Luke entered the living room, set two mugs of coffee on the table, and joined Addison on the sofa.
“I thought you were in a rush to get out the door?” Addison asked.
“The owner of the historical restoration site I’m bidding on just called. He pushed the meeting back about an hour or so. Guess you’re stuck with me for a bit longer.”
Being “stuck” with Luke was never a bad place to be. They’d met when she inherited the manor and hired him to restore the place. It wasn’t long before they developed feelings for one another. Now they’d been together eight years and married for three, and she couldn’t imagine life without him.
He swept his long bangs out of his eyes and blinked at the letter in Addison’s lap. “What’s this?”
“It came in this morning’s mail. It was sent by a woman named Eve Crawley.”
“Do you know her?”
Addison shook her head. “We’ve never met. She says she’s my Samael’s niece, and my cousin.”
Luke raised a brow. “Why did she write you?”
“She wants to meet.”
“Did she say why?”
“The letter she sent was vague. She said she has something important to tell me, and she wants to do it in person.”
A look of concern crossed Luke’s face.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Addison said. “If Eve knows about Grayson Manor, Samael must be aware of its existence too, right?”
Luke shrugged. “I mean, maybe.”
“I wonder if he’s aware my mother died several years ago. If so, why wouldn’t he try to contact me?”
“Do you want him to find you?”
Addison crossed one leg over the other. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Yes.
If I was being honest with myself, part of me did.
Addison lifted the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around her legs. “To answer your question, no. I’m not going to respond to her. Not yet at least. I want to see what I can find out about her first. If the news she hopes to share is so important, she should have just put it in the letter. Or better yet … if she knows I’ve inherited the manor, she could have just come here.”
Luke tipped his head toward the photos inside the plastic bag. “Did she send these too?”
“Yeah, part of me is nervous to look through them.”
“Want me to check them out for you first?”
Addison nodded. “Would you?”
Luke opened the baggie, removed the photos, and sifted through them, turning them over one by one to read what was written on the back.
“Well?” Addison asked. “Are there any of my father?”
“Sure looks like it.”
Addison fiddled with the tag on the blanket and then said, “Show me.”
He held a photo in front of her, and Addison swallowed hard, choking back the emotions rising inside of her. Samael wasn’t old like she thought he’d be. He was young, looked to be in his early forties, several years older than Addison was now. He was tall and slender, with trimmed black hair, and eyes that mirrored her own.
“He looks … nice,” Addison said. “Don’t you think?”
“Doesn’t mean he is, sweetie.”
He was right.
Looks could be deceiving.
And yet, viewing the photo, she felt an instant connection.
“What other photos did Eve send?” Addison asked.
“Most of the rest of them are of Eve and her family. Oh, wait. Hang on. Looks like your father is in this one too.”
Luke held up a photo of two men. It was a black-and-white and had faded over time. Both men looked similar. Based on the clothes and the background, the photo was old, mid-1800s, Addison guessed. Her father was smiling. The other man was not. His dark, beady eyes staring at the camera were callous and lifeless.
“The guy next to your father looks a lot like John Wilkes Booth,” Luke said. “Don’t you think?”
Addison leaned in closer. Luke was right. He did look like him. “Is there anything written on the back of the photo?”
Luke flipped it around, showing Addison. Written in black cursive ink were five distinct words and a date—The Raven and The Dragon, 1865.
1865.
The same year Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
Strange coincidence.
“Show me the others,” Addison said.
One by one, Luke held up the rest of the photos. The last was of a woman sitting in a wheelchair, answering Addison’s question about why Eve hadn’t visited her in person. Written on the back of the photo in cursive were the words: Eve Crawley, 2019. Interested in getting a closer look, Addison reached for the photo. As soon as it was placed in her hand, the room started spinning. Then it went black.