Cursed (4 page)

She heard the beep of the microwave and
pulled the delicious smelling soup out and began to eat with gusto.
She wanted to go and take a look at the attic once more to see if
she could get inside the mind of the first Addie.

hof her deceased family. She did not know of
the validity to the rumor, but it was intriguing and scary al When
she finished the delicious dinner, she washed her bowl and placed
it on the drying rack. She then quit the room and walked carefully
to the attic. It took some time. She did not want to wake Mister
King and his wife. However, when she did get there, she breathed
out a sigh of utter relief.

She whispered, “Is anyone in here with
me?”

Of course, nothing answered her ghost or
human.

Sighing, she stated, “I know I am not alone.
I know that you must be within the walls. I just wish that you
could speak with me. I want to know everything I can about this
house. About what happened and if it is cursed.”

Feeling eyes stare into her very soul she
stood and walked across the room and to the door. She was suddenly
tired and ready for some rest. She knew she would have a day of
non-stop writing ahead of her.

****

Conall watched with hungry eyes as his Addie
walked from the room. She knew he was there, perhaps not exactly
him, but she did know that there was a presence if not presences
within the room. When she was lying upon the floor, she opened her
beautiful eyes and had connected with that of his. It was the most
powerful moment he had experienced since being cursed between life
and death. He vowed he would touch her, be able to snuggle to her
warm slight body and smell the sweet aroma of her perfume and hair.
He was tempted to lie with her upon the floor, but that would only
bring frustration to him for the lack of the ability to touch her.
So he stayed at his position and watched as she looked at the
ceiling and then finally back to him. He felt her eyes sear into
that of his soul. He knew without a doubt that this woman was his
Addie come back to him. He would bet his fathers keep on that
fact.

It seemed to him, that it had been hours
before he knew that his waking hour was almost upon him. So he
stood by a vase he placed near the edge of a table and
concentrated. He wanted to appear before her just as midnight was
upon them. He needed her to believe who he was and understand who
she was, but he had to tread lightly, perhaps decipher her reaction
to him before running through to her past.

Pushing his hand forward his touch moved like
the wind, but did not knock over the object. Feeling frustrated he
tried once again, and came up with the same result. Becoming
angrier he pushed one final time and to his surprise, the vase
tipped over the edge and crashed onto the floor. He just hoped
Addie heard the noise, and would come to investigate.

Chapter Four

Addie heard a sudden crash above her head and
fell to the floor of her room. Breathing heavily she gathered her
robe and ran from the room. The King couple was nowhere to be seen.
The sound came from above her head and the only place she could
surmise was the noise came from the attic. Moving swiftly to the
stairs she ran up them two at a time.

When she hit the landing hallway, she slowed
her steps, suddenly becoming wary. She had nothing in which to
defend herself if it was an intruder. However, a thought struck
her. They were in the attic, and they would have had to go through
the front door or kitchens to achieve that space. She was a very
light sleeper, so it occurred to her that she would have awoken if
the doors had opened. Feeling only slightly better she pressed on
to the door.

Her hand opened it slowly that she was
surprised to see a candle lit upon a table and a massive man
standing next to it. To be fair she was scared, but she was also
rendered speechless. The man was massive with muscles and long
brown hair. He was wearing a kilt, and his chest was bare. She
literally felt drool come out the side of her mouth. Common sense
was over ridden by her curiosity and apparent sudden lust.

“Guid evenin’, lass.”

His voice boomed over her sinful thoughts,
and she snapped herself into place and marched into the room.

“Who in the Hell are you, and why are you in
my home?”

“Ach, lass, cursin’ shouldna’ pass those
delicious lips.”

He looked truly shocked at her language, but
she was undeterred.

“Fine, I ask again, who are you, and why are
you here in my attic?”

“All in guid time, me lo’e. Pray ‘ave a seat,
sa we may speak.”

His Scottish accent was overpowering and
hypnotizing. Her body obeyed his request, and he smiled at her. She
felt the gesture clean through to her toes.

“Ye’re, Addie Campbell,” he stated.

