
must live this life to the fullest. Be happy, Albert. Please... be happy.”

“If you love me, why are you leaving me?”

“We will meet again.” Eldon wiped away Albert’s tears. “I promise you -- I vow to you --
we will meet again.”

“When? How can I be happy if you leave me?”

As he comforted Albert, Eldon visualised Cameron as the one in his arms, imagining the
sheer agony he would feel if being told to live and continue on without Cameron. For
despite everything that had happened, in spite of Albert’s poor judgement ending in
tragedy, he was Eldon’s soul mate and Eldon was his.

Everything came together and Eldon now realised they’d met under already disastrous
circumstances. Eldon had previously put the blame entirely on Albert when now he knew
he was the one who had set their future relationship up for failure. By succumbing to the
temptations of Absinthe, the psychic disposition had been torn wide open. Instead of
seeing Albert, Eldon only saw Cameron. Albert was young, fifteen years old and six
years Eldon’s junior. Their relationship had meant to start off as a friendship, building
over the years until Albert reached maturity and the friendship changed into romance.
Eldon felt crushed with guilt and remorse. His penchant for the notorious Green Fairy
ruined any chance for Albert to compete with Cameron. A competition with himself in a
future incarnation. Eldon saw Albert as a boy and Cameron as a man. Albert never stood
a chance.

“I am dreadfully sorry.” Kisses smattered over the top of Albert’s head before Eldon
pulled away and took the lad's chin in his hand. “Never give up on me. Never ever give
up on me.”

“Stay here!” Raw emotion and misery washed Albert’s eyes with tears and he pushed
words over the strangling knot inside his throat. “I cannot say goodbye to you again. It
will destroy everything that’s left of me!”

“I pray when I leave you at midnight...” Eldon held Albert as close as possible, soothing
his distress with gentleness. “...the rip in time will close. For if it does, you will barely be
without me for a moment.”

Lillyport House

Present Day

The floodgate to Trudy’s subconscious mind opened and deluged her consciousness with
memories of a past life as Molly Appleby. Forceful maternal instinct to bring Eldon home
combined with increased self-confidence in her own abilities. All her attention focused
around the midnight ritual to reunite Eldon’s soul and body as one.

“The cards are a focal point.” She addressed Cameron while caressing Eldon’s face. “We
need to carry Eldon to his gravesite, place the cards around him in a circle, and the ritual
has to be performed under moonlight at midnight.”

***

Unlike Trudy’s past life recollections, Cameron only held hazy dreamlike memories of
Eldon in a forest clearing. “Then I’ll have to take the painting outside, too. If I erase him
too early, it might screw everything up.”

“If you erase him too early, he’ll be thrown into limbo.”

Cameron glared toward Malcolm cringing against the wall. “What about him?”

“He’s not the Earl of Wicorby, sweetheart.”

“I fucking told you!” Malcolm grumbled, no doubt too scared to yell too loudly in case
he stoked Cameron’s wrath.

“Whether you’re the Earl or not...” Cameron stepped forward forebodingly. “...you still
killed Eldon. You’re the reason he’s dead now!”

“Leave it, Cam,” Trudy ordered. “For this to work smoothly, we need to ease Eldon back
with positive energy. If you’re negative, it’ll make the process far more difficult for him.”

“Yeah, so back off, McKenzie!”

“Shut up, Mal!” A viper-like glare shot across the room toward her ex-husband. “You
murdered my son. I haven’t even started with you yet!”

Dorset England, 1857

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

Albert cried in Eldon’s arms until he’d exhausted himself of tears and his already
weakened body felt feeble. Few words were spoken as Eldon comforted Albert’s grief
while bathing in his own guilt. Fate was predestined only to a degree, but it was prone to
outside influences destroying the fated.

“We have the rest of the afternoon and much of the night to spend together.” Visions of
Albert living his life in sorrowful loneliness ate away at Eldon’s soul. “What can I do to
mend your heart, for I know I have already broken it?”

“Do you really love me?”

“Yes. I really love you, Albert.”

Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, Albert sniffed and edged away to gain eye
contact. “Not like you love Cameron.”

“You are Cameron.”

“No.” Confusion swept over the lad’s expression. “I’m Albert. Albert Jones.”

