Mirror Born

Anine did not feel especially weak or sick, but she knew that if she tried to rise from the bed of Lucretia's guest room the woman"and her maid, who came to check on her frequently"would simply not be able to believe that she wasn't completely weak and prostrate from shock. To avoid that argument she elected to stay in bed. Julian remained out until late in the evening. Anine sat up in bed, trying to pass the time reading a Walter Scott romance, but she couldn't concentrate on the words. Bradbury's rotting visage seemed to leer at her out of the pages. At half-past-ten the wheels of the carriage finally clattered up to the house and Julian entered. Anine heard him speaking to his aunt downstairs, and that was followed by the creaking of the stairs under his shoes. He entered the guest room reticently, perhaps half-expecting Anine to be asleep. She smiled, grateful at last of the company, and set the book aside on the bed. "I spoke to my father,' said Julian, his first words upon entering. "I've arranged for us to stay at his cottage in Newport for the next few weeks. We'll leave from here on the morning train.' Tags: Horror; Ghosts; Haunted House