Nodding her head, she said, “Yes and who
might you be?”

“Me forename be Conall, Addie,” he said with
hesitation.

Addie looked confused for a moment and then
flew out from the seat. She moved as far away from him as she
could, and he looked as if she had slapped him. His face took on a
pained expression that she did not understand.

“Donna mo’e away from me, lass. I am ‘ere
only tae speak with ye. Tae get tae ken our new resident better,”
he soothed.

She looked at him perplexed, relaxed but did
not move to take the seat yet again.

“Who are you? You say you’re Conall, and you
are dressed as if you popped out of a history book from the Regency
period. Is this some sort of joke?” she asked.

“I ne’er tell false tales o’ me bearin’,
Addie. Me Christian name be Conall Barra MacLaren. I ‘ave been
entrapped in this attic since the night o’ me betrothed’s
death.”

And that was the point during the
conversation in which Addie promptly fainted.

****

Conall ran to her side and picked her up into
his arms and gasped at his first feel of human contact in over two
centuries. It was the sweetest feeling since he last held his
Addie.

He looked down to her fairy face and sighed
at the warmth sinking through his fingers. He sat down upon the
floor with her in his lap and finally gave into the craving to
touch her raven hair.

“Ach, it be as soft as ‘twere then,” he said
in wonder.

She moaned in her sleep as if she was in
pain.

So he leaned in and whispered into her ear,
“Addie, come back tae me, angeal.”

Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked, “What
just happened?”

“Ye swooned dead away, gel,” he
explained.

“I have never fainted in my life,” she said,
as she tried to stand up.

“Shh, lass, stay ‘ere within me arms an’ let
me take care o’ ye.”

As he caressed her cheek, her eyes contacted
his and he knew within his roguish heart that he had his Addie. He
could see inside those beautiful eyes into her soul and there was
no mistaking her.

Her lip trembled under his gaze, so he
transferred his hand from her hair to trip his thumb along her
pouty lower lip. Watching her lungs and subsequently hearing her
gather her breath; he tipped his head forward and kissed her
softly. She moaned against his mouth, and then he could take no
more.

“Ach, sweetin’, ye drive me mad. I ‘ave been
waitin’…”

Just as suddenly as she was in his arms, she
was tumbling out of them to his surprise.

She looked as shocked as he felt.

“Addie…”

She held up her hand and said, “I don’t
really understand who you are, but I do not kiss complete
strangers.”

He was heartened to hear that, “Aye. I would
hope no’. I didna’ mean tae scare ye, Addie. Ye’re the first
person, I ‘ave touched since the curse was placed upon me.”

“You mean to tell me that you are the ghost
of Conall MacLaren, Addie Campbell’s fiancée from 1825?” she
asked.

“Aye, tha’ be me,” he stated firmly.

“I can’t believe this,” she murmured.

“Why canna’ ye believe it, Addie? You talked
tae me this vera’ day.”

Her eyes widened and she said, “What did you
just say?”

“Ye came up tae this attic earlier in the day
an’ spoke tae me. Ye asked if anyone was there and then yer eyes
found mine upon the ceiling,” he stated with a smile.

“Oh,” was all she could muster.

“Listen tae me. Me time be short with ye, fer
the witching hour only lasts fer one hour. Ye please promise me,
ye’ll come back on the morrow at midnight. We can talk fer another
hour then. Grant me this boon, angeal,” he beckoned.

All she could do was nod her head. It was
clear to Conall that she was beyond speech.

“Thank ye, Addie. Remember tha’ I will watch
o’er ye during waking hours tae be sure ye come tae no harm.”

He knew if she came to trouble, he would not
be able to do a wit about it, which brought him utter
frustration.”

“I, uh, I am very confused,” she stated.

“Donna' worry, ye will know all with time.”
And with that said he felt his soul leave in a haze, and he was
once again within the walls of the manor.

He saw her gasp and look about the room
quickly.

“Conall?” she whispered.

He moved over to her shaking body and
whispered through her hair and across her cheek. Seeing her gasp
once again and shiver, he knew it was from arousal and not
fear.

