The Mad Countess by Erica Monroe

Author:Erica Monroe
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Quillfire Publishing
Published: 2017-03-20T18:30:00+00:00

* * *

C laire waited as Teddy unlatched the door to the stairwell, entering after him. He held the lantern up high, casting a small golden circle across the pitch-black castle stairs. Teddy took the steps two at a time, and she followed him as quickly as she could in her day gown, saying a small prayer of thanks that she hadn’t changed into her nightclothes. There’d seemed no point, when she knew she wasn’t going to sleep.

No rest for the wicked.

Mama had used to say that, and then she’d laugh that shrill, shaky laugh of hers, the one that always made her sound like she was on the edge of something terrible. Claire had been wicked in the folly with Teddy, and now she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was too disordered—her thoughts too dark, so full of demons that she’d been certain the screaming woman was just another sign of impending madness.

But Teddy had heard her too, and Teddy didn’t believe in the supernatural. So the woman was as flesh and blood as Claire was, and maybe as broken inside. Her unearthly shrieks echoed in Claire’s ears, though the only sound was the pounding of their feet against the steps. They reached the first landing, but there was no door. Only the solid grayness of the castle fortifications, and another flight of stairs.

Teddy shone the lantern on the stone, tipping his head to the side. She’d expected dirt and dankness, even the over-present pall of black mold, so common in the vacant sections of these old buildings. Yet there were no cobwebs. No grime on the wooden steps. In fact, this stairwell was better tended than the rest of the wing she and Kinney stayed in. Why would an out-of-the-way staircase receive such special treatment?

“Someone’s been here recently.” The sick slosh of her stomach that had started with the first wail now became an iron fist, twisting her gut. Something wasn’t right.

Teddy nodded. “Often, I’d guess.”

She paused on the landing, grimacing. “Nowhere to go but up.”

“Do you want to turn back?”

She couldn’t, not when the cries still split her skull. “No.” She took off toward the second flight, running faster now, unable to shake the sense that they were close. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, intermingling with the horrifying litany of that poor woman’s agony. What could have happened to her? Claire wouldn’t allow herself to think about what they’d see when they finally found the woman.

The staircase dead-ended into a hall with several strategically placed sconces. The wicks on each candle were still lit, indicating someone had been around recently. But why? She’d thought this wing of the castle was rarely visited.

The knot in her stomach tightened even more. The remoteness would make this a perfect place to conceal nefarious deeds. She had to find the woman, before it was too late.

While Teddy hesitated at the top of the stairs, shining his lantern down the hall, Claire surged forward, her grip tight on the fire iron. If someone was going to come for the woman again, by God, she was going to be ready.

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