Forbidden Secrets

Savannah crossed the room in quick strides. She grabbed her pillow and lifted it.

  Tiny dots of blood stained the pillow. And in the center rested something wet and spongy. A tiny eyeball!

  “Oh, Victoria, what have you done?” Savannah asked. She couldn’t tear her gaze from the dark brown eye.

  “It’s a hawk’s eye,” Victoria explained. “It will protect you from the evil.”

  “I don’t need protection!” Savannah snapped. She snatched up the eye, shuddering as its coldness seeped into her palm.

  “No!” Victoria cried.

  Savannah threw the eye into the fire. It hissed and sizzled. Good, Savannah thought.

  Savannah wiped her hand on the pillowcase. Then she pulled off the case and tossed it on the floor.

  “Victoria, you must stop this,” Savannah demanded. Then she looked closely at her sister for the first time since she entered the room.

  Savannah’s anger drained away. “Your hair,” she gasped. “Victoria, what happened to your hair?”

  A thick white streak ran through Victoria’s brown hair.

  Victoria sank onto the bed, pressing her hands against her face. “It’s the evil,” she murmured. “The evil in this house is powerful. It did this to me.”

  My poor sister, Savannah thought. She knelt in front of Victoria. “Some women get white hair at our age. Remember Mrs. Speergen?”

  “No! It’s the evil. I felt its cold touch during the night.”

  “The fire in your hearth must have gone out,” Savannah insisted. Everything has an explanation, Savannah thought. Everything.

  “All this black doesn’t help either,” Savannah said. “That will be our first job—redecorating the whole house. We’ll start with your room. When we’re done, Blackrose Manor will be as cozy and warm as Whispering Oaks.”

  “No!” Victoria stood and began pacing. “You don’t understand. If we stay here, one of us will die! Die, Savannah.”

  She is so frightened. She wants to leave so desperately, Savannah realized. What would she do to convince me to leave the manor? Would she destroy the dress Tyler gave me?

  Savannah rose and walked to her closet. She pulled out the ruined dress. “Victoria, did you do this?” she asked gently. “Did you hope to frighten me into leaving? I will understand if you did. I promise.”

  “No!” she exclaimed. Then her eyes narrowed. “I bet Lucy tore up your dress. She’s jealous of you because she wants Tyler for herself.”

  “Lucy is just a child,” she protested. “She has a young girl’s crush on Tyler. Nothing more.”

  “A child!” Victoria exclaimed. “Lucy is no little girl. She is seventeen. The same age you were when you met Tyler. And Lucy will do anything to have him all to herself!”

  Chapter

  20

  Seventeen!

  Could Victoria be right? she wondered.

  “But her clothes are those of a child,” Savannah protested. “And her dolls. Have you seen her doll collection?”

  Victoria rolled her eyes. “And she is fascinated with fire. Have you forgotten how she played with the candles last night? She is strange, Savannah, but she is seventeen. And she is in love with Tyler.”

  Savannah ran her hand along the torn dress. Is Lucy in love with Tyler? Is she so jealous of the compliments Tyler paid me last night that she destroyed my dress?

  Victoria grabbed Savannah by both arms, her fingernails digging into Savannah’s skin.

  “Ow!” Savannah yelped.

  “Let Lucy have Tyler,” Victoria cried. “Let all the bad luck stay in their family!”

  “I love Tyler, and nothing will stop me from marrying him,” Savannah declared. She yanked away from Victoria. “Nothing!”

  Tyler’s voice boomed up the stairs. “Everyone! Come outside! I have a surprise for Savannah!”

  “I’m not even dressed,” Savannah exclaimed. “Victoria, please go downstairs and tell Tyler I’ll be there in a few moments.”

  Savannah could see Victoria hesitate. “Please,” she begged.

  Victoria heaved a sigh. “All right.”

  Savannah watched her sister shuffle out of the room. Then she hurried to dress.

  Another surprise, she thought as she rushed downstairs. I don’t know how many more surprises I can bear.

  Savannah found Victoria, Lucy, Hattie, and Mrs. Mooreland on the front steps. Then she saw Tyler. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

  Tyler was leading the most beautiful horse she had ever seen straight toward her. He stopped in front of Savannah and patted the black stallion’s neck. “He’s yours,” Tyler said with a grin.

