Page 49 of The Defiant Curse

Oh, she stood there gawking at the face looking back at her, and still, she didn’t know what the hell was going on there. There was no freaking way she’d ever want the men to do this kind of bullshittery. Hanging her up there…

NO.

Only, she heard him tell the story of the painting under the painting, and now, this made no sense.

In the antique gilded frame, there was a painting of a woman in all black.

Around her neck there was a necklace. The antique jewelry was an icy-blue color, matching the woman’s eyes. It glowed with the way it had been painted.

And it caught her off guard.

Behind the woman, in the misty shadows there was a castle—another familiar sight. It was the one they were standing in at that very moment.

It was Ravensmire.

More insanely, IT WAS HER.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “How am I in that painting?” she asked. “How the hell did I get put up on that mantle?”

That was just it. For the first part, Michael didn’t know. For the second part, that would be his and Graham’s decision. Now, he was hoping they didn’t regret it.

“Honestly, Mom, it’s the mystery. That’s Ceit. That’s Duncan’s first wife, the woman who was shoved out of the tower, and who haunted this castle.”

That hung there.

Literally over the fireplace.

Now, she was questioning everything she’d seen and done since arriving there.

Was this all a dream?

Was she dreaming this?

Was this a joke?

“Did Callen and Chris put everyone up to this? Because when I married Callen, he bought a house on the Puget Sound, and staged a ‘Clue-like’ murder mystery to keep me busy. I can assure you that this isn’t amusing if that’s the case. I don’t like playing games,” she said, her voice hitching and getting emotional.

Yeah, this was exactly what he thought would happen. The meltdown was beginning.

He touched her shoulder.

“Hey,” he said, getting her to turn. “I swear to you that they don’t even know about it. We had it repaired, and that is legitimately what was under it. Elizabeth, it was sent out in Graham’s name. No one would know about you being here, or being tied to this castle. We are just as shocked and dumbfounded. We didn’t tell anyone because we didn’t know how to tell them.”

She stared at him.

“Legit?”

He nodded.

“I swear on my family,” he said.

She knew he wouldn’t do that lightly.

Michael wasn’t done.

“There aren’t many pictures of her left. Duncan either had them destroyed or time took them out. The only reason that one was protected is there was a full layer of paint over it. We think that he painted over paintings when she died, or they wanted to forget about her. For all I know, her sister, who married Duncan, next had it done since she was the new lady of the manor.”

She turned back around, and as she did, the room was cold all around them.