Mary shuddered, and her eyes opened wide.
Her eyes were open. She was not sleeping, nor dreaming of a dream. And yet the presence remained. The widow Scott lay breathing evenly, somewhere in the gloom. But the presence remained.
Not a raging ghost, not the white-shrouded form of a woman, but an invisible essence, unimagined: the echo, the afterglow, the spirit of Margaret MacCain. It did not speak to her, but only watched, knowing her thoughts, in some way bound to earth until the drama was played out. Or the dream was gone.
Mary lay still, afraid but understanding. It was not a thing that needed to be taught; it simply was. And she knew it in the depths of her being. And the darkness of Night was infinitely deeper than the darkness of the mind. Fear could not match the hard truth of it.
Thunder rolled beyond the walls in a glowering storm, as spiders crawled freely through the window.
Twenty-Six
Michael woke suddenly, to the sound of the front door being thrown open, and a low scuffling noise in the passage which he could not dissect. The door was closed again and voices were heard, along with the muffled curses of a man bound. And for all the fugitive plans he had tried to form, Michael knew his one defense now was utter silence.
“The old man’s lost his mind,” said the first voice, breathing hard but speaking in hushed tones. “How long’s he think he can keep things dark, now it’s come to this? We can’t keep him stowed here like a barrel in the hold forever.”
“And you’re a damned fool, Stubb,” came the second, harsh and uncowed. “All we’ve got to do is keep him out of sight till Arthur turns tail and runs. And he will, or I know naught. The old man can’t be took on his own ground. And but for his majesty here, and them bitches in the Tower, there ain’t none as lived long enough to speak against him. Master ‘enry does things proper, and no mistake.”
“You may be right for now, Ballard, but how long do you think he can keep it up? He’s squeezed blood from these stones long enough. There’s Hell to pay, I’m sure of it.”