The Silent Touch of Shadows (28 page)

Jake was nobody’s fool, however, and now his curiosity must have been piqued. When Melissa looked up again she saw his eyes narrow. ‘Hang on a minute, didn’t you call me Roger that time when you fainted?’

Melissa ran a hand through her hair and sighed. ‘Umm, yes.’ She took a step away from him and hugged herself defensively. ‘Look, I don’t want to talk about it. If I tell you, you’ll think I’m crazy and you won’t let your daughter be friends with Jolie any more and then she’ll be heartbroken, and how am I going to explain that to her and–’ Her ramblings came to an abrupt halt as she glanced up and noticed him frowning at her.

‘Melissa.’ He took a firm grip on her shoulder with one hand and made her look him straight in the eyes. ‘What’s going on? I promise I won’t think you’re crazy, whatever you tell me.’

‘That’s what you say now,’ she muttered, trying unsuccessfully to evade his hand.

He wouldn’t let her go and as he looked into her eyes, she knew she had to tell him the truth. It was, after all, affecting him too, although he didn’t know it yet. She sighed.

‘Tell me, Melissa. Please?’ he pleaded. ‘This has something to do with me, I can feel it, so I think I have the right to know.’

‘Okay, fine, but I’m sure you won’t believe me. Let’s go and sit down, this is going to take a while.’ Her back straight, as if she were going into battle, she led the way into the sitting room. Jake took a seat opposite her in one of the huge wing chairs and waited patiently for her to begin.

Melissa silently cursed her big mouth. She had made up her mind to be businesslike during this meeting and had succeeded quite well for a while, but as she had explained to him about the various people on the chart and their relationships to one another, she had lost herself in the past. As always, she’d been caught up in the excitement of genealogy and Roger’s name had just slipped out.

She fidgeted, trying to concentrate on the matter in hand, and decided that he deserved the whole truth. Hesitant at first, she told him about seeing the ghost. She described the uncanny resemblance between Roger and himself and recounted Dorothy’s story about Sibell. She left nothing out, except the strange emotions Roger evoked in her, or the feelings he himself inspired. But Jake again came to his own conclusions.

‘So you think that I’m Roger, returned from the dead, and you’re Sibell reincarnated? Is that it?’ He was frowning and she could tell the idea didn’t appeal to him in the slightest. Obviously she’d been wrong and Roger was only working his magic on her. She wasn’t sure whether that was a relief or not.

‘No, not exactly, but
 
…’

Jake shook his head and tried to make light of the matter. ‘It sounds like that old horror movie
The Mummy
with Boris Karloff.’

‘Don’t be s-silly,’ she stammered, realising how stupid it all seemed when discussed rationally. Nevertheless, she had seen a ghost and she couldn’t doubt the evidence of her own eyes. ‘I think perhaps he’s influencing us somehow, bringing us together, but I don’t believe in souls returning to possess people. Anyway, why would he ask me to help him, if his soul was already in you? It doesn’t make sense.’

‘No, it doesn’t. Also, if they had simply come back as us there would be no need for a ghost, would there? Or there should be a ghost of Sibell too, but nobody has ever seen her, have they?’

‘No, not that I know of. It’s all so frustrating.’ She bit her lip. ‘I don’t even know his surname, so I can’t look for any record of him. That was another reason why I was hoping he was a member of your family. I was sure he must be, you look so alike.’

Jake shook his head and pushed back his floppy fringe with impatient fingers. ‘This all seems a bit far-fetched.’ He looked at Melissa. ‘On the other hand, there
is
obviously something weird going on. Your strange reaction to me that first day proves you’re telling the truth, at least as you see it. And as for me, well
 
…’

‘I’m glad you don’t think I’m completely insane.’ She gave a brittle little laugh. ‘As long as Amy can still come over and hang out with Jolie, all is well.’ With a resigned shrug she added, ‘Could we just forget the whole thing? If he ever appears again, I’ll ask for his full name, date of birth and everything else. Until then, let’s leave it.’

