Daughters of the Lake(39)

Kate smiled, knowing he was right. It did sound like a wonderful opportunity and exactly the change she needed. She just didn’t want to commit to anything concrete, not yet. In Kate’s mind, her life was still in a state of flux. Before she could commit to the next phase, she needed to resolve the current one. That meant divorce papers, selling her house, and a whole host of other unattractive activities. Not to mention that she couldn’t fully concentrate on anything until this otherworldly mystery was solved.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Kate said, surprising herself.

“What! What do you mean you’ll do it? As easy as that? I thought I’d have to torture a yes out of you.” Simon laughed.

“I’ll do it, but I don’t want to talk or think about it right now,” Kate said. “I have a lot of other things to take care of in my life. Let me do those first, before we talk more about this.”

“What things?” Simon wondered. “I suppose you want to permanently jettison that idiot, Kevin.”

When Kate didn’t respond immediately, Simon said, “Sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

“Oh, you’re not being harsh.” Kate sighed. “It’s funny, Simon, but when we were talking about Kevin before, it felt like our marriage was a lifetime ago. I’m so consumed with this mystery—this woman—that I’m just not even thinking about this whole Kevin thing. Isn’t that odd?”

“It isn’t odd, not really,” Simon said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. “You’re using this mystery to push away the harsh realities of your life. It’s a coping mechanism.”

This stopped Kate short. “Am I really doing that, do you think?” Kate asked.

“Oh, definitely,” Simon said. “But, listen. Who cares? Focus on something other than your marriage-in-shambles! That’s a good thing. Get through these days in any way you can. It’s better than wallowing in self-pity and despair, which, by the way, I would be doing in your shoes. I love a good wallow.”

Kate thought about this. “Do you think I’m just pushing my feelings away? Should I be feeling more? I mean, am I going to have a hard fall after all of this denial?”

“You’re not denying anything.” Simon looked her square in the eyes. “You’re not thinking that maybe you were mistaken about the affair, right?”

“Right,” Kate said. “I know what I saw.”

“And you’re not thinking of sweeping it under the rug? Marriages do survive affairs.”

“Not a chance. My trust in him is completely eroded. There’s nothing left.”

“Okay, then,” Simon said. “You’re just fine. Don’t obsess about him or your marriage. Use this mystery—and this house for that matter—as a wonderful diversion. Think about Kevin when you’re ready to think about Kevin. Until then, let’s have fun with this.” He opened his arms wide, gesturing toward the dusty trunks.

Kate smiled at her cousin but said nothing, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I can’t fathom why Kevin would cheat on someone as wonderful as you,” Simon went on. “But I can certainly fathom why you should kick his ass out of your life. When you’re ready to do that, divorce his ass, sell your house in town, and make a new life here; just know that all of this is waiting for you. And if you decide that you don’t want to do what I’ve proposed, that instead you want to go back to Kevin and work through this to save your marriage—well, honey, I’ll be standing right behind you then, too. Bring him here and we’ll all toast your reunion. And I promise not to put any arsenic in his glass.”

“This is such a soft place for me to fall,” Kate said, the tears stinging her eyes. “Do you know how wonderful you are?”

“Of course I do,” Simon laughed. “I’ve been singing my own praises for years.”

He enveloped her in a hug again, the two of them standing together like that for a long while. “Now, are you ready to get to work?” he asked.

Kate shook the tears from her eyes and pointed to the two doors near the fireplace. “Where do those doors lead?”

“Oh, that’s the best yet.” Simon started toward one of the doors. “You know the turrets on either side of the house?”

“These doors lead to the turrets?”

“Winding staircases and the whole nine yards.” Simon opened the door closest to him. “Have a look. This is really something special.”

Kate followed Simon through the doorway and up a dusty, winding staircase, which opened up into a round room with windows on all sides. Even through the decades of dust, the view was magnificent.

“They weren’t used as bedrooms in Harry’s day,” Simon said. “Grandma used to play up here when she was little. Do you remember her saying that?”

“I do,” Kate said.

“I’m thinking we’ll make them into luxury suites for people who host events in the ballroom. We’ll have to add bathrooms and other amenities, of course.”

If only Kate and Simon had listened a bit more carefully, they might have heard the cries, or certainly felt the anguish that still lingered here, left by a man nearly a century before. A man whose actions, kept secret all these years, had caused him to take refuge in that room and weep bitter tears of regret and disbelief where no one could hear him. It was the sound a soul made when it was in the very depths of mourning, and it never dissipated, even in death.