Guardians Of The Haunted Moor Read Online Free Page A

though—something bigger than even than Michel Duroy. “Okay,”
Gideon said, exchanging a glance with Lee. “Wow, he travelled fast.
You go on in, love—Ma and I will see Elowen when you’re
done.”
    “ No. I’ll wait and go in with you.”
    “ Lee, you’re gonna explode if you have to wait one more minute
to see what’s going on in that room.” Gently Gideon detached his
mother’s death-grip. “Let the man have his arm back, Ma. You come
and sit down over here. Look, they’ve got some car magazines for
you.” With a pang, he watched Lee dash off down the corridor. Then
he braced up and turned to face his brother. “Sorry you got called
out before we did.”
    “ That’s fine. I said I was happy to come, didn’t I?”
    “ Yeah, you did. So what’s wrong?”
    “ The undertaker phoned me, Gideon.”
    It was a rare sensation—that inward drop, like a lead weight
into water. Cold pallor followed by a painful blush. “Oh, fuck .”
    “ Is no situation so sacred that your first reaction will not be
to swear?”
    “ Shit! I’m so, so sorry.” Gideon was glad he’d left his cap in
the Rover. He’d have knocked it halfway across the room with the
mortified clutch of his brow. “You called me barely a minute after
he’d gone, and...”
    “ And I told you about Elowen. I understand, although it was
rather a large omission. That’s not what I want to talk to you
about. Come and sit down.”
    Gideon
followed him to a pair of seats just out of Ma Frayne’s earshot. He
was trying earnestly to think of anything he might have done that
could possibly be worse than forgetting to tell his brother that
his father had died. “Seriously, Zeke. Forgive me. You must be
gutted.”
    “ Must I? Why? I modelled myself on him because he was all I
had. That doesn’t mean he was good, or that I was any good by the
time I’d... finished my modelling.” Before Gideon could absorb this
startling pronouncement, Zeke had caught his arm and drawn him down
to sit beside him. “Were you expecting Michel?”
    “ Michel? Not specifically, no. At least, we knew he was coming
to visit at some point to talk to Elowen about work,
but...”
    “ He hadn’t arranged to be here for the birth.”
    “ No.” Unease stirred in Gideon’s gut. “It’s nice that he’s
gonna be around for it, though—isn’t it?”
    “ Yes. Commendable, even, since he’s the father of the
child.”
    Gideon pressed his lips together. He was starting to learn
that Ezekiel usually meant well, but his principles had been
grating off Gideon since they were children. “The biological father. That’s
an accident of DNA. Lee and I will be Tamsyn’s—”
    “ I’m not disputing that. I wanted to ask if you’d had the
adoption papers formally drawn up.”
    Gideon
flinched. He and Lee had learned to handle their rare disagreements
with grace and love over the last six months. Their quarrels had
been trivial, the day-to-day frictions of newlyweds settling down
for the long haul—except for one point of profound moral dispute,
which Gideon had dealt with by failing to deal with it at all.
Elowen was Lee’s sister. Gideon had only just met her, so who was
he to lay down terms? “We were waiting,” he said gruffly. “We
thought it was best for Elowen to make the first move.”
    Ezekiel accorded him a sidelong glower which told him more
plainly than words that he knew there’d been no we about it. That Gideon had wanted
everything signed, sealed and recorded in the Civil Register, but
had caved without question in the face of Lee’s distress. How can I ask her, Gid? It’s her baby. This is so
difficult for her. “I’m not sure that was
wise. Lots of women change their minds.”
    Irritation came to Gideon’s rescue. “God’s sake, Zeke. You
always have to be the ghost at the feast, don’t you? What would you
know about lots of
women ?”
    “ That’s rich, coming from you.”
    Gideon’s mouth fell open. Ezekiel never took the low