“Good morning, Cousins,” Ian called as they made their way up the wending walk. “I trust your ride was invigorating enough.”
Samantha smiled and realized that for just a moment, she saw a resemblance to her youngest brother, Joshua. Their coloring was the same and something about the shape of the eyes and that easy grin that spread across Ian’s face was just like Joshua. It was only a fleeting thing because as she reached the gazebo, the impression faded.
“It was that,” she replied.
John held her chair and then sat next to her. Alanna stared at her plate in silence, casting only furtive looks toward her cousins and brother. Samantha again wondered about the girl. She was lovely but there was something strange about her. Perhaps she could draw her out if she invited her to take a walk and show her around.
“Alanna,” Samantha began, “I haven’t seen the whole place and I was wondering if you could show me around today?”
The girl looked up and stared at Samantha with those odd golden-colored eyes. The moment their eyes met, Samantha felt as if she was being drawn. A strange tugging sensation began in her chest and it felt as if something was crawling along her scalp. She found she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Alanna’s gaze and she had an overwhelming desire to stand up and back away. Something is wrong here, she thought.
No, not wrong!
She felt the response rather than heard it and with that realization, a tiny streak of fear snaked through her veins. Where, she asked silently, had that come from?
She tried again to break from Alanna’s gaze but found the tugging sensation now felt more like a binding in her chest and the air became strangely thick. The tiny fear grew and she could feel her fist against her thighs, clenching her skirt but she couldn’t seem to find the strength to move. It was becoming difficult to breath.
STOP! She thought she had said the word aloud but no one appeared to hear it. I SAID STOP! NOW!
“. . . not sure I like riding along a that ribbon of trail above the rocks. Wouldn’t take much to tumble off and break your neck. Be a long time before . . .” John’s voice trailed off as he sensed something was amiss. He looked at Samantha and she appeared to be transfixed. Her face was pale and there were beads of sweat on her forehead and her breathing seemed labored.
“Sam?” He patted her hand. “Sam?” When she didn’t respond he grabbed her arm and shook her. “SAM!”
Samantha blinked and leaned back in her chair. Slowly, she turned to face him. Her expression reminded him of how she had looked earlier in the circle. Her eyes were glazed and she didn’t seem to know where she was for several seconds. She appeared to be having trouble catching her breath.
He asked, “Are you all right? Do you need to lie down?”
“I. . . I. . .” She swallowed, blew out a breath, and shook her head, trying to dispel the disorientation. Tempted as she was, she did not look at Alanna.
John handed her a glass of lemonade. “Here, drink something. You’ve gone all pale.”
She took the drink and with the first taste, she realized how thirsty she was and drank the whole glass. When she’d finished it, she sat it down and turned to John, deliberately cutting off her view of Alanna. From the corner of her eye, she could see Ian, who was leaning forward with a concerned expression.
“I’m sorry. The trip this morning was a bit stressful and I don’t feel very well. Would you mind if I took my lunch upstairs where I can rest a bit,” she asked.
Both men stood and John pulled her chair out. Ian rushed around the table and gently took her harm. “Let me take you up. John is right you do look terribly pale and wan. He can fix you a plate and bring it up right away.”
She allowed him to place her hand in the crook of his arm and lead her from the garden. If he had not, she wasn’t sure she could managed the steps. They followed the garden path around the fountain and to the garden doors. The moment she stepped into the house the tightness in her chest left her and she could breathe easily.
Ian escorted her to her room and made sure she was seated in a comfortable chair. John came in with her meal and a fresh glass of lemonade which he placed on a small table at her elbow. Ian put her feet up on a foot stool. She lay her head back and closed her eyes.
She could feel both of them looking at her. For several minutes she did nothing but finally she laughed and opened her eyes. They both looked as if she were a serious puzzle to solve. “I’m fine!” she said. “You don’t have to stay. I just need to rest a bit.”
Neither looked as if he believe a word but finally, Ian said, “I’ll come back in an hour to check on you. Is there anything you need before I go?”
“No,” she sighed. “I just feel very tired.”
“I’ll leave you then.” He bowed and opened the door.
“Thank you, Ian. You’ve been very kind.”
He smiled at her over his shoulder and closed the door quietly behind him.
John waited several minutes before he spoke. Then, in a low voice he asked, “What happened down there?”
She stared off into space, chewing her lower lip. She shook her head at the question. “I don’t know,” she said softly.
He sat on the footstool and leaned forward. “Was it the same thing that happened in the circle this morning?”
Frowning, she asked, “Why do you ask that?”
He gave a mirthless laugh, “Because, you looked pretty much the same after you came out of your faint this morning.” He paused a moment, considering what to ask next. “Something did happened in the garden, didn’t it?”
“Yes. But I can’t tell you what it was.”
“Sam, I think we should go home.”
“I think you may be right.”
“I’ll tell Aunt Isabel we’ll be leaving in the morning, after you’ve rested.”
She hated to disappoint him. He was worried and if she was right, it was with good cause. “I can’t leave yet, John.”
“But you said. . .”
“I said that you were right. I didn’t say I could leave.”
He rolled his eyes and hissed. “Samantha, what are you planning?”
“There are several things going on that I don’t understand but I suspect. . . no. . . no, I believe that they all converge here. Or at least in the rings.” Once again she lay her head back and closed her eyes. “As for what happened down there. That was Alanna.”
After several minutes of no response, she looked up at him. He hadn’t moved but he was frowning at her.
“What?” she asked. “You don’t believe me?”
“I believe you think it’s true.”
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