‘Good idea. Why don’t we do something entirely normal, like go and see a movie? There must be something on at the local flea pit.’

Melissa knew she shouldn’t go out with him, but suddenly she was past caring. Perhaps it would be better to get it out of her system. She had a feeling her attraction to Jake wouldn’t go away by itself, no matter what she did.

‘Sure, why not?’ she heard herself reply and was rewarded by a blinding smile.

Letting out his breath slowly, as if he’d been unsure of her answer, Jake suggested they meet up in half-an-hour. He left soon after, taking his new family tree with him. Dorothy, when she returned from the whist playing, happily agreed to keep an eye on the two girls, who had already decided that Amy would spend the night at the manor.

‘Have a lovely time, dear,’ Dorothy trilled.

It sounded so normal, but Melissa knew her life was far from ordinary at the moment. Would it ever be again?

Chapter Twenty-One

The film at the local cinema was a comedy, but although she laughed in all the right places, Melissa could never afterwards remember which movie they’d seen. She was far too aware of the man sitting next to her, his thigh touching hers. Every time he moved, little sparks shot through her, making her heartbeat erratic and her stomach flutter. It was agony and ecstasy all at once. They shared popcorn and some chocolate and halfway through the film he took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. She never wanted him to let go. She felt like a silly teenager on her first date.

As they poured out into the High Street together with the other cinema-goers, Jake kept hold of her hand. ‘Do you want to share a Chinese take-away? I’m starving, and we can eat at my house since the kids are over at your place.’

Melissa just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was afraid of being alone with him, yet she felt safe at the same time. It was very confusing.

She followed him into his home after the short drive back. Ashleigh Cottage surprised her – although it looked small from the outside, its rooms were unexpectedly large and bright.

‘Oh, this is lovely! How did you make it look so spacious?’ she exclaimed, glancing round the living room with appreciation.

‘We knocked down as many walls as we possibly could, without making the whole house come tumbling down, and then painted everything in light colours. Plus, we added an extension at the back. It was a compromise. Karen wanted a “cute cottage”, but I can’t stand small spaces, so this way we both got what we wanted. Sort of.’

Jake led the way into the kitchen and switched on the recessed lights. The walls were painted a warm shade of primrose and everything was spotlessly clean. Although the fittings were rustic and in keeping with their surroundings, Melissa could see that no expense had been spared in equipping the kitchen with all the latest gadgets, including a fridge with an automatic ice-making facility.

‘This is nice too, and so tidy. You must be very domesticated, or is this Amy’s doing?’

‘Thank you. No, I’m afraid neither of us can take any credit for this. It’s all due to Mrs Johnson, who keeps it sparkling clean.’

‘Ah, yes, I remember Amy mentioning her. She’s your housekeeper, right? She must be a real treasure.’

‘That she is. We couldn’t survive without her.’ Jake set the food out on a counter and dragged two bar stools over. ‘Would you like some wine? I think there’s a bottle of white in the fridge.’

‘Yes, please.’ Perhaps it would calm her nerves, she thought. They appeared to be tauter than violin strings and about to snap any minute. When he handed her the glass, she sipped the drink gratefully and tried to slow her breathing as she waited for the alcohol to work its magic.

They ate in companionable silence and Melissa found she was ravenous, despite her inner tension. When they came to the dessert, however, she had reached her limit.

‘No, thanks. I couldn’t eat another bite. Honest.’

‘Just try a small piece of this. It’s heavenly.’ Jake proffered a bit of sticky apple on expertly held chopsticks.

‘Oh, all right. Just the one.’ Melissa opened her mouth obediently, and Jake watched her with a strange look in his eyes as she took the morsel he was holding out to her.

