The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #1) Read Online Free Page A

Jacob to prompt him—asking him outright might seem a little
odd to Bella, particularly if Celia, the only other person in the room as far
as the maid was concerned, failed to answer.
    "I'm here
because I've been assigned to you," he said.
    "What?"
I slapped a hand over my mouth.
    Bella
straightened and followed my line of sight straight to the framed daguerreotype
of Celia's father hovering—as she would have seen it—above the armchair. She
screamed and collapsed onto the rug in a dead faint.
    Celia sighed. "Oh
dear. She was such a good maid too."
     
    CHAPTER 2
    "I don't
think your maid will last long," Jacob said as the drawing room door
closed on Celia guiding a trembling Bella down the hall.
    I waited until
the door was completely shut and Bella's terrified mutterings had faded before
I spoke. "I hope she's already prepared supper." It sounded uncaring but
I'd been in this situation before and it was very trying. As our only maid,
Bella worked long, hard hours. I appreciated that enough to know I didn't want
to take on her chores. "Good maids are difficult to find, particularly
ones not afraid of the supernatural." Or ones we could afford.
    "Have you
tried the North London School for Domestic Service in Clerkenwell?" He
returned the picture frame to the mantelpiece and remained standing. "They
train suitable orphans in all aspects of domestic service and help them find
employment by the age of sixteen or so. We’ve hired many of our servants from
there."
    "We?"
    "Ghosts."
I must have had an odd look on my face because he snorted softly which I think
was meant to be a laugh. "Joke," he said without even a twitch of his
lips. "I meant my family. The one I had before I died."
    "Oh." I
swallowed. So he came from a family wealthy enough to afford servants, plural. I
wanted to ask more about his life but it didn't seem like the right time. It
also wasn't the right time to ask about his death, although I'm not sure there
ever is an appropriate time to enquire about that. It feels a little like prying
into one's private affairs.
    Besides, a far
more pressing question was why was he standing in my drawing room looking every
bit the gentleman of the house as he rested his elbow on the mantelpiece. Perhaps
it was the casual attire that made him look like he belonged precisely there as if this really was his home. Or perhaps it was the strength of his presence.
I think I would have known where he was at all times even with my eyes closed. A
remarkable feat for a spirit. "What did you mean by assigned to me? Assigned
by whom and for what purpose?"
    "Assigned
by the Administrators—."
    "The Administrators?"
    "The officers
who control the Waiting Area and the gateway to the Otherworld's sections. They
ensure each spirit crosses to their correctly assigned section, as well as
keeping the Waiting Area orderly." It all sounded terribly efficient, more
so than our own government's departments, notorious for their crippling rules
and mountains of paperwork. "Haven't you ever asked the ghosts you've
summoned about their experiences there?"
    "Of course,"
I said, reaching for the teapot on the table beside me. "All the time."
I poured tea into a cup. "Why wouldn't I?"
    "You
haven't, have you?"
    I stared into the
teacup and sighed. "Not really. I'm not sure I want to find out too much. I
mean, I know about the Waiting Area and how ghosts need to release all negative
emotions associated with this world in order to cross over but...I don't want
to know anything more."
    "You mean
before your time."
    I nodded. Hopefully
I had many years to wait.
    I glanced at Jacob
over the rim of my cup and caught him watching me with a steely intensity that
made my skin tingle. I blushed and sipped then risked another look. This time his
attention seemed to be diverted by the tea service. I would have offered him a
cup but there was no point since he didn't require sustenance. Perhaps I should
have offered out of politeness anyway. I wasn't entirely sure of