  Savannah glanced around at the others. Only Hattie had a smile on her face.

  What is wrong with everyone else? Can’t Tyler give me a present without them all getting jealous?

  Savannah climbed down the steps and cautiously approached the horse. He snorted. Startled, Savannah jumped back.

  Tyler pulled Savannah close to him. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “He is as gentle as a lamb. I’ve named him Whisper in honor of your father’s plantation.”

  Savannah spun around. “Victoria, did you hear that?”

  “I heard,” Victoria said coldly. “It means nothing.” She walked into the house.

  I won’t let her spoil my wonderful gift, Savannah decided. “Can we go for a ride?” she asked Tyler. “Just one quick ride before breakfast. Please.”

  “One quick ride.” He gave her a kiss, then lifted her onto the horse.

  As Tyler mounted his own horse, Lucy walked over to Savannah. She tilted her head back and placed her hand gently on Savannah’s leg. “I think Tyler likes you best of all,” Lucy whispered.

  Savannah glanced at Tyler. He winked at her.

  “Keep breakfast warm, Mrs. Mooreland,” he instructed the housekeeper. “We won’t be long. Now, Savannah, let’s see if you can keep up with me.”

  He kicked his horse into a canter. Savannah shrieked at his unfair head start.

  “I will not only keep up with you, Tyler Fier,” she yelled as she urged her horse into a gallop. “I will outrun you!”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  An hour later, breathless and laughing, Savannah walked into the dining room with Tyler.

  “Who won the race?” Lucy asked as she took her place at the table.

  “I think it was a tie,” Tyler said. He patted Lucy’s head.

  “I think I won,” Savannah teased.

  “Savannah!” Lucy cried. “Sit by me!”

  Lucy’s excited request took Savannah by surprise. It’s so strange to think of Lucy as seventeen. She looks like a little girl waiting to open a birthday present.

  “Please,” Lucy prodded.

  Before Savannah could respond, Tyler answered for her. “Savannah can sit with you this morning. But in the future, I want her to sit by me.”

  Reluctantly Savannah eased herself into the chair beside Lucy. Victoria sat down across from her.

  Does Lucy want my company? Savannah wondered. Or does she want to keep me away from Tyler?

  “Savannah should always sit beside me,” Lucy piped in. “We’re sisters. Savannah told me she always wanted a different sister.”

  Victoria gasped.

  “Was that supposed to be a secret?” Lucy asked, her dark eyes wide and innocent.

  Savannah saw the hurt in Victoria’s eyes. “Lucy misunderstood what I said,” Savannah explained. “I simply meant it would be nice to have two sisters.”

  Victoria nodded. She began pushing her food around her plate without eating anything.

  Victoria doesn’t understand, Savannah thought. Her feelings are still hurt.

  Savannah took a few bites of scrambled eggs, but the food stuck in her mouth. She hated it when Victoria was upset with her.

  Mrs. Mooreland hurried in and poured coffee into Tyler’s cup. “The eggs are wonderful, Mrs. Mooreland,” Savannah said, hoping to win her over.

  Mrs. Mooreland’s lips thinned. “I want your stay to
be pleasant.” She walked out of the room.

  My stay? Savannah asked herself. She made it sound as though I would be leaving shortly. Has she forgotten that I will stay here forever?

  Savannah cut off a piece of sausage. The spicy aroma hit her nose. “The sausage smells good. You should try it, Victoria,” she said, hoping to lighten Victoria’s mood.

  Victoria rolled the sausage around on her plate but didn’t take a bite.

  Savannah was about to pop her own sausage into her mouth, when she felt something soft brush against her ankle. She glanced beneath the table and saw Hattie’s calico cat looking up at her expectantly.

  Savannah smiled. She slipped the piece of sausage off her fork and offered it to the cat. The cat devoured it greedily, then licked Savannah’s hand.

  “Would you like some more?” she asked.

  The cat purred and rubbed against Savannah’s leg. Savannah sliced off another piece of sausage.

  “Savannah, will you play with me this afternoon?” Lucy asked.

