Possession Read Online Free Page A

Perhaps the shape-shifting demon was
back and had taken over her body, although I wasn't sure if that was possible
while the victim was still alive.
    I shuddered. Victims,
demons...it was all so gruesome.
    Fortunately she
seemed to have returned to her normal self and she asked me about my recent
séances. I chatted more to ward off awkward silences than anything else. Adelaide
and her mother contributed little to the conversation and although they kept up
polite façades, I suspected neither was really listening.
    The coach came
to a halt outside a row of tall, slender, red and cream brick terraces joined
together in a straight row. I followed Lady Preston and Adelaide out of the
coach. This time we all used the assistance of the footman. We were met at the
door by a starched servant and directed to a drawing room with views over the
street and a collection of Oriental artifacts placed around the room.
    A matronly woman
swathed in glossy black and leaning heavily on a cane entered. She walked with an
awkward gait on feet much too small for her size. She reminded me of a pig on
trotters, but I pushed the unkind thought aside lest a giggle escape.
    When she saw
Lady Preston and Adelaide, her thin eyebrows nearly leapt off her soft, round
face. "Lady Preston, this is an unexpected surprise. I doubted my
ears when Jenkins announced you, but here you are. And your pretty daughter
too." Her gray eyes skipped briefly in my direction, but her smile never faltered.
What she thought of me was hidden beneath a politely bland expression. "Sit,
sit." She pointed to the sofa with her walking stick then proceeded to
lower herself into an armchair, slowly at first, then finally plunging into the
sumptuous velvet.
    Lady Preston
introduced me and I was relieved to see not a hint of recognition on Mrs. Arbuthnot's
face. It would seem she hadn't joined in the latest fashion of afternoon
séances for ladies like many of her set. She was, however, clearly curious
about my presence. I wasn't introduced as a friend, cousin, ward, or any such
thing, which seemed to fuel her curiosity more. Her puffy-lidded gaze frequently
wandered in my direction despite her carrying on a conversation with Lady
Preston.
    The chatter
ended abruptly when Adelaide's irritated sigh drew everyone's attention to her.
"We're not here to gossip," she said in that deep voice that grated
across my nerves. "Is the boy here?"
    Mrs. Arbuthnot
made a gargling sound in her throat. "Pardon?"
    "Adelaide."
Lady Preston managed to scold her daughter without raising her voice above a
whisper. "She's been out of sorts since yesterday," she said to Mrs. Arbuthnot.
    Mrs. Arbuthnot
laughed too loudly for it to be genuine. "She's quite eager to see my Wallace,
is she?" She called for Jenkins. The butler entered and bowed. "Fetch
Wallace if you will. Tell him Miss Adelaide Beaufort has come calling. That
should get him out of bed." She turned her smiling face on Lady Preston. "He
rises rather late since his return from Oxford, I'm afraid. The unfortunate
consequences of late nights at his club."
    With a huff,
Adelaide stood and made her way across the room with long, purposeful strides. She
lounged against the white marble mantelpiece and picked up a blue and white
Oriental jar. She weighed it in her hand, lifted the lid, peeked inside, then
replaced it. She moved onto a black statuette and repeated the exercise. We
watched her, silent.
    "Nice things
you got here," she said, studying the oil painting above the fireplace. I
was no art expert, but the hunting scene looked very well done, the detail
intricate and colors vibrant. "Bet that's worth a quid or two."
    Lady Preston
gave a small gasp of horror. Mrs. Arbuthnot looked equally horrified but
managed a self-conscious laugh. "What a charmingly direct way you have,
Miss Beaufort."
    Adelaide grunted
and admired a large round plate decorated with Oriental dragons. My bad feeling
returned with a stinging slap. She was certainly not acting like