She slowly walked from the room and down to
her own bedroom where he watched her unwrap herself from her robe
and slip into bed.

****

Addie had somehow made her way to her room as
if she were on autopilot. She didn’t remember opening her door, or
taking off her robe, nor sliding back under the covers. She tried
to close her eyes to re-run the incident inside of her head. Had
she seen that actual ghost of Conall MacLaren, the fiancée of her
deceased family member?

She recalled when she opened the attic door
and encountered over six feet of Highlander deliciousness. He was
bigger than life! The very first thought that struck her was he had
long brown-hair and gorgeous green eyes. The man’s chest and arms
looked as if they were wrapped around bulging steel. It was a large
wonder how she had any saliva left within her mouth. Good God, her
tongue had been hanging out! And not to mention on top of that she
nearly had an orgasm when he kissed her lips.

However, to wrap up her late-night fantasy,
he had told her he was the ghost of Conall MacLaren. Her earlier
conversation with the ceiling struck her dumb. He said he heard her
talking to him, staring at him.

She spent the better part of the night
convincing herself that she dreamt the entire scene, and then awoke
with the dawn. She needed to start writing and seeming to not be
able to sleep, she opened her laptop and began.

By the time a knock came to her door, she
saved her work thus far and opened the door.

“Morn, Addie. I ‘ave ye food tae break yer
fast, some lo’ely eggs an’ bread,” Missus King said.

“That looks wonderful. Thank you, Missus
King,” she replied, taking the tray away.

“Ye be welcome. What’re ye up tae this morn?”
she asked.

“I have started composing my new novel. I am
actually using the house and some of the story behind my family
history. I find it all so fascinating.”

“Ye be the busy, gel, how wonderful. I will
leave ye tae yer thoughts. An’ I would thank ye proper if ye would
consent tae signing me copy o’ yer book.”

“I will do so this very day. Thank you,
Missus King.”

And with that the older woman quit the room,
leaving Addie to finish her first chapter.

By mid-day, Addie decided to take a break and
walk about the manor again after she signed the couple’s copies.
Needing a breath of fresh air she walked from the manor once again
and went into the shopping village once more.

She slowly wondered about the busy place,
smelling and tasting all the foods and drinks. It was a lovely
day.

When she was about to leave the market place,
she noticed an older woman motioning her over to a small tent.
Feeling strange she pointed to her chest, and the woman held up a
scrap of linen that was the same color as the kilt worn by Conall
last evening.

Feeling her heart pound within her chest, she
walked over to the tent and was invited into a space that beheld
all types of objects and herbs. Five ladies sat around a table that
held a large old bowl that was smoking as if it had dry ice within
it.

“Tha’ be she,” one of the women said.

Feeling incredible strange and as if her
heart was about to beat out of her chest, she took a breath in.

“I be who?” she whispered, as she watched the
plaid in the same color as Conall being laid out.

“Ye be the, gel, who will lift the curse
placed upon the Campbell home,” she answered calmly.

Chapter Five

She looked at the women as if they were all
two-headed monsters.

“I am the person that will lift the curse
from my own home? What curse?”

“Donna’ do yerself an injustice by denyin’ ye
ken nothin’ abou’ the curse,” one woman snapped.

“I thought I had dreamt the entire incident
last night,” she reasoned.

“Then ye ‘ave seen the Highlander, ye ‘ave
seen the MacLaren?” another woman asked. “I suppose so, I had
reasoned within myself that he was a delusion,” she explained.

She was starting to shake. The incident was
not false. She had a curse within her home and a
two-century-year-old ghost living in her walls. Maybe.

“Donna’ be dim, gel. He lives within the
walls. He be a walkin’ spirit between this world an’ the next. Ye
needs tae know tha’ ye ‘ave tae lift the curse.”

“How?” she asked.

“McIntosh placed the curse upon MacLaren tae
avenge his daughter’s delicate condition. When he was placed within
the walls, Addie, was pushed from the window.”

“Pushed? I thought she leapt from the
window?” Addie exclaimed.