Eldon smirked. He knew Albert feared another bout of madness might have taken over
rationale. “We have both made mistakes. However, I blame myself, for I am the adult and
I should have known better than to drink Absinthe in the quantity I did.”

“You were not drunk on Absinthe when I took advantage of you. I am to blame for that. I
knew it was wrong, but...”

“The time is not right for us yet.” Hair stuck to Albert’s forehead and Eldon pushed it
away. “There is nothing I can do to change that now. We all live more than one life,
Albert, and we all are offered more than one chance. You are Cameron and we will be
together.”

“There is something I must confide in you, Eldon.”

“What is that?” Eldon asked, smiling and touching his fingers to Albert’s face.

“You were my first kiss.”

“Do not make me your last.”

“I don’t wish to kiss another.” Mistiness hazed over Albert’s eyes. “Not ever.”

“Take the opportunity to love someone else if you can.” Standing with Albert’s hand in
his, Eldon walked him by the edge of the stream. “But be careful, Albert. Love between
two men is not accepted in this era and you must always be vigilant. You are far too
young to be crapped.”

At last a smile broke through Albert’s sorrow. “I have thought of a way you can help
mend my heart.”

“Tell me.”

“I want is to spend the few hours I have left with you just being near you like this.” His
arm looped through Eldon’s. “Then I will try hard to make this day last the rest of my
life.”

Eldon squeezed his eyes shut and the guilt rushed through him once more. “I am so very
sorry, Albert. So very, very sorry.”

“Hush now, my lovely.” His right hand wrapped around Eldon’s fingers. “If you’re right,
if I am Cameron, then you are certainly worth the wait.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Lillyport House

Present Day

With each step, Cameron’s trembling legs shook to the point he could barely keep his
knees from caving in beneath him. As he carried Eldon’s body in his arms, the frost
covered grass crunched underfoot and his breath condensed in foggy clouds on the cold
night air. Howling wind tore through tree branches as he, Trudy, and Malcolm neared
Eldon’s grave beneath the oak tree. Cameron shivered and a cold sweat beaded on his
brow. This was it. If anything went wrong now, it could mean never seeing Eldon alive
again. It also meant Eldon’s soul would exist in the nothingness of dark limbo.

“Here.” Trudy set a small pine box on the grass, one she’d quickly retrieved from her
home hours before, and unrolled a blanket she’d held tucked under her arm. “Lay Eldon
down on this, honey.”

Cameron gently laid Eldon on the blanket and kept a firm hold of his hand. Trudy
crouched over the pine box, flipped open its lid, and took out a white linen cloth. He
watched her place the cloth on the grass and set a crystal in each corner to serve the
added purpose of keeping the cloth from catching on the wind. She took out a torch, a
bundle of herbs tied into a smudge stick, a bowl filled with charcoal, and a satin pouch
filled with salt.

Cameron eyed Malcolm as he hung back nervously with the painting in one hand and an
art box in the other. “Put it next to Trudy.”

Though Cameron wanted Malcolm locked away inside the house, Trudy insisted he be
present during the ritual. No amount of argument from Cameron changed her mind. He
eventually gave in to her request, knowing Trudy must have good reason even if he were
as yet unaware as to what her reasoning was.

Cameron thought his legs would fail to support him at any moment and the light-
headedness of anxiety would turn to a faint. He watched while Trudy battled against the
wind to light the smudge stick. It took several tries before it finally ignited and flamed
behind the protection of her hand.

“We need to cleanse this space and ourselves.” Once the flames were strong, she blew it
out and let it smoulder. “I’m using sage to heal, lavender to create a serene, loving
atmosphere, and mugwort to ward off negative energy.” She gestured to the crystals on
each corner of the white cloth. “The black sapphire will help guard against Eldon’s body
rejecting his spirit. Amethyst is a powerful protector against all things negative, rose
quartz is love energy, and the amber will safeguard the psychic connection to this ritual.”

“So that’s it then?” Malcolm dared interrupt with sarcasm. “A few rocks, a bundle of
weeds, and, hey presto, the Viscount’s alive?”

“Shut the fuck up, Ritter!” Cameron snarled. “I still have a gun inside the house and a
shovel to bury you with!”

Trudy walked in a wide circle, waving the smudge stick in the air and producing great
wafts of scented smoke. “Cleanse this space and make it sacred.” Three times Trudy
walked the circle.

