Page 16 of Deadly Avarice
“M-mother,” Harrison choked out.
Daphne Beaumont’s torso raised into a sitting position. “Harrison?” Daphne sounded confused. Some souls were when they were returned. Thankfully, I didn’t feel any anger or fear coming from Daphne’s soul.
“Mrs. Daphne Olivia Beaumont,” I said. “I am Necromancer Erasmus Boone. Your son, Harrison, contracted me to return your soul because he has some questions he needs answered. Harrison will ask the questions but please be advised, I will know if you try and lie.” Inhaling deeply, I added, “I will not allow lies and I can force you to tell the truth. I believe the experience is…uncomfortable.”
Daphne’s eyes narrowed and she glared at me. I’ll bet it was an effective move when she was alive.
“Harrison, what on earth is this—”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Harrison interjected. “This was not my first choice, but Char and I discussed it and this is the decision we came to.”
“What does Charlotte have to do with this?”
I knew Charlotte, Char, as Harrison referred to her, was Daphne’s daughter. Harrison gave me a heads-up that Charlotte wouldn’t be here but was well aware of what he was doing and agreed with the plan.
“Nothing except I wanted you to know that it was a group decision.”
“I see,” Daphne sharply answered. “And what could be so important to do something like this?” Daphne waved a hand my direction as she said those words, disgust obvious.
Harrison winced, but I’ll give him this, he kept going, plowing through and ignoring his mother’s obvious irritation. When I brought a soul back, I had an up close and intimaterelationship with them. Daphne Beaumont had been a force of nature while alive. I got the feeling she was well loved, but that was tempered with an unhealthy dose of fear.
“Jasmine Delaney,” Harrison said, his voice devoid of all emotion.
I felt the immediate slice of pain that went through Daphne’s soul. “Who?” she innocently asked.
“She knows who you’re talking about,” I interjected and if looks could kill, I’d wind up sharing eternity within the Beaumont crypt.
“I know,” Harrison answered. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Daphne huffed and turned her head away from her son, stubbornly staring at the opposite wall. There was a lot more than anger wafting through Daphne’s soul. That anger was covering a well of pain. Had her husband cheated on her? It wouldn’t surprise me. There were plenty of “love children” out there floating about. Some went under the radar, their lives quietly paid for. Others were left floundering in the wind. Fewer still were welcomed into the main family fold.
“Mother.” Harrison took his mother’s cold, dead hand in his. Daphne stared at their joined hands. “I need to know the truth. Jasmine has a grandson who’s ill. Honestly, I don’t think she would have contacted anyone in the family if it weren’t for that. He needs a bone marrow transplant. She asked everyone in the family to be tested to see if we’re donors.”
Well shit, not what I expected.I’d gotten the impression that the Beaumont family thought this interloper was simply after their money. This was much, much different.
“Char and I need to know if this is true before we place any of our children or grandchildren in harm’s way. I don’t want to put them through testing if this is all bullshit.”
“Jasmine has a grandbaby?” Daphne’s voice was small and full of wistful regret.
“She has two. The youngest is the one who’s sick.”
Daphne’s sigh was a leftover of her mortal memory. There was no air to expel. “It’s notbullshitas you so crudely phrased. Honestly, Harrison, I taught you better than that.”
“You did.” Harrison’s grin was soft. “I’m sorry.”
Daphne patted her son’s hand. “It’s fine. I realize current circumstances are…unsettling.”
“You could say that.” Harrison was quiet a moment before he asked, “Who did Father get pregnant?”
Daphne’s harsh bark of laughter made us both jump. “Oh sweetie, it wasn’t your father. That man was as loyal as a guard dog.”
Harrison’s surprise equaled mine. “You?”
“It was before I met your father. I was young, just past my sixteenth birthday. I was so very foolish and I thought… Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter what I thought. Only the outcome matters and that outcome was Jasmine. Of course, back in those days, a disgraced, unwed teenager didn’t stay at home. I was sent away. Mother told friends and family I was in Europe, studying abroad. I don’t know if they believed her or not. If not, no one said a word. By the time I returned home, Jasmine was a month old and already adopted. I came home, went back to school, and Mother and Father acted as if nothing happened.”
Sweet Gaia. My heart ached for the deceased woman before me.
“There was no choice, Harrison. It was what needed to be done. I’ve heard people lament that times have changed and they wish things could be as they used to be.” Daphne shook her head. “But things were not wonderful then and often, change is good. It is needed. I am very thankful that young women today have more choices than I had.”
