Beckoning Light (12 page)

“Don’t be worried, Charlotte. Everything is going to be fine now.” Something about his words made me suddenly comfortable, and I found myself agreeing.

Chapter Twelve

Kevin

I unlocked the front door to the house and left it open for Monty. I was sweaty and tired from the game and ready to hit the shower, but even more than that, I was hungry. Monty carried in the pizza we had picked up on the way home. Pizza for the second time that week. I knew that I could really get used to living with my uncle.

The house seemed unusually quiet. Normally, Charlotte was either practicing her cello or blaring music up in her room. People always said that old houses had better soundproofing, but when in a
big,
old house, sound really carried.

“Char, we’re home, and the pizza’s gonna get cold,” I screamed from the bottom of the stairs. I was surprised when I didn’t get a reply. Monty came over and stood next to me at the foot of the stairs.

“Maybe she fell asleep,” he suggested, and headed up the stairs to check it out. He came back down a few seconds later. “She’s not up there. Did she say she was going anywhere tonight?”

“Not to me, but I didn’t really talk to her much today,” I admitted.

“It’s strange because she left her cell phone on her desk, and both her purse and backpack are up there. Where would she go where she wouldn’t need those?” he mused.

“Out for a walk?” I suggested.

“At night?” He sounded skeptical.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was actually getting a little nervous. It wasn’t like my sister to go anywhere without leaving a note, or numerous notes. That was the thing about Charlotte; she never wanted to cause waves.

“We should call Liam. He might know where she is,” Monty said.

“But he’s been at the game with us.” 

“Still, she might have told him something helpful.”

“Something she wouldn’t have told us?” I asked skeptically.

“Well it’s a possibility.” He shrugged.

I called Liam and, just as I had expected, he hadn’t talked to her at all that day. He seemed as worried as we were when I told him that she had left her cell phone and purse at home. He told me he’d be right over and hung up. I looked at Monty hoping he had some other ideas. Liam walked in the door a minute later. 

“Have you called her friends?” Liam asked, as he closed the door behind him.

“Do you have any of their numbers?” I asked. Liam had Rachel’s number, but when we called her, she said she hadn’t talked to Charlotte that day either. Monty ran upstairs and grabbed Charlotte’s cell phone. He handed it over and told me to call her friend Anna. I called, but she was out of town visiting family for Thanksgiving and hadn’t talked to Charlotte.

“Do you happen to have James’s number?” Monty suddenly asked Liam.  

“The kid who took her to the library? Why, have they been hanging out again?” I was surprised that Monty would even bring him up.

“He walked her home from Brian’s party the other night, and she was positively glowing the next morning.”

“She just told me she walked home with a friend,” I said, mostly to myself. I really couldn’t believe that Charlotte would purposely keep that from me.

Liam shrugged. “They do talk a lot at lunch.”

“Do you have his number?” Monty repeated.              

“Yeah, let me call him.” Liam looked disappointed when he hung up a few seconds later. “No answer.”

“Where does he live?” I figured it was worth a shot.

Liam knew where James lived, so we jumped back in Monty’s car and drove over. The house was dark, and we heard nothing while we waited to see if anyone answered the door.

“I really don’t think anyone’s home,” Liam said after a few minutes.

“No, but then why is his car here?” I asked. “It seems suspicious, doesn’t it?”

Monty must have thought it was suspicious, too, because suddenly he was kicking in the front door. Dumbfounded, Liam and I looked at each other. This was not typical Monty behavior. We walked through the entryway and into the living room. There was a giant flat-screen TV, easily eighty inches, boxes of stereo equipment that hadn’t even been opened yet, three different video game consoles, and the weirdest thing, an empty hot tub in the middle of the room.

“Who does this kid live with?” I wondered what kind of parents would have their house looking like a bachelor pad. Monty started opening doors and looking through rooms. Liam and I followed, shocked by his behavior. When we walked into the study, Monty looked intently at an item on the desk. He picked it up and pocketed it, then walked back toward the front door.

“We need to get home now,” Monty said firmly.

