The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #1) (37 page)

I couldn't
actually hear Celia groan, but I could sense it. It's not that she didn't like
Jacob. It's just that I couldn't wed a dead man, and according to her, it was
time I began to think about my future.

"Emily?"
Adelaide peered at me through those wide eyes. "Is everything all right? He
hasn't...what do you call it when a ghost moves on?"

"Crossed to
the Otherworld," I said. "No, I don't think so. It's just that I'm
not sure if he'll come when I summon him. I've tried, you see, and
he...hasn't." I picked up the teapot and refilled my cup, but my hand
shook and tea sloshed over the sides.

"Are you
sure you want to speak to him, Lady Preston?" Celia asked, all sweetness
and understanding. She was as good at the sympathy part as she was at the
exuberant theatrics of the séance. Distressed family members often found
comfort in her kind words and gentle voice. Lady Preston was no exception. She
gave Celia a watery smile. "It won't be easy for you both," my sister
went on. "Indeed, it might be quite traumatic even though you can't see
him or speak to him."

"We'll be
all right," Lady Preston said. "We
need
to speak to him. You
do understand don't you, Miss Chambers?"

I understood
that need very, very well.

"We'll pay
you of course," Adelaide added.

"No,
please, I don't want payment," I said. Celia gave a small, exasperated
sigh, but I ignored her. "Jacob is a friend and I want to see him
too." He might not want to see me, but hopefully he'd make an exception
for his mother and sister. I cleared my throat and drew a deep breath. "Jacob
Beaufort, come to us. I summon Jacob Beaufort to appear in this realm."

A moment passed.
Two, three. Lady Preston lowered her head and pressed a dainty gloved hand to
her nose. Adelaide nodded, wordlessly imploring me to try again.

I opened my
mouth but didn't get a chance to speak. Jacob appeared near the door, his arms
crossed over his chest. My breath hitched at the sight of him, so handsome with
his dark hair, strong jaw, and lips I wanted to touch with my own. He wore
black trousers and a shirt unbuttoned to his chest, revealing a patch of skin
as smooth as polished oak. Like all ghosts, he wore the clothes he'd died in,
and his knuckles bore the cuts and bruises incurred during his last violent
moments alive.

I gripped the
arms of my chair to stop myself from running to him and throwing myself into
his arms. From the coolly bland expression on his face as he regarded me, I
didn't think my exuberance would be welcome. We'd not parted on the happiest of
terms.

"Emily?"
Celia prompted. "Is he here?"

I nodded.

Lady Preston gave
a wet gasp. "Jacob?" She glanced around the room, her damp eyes
searching the afternoon shadows.

Adelaide shifted
forward on the sofa. "Where?" she whispered.

I indicated the
doorway, but Jacob had already moved, making his way slowly to his mother and
sister. Where before his features were carefully schooled, they were now
stripped of the mask. Sadness tugged at his mouth and clouded his eyes as he
knelt by his mother. His hand hovered over hers, clasped in her lap, and I was
surprised to see her gaze lower to look directly at him as if she could see him
there. She couldn't possibly see him or feel his hand on hers, but somehow she
just knew.

"Jacob?"
She reached out and her fingers went straight through his cheek. "You're
here." She spoke with quiet wonder, her eyes wide and unblinking.

Jacob tilted his
head slightly as if leaning into her hand, but of course it only sank further
into him. Aside from me, he'd not touched another living soul since his death
nine months ago. He must have ached for it.

"Perhaps
you should hold something," Celia said in the general direction of Jacob's
ghost. "So we know where you are."

His chest
inflated, but not for an intake of breath as he no longer required air in his
lungs. I'd learned there were some things the ghostly body did naturally out of
long habit rather than necessity.

"Of
course," he said, rising. He leaned down and kissed the foreheads of his
mother and sister, but neither made any sign that they knew it.

If only he would
kiss me. I'd even settle for him looking at me, but he didn't do that either. Was
he going to ignore me the entire visit? That might be difficult, as I was the
only one who could communicate with him.

We'd parted
awkwardly after we'd sent the shape-shifting demon back to the Otherworld. I
hadn't wanted him to go, not until we'd solved the puzzle of his death, but he
no longer wanted to be near me. He thought he would put me in danger because he
wanted to be with me, always, and my death would secure that.

He stepped
around the furniture to the mantelpiece and picked up the framed daguerreotype
of Celia's father as he always did when he was in our drawing room. I say
Celia's father and not "our" father because he wasn't mine. He'd died
a year before I was born. My parentage was a mystery, as my mother hadn't
remarried after her husband's death and there didn't seem to have been any
lovers.

"Oh,
Jacob." A wide grin split Adelaide's face. She shook her head and
shrugged. "There's just so much to say...where do we start?"

Lady Preston
smiled at the picture frame, blinking rapidly. I didn't think any questions
would be forthcoming from her quite yet.

"Jacob?"
I prompted. His gaze flicked to mine then back to his sister. He nodded,
understanding he must carry the conversation until they regained their wits.

"Ask them
if they are well," he said.

I did.

"Oh
yes," Adelaide said. "Quite well." She touched Lady Preston's
hand. "Mother was...out of sorts for quite some time but regains more
vitality every day." There was no need to elaborate. We all knew Lady
Preston's ill health had been caused by her son's sudden disappearance and her
inability to accept his death.

"Father is
well too," Adelaide went on, her enthusiasm spilling out of her as she
grew more comfortable. Unlike me, she didn't sense Jacob's mood darken at the
mention of his father. They'd not been close during Jacob's lifetime, and the
son's dislike of his father had only increased after he witnessed the cruel way
Lord Preston had treated me.

"Ask her if
she's attended many balls," he said, leaning against the mantelpiece,
looking very much like the man of the house. "How many gentlemen have
offered for her hand already?"

