Page 34 of Air Of Mystery
The Guardian,I realized. She had to be speaking of him. There had been rumors within the local covens and magickal families that the Guardian had been called in to ultimately clean up the intense haunting of Pierre Michel...
Which meant Gabriella knew exactly who they were.
I’d been trying to find out the identity of the Guardian for years. So far, I’d been stonewalled each and every time. So, instead of pressing on that, I switched tactics. “May I ask what reason the expert gave for destroying a historical painting?”
“We were told that the portrait was a gateway...a portal that allowed Pierre-Michel’s spirit to travel back and forth from the spiritual realm to the physical world.”
I blinked at that surprising bit of information. It was the last thing I had expected her to say.
“People were being hurt, Skye,” Gabriella continued. “Chauncey was possessed more than once by the spirit of Pierre-Michel, and it was extremely violent.”
“So, he’s the man who ended up in the hospital a few years ago after a paranormal investigation here at the mansion.” I reconsidered the old photograph of Bridgette and Pierre Michel. There was no way it was a coincidence that his look-alike Chauncey had been the target of a possession. “No wonder Estella hates ghosts and the paranormal.”
Suddenly, her reaction to me being at Amanda’s house made a lot more sense.
“Estella has had her own run-in with the paranormal here at the mansion,” she said.
“Was that an intense experience?” I asked carefully, keeping my tone polite.
Gabriella shuddered. “Intense to the point where she fought for her life.”
CHAPTER SIX
I blinked. “Estella fought for her life?”
“I saw photos of the bruises. Handprints on her arms,” Gabriella told me.
“It’s rare for a spirit to be able to affect the physical form of—”
“Believe me,” Gabriella said, cutting me off. “The psychotic ghost of Victoria Midnight tried to push my sister over one of the stone balconies. After that, we did everything we could to drive out the entity from the mansion...well, my sisters, niece, and cousin did. I was pregnant with the twins at the time, so I had to sit that particular ritual out.”
I reached for her hand. “I’m sorry your family went through all of that Gabriella.”
“Now do you understand why we kept certain aspects of the haunting well away from reporters, thrill seekers, and public consumption?”
“Yes, I do,” I told her. “I have done the same to protect my family. I appreciate the tour, and for you allowing me to privately view the amethysts.”
She nodded. “Of course. You should ask Camilla about being interviewed for your October show. Since she’s the one that found the dowry after all.”
“I absolutely will,” I said with a smile. “I’d like to come back and get some preliminary shots of the dowry, the building, the old newspaper headlines...and the photo of Pierre Michel and Bridgette if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course,” she said as we walked out of the museum room. “One of our tour guides, Janet, she’s like a walking encyclopedia. Knows all the dates—when the house was built,when the winery was in operation and all that. Comes from answering questions on the tours. I’d be happy to set that up.”
“That’d be fabulous,” I said, “and I won’t betray your confidence, Gabriella. What you told me about Estella and Chauncey’s experiences will stay private. I’ll focus on the scandal of 1847, and the missing dowry, and how it was found. That’s plenty of intrigue to keep my viewers happy.”
The sun was beginning to slide lower in the western sky as I walked around the family wing of the house toward the parking area at the carriage house. My mind was on everything that I had learned about the history of the mansion and the early Marquettes who had lived there so long ago.
I was reaching for my car door when I noticed that someone was sitting at a table on a flagstone patio next to the carriage house. Turning automatically, I discovered that it was Charlie.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hey.” My eyes swung from the pretty patio and back up to the second floor of the carriage house. “You live here now?”
He stood. “I do. It’s quiet, mostly private and very convenient.”
I nodded. “Short commute to work too.”
“There’s that,” he said, walking closer. “I watched your last YouTube episode.”
