Chapter 13

“Isabel Channing.”

“What?” she said.

“Her name is Isabel Channing.”

Samantha leaned forward and glared at him. “I am not joking, John.”

He jumped out of his chair and began to pace, raking his hair with one hand and waving her off with the other. “Neither am I.”

“She’s a relative?”

“Of a sort.”

“STOP!”

He did, anger flushing his face, his eyes narrowed and glinting. Several heartbeats later, he answered through tight lips. “She’s Dad’s sister.”

Sam’s breath caught in her throat and her mouth fell open. Whatever she expected, it was not this. “He only had one sister, Aunt Megan. He never mentioned another sister.”

He made a complete circuit of the room, rubbing his hands together. His hair practically stood on end from his repeated attack. “Sit down, John! Just tell me and get it over with.”

“Aunt Isabel was. . . is. . . a seer. . . like you.”

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs. “So, why am I just hearing about this long, lost aunt?”

John stuffed his hands into his pockets and moved away again to lean against the window frame, gazing into the yard. The breeze ruffled the tousled hair. Somewhere, in the distance a dog barked. She studied the broad shoulders and realized that every day he reminded her more of their father.

“Isabel is the youngest sister. She is ten years younger than Dad. In fact, she and Mom were great friends before Mom and Dad married. She introduced Mom to Dad. And like you, she could tell when people came through. Her family, like yours, tried to protect her, but more for their own sake than hers. No one knew but her parents and they guarded her closely.”

He looked over his shoulder and gave her a sad smile. “Sound familiar?” When she nodded, he turned his gaze back to the window and continued, his voice calmer now.

“But I think her gift was greater. I think she saw a lot more than you’ve ever seen. When she was 19, something happened on the island, something that Aunt Isabel apparently saw before it happened. What she saw frightened her and upset her so badly, that she told someone about it. Maybe she had grown tired of the secrecy, maybe she was so frightened by what she saw she had to share it. I don’t know. But that person told someone and they told someone else. When the vision actually happened, someone kind of said, ‘Hey, didn’t Isabel Channing have a vision about that?’

“When the furor eventually reached the Council, she was brought in and questioned for two days. They were harsh with her, first disbelieving and then, after questioning her confidant, angry that she had not come forward with what she saw.”

“But they didn’t even believe her in the beginning!” Sarah felt the a gnawing in her stomach. “Why would she have done that, knowing they wouldn’t believe her?”

He shrugged. “Intelligence is not a prerequisite to serving on the Council. They issued a declaration that her behavior was negligent but that her gift, her gift, ” his voice dripped with sarcasm, “was ‘an important discovery that could benefit the whole island.’ Of course, she was to consult the counsel prior to revealing any vision to anyone.

“Afterward, the entire island knew she had the ability to see when someone came through the mist. She was both revered and cursed. People wanted her to tell them how to get back through the mist, to predict the sex of their child, to tell them who to marry. She was hounded and when she failed to deliver, she was ridiculed and ultimately, blamed for a death because she had failed to report her vision to the Council. She was devastated.”

The gnawing in her stomach had now become a knot in her chest. “Oh, my God,” she whispered.

“Yes. Dad doted on her and he was furious, both about how she was treated and because she, and their parents, had kept him in the dark. Eventually, Dad and Isabel fought over it.

“Finally, the strain became so great on the family that she packed her things and left in the middle of the night. Dad was devastated and felt betrayed. For five years no one knew exactly where she was. I gather there were rumors of her being in various locations. There were whispers about visions she was supposedly having and telling. Eventually, she settled in the Outland. She never came home again. The family seldom talked about her and her fame faded with time.”

“The first time that Dad knew you were like Aunt Isabel he was horrified. He feared that it would happen all over again. So, he went to see her. I don’t know what was said but when he came home, he was different toward you. You were to be treated normally but protected. And your gift was never to be mentioned, ever. It was an absolute secret from everyone but Mom, Dad, and in time, me.”

“Why you?” Samantha asked.

He left the window and sat back down in the chair next to her. He poured himself a cup of coffee and offered her one. Finally, he leaned back and answered her. “I think it was because he remembered how he felt to have been kept in the dark about Isabel. He adored her and felt it was his duty to protect her. His lack of knowledge has hampered that. At first, I don’t think he believed she had any such ability. And when he found it was true, he felt betrayed and helpless to protect her. Lord, he didn’t know what to protect her from. When he told me the story about his sister you could see that it still upset him. He said that the cruelty and viciousness of people was unbelievable, particularly people you always believed to be your friends.

“By telling me, I think he hoped that if it ever happened again, you would have someone who would understand, who would believe you, and who would protect you if the need arose.”

“You’ve been a good brother, John,” Samantha said, her face and mood softening. “I have always felt I could talk to you about anything.”

He looked at her and tears welled up in his eyes. “I promised Dad, the day he died, I swore to do whatever I could protect you.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I am perfectly capable of seeing after myself.”

“He was so afraid, Sam.” His voice broke and he looked away from her, swiping at his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “He was in pain and he was dying but he was so scared for you.”

She wished he had not shared this with her. Her mother had died instantly but her father had been gravely injured and had lingered for two days. She had visited him once, the day before his death when she kissed his cheek and held his hand for four hours. It had been the hardest thing she’d ever borne. He never spoke or seemed aware of her presence. When he died, she had collapsed and Lillian had cared for her for over a week.

“I didn’t know he ever regained consciousness.”

They sat in silence for until John was able to regain some composure. When he spoke, his voice was low and resigned. “I’ll take you to see her this weekend. She is about an hour from your place.”

“She’s still in the Outland?”

He nodded. “She met and married. She has three grown children, two sons and a daughter.”

Sam’s thoughts much have been visible in her face because he added, “None of them are seers.”

“I suspect that was a relief to her.”

John looked at her for several minutes, a frown creasing his brow. Then, as if he had solved the problem he looked back toward the window. He said, “We were never ashamed of you, Samantha. We feared for you if anyone ever found out. We believed in your gift but Dad knew first hand how much it could damage you if anyone ever discovered it.”

There was no adequate response to his statement and the silence grew and settled around them. She had never really thought about how her family reacted to her when she saw something but looking back, she realized they treated her exactly the same way that they had when she found a nest of robin’s eggs. It was interesting but robin’s eggs weren’t unusual.

“I’m going home tomorrow.”

He jerked his attention back to her. “No. It’s dangerous.”

“I don’t think so. I have nothing anyone could possibly want. The farm has been half a mile from the Outland border forever. No one has ever bothered us. Besides, I have a farm to take care of in addition to my sewing work. I can’t stay here forever, John.”

“This murder . . .”

“Won’t be solved. If it was an islander, no one is going to confess. If it was someone else, an Outlander or a newcomer, they are most certainly miles from here by now. No,” she said, “I’m going home.”

“Come by early Saturday. I want to get started early so I can be back home by dark.” She stood. “I know you want to protect me, John, but you can’t. If I can’t live my life, then I might as well be dead anyway. I’m going home.”

He nodded and as she left the room a sigh followed her.