I could tell that he definitely believed that James had something to do with Charlotte’s absence and I got angry. “That punk had better not be doing anything stupid with my sister,” I screamed at no one in particular.

I half expected Charlotte to be waiting for us in the kitchen when we returned, but she wasn’t. Instead, I saw the small gray cat I had seen in our yard a few times lately. “Monty, your stupid cat got inside,” I shouted, not willing to deal with anything but finding Charlotte. I was beginning to get scared.

“My cat? I don’t have a cat.”

I pointed at it as he walked into the room. “The gray one.”

Monty looked at the cat, and then made a noise in his throat. When the cat caught Monty’s gaze, it began to jump up and down meowing incessantly. It ran through the kitchen, then down the hall toward the back door.

“We need to follow the cat,” Monty barked.

“What the hell, Uncle Monty? We need to find Charlotte,” I reminded him, wondering why he was spacing out on me. Liam looked as perplexed as I felt.

“I’ve got a sinking feeling this cat knows where Charlotte is,” Monty said slowly.

“Are you serious?” I asked, wondering what in the world was going on.

“Kevin, there are some things I never told you or your sister about our family,” Monty said gravely.

Chapter Thirteen

Charlotte

              Blake left the room and returned with a petite girl around my age with reddish-blond hair. He talked to her quietly as they walked over to me, and I heard him say, “Please show Charlotte to her room and see to her needs.”

              “Yes, sir,” the girl replied.

I tentatively followed her down a long hallway and up a flight of stairs. We continued down another hallway until she stopped at a set of heavy wooden doors and pulled open one side. I followed the girl into a spacious, beautiful room. On one side of the room stood a large four-poster bed with a light blue bedspread and matching canopy. An upholstered bench rested in front of the bed, with a giant armoire against one wall. Large windows lit the room, each with heavy blue drapes, two sets of which were currently drawn back.
They must really love blue here
, I thought, as I surveyed the room. In the center of the room stood a white claw-foot tub, which the girl was now filling with water. 

“That’s not for me, is it?” I asked.

“Of course it is. The water is warm, I assure you,” she said calmly.

“It’s not that.” I was shocked for two reasons. One, someone was going through all of that trouble just so I could bathe. Two, there was clearly no indoor plumbing, and now that I thought about it, no electricity. I noticed lanterns and candles throughout the room. When the girl stood up, I finally had the presence of mind to introduce myself.

I held out my hand. “I’m Charlotte.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Charlotte. I am Tara.” She shook my hand lightly, clearly uncomfortable.

“Hi, Tara. Please, just call me Charlotte. I can’t be much older than you.” I tried to keep my voice light.

“It is not your age, Miss Charlotte. Please let me help you with your bath before the water cools,” she replied, looking embarrassed.

“Umm, I don’t think I need help, just some soap and a towel, maybe?”

Tara brought over a bar of soap and waited, watching me.

“Okay, you can go.” I wasn’t willing to undress in front of a stranger.

“If you are sure, Miss Charlotte. I will wait outside and come back in once you are in your bath.”

I blushed a little.

With Tara out of the way, I stripped and stepped into the warm bath. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a bath and initially felt uncomfortable. But I relaxed and enjoyed it. Tara walked back into the room carrying a canvas bag I recognized as the one James had been carrying.

“Mr. James thought you might want this,” she said, as she handed me the bag. I opened it carefully, trying to keep it up high enough that it didn’t touch the soapy water. I smiled when I discovered shampoo, a toothbrush, and some toothpaste. I would have to thank James; as crazy as things felt right now, it would be nice to have some normalcy.

Tara bent and scooped my clothes from the floor, then turned toward the door.

“Tara, where are you taking my clothes? I’ll need to put them back on,” I said, alarmed.

“But these are dirty, Miss. I will bring a suitable dress for you.” 

“How do you have clothes that will fit me? You’re much smaller than me.” She was at least five inches shorter than I was.

“Oh, I did not mean my clothes, Miss Charlotte.” Tara looked embarrassed. “The wardrobe in your room is full of Miss Emma’s old things, and Mr. Blake said you looked about the same size.”