“What about the cards?” Kneeling beside Eldon’s body, Cameron retrieved the small
white cards from his pocket. “Aren’t they supposed encircle Eldon?”

With the smudging over, she placed the still smouldering stick into the bowl of charcoal
and picked up the satin pouch. “Shh, Cam, I know what I’m doing, sweetheart.”

She walked the circle again, throwing salt across the ground. “Salt has potent healing
qualities and the ability to ward off evil.”

An eerie hush replaced the blustering winds inside a fifteen-foot circle around Eldon’s
body. Outside this protected space, the winds continued to howl and tree branches bent
and groaned under the gale.

From Cameron’s hand, Trudy took the cards and placed them around Eldon’s body. They
were sheltered within the circle from the elements. The moon shone brightly overhead as
the time ticked closer to midnight.

“Deep breaths, Cameron.” She petted his forearm. “I sense Eldon is getting himself a
little worked up and you need to calm him down. He’ll hear you.”

Cameron inhaled a shuddering breath. “Can you hear him?”

“No, but I can sense something from him now. Talk to Eldon, sweetheart, keep calming
him down. Tell him you’ll be holding him soon.”

She gestured to the painting. “You need to erase him from the picture. When you do it,
Eldon will see his spectre begin to fade. Keep reassuring him this is what we need to
happen and he’s perfectly safe. He can hear you, Cameron.”

“So why does anyone waste money on a funeral if raising the dead is this fucking easy?”
When Cameron glared threateningly, Malcolm dropped his gaze. “Sorry.”

Following Trudy’s instructions, Cameron left Eldon’s side and picked up a paintbrush.
Timing was everything and erasing Eldon’s image was a critical part of the ritual. Too
quickly and Eldon would be in limbo. Too slowly and he’d be unable to walk into the

light. Cameron squeezed a tube of black paint, applied the brush tip to it, and in careful
dabs, began covering Eldon’s portrait from the feet up.

***

“That’s it, darling,” Trudy encouraged, “bit by bit. Keep talking to Eldon inside your
mind.”

Trudy knelt down before the hastily made altar. Just as she predicted, she sensed Eldon’s
fear escalating. She needed to initiate the second part of the ritual immediately. She
inhaled one slow breath after the other. In through her nose and out through her mouth.

Dorset England,

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

Inside the clearing, the wind died down to nothing. Eldon cast his gaze downward to
assure all the cards lay in their upright position. It was then Eldon noticed his feet to his
knees had begun to fade and he broke into horrified screams.

Lillyport House

Present Day

The ritual would open up a portal, a light for Eldon’s spirit to move into, and a pull away
from the past toward Cameron in the present. After the portal had been opened and the
pathway lit, it was up to Cameron to convince Eldon’s terrified spirit to take that step
forward.

Trudy’s chanting filled the otherwise silent surroundings. “Lux lucis semita pro
phasmastis Eldon Davenport. Permissum diligo rector Eldon Davenport in a diligo
complexo!”

Light a path for the spirit of Eldon Davenport. Let love guide Eldon Davenport into a
lover’s embrace.

“Suscipio mutatio ex pulvis in vita. Permissum bones fio viscus. Permissum nex fio
vita!”

Begin the transformation from dust into life. Let bones become flesh. Let death become
life.

“Suo una duos bodies, duos animus, duos ago, duos pectus pectoris in unus partum quod
reverto Eldon Davenport in suus regenerated somes!”

Join together two bodies, two souls, two hearts, into one creation and return Eldon
Davenport into his regenerated body.

“Lux lucis via, ado Eldon Davenport ex obscurum in lux lucis!”

Light the way, bring Eldon Davenport out of the darkness into the light.

Cameron’s hopes plunged and his heart crashed into the pit of his stomach. His image
had now been erased from the painting completely. Eldon had reacted swiftly and his
cries multiplied in strength. Trudy shouted the incantation over and over again, screaming
Latin into the heavens.

“Shh, baby.” Cameron rushed to Eldon’s body and fell to his knees. “I’ll be with you
soon, I promise I’ll...”

A brilliant sphere erupted above Cameron’s head and he recoiled from its blinding
intensity. A vortex of yellow and white, spinning clockwise at incredible speed, sucked in
air with such force that nearby tree branches leaned and reached in its direction. Malcolm
staggered backward, staring at the sphere in awe.