  What should I do? Savannah thought. Is Lucy trying to keep me away from Tyler? “Perhaps Victoria and I could play with you,” Savannah suggested, hoping to make Victoria more comfortable at Blackrose Manor.

  “I can’t,” Victoria said quickly. She rubbed her black pouch between her palms. “I need to find a better way to protect us from the evil.”

  Savannah was embarrassed. She wished Victoria wouldn’t speak of the evil in front of Tyler. “Victoria, I’ve told you that there is—”

  Savannah heard a choking sound from under the table. She knelt on the floor and lifted the tablecloth.

  Calico bared his teeth and hissed at her. His back was arched, the fur standing on end.

  “What’s wrong, kitty cat?” Savannah crooned.

  Calico gagged. His body convulsed, the spasms throwing him onto his side.

  Then the little cat’s body went still.

  “Calico!” Savannah cried. “Calico is dead!”

  Chapter

  21

  Savannah carefully lifted Calico onto her lap.

  She heard footsteps, then Hattie ran into the room and dropped to her knees beside Savannah. Tears pooled in Hattie’s eyes. She ran her fingers through Calico’s thick fur.

  “Oh, miss!” she cried. “He’s not dead. I can feel him breathing.”

  Savannah sighed with relief. “Thank goodness. Let’s take him to the kitchen. It will be warmer in there.” She cradled Calico next to her chest and hurried into the kitchen. Hattie stayed beside her, crooning to her cat.

  Savannah glanced around the kitchen. A large cast iron cookstove dominated one side of the room. A wood box sat beside it.

  “Hattie, take the wood out of the wood box and we’ll use that as a bed for Calico,” Savannah suggested.

  “Yes, miss,” Hattie said. She hurried to the wood box and began piling the wood onto the floor.

  “You can call me Savannah,” Savannah told Hattie as she knelt beside the box.

  “Oh, no, miss. That wouldn’t be proper.” Hattie went to the pantry and came back with some old blankets. She stuffed them into the box.

  Savannah placed Calico on the blankets. Hattie covered him up with one corner. “I wonder how he got sick,” Hattie said.

  Savannah shook her head. “I don’t know. I fed him a bit of sausage—” She stopped. Could the sausage have been spoiled? she wondered.

  She placed her hand on Hattie’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stay with Calico for a while?”

  Hattie smiled. “Thank you, miss.”

  Savannah stood and walked back into the dining room. She stopped short at the sight of Tyler angrily questioning Mrs. Mooreland.

  Victoria hurried over to Savannah and clutched her arm. “Now you see why we cannot stay here,” Victoria whispered. “Someone tried to poison you!”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  A few nights later Savannah stood before her window and stared down into the rose garden. The moonlight glinted on the black roses.

  Savannah’s stomach rumbled. She had eaten very little since Calico became ill. Mrs. Mooreland insisted that the sausage had simply gone bad. Tyler believed her.

  Savannah wasn’t so sure. Calico was still weak, still lying in a box in the kitchen. Could bad sausage have made him that sick?

  Is Victoria right? she wondered. Did someone try to poison me?

  She pulled the drapes closed and climbed into bed. She closed her eyes. Faces circled through her mind.

  Lucy’s pale, innocent face. Mrs. Mooreland’s stern face. Victoria’s frightened face.

  Did one of them try to kill me? she wondered.

  Chapter

  22

  Savannah kicked off her blankets.

  So warm. Too warm.

  This house is never hot, she thought foggily. Still half asleep. Never.

  She forced her eyes open—and screamed.

  Bright orange flames devoured the curtains on her window.

  Smoke surrounded Savannah. It filled her nose and mouth. She tried to scream again, but she could only gasp. Gasp for help. Gasp for air.

  The thick gray smoke burned her eyes.

  Savannah scrambled out of bed and fell to her knees, coughing and gagging. Tears streamed down her face.

  The fire roared as the flames climbed up the thick drapes.

  Frantically Savannah pulled herself up. She grabbed her comforter. She could use it to beat out the fire.

  One end caught on the bed frame. Savannah gave the comforter a hard tug. It ripped free—and she stumbled backward. Into the flaming curtains.

  The sleeve of her nightgown caught fire.

