The Ebony Swan by Phyllis A. Whitney

Author:Phyllis A. Whitney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media Romance
Published: 2017-08-29T19:16:14+00:00

7

She could hear voices and knew that she lay on something soft. Her own bed? A distant pain throbbed somewhere in her body, but she couldn’t identify it. She seemed to have been drifting in and out of consciousness ever since they’d found her and carried her into the house.

Perhaps she hadn’t wanted to come back to the real world, preferring John Gower’s arms. Of course that was only a dream. Reality seemed unutterably depressing. It would be easy enough to let her heart stop beating and just slip away. She knew that something terrible awaited her if she returned to full realization. Perhaps it was safer to release her hold on life, since nothing really mattered anymore. Where was that welcoming tunnel of light they talked about?

“Come back, Alex. You’re all right now. You’re not badly hurt. Come back.”

She could feel Peter’s fingers on her pulse, and suddenly her heartbeat steadied, and she opened her eyes to see him bending over her.

“That’s better,” he told her. “I want you to rest now. I’ll give you something that will help.”

She lacked the energy to respond, but he seemed to understand that she’d heard.

On the other side of the bed a voice spoke softly. “I’ll be right here, Grandmother. Tell me if you want anything.”

That was Susan—Dolores’s daughter. Perhaps there was something to come back for, after all. She almost opened her eyes, but she’d felt the prick of the injection Peter had given her, and her lids felt too heavy to lift.

Another, harsher voice broke through to her. “You should never have gone into that place alone, Alex! All those rotten wooden floors! You could have hurt yourself much more seriously.”

She opened her eyes and stared at Theresa, standing at the foot of her bed. This was what she had no wish to return to—the truth of that broken board. Even though she lacked the strength, that must be faced. Carefully, she tried out her voice. The sound was faint, rather tremulous—a voice she didn’t know. Nevertheless, the room hushed, as everyone around her listened. Even Gracie, who was clearing away the bandages and syringe Peter had used, stopped near the door to listen.

“There were no rotten boards in Juan Gabriel’s study. There was no reason for that board to break.”

It took all her strength to say the words, and now there was just one more matter she must deal with before she could obey Peter and rest. She spoke the name that had come into her mind. “Tangier.”

“It’s all right,” Theresa told her quickly. “I’ve phoned the island and they won’t expect you. Emily sends her love.”

John had known, Alex thought dreamily. John had come because she had needed him. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

A soft stirring sounded in the room—an exodus, though Alex didn’t hear. When Theresa followed Gracie out to the kitchen, Peter beckoned Susan and she came into the hall with him.

“Her heart is fine,” he assured her. “The blackout probably came from a drop in blood sugar.

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