Trudy fought the tremendous winds generated by the vortex toward Eldon’s body.
“Now, Cameron!”

Shaken, shocked, and staring at the large bright tornado of light above his head, Cameron
shielded his eyes with his left hand and yelled frantically, “What do I do?”

“Convince him you’re at the other end of the light he can see!”

“Can you see it, baby?” Cameron shouted out loud. “Eldon! Can you see a light in front
of you?”

Trudy fell to her knees, watching the portal light and knowing it would only remain open
for a limited amount of time. If Eldon didn’t walk into it soon, he’d be lost in limbo
forever.

“Walk into it!” Panic rose in Cameron’s voice. “I’m on the other side, sweetie. All you
have to do is walk into that ball of light!”

“Keep going, Cameron!” Trudy fell to her hands and knees, crawling closer. “Talk him
into it!”

“Please, Eldon, I’m right here!” Above Cameron’s head, the vortex grew smaller and the
light began to dim. “Baby, you have to walk into it now! There’s nothing to be scared of.
I’m here waiting for you!”

Dorset, England

Wednesday, August 12

th

, 1857

Barely a misty apparition, standing terrified inside the circle of cards, Eldon tried
desperately to reach out for the sphere of golden light only to be repelled by a layer of
liquid glass each time he tried. The light started to shrink before his eyes and moved
further away. In the background, Eldon heard Albert screaming to be heard over the
vortex of wind spinning into the tunnel light.

“Let go, Eldon!” Albert shouted, standing as close to the circle of cards as he dared. “Let
go!”

“I am trying!” Wails of distress caused Eldon’s paling spectre to fade more rapidly. “I
cannot get through the liquid glass!”

All Albert could do was obey his instincts and he jumped into the circle. “You’re holding
on!” Though Albert’s hand now passed through Eldon, he held his palm next to Eldon’s
cheek. “Let go!”

“Of what?” Hysteria rose in Eldon’s voice. “I do not understand how to get through the
liquid glass!”

“Of me, my lovely!” Albert looked from the light to the pure fear in Eldon’s face. “Of
guilt and of shame! I’ll be all right, Eldon. I’m not really here; I’m waiting for you there.
Let go and, when you do, we’ll both be happy!”

Lillyport House

Present Day

The portal imploded with a loud crack, throwing out intense shards of light and then
altering into a hovering, glowing bubble. Eldon’s voice quieted from Cameron’s mind.

“He did it!” Trudy shouted in ecstasy. “One side of the portal has closed... he did it!”

“Holy fuck,” Malcolm muttered.

“Put your hand on Eldon’s chest, Cam. This is going to hurt, but whatever you do, do not
take your hand off his chest.”

“I don’t feel anything!” The pain Trudy spoke of was non-existent. “Nothing!”

The bubble quivered and then, just like the yellow sphere of light, began to diminish.
“What the hell’s going on?” Cameron shouted fretfully. “I feel nothing!”

“This can’t be possible!” Tears welled in Trudy’s eyes. “His body’s rejecting him! He
can’t make the connection with it!”

“Fuck!” Malcolm lunged forward. “I need a phone! Trudy, give me your mobile!”

“It’s inside the house!”

“Cameron!” Malcolm snapped his fingers quickly to snatch Cameron’s attention.
“Phone... now!”

“Fuck off, Ritter!”

“Give me your fucking mobile now, Cameron, or you can kiss the Viscount goodbye for
good!”

With little alternative, and a head full of panic, Cameron retrieved his mobile from his
jeans pocket and tossed it toward Malcolm. The man caught it with one hand, flipped it
open, and dialled frantically.

Malcolm stared at the bubble, swearing under his breath. “Did you curse the Viscount?”
He shouted when Madeline answered the phone.

Cameron glared at Trudy. She’d assured him Eldon was too strong to be hexed.

“Lift the fucking curse now!” Malcolm watched the bubble further reduce in size. “Now,
Madeline!”

Slow-paced seconds ticked by until, suddenly, searing agony ripped up through
Cameron’s right arm and his hand pressed hard into Eldon’s chest.

“Don’t take your hand off, Cameron!” Trudy yelled over his moans of pain. “This won’t
last long, honey. His body is making its connection with you. It needs to draw out your
life force to feed its own.”

