Possession Read Online Free

much.
    ***
    Lady Preston's
drawing room was much larger than our own, and much lighter thanks to the grand
arched windows and the golden hues of the walls and furniture. She favored
delicate, spindly chairs and tables, not the heavier modern pieces of most of
our acquaintances. I liked the room very much, but after fifteen minutes
waiting on my own, I'd run out of things to admire. The footman assured me her
ladyship would be with me soon. "Soon" came and went. Countless
minutes later Lady Preston finally hurried in, her fine features drawn tight.
    "So sorry
to keep you waiting, Miss Chambers," she said. "Adelaide is on her
way down." Her gaze slid to the door through which she'd just entered and her
frown deepened. "She might be some time yet." She turned a smile on
me, but I wasn't fooled. I knew a polite, forced smile when I saw one. Celia
had perfected it at our séances and I was learning quickly. "Did Jacob give
you the name of a friend?" she asked.
    I told her about
Wallace Arbuthnot. "I know his mother," she said. "We'll go to
the house directly." She glanced at the door again. "Once Adelaide
appears."
    Adelaide did not
appear. We sat and waited, passing the time with idle chatter. I wanted to ask
so many questions about Jacob's life, but I didn't know if his mother was ready
to speak about him. I didn't want to plunge her back into melancholy.
    Finally Adelaide
entered the drawing room, the brown skirt of her plain satin dress bunched in
one hand revealing rather more of her lower leg than was decent. Her other hand
was pressed to her ribcage and her face was distorted in discomfort. Her gaze
settled immediately upon me and she gave me an odd sort of grin, not friendly
but somewhat...lascivious.
    "Well,
well. You again, eh?" she said in a gravelly voice. She sounded, and
looked, like she hadn't slept well. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and her hair was
already beginning to slip from beneath the hat. "Come on then, let's get
this over with before these stays kill me."
    She stalked out
of the drawing room. Lady Preston and I glanced at each other. My shock was
mirrored in her wide eyes. She muttered an apology then rushed after her
daughter.
    A large black
coach pulled by matching grays waited for us outside. A footman held out his
hand to assist Adelaide up the step. She ignored it and climbed in unaided. I
took the offered hand and followed her. Adelaide patted the seat beside her and
I sank into the cushioned leather. Then she did an even odder thing. She
winked.
    "Pretty
little pet, ain't you?" Her tongue darted out and licked her bottom lip.
    I shifted as far
away as the seat would allow. Clearly she was out of sorts.
    "Adelaide,"
Lady Preston snapped, taking the seat opposite us. The footman closed the door
and the coach jerked forward. "Mind what you say in front of Mrs. Arbuthnot.
If you so much as utter a single word out of turn, that busybody will ensure
everyone knows of it by the end of the day."
    Adelaide blinked
rapidly and pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Yes, Mother. Sorry,
Mother."
    "Really, my
dear, what has got into you? Ever since we left Miss Chambers' house, your
behavior has been very odd."
    Since my house?
    Adelaide moaned.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I...I have a headache and feel quite...wrong
somehow. I can't quite explain it. Dizziness and...and I find I can't recall
everything."
    "Perhaps
you should remain at home," her mother said, softening. She leaned forward
and peered into Adelaide's eyes. "You need to rest. I don't want you to
fall ill."
    "No!" Adelaide
shouted. With a quick glance from me to her mother, she blushed and added,
"I want to come. I'm just...not feeling myself yet. I slept poorly."
    A sick feeling
twisted my stomach. If Adelaide was not feeling like herself, then who was she
feeling like? The fact this change had come over her after visiting me was
twice as worrying. Thanks to my ability to see the dead, strange things seemed
to be happening more and more of late.