I asked Adelaide
if she'd attended any Society events and she launched into a list of balls,
dinners and even breakfasts she'd been invited to since Lady Preston announced
the end of their self-imposed seclusion.

"Your
sister is going to have a ball for her coming out," Lady Preston said. She
twisted her fingers in her lap and delicately chewed on her bottom lip. "It's
not that we've forgotten or have set it behind us..." Her voice trailed
off and she pressed her hand to her nose again. "I will wear full mourning
of course."

"I
know," he said quietly. "Emily, assure her this is what I want. It's
time Adelaide enjoyed herself."

"That makes
Jacob very happy," I said to his mother and was rewarded with a small
smile from her. "He wants Miss Beaufort to attend parties."

"Oh, I
shall," Adelaide said. "But I'll miss him. It won't be the same
without him there to introduce me to his friends and other people whose names
he can't remember but pretends he does." She smiled sadly.

"She knows
me too well," he said drily.

It was certainly
no laughing matter as Jacob's inability to notice people outside his immediate social
circle may have inadvertently led to his death. We'd connected his murder to a
boy from his Oxford year, known only as Frederick. The boy had thought Jacob
was avoiding him, when in truth Jacob hadn't really noticed him. This perceived
slight had led Frederick to set upon Jacob, only to come off worse in the
fight. Although he'd gotten up and run away, Jacob's murderer had later made it
known that Jacob was "responsible" for his—or her—son's death. Jacob
assumed the killer was speaking of Frederick and the boy must have died some
time after the fight.

But it was all
speculation. No one really knew why Jacob had died.

"We want to
find your body," Lady Preston blurted out. We all looked at her. She
looked at the daguerreotype in Jacob's hand. "And to do that we must ask
your...your..."

Killer.
"Yes!" I said, perhaps a little more enthusiastically than
was polite considering the circumstances. "I agree, Lady Preston." I raised
an eyebrow at Adelaide.

She nodded. "I
told Mother and Father about that Frederick boy and how his parent might be
involved. Father said...well, never mind his exact words, but he's not
interested in following that line. He says his detectives are being paid well
and will discover who the murderer is without your...our intervention."

Lady Preston
winced. "However, I think you might be right about this Frederick, Miss
Chambers."

"It was
Jacob who made the connection. I'm just his voice," I said.

"Don't disregard
your role, Em," he said. It was the first time he'd spoken directly to me
since his appearance and it caught me off guard. I couldn't think of anything
to say.

"Do you
mean you will hire detectives of your own, Lady Preston?" Celia asked.

Lady Preston
shook her head. "I came here to speak to Jacob, to urge him to think very
hard about who precisely Frederick is, or was."

"He has
tried," I said. "He can't recollect him. Perhaps if we made discreet
enquiries, someone at Oxford may know of him."

"My
thoughts exactly," Adelaide said.

"No." Celia
spread her fingers on her lap, a sign she was trying very hard not to raise her
voice. "Absolutely not. You are not to get involved, Emily. This is a
matter for others, not young ladies."

"Agreed,"
Jacob said with all the coldness of mid-winter in his voice. I wrenched my gaze
from his but shivered nevertheless. I didn't want to argue with him over the
point, but I would if I had to.

"I'm not
suggesting your sister be involved at all," Lady Preston assured Celia. "Just
that she communicate with Jacob and learn as much from him as possible. I'll
write to his old friends and see if they know of any Fredericks. If that fails,
I'll write to the university itself and obtain a list of all Fredericks in
Jacob's year."

"A sound
idea," Celia said, relaxing.

No, it wouldn't
do. Not at all. Letters would not suffice, and I would not be shunned. The
investigation was too important. "I'm not sure letters are quite personal
enough for this task." I turned to Jacob. "Is there one friend in
particular who might know about this Frederick fellow? Someone popular with a
wide circle?"

He narrowed his
eyes. "What are you getting at, Emily?"

"Just that
a visit to one person might be more appropriate and discreet. In fact, I'd go
even further and suggest that you be the one to visit him, not your mother or
sister."

"Ah." He
crossed his arms and his lips tilted in a sardonic smile. "I see now. If I
agree then that means
you
have to attend too as my medium. A good try,
but the answer's no. I'll not involve you."

"Because
it's not my business?" I spat.

"Because I
don't want you to get hurt."

A little late
for that. My heart hurt like the devil ever since he'd suddenly appeared in my
life then just as suddenly disappeared.

Celia coughed
politely and I apologized for my one-sided conversation. "But I do think
it's a good idea," I added. "And yes, it necessitates that I go too,
but it's just a simple visit and will be one time only."

"I don't
think it's wise," Celia said, but she was wavering. I could tell by the
way she studied her teacup and didn't meet my gaze.

"I'll
chaperone her," Lady Preston said quickly.

"I'll go
too, of course," Adelaide added. "It'll be quite safe. As Emily said,
it will be very discreet this way. No one will ever know we're making enquiries
and I do think Jacob's guidance will be invaluable."

"Ha!"
Jacob barked. "Bloody female logic. I don't suppose I have any say in
this."

"Jacob
agrees to the scheme," I told them.

Another harsh
laugh from Jacob's direction. I ignored him. It seemed the best course of
action while in public. Now if I could get him alone...

"Excellent."
Lady Preston rose and smoothed her black basque jacket over her hips. "Come
tomorrow, Miss Chambers. In the mean time, if you could tell her which of your
friends will best serve our purposes, Jacob, that would be most helpful." It
seemed our new endeavor had indeed brought Lady Preston back to life, and I
found I liked her very much. I could believe this forthright woman was the
mother of two charming, remarkable people better than the shadow I'd met over a
week ago.