The pain travelled through Cameron’s arm into his solar plexus, increasing until he
thought he couldn’t tolerate it any longer. He felt light-headed and dizzy. The bubble
pulsated slightly, quivering in the wind, and then burst into nothing. The portal had
closed completely and now Eldon rested. His body and soul were no longer alienated and
his love no longer estranged.

Cameron swooped in to lift Eldon off the blanket; kisses smothered his face and neck.
Beneath Cameron’s lips, Eldon’s skin was warm and soft. He pressed his mouth against
Eldon’s mouth, clutching him tightly as he lay in peacefully in Cameron's arms.

“He’s not breathing!” Cameron ambled in circles, uncertain of what to do next other than
hold Eldon tight. “Why isn’t he breathing?”

“He will.” She wiped away her tears, approaching and kissing Eldon on the brow. “Take
him to bed and keep as much body contact between the two of you as possible.”

Overwhelmed with finally having his love back in his arms, Cameron clutched Eldon’s
head to his chest. “He will wake up, won’t he?”

“After he’s had a long sleep, he’ll wake up. Whatever you do, don’t break the contact
between you.”

***

Under the warm bed covers, Cameron lay on his back with Eldon lying on his stomach on
top of him. It seemed the best position to ensure the contact Trudy had ordered. One arm
circled Eldon’s waist and his other hand stroked smooth dark hair, caressed the nape of
Eldon’s neck, down between his shoulders, and back again. Eldon’s face was turned to
the side, his cheek on Cameron’s chest and the top of his head beneath Cameron’s chin.

“Breathe, baby,” Cameron whispered, choked with emotion and caught up in an
awesome, ardent flood of emotion that saturated his trembling voice. “It’s over now. I’ll
keep you safe. I love you, baby. I love you so much.”

Over ten minutes elapsed without Eldon breathing or his heart beating. Yet strangely, his
complexion remained tanned and his skin warm. His lips were blush pink and not tinged
blue.

Whispers started to shift into desperate pleas. “Come on, sweetie, please breathe!”
It began as a flutter inside Eldon’s chest and quickly shifted into a heartbeat. Eldon’s first
breath sounded more like a tranquil sigh than an inhalation. Tears brimmed inside
Cameron’s eyes and rather than fight the emotion, he let them fall.

When Eldon’s stomach growled loudly, Cameron laughed through the tears and buried
his face into dark hair. “Hungry, baby?” He peppered Eldon’s brow with kisses. “I have a
surprise for you when you wake up.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

By the time Trudy poked her head inside the bedroom to check in on Cameron and
Eldon, they were both deep in restful sleep. The giving and receiving of energy from one
to the other would continue for the remainder of the night. They’d sleep until morning.

Trudy closed the door and fanned her hand at her face as she headed for the grand central
staircase. Simply looking at Eldon set her heart beating furiously. Her maternal instincts
to protect and love him were strong and overwhelming. Her deep affection for her
Victorian Viscount finally made absolute sense.

Although Trudy didn’t remember every aspect of her life as Molly Appleby, she did
recall times raising Eldon and everything involving the necromantic ritual to lead him to
Cameron. Trudy vividly remembered travelling by horse and cart to London where she
then sent a correspondence to the butler, a man she’d befriended during her time as
Eldon’s nurse, and he arranged to sneak Molly through the rear entrance of Lillyport
House. Once inside, and knowing the Earl and Countess were attending a social
engagement, she was taken to Eldon’s coffin in the parlour. Closed due to Eldon’s head
wound, Molly unscrewed the coffin lid and witnessed first hand the devastation the
gunshot had caused to her beautiful son. In that instant, she vowed an eye for an eye.

In Eldon’s tailcoat, she placed the small white cards. The symbol of alchemy:
amalgamating a triangle, a square, and a circle, and used by Molly to signify a link
between physical matter and spiritual matter. The Ankh represented the sun and its
powers to give life and initiate Eldon’s rebirth. The sign of sacred elements embodied
water, fire, earth, air, and the powerful spirits of each. Om to represent the four phases of
consciousness, waken, sleep, dreams, and the transcendental.

Molly used the symbol of Om to shift death into a state mirroring the four phases of
consciousness. The pentagram, an awesome symbol of protection and used in spell-
casting rituals to direct potent energies into a concentrated area. Molly used the
pentagram to protect her son’s spirit, to protect the necromantic ritual from breaking
before being fulfilled, and to protect herself from negative harm.