  Savannah released another hoarse scream. The door to her room burst open. Victoria rushed in. She shoved Savannah onto the bed and smothered the fire on her sleeve.

  “Grab a pillow!” Savannah cried. “We have to stop the fire from spreading.”

  Together the sisters attacked the fiery flames consuming the drapes. Savannah felt her throat tighten. Her arms grew weak, but she didn’t stop until the fire was out.

  Then she reached past the charred drapes and opened her window. She took a deep breath of cold night air into her aching lungs. Then she moved back so Victoria could have a turn.

  Savannah sank down onto the edge of her bed. She watched the lingering smoke escape into the night.

  Who did this? a voice inside her mind demanded. Who did this? Why? If I hadn’t woken up . . . I would have died!

  Victoria turned away from the window. “What more must happen, Savannah, before you will believe me? One of us will die here!”

  Savannah rose from the bed. “I have to find Tyler.”

  “He won’t help you!” Victoria cried.

  Ignoring her sister, Savannah staggered into the hallway. Tyler! she thought. I have to find Tyler.

  She stumbled down the stairs. Tyler met her at the foot of the staircase. “Savannah! What happened?”

  She staggered into his arms. “Someone set the drapes in my room on fire,” she whispered. Her throat felt raw. “Oh, Tyler, I think someone is trying to kill me.”

  Tyler’s arms tightened around her. “Why would anyone want to harm you?”

  Savannah leaned back until she could gaze into his blue eyes. “I don’t know, Tyler, but I’m terrified. Someone may have tried to poison me—and now this!”

  He touched her cheek. “I don’t know how to make you feel safe, except—”

  “Except what?” she asked. “Send me back to Whispering Oaks?”

  “No, I would never send you back to Whispering Oaks,” he said. “But I want you to feel safe. I think we should marry as soon as possible.”

  Savannah’s heart pounded. He is right, she realized. We will be so much closer once we are married. And we’ll be stronger together.

  “I’ll send Hattie to town to purchase lace for my bridal veil.”

  Tyler kissed her. “You should go back to sleep,” he said.

  She nodded and trudged back up
the stairs. Everything will be all right when Tyler and I are married, she told herself.

  Savannah heard footsteps running toward her. “Are you all right?” Lucy asked. “I heard what happened.”

  “I’m fine. I’m just tired,” Savannah said. Lucy followed her back up the stairs.

  “What color was the fire?” Lucy asked, her eyes bright.

  Savannah sighed. Colors. Lucy loves colors. “I think it was red and orange.”

  “I would have loved to see it,” Lucy admitted.

  Savannah entered her room and came to an abrupt halt. Mrs. Mooreland was there—taking down the burned drapes.

  Lucy tugged on Savannah’s hand. Savannah looked down at her.

  “I want to share a secret with you,” Lucy said in a whisper.

  Savannah shook her head. “Lucy, I’m so tired—”

  “It’s important,” Lucy insisted. “Very important.”

  Lucy dropped Savannah’s hand and darted across the room. She climbed onto the bed and patted the spot next to her. “Come sit here.”

  I probably won’t be able to go back to sleep anyway, Savannah thought. She crawled on the bed next to Lucy. “All right. Tell me a secret.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened and her voice dropped. “Have you ever noticed that the letters of the name Fier can be rearranged to spell f-i-r-e?”

  Savannah felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. “No,” she admitted hesitantly. “I have never thought about it.”

  “You should think about it,” Lucy said. “There is an old prophesy that says fire will destroy the Fiers. My own parents died in a horrible fire, part of the Fier curse.”

  Savannah swallowed hard. A fire? Her parents died in a fire? Is that why Lucy is fascinated with fire? she wondered.

  Lucy scrambled off the bed. “When it began, it was small, with red and yellow flames,” she said in a raspy voice. “But then it started to grow.” She swept her hands through the air, forming a wide circle.

  “It grew and grew”—she pressed her hands together and moved them toward the ceiling. Then she spread them apart—“until it became big and powerful. And beautiful. With all the colors of a rainbow and more.”

  Lucy waltzed across the room. “The fire roared like thunder. And the man and woman inside began to dance. They danced in the flames.”