“Emma?” I was startled to hear my mother’s first name.

“Yes, Miss Emma. I never met her, but I heard she was quite beautiful.” Tara looked at me strangely.

I felt lightheaded when I heard my mother’s name; discovering this secret part of her life really threw me. Tara didn’t notice as she pulled out a long pink dress with a light blue trim from the dresser in the corner. She also pulled out some smaller items that were clearly undergarments. 

“Will this suit you?”

“Sure,” I said, even though I couldn’t imagine wearing a dress like that. But I had to admit it would be cool to wear something that had belonged to my mother.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Charlotte, or shall I let you finish your bath?” Tara asked, placing a towel next to the tub.

“I have everything I need.”

After a few more minutes, I finally pulled myself out of the bath and dried off. Luckily, the room felt warm; I noticed there was a small fire burning in the fireplace. I got dressed hesitantly, hoping I didn’t look absolutely ridiculous. After a few minutes of struggling, I realized that I had absolutely no idea how to secure the back of the dress.

There was a light knock, and Tara reappeared. “Oh, Miss Charlotte, I would have helped you into that!” She walked over to me quickly.

“Tara?” I asked lightly.

“Yes, Miss?”

“Could you please just call me Charlotte? I know you seem to think you have to call me ‘miss,’ but I would feel so much better if you just called me by my name.”

“As you wish Miss—I mean, Charlotte.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. Tara timidly returned the smile, then helped me finish dressing.

Tara walked out of the room and returned several minutes later pushing a cart with a platter of pastries and a small tea set. I had only seen a similar set as a child’s toy before. Seeing the tea set reminded me of my mom; she always drank tea.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Tara said, as she poured a cup of tea. It was really strange having someone serve me, but it seemed obvious that Tara was uncomfortable with me questioning it.

“Yes, thank you, Tara!” I said with enthusiasm, as I selected a piece. I took a bite, then I noticed that Tara wasn’t eating.

“Don’t you want anything?” I asked.

“Oh, no, this is yours,” Tara said, surprise in her eyes.

“Don’t be silly,” I told her. “There is far too much here for me. I insist,” I added, when I noticed that Tara still hadn’t reached for one. Tara tentatively grabbed a small pastry from the plate. I gestured that she should have some tea as well, and she gave in easier with that.

We sat at a small table drinking our tea, and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself about how it must look. How could this be real? When I was done with the tea, I asked the question I had been terrified to ask. “Where do you, you know, use the bathroom?”

“Oh!”  Tara said quickly. “You know, very little has changed around here over the years, but Miss Emma sometimes liked to push things. She actually had them install an indoor toilet. It is unlike anything I have seen, but I was told it would be what you expected.” Tara gestured to the far wall. I leaned sideways in my chair and could see a small enclosure and the edge of a toilet.

“Wonderful!” Although my mom hadn’t had me in mind when she had it installed, I was certainly grateful.

After tea, Tara apologized and told me that I needed to stay in my room for the afternoon. Blake had made it clear that I was not to wander around until the evening. I was fine with that, feeling much safer in my closed off room; besides, another sleepless night had left me exhausted 

“Would you like to rest?” Tara pointed to the bed. I nodded. 

Tara closed one set of drapes, significantly darkening the room. She told me to ring a bell if I needed anything else. I thanked her and went to lie down on the large bed. I had so many thoughts going through my head that I didn’t know which ones to think about first. Here I was lying in what was likely my mother’s old room wearing one of her old dresses. It was almost too hard to believe. My mother had rarely talked about her childhood, and when she had, it was just to tell me stories about the trouble she and Monty had gotten into. At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder how near Calvin was right at that moment. With thoughts of Calvin, I fell asleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Kevin

“So you seriously expect me to believe that you and Mom were some sort of weird royalty in a secret world?” I asked skeptically.

“No, I don’t expect you to believe it, but yes, it’s true,” Monty said calmly, then added, “Whether you choose to believe me or not, Charlotte may be in serious danger.”