The chalice personified Molly’s bond with Eldon as his mother and he to Molly as her
son, signifying love, compassion, perception, and all things connected with maternal
emotions. Lastly, Molly used the symbol of the powerful phoenix drawn in her own
blood. To raise not Eldon from the ashes, as Trudy had presumed, but to ensure Molly
rose from the ashes. To make certain her sacrifice resulted in the required incarnation as
Trudy Garret. To be there for her son again and always.

All this Trudy now remembered clearly. The cards were commanding symbols to ensure
the necromantic ritual’s success. In themselves, they were not the key but the lock. A
security device that only remained accessible to Eldon’s biological mother. It was Molly
Appleby herself, in all her prevailing power as a witch that remained the key at all times.

By sacrificing herself, Molly literally made life possible for her son. Her death for his
life. Only she could speak the incantation and turn the impossible into possible. Only she
knew how to bring Eldon and Cameron together and how to create a spell to ensure
Cameron’s energy initiated and sustained Eldon’s rebirth. Therefore, the key to reopen
the lock was always Trudy.

Past lives were held secretly in the subconscious for a reason. If Trudy recalled her life as
Molly Appleby prior to meeting Eldon and Cameron, then she risked the same fate as
Eldon had in 1857. An ambush of memories and premonitions she didn’t understand, and
wasn’t ready for, that could have literally driven her insane. It remained safer for her
recollections to stay hidden within her subconscious until exactly the right moment. The
moment when the only way to save her son was to recall aspects of her existence as
Molly. Even then, it hadn’t been an influx of memories but a gradual one assisted along
the way by Cameron.

Molly had all bases covered and she left nothing to chance. She knew not to bombard her
new self as Trudy with too much at one time or risk disaster. Instead, she utilised Albert
to repeat the incantation out loud, knowing it would stick in Albert’s memory if he did so.
What stuck in Albert’s memory was held inside Cameron. Cameron had entered a trace-
like state, accessed the past life recollection, and recited the incantation perfectly.

From the stairs, Trudy made her way toward the kitchen and her thoughts returned to the
Earl of Wicorby. Molly hadn’t needed to lay a finger on him to destroy the remainder of
his life. Rather than hex the Earl, she'd laid a simple confidence spell on Lilly Davenport.
Although Molly held little respect for Lilly and abhorred the way she spoke down to
house staff, she knew Lilly feared undermining her husband. Though the confidence was
straightforward and harmless to Lilly, it proved catastrophic to Charles. Finally Lilly
spoke up. She showed no apprehension, she experienced a rush of self-assurance, and she
used it to destroy her husband. Just as Molly knew she would.

A cup of steaming hot coffee waited for Trudy when she walked into the kitchen. She
regarded Malcolm through slitted eyes.

“I was wrong,” he said simply. “I swear to you I didn’t know Madeline put the curse on
Eldon’s spirit. When you said he was rejecting his body, I put two and two together.”

“She put the curse on the corpse.” Picking up the coffee mug, Trudy took a sip and joined
Malcolm at the table. “Without Eldon’s soul, his body had no defence.”

“Why didn’t the black sapphire work? You said that was supposed to guard against soul
rejection.”

“Not on an already cursed corpse.”

“I don’t understand it, Trudy.” Malcolm clasped his hands together and nodded, peering
into the brown liquid inside his coffee mug. “Before tonight, I wanted to see the Viscount

pay, but I’m not even sure what for. Now...” He sighed. “I feel completely different. I
hated Eldon. I wanted him to rot in hell. Now I don’t.”

“You carried all this hatred for Eldon over from your past life, Mal.”

His gaze shifted onto Trudy. “You said I wasn’t the Earl of Wicorby.”

“No, you weren’t.” Trudy’s index finger followed the rim of the mug. “The Earl paid for
what he did. I saw to that. Seems I’m a pretty good witch myself!”

When she smirked at Mal, he returned the wry grin cautiously.

“You’re not an evil man, Mal. Stupid, yes.” She reached across the table and petted his
hand. “But not evil.”

“Thanks!”

“I wanted to tear strips off you for getting that Madeline whore involved.”

He winced and cringed.

“I won’t, though,” she added. “I know you’ve learned your lesson.”

