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"What is it, Maurice?" Sara asked "You look as if you&039;ve seen a ghost"

"Sara Jayne" He stumbled into her apart

"What have you done to your hand?" she asked

Maurice glanced at his hand The neckerchief he had wrapped around the cut was soaked with blood

"It&039;s nothing," he e to be concerned about his injury "Saints above, Sara Jayne, he&039;s a monster!"

Exasperated, she closed the door, then drew her dressing gown iven up that absurd notion yet? Is that why you got ? To tell me that Gabriel is a monster?"

"It&039;s true Come with me and see for yourself"

"And just what did you see?"

"Nothing"

"Maurice, you&039;re notexcept a locked door It&039;s what I felt, Sara Jayne Never in all ot to believe et you a glass of brandy And then I&039;ll bandage your hand"

With a weary nod, Maurice sank down on the sofa and closed his eyes He couldn&039;t forget the horror that had surrounded hier Of death

"Here," Sara said, handing hilass of brandy "Drink this It will help ease the pain"

While he sipped the brandy, she washed the blood froed it with a strip of clean cloth

"I&039;o have a look at that cottage"

"Maybe that&039;s not such a good idea"

"I want to see it for e an hour later In the brilliant light of early h It was obviously deserted, Sara thought, and had been for a long while by the look of it The vines had gone wild, cli around the house The ere dirty; the chio any closer," Maurice said

"Don&039;t be silly We&039;ve co inside"

Resolutely, she approached the cottage, then walked around to the back until she came to theMaurice had broken She could see several dark brown stains on the sill, and she shuddered, knowing it was fro up a rock, she broke away the last shards of glass fro her skirts, she started to cli hand on her shoulder "You&039;ll ruin your skirts I&039;ll go through theand open the front door"

"Very well," Sara agreed

Moments later, the front door opened with a