Something happened in that moment and she felt as if she were under a spell. She chewed, swallowed and licked the sweetness off her lips. He gazed at her mouth the whole time and it appeared to have him spellbound. She knew without a doubt he was going to kiss her this time. Slowly he lowered his head towards her, giving her every opportunity to escape, but she remained motionless, just looking at him, waiting for the inevitable. She saw the icy blue depths of his eyes darken with desire and then he captured her mouth in a butterfly kiss. But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

When she made no protest he deepened the kiss, and it was as if he had released a floodgate. Somehow they were no longer sitting on the bar stools, but standing up and her arms were round his neck. He held her as close as he possibly could without physically crushing her. It felt wonderful and she snuggled even closer. Jake groaned.

Melissa couldn’t have stopped him if her life depended on it. His kisses were as intoxicating as the strongest drug and she loved the feel of him, hard against her softness. She ran her hands over his back, his arms, then through his hair. She couldn’t get enough of touching him; she wanted more. She pulled him closer still, rubbing herself against him, and arched her back as his mouth explored her neck and below.

‘
Oh, God, Sibell, you’re so beautiful!
’

The words seemed to echo round the room and killed Melissa’s passion faster than a bucket of ice over the head would have done. With a gasp, she abruptly let go of Jake and pushed hard against his chest.

‘What did you say?’

He blinked at her in confusion, his eyes still hazy with desire. ‘Nothing. I didn’t say a word.’ His arms were still around her and she pushed frantically to make him release her. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘It was Roger. He’s doing this to us.’

‘Roger? What are you talking about?’ He let her go reluctantly and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further.

Melissa looked at him, biting her lip. ‘The bloody ghost. He spoke to me, while we were kissing. He spoke to me as if I was Sibell and he was you. He-he said I was beautiful.’ She turned away, shaking, and began to gather up plates and cutlery with unnecessary force.

‘That’s impossible. You shouldn’t watch films like
The Exorcist
, you know. Besides, you
are
beautiful. The ghost has good taste.’ Jake tried to make light of the matter, putting his hands around her waist from behind, but Melissa wasn’t having it. She swivelled round to look him in the eyes, her own narrowed in anger.

‘No. And that’s not all. I also felt as if I knew how it would be to make love to you.
As if I’d done it before!
Now why should that be?’

Jake sighed and closed his eyes. ‘I don’t know, Melissa.’

‘Can you honestly tell me you didn’t feel the same?’

‘I don’t think so. I mean, of course I’ve fantasised about your body, but that was just my imagination. I have no idea what you really look like without your clothes on. Christ, I’ve been thinking of nothing but kissing you all week. That doesn’t mean I knew exactly what it was going to be like.’ He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. ‘Come on, Melissa, this is crazy. It’s just that you’ve been thinking too much about this ghost business. Your mind wasn’t functioning normally. That’s all there is to it.’

‘No. I’m not buying it, Jake. Maybe he’s not affecting you, but he’s definitely put a spell on me.’

‘So what you’re saying is that if you weren’t under a spell, you wouldn’t look twice at me? Great. Thanks a lot.’ Jake sounded hurt and Melissa felt torn, but at the same time she was so confused.

‘No, of course not, but
 
… Oh, I can’t explain it.’ Her voice was decidedly wobbly. She was shaking so badly she could hardly lift her glass of wine, but somehow she managed it and took a fortifying draught. She was scared. Terrified, in fact, and she didn’t have a clue what to do about it. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have come here,’ she muttered through clenched teeth.

Jake tried again and gathered her stiff body close. ‘Melissa, darling, it will be all right. Let’s just forget it. I didn’t mean to rush you. We can take it slowly.’

She leaned against him briefly, wavering, then tore herself away. ‘No, Jake, it won’t work. Not until I’ve solved the mystery of what Roger wants. When I make love with someone I want to be sure I’m doing it for the right reason. I’m not having this. It scares the hell out of me.’

He walked her home in silence along the dark country lane. Not once did she look at him. She couldn’t trust herself not to respond to him again. She let him kiss her goodbye, but only on the cheek. It was as far as she dared to go.

‘Well, Hubert, and what advice do you have for me today? I’ve made a right mess of things, haven’t I?’