Could there be anything more amazing?
“Harriette?” I called out. “I don’t mean any harm to your space. In fact, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure no one touches it.”
A book flew toward me, and I ducked.
Not good enough. Got it. “Okay, I’ll make sure of it. Is that all right?”
Nothing came for my head, so I figured we were making headway. Slowly, crept down the spiral staircase. I expected more dust, but it seemed as if this space had been nearly airtight. Or did a ghost do the dusting? A few dust motes swirled on the air in the shafts of light from the above stained glass.
Once I stepped on to the floor, I stared up at the beautiful green and gold glass. Tiny red roses along with tight little rosebuds were interspersed with the intricate stained-glass work. It was a large circular piece with vines spiraling into the center where a baby bassinet was encased with thorns and heavier vines.
I almost didn’t see the cradle until I spotted a tiny clear heart in the center of it.
Instantly, my heart stopped.
The artwork spoke of love and loss and so much grief.
I could feel it in the room. I had to hold onto one of the bookcases as I swayed with the overwhelming pain.
“Oh, Harriette. What happened?”
I crept closer to the bookcases near the leather chair. There were dates on the spines. Each book seemed to be in six month increments and there seemed to be nearly a dozen of them.
“Hellcat! Get the hell out of there!” Nolan stood at the top of the stairs, his fingers gripping the wrought iron railing.
I glanced up at him.
A book slid forward, and my attention shifted to the shelf. July 1876.
I refocused onto Nolan. His midnight eyes went from rage to worry. Quickly, he started down the stairs, but Harriette wasn’t about that. Books flew at him like missiles, each one bigger than the last.
Nolan ducked down on the spiral staircase and covered his head.
“Harriette! Wait.” My hair, which was up in a ponytail, fluttered around me.
“Dahlia!”
“Okay, okay.” I snatched the July diary and ran up the stairs and ushered him back. “She really doesn’t like you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not wild about her right now either,” he said with a growl. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.”
Another book thudded against the railing beside us.
“Now do you believe me?”
“I...” At a loss, he just shook his head. “Get up there.” He grabbed me by my wrist and yanked me forward, then he curled around me protectively as he ushered me back through the opening.
The doorway thudded closed this time, leaving us in the near dark.
“What the hell were you thinking?” He loomed over me, caging me into the wall of the tunnel with the leather-bound diary between us. There wasn’t much space to speak of in there and now it felt even more claustrophobic.
“I just wanted to see a bit more.”
“Who knows if that room is sound after all these years? You could have been hurt.”
“As if you cared.” I tipped my head to meet his gaze in the dim space. I wouldn’t let him intimidate me.
However, my stupid body didn’t know the difference between me being pissed off or being turned on.
When he didn’t say anything, I shoved him. He was a damn immovable wall. “Oh, right. No insurance. Think I’m going to sue you?”
His chest eclipsed any light in the tunnel and his voice was dark and deep. “Wouldn’t put it past you.”
Shock rocked all the sexy vibes right out of me. “You don’t know me at all.”
“That’s for fucking sure.” He stepped back and pointed. “Out.”
I ducked under his arm and hightailed it out of the tunnel for the second time today. Before we got to the stairwell access point, I turned back to him. “Nolan, we have to go back in there.”
“No way.”
“After Rob takes a look at it?” I placed a hand on his chest. “Please. I know I shouldn’t ask, but you didn’t feel what I felt in there. There was so much sadness.”
“Why the hell would you want to go back in there?”
“I want to figure it out. I’ve always been drawn to this house. Maybe this is the reason.”
“You’re crazy.”