“As far as I’m concerned, the Viscount is Felix Fox and always will be.”

“Madeline? Can she be trusted to keep this secret?”

“Can you hex her to keep her mouth shut?”

Trudy grinned. “I’m way ahead of you!”

Clearly thankful for Trudy’s forgiveness, Malcolm enclosed her hand inside his. “Why
did I hate Eldon so much?”

“Because you blamed him, Mal.”

“For what?”

“You believed he seduced your nephew.” Unable to keep a straight face, Trudy laughed
at the expression on Malcolm’s. “Yes, you were a woman!”

“Christ almighty!” With the heel of his free hand, Malcolm rubbed at his tired, gritty
eyes. “Now there’s a head fuck!”

“Cameron is Albert reincarnated. Eldon’s mother wasn’t Lilly Davenport but his nurse
Mary Appleby. Molly was a Victorian era nickname for Mary. Mary Appleby is me.
Eldon’s my son”

Propping his chin in his hand, Malcolm listened in silence.

“I always wanted Eldon to know who his real mother was and so when he learned to talk,
I taught him to call me Mary Ma. Ma for mother. It was kind of like a code that made me
feel better.” She smiled wistfully. “Only he couldn’t pronounce it properly and it turned
into Mareema. As he grew older, he copied what everyone else called me, started using
the name Molly, and forgot about ‘Mareema’.”

“This is incredible.” Malcolm shook his head. “Does Eldon know you’re his mother?”

“He does now.”

A sneer replaced Trudy’s reflective smile. “As much as I didn’t like Lilly Davenport, she
endured a lot. She gave birth to a malformed child, almost died in the process, and was
left unable to bare anymore children. She named him Eldon. The baby had shocking
facial deformities. Charles assumed Lilly was too ill to remember what her newborn
looked like.”

Each word Trudy spoke lifted Malcolm’s reverence for a woman he realised he’d taken
for granted.

“Charles took Molly against her will and she fell pregnant around the same time as
Lilly.” Sighing heavily, Trudy pushed the coffee mug away. “The only people who had
seen the baby were Charles, the midwife, and, of course, Lilly. While Lilly struggled to
stay alive, Charles sent the midwife away and strangled poor little Eldon. He then told all
the household staff he sent Eldon away to be cared for while Lilly recovered. Two weeks
later, Molly gave birth to her son and she named him Thomas. Charles knew Lilly could
never provide him with another heir. He made the decision to ambush Molly’s home, take
her baby away, and swap the children. He always presumed Lilly couldn’t remember
what her baby looked like. And Lilly, well she did what all good Victorian wives did. She
kept her mouth shut and obeyed her husband.”

Trudy left the explanation at that, not wanting to go into Molly’s decision to blackmail
Charles in order to raise her son as his nurse. Molly was poor, a simple eighteen-year-old
serving girl, and she stood no chance in taking Charles on via legal measures. At
eighteen, Molly hadn’t yet developed her powerful psychic and witchcraft skills. She
decided Thomas should be raised as Eldon, believing she did what was best for her child
under the circumstances she’d been dealt. Knowing he’d get the best education available,
always have food on his plate, and live in a warm home.

“Why did we marry in this life?” Switching the topic off the Earl’s vulgar deception,
Malcolm asked the question tapping inside his mind. “Why did Mabel and Molly end up
together?”

“To tie up all loose ends, Mal.” Her smile gained one in response. “To end your hatred
for Eldon and your thoughts of how foolish your nephew was to love him.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” He frowned. “Mabel took Albert away, she never blamed
him. She only ever blamed Eldon.”

“She blamed Albert, too. She loved him, of course she did. But she couldn’t understand
how her nephew could pine for someone she believed was wicked. Albert died when he
was thrown from a horse at the age of forty-two. He never did love another. He only ever
loved Eldon. Mabel always thought Albert’s love for the Viscount ruined his life and she
blamed them both.”

“And that’s why I thought Cameron was an idiot?”

“Yes. It really didn’t have much to do with his social anxiety or the things he’d said in
interviews.”

“I’ve changed my mind about him.” Malcolm cleared his throat. “I sure as fuck hope he’s
changed his mind about me!”

“You and I had to be together in this life to ensure everyone’s peace. Cameron’s your
nephew, Eldon’s my son. We needed to team up. Now they have each other, like it
should’ve always been. You no longer hold any resentment in your soul for either of
them, so you’ve found your peace. And I... I have my boy back. I have peace.”

