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I wait until Demi and Craig leave before approaching Cora.
“How did you find that, dear?” She beams at me like she didn’t see me quietly freaking out in the middle of her session. “Many find it transcendental.”
“So you rarely have your guests standing in the middle of a session because they’re freaked out by seeing stuff on the ceiling?”
She arches her brow. “I saw you stand, but I assumed you had a back spasm, which is not uncommon in some who lie on hard ground for a period of time and need to stretch.”
She peers at me like she can’t figure me out. Ironic, as that’s exactly how I feel about her. “What did you see?”
Alerting her to the real reason I’m a guest in this whacky place isn’t on my agenda, so I fake a yawn. “I think I drifted off for a second and must’ve had a nightmare.”
She leans closer, and I don’t like the maniacal gleam in her eyes. “But what did you see?”
“Someone falling in front of a bus.”
The lie slides easily from my lips because I have had that precise nightmare ever since I learned how Mom died.
“Oh dear, that sounds dreadful.” She reaches out and touches my arm, and once again I struggle not to flinch from her icy fingers. “Perhaps you’d benefit from a one-on-one session with me? I’m not a trained psychologist, but I’ve done several courses and guests often find it soothing to talk to me. I’m an excellent listener.”
The only thing I want to talk to this batty lady about is my mom, but that’s not going to happen until I find out more. Once I’m armed with more solid evidence Mom stayed here and was so connected to the place she had its emblem tattooed on her foot, I’ll confront Cora.
“Do you ever give guests access to the Internet?”
Cora frowns. “The whole point of coming here is to digitally detox. So no cells, no television, no computers. Weren’t those books I gave you informative enough?”
Not nearly enough information—not the kind I need—so I say, “They’re interesting, but I’m more fascinated by the history of Arcania specifically rather than Flotilla Firth and would love to delve deeper while I’m here rather than waiting until I get home.”
“Obsession is as harmful as being addicted to screens,” she says, her lips compressed in a thin line. “If those books I gave you aren’t enough, there should be another in your room about the historical significance of this place.”
“Actually, it’s a general history of the Outer Banks, whereas, as I’ve already said, I’m more interested in Arcania.”
“Why?” Her voice rises slightly and anger lights her eyes.
Strange, because I’d think an owner of a mansion so obviously steeped in history wouldn’t mind talking about it or assuaging a guest’s curiosity.
“Because old houses fascinate me.” I reach for another lie.
She pins me with an accusatory glare, and I struggle not to squirm under her scrutiny. “Then you can wait until you get home to research us.”
“But I’ve just told you—”
“Enough,” she yells, and I jump. “We don’t like people prying, so you’ll be best served to stop badgering. It won’t end well.”
She’s shouting and I’m open-mouthed as her face flushes crimson. “You need to retire to your room.” She pauses, her glower formidable. “Now.”
How she makes her last order sound so ominous I’ll never know and as I take a step back, I glimpse movement out of the corner of my eye. Great, that’s all I need, another weird vision. But when I half turn, I see Craig and Demi just inside the door, wearing the same shell-shocked expressions I’m sporting.
Cora follows my line of vision and the moment she sees the couple have witnessed her meltdown, the tension marring her face is erased in an instant.
“I advise everyone to go to their rooms and have a rest after one of my sessions,” she says, her tone soothing and at complete odds with the way she yelled at me a few moments ago. “And if you don’t feel like having lunch in the dining hall, I’ll arrange to have Daphne bring it to your rooms.”
She doesn’t wait for a response and strides from the studio with her head held high, like we haven’t just had a terrifying glimpse into her psyche beneath the serene exterior.
Demi approaches me as Craig glances after Cora, his expression puzzled.
“Are you okay?” Demi asks. “She seriously lost it.”
“And she virtually threatened you,” Craig adds.
