“Perhaps we should discuss these ghosts of yours,” said Mallory.
“Ooh, they’re talking about us!” said Lucienne.
“There is only one ghost we find concerning,” said Armand.
Lucienne sulked. “Oh, they’re talking abouthim.”
“Even after the fall of the veil, we were able to live in relative peace with the two wives whose spirits have been here since their deaths. But Monsieur Le Bleu is not merely a nuisance. He is…” Armand hesitated, searching for the right word, and finally landing on, “Despicable.”
“Cheers to that,” said Lucienne, raising her glass.
“Hush, Lucy,” whispered Béatrice. “I’m trying to listen.”
“You said he has been frightening away the staff,” said Anaïs.
“In my experience,” added Mallory, “ghosts can only be corporeal for short periods of time, and even then, only when theyare highly motivated. Such as when they really want to sample a great vintage of wine.”
Armand furrowed his brow. “Wine?”
“Just as an example. I’m curious if Le Bleu has become physically violent, or if his tactics are of a more psychological nature.”
“It is violent,” Armand said. “But… it’s…” Again, he struggled for the right description. “It isn’thim, so much as it is the house itself. He controls it somehow.”
“The house itself?” asked Mallory.
“There was a maid who was washing a window when the glass… shattered. The pieces flew at her, cutting her face, her hands…” He swallowed hard. “One piece got into her eye. She’ll never see out of it again.”
“How terrible,” Anaïs whispered.
“And last year, a gardener was cleaning the tools and preparing to store them for the winter when a shelf broke over his head, dropping an ax on his hand. He lost two fingers.”
“Velos protect us,” whispered Yvette, setting a hastily prepared platter of soft cheeses and apples down on the table before making the sign of Velos above her brow.
“Are you sure these weren’t fluke accidents?” asked Mallory. “How do you know it was Le Bleu?”
“He likes to have his presence known,” said Armand. “We’ve all heard his laughter, and it is louder when he is being cruel. And there are… other things, too. Illusions. Threats. I imagine you’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
“Has he ever attacked you?”
Armand slowly shook his head. “Only the staff.”
“The more we can determine about the spirit—his motives and desires, his strengths and weaknesses—the easier it will be to exorcise him from the property.”
“What exactly is your plan?” asked Armand.
Mallory moved her goblet closer for the maid to refill. “Oh, the usual.”
“Which is?” he pressed.
“You know. Typical witch stuff.”
His attention stayed on her, keen and curious. “I’d love to know the details, if you don’t mind sharing them.”
“My sisterlovessharing details about witchcraft,” Anaïs said, slurping up a raw oyster. “Could talk about it for days.”
“Wonderful,” said Armand. “I know so little about petty magic.”
“There are many options available to us,” Mallory said through her teeth, casting an annoyed glance at her sister. “It is difficult to know which…spell… we will attempt first. At first I thought we’d go straight for the kill. You know. Host a big, extravagant exorcism. Really make a statement with it.”