“Why can’t you read me?”

A wide, Cheshire grin split Trudy’s face. “I can now!”

“Oh fuck!”

She laughed. “It was a protective psychic block, Mal. A usual occurrence for two souls
whose past lives closely link them in this life. If I’d been able to read you, there was a
very good chance I’d have become aware of who I was long before I should’ve. And
aware of who you were. That type of thing can cause havoc if it’s mistimed. Then who
would’ve saved my son and Cameron?”

“Is he going to bury me in his back yard?” Malcolm asked only half-jokingly. “Should I
skip the country?”

“Cameron’s angry, but he’s not a murderer.” She winked. “You’ll live.”

In her heart, Trudy felt thankful and reassured. As she sat beside Malcolm, with his arm
still draped around her shoulders, she saw and read a return in his nature to the man she
used to know. To the times before he let Lillyport House and TPU take him over. Trudy
knew it was all a natural progression. A healing of past life anger and damage to move
forward into the future. Malcolm had also found his peace and it would ensure he
nurtured the better man within himself. Their relationship as husband and wife had ended
a while ago, but Trudy felt the new beginnings of a friendship she’d missed. Despite
different personalities, they had a lot in common.

Pulling Trudy closer, Malcolm gave her a tight hug and gazed through the open kitchen
door. “Do you think Eldon will forgive me?”

“Yes.” She nodded against his chest. “My boy is a one in a billion.”

“Is there anything I can do to try and smooth this over?”

“Apologise, Mal,” she said frankly. “Then leave them to live in harmony.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Mid-morning lit up the bedroom with temperate sunlight and Cameron watched Eldon’s
face for a sign he’d soon awaken back where he belonged. His hand caressed beneath
Eldon’s shirt, up and down the length of his spine against warm soft skin. During the
night, Cameron had dreamed of the Dorset clearing and the time he'd spent there with
Eldon as Albert. He remembered little else, though he could certainly recall the
heartbreak when Eldon left him to walk into the ball of light. None of it mattered to
Cameron now. They had an entire future to put right the mistakes they both had made in
the past.

Every so often, Eldon took in a heavier breath and sighed, something he did often when
inside a deep sleep. He still lay on top of Cameron, having not moved an inch during the
night.

Cameron reached for the landline phone on his bedside table, making sure it was
switched off so it wouldn't wake Eldon too suddenly. Checking the time, he then cast his
gaze over the floor and smiled. His attention quickly returned to Eldon when he heard a
sleepy mumble.

“Put your glasses on, dearest. It is bad for your eyes not to wear them.”

The smile on Cameron’s face doubled in size and his eyes misted over with relief and
emotion. Eldon’s sleep talking used to be centred on the Dorset cottage. Now he nagged
innocently about glasses. Cameron placed his lips to Eldon’s brow, tightening his hold
and pressing his body as close as possible.

“Wake up, baby.” His lips feathered over Eldon’s skin. “Wake up.”

One more sleepy sigh and Eldon’s eyes flickered open. For a moment, he simply stared,
clearly uncertain if he were safe in reality or trapped within a dream. “Cameron? Is it
really you?”

Rather than reply with words, Cameron tilted Eldon’s chin up and touched his lips to
Eldon’s mouth, letting them linger there for a moment until the last dreamy fogginess left
his lover’s mind. When it did, Cameron heard Eldon take in a sharp breath, felt Eldon's
arms reach around his neck, and Eldon's kiss reciprocated in a mix of tender longing and
rushed need. Those velvet soft lips, the sweet taste of Eldon’s mouth, filled Cameron
with sentiment and craving.

Holding Eldon tight, Cameron shifted and repositioned him onto the mattress with his
head on the pillow.

He gazed down into those piercing light blue eyes and whispered, “can I make love to
you?” Eldon’s dark brown hair obscured his face and Cameron brushed it away. “Nothing
kinky. Gently, softly, and slowly.”

Stifling the urge to cry, Eldon nodded. It was then his peripheral vision caught sight of a
sea of yellow across the bedroom floor and he gasped in delight.

Cameron smiled as he unbuttoned Eldon’s shirt. “I wanted you to wake up in a field of
daffodils, my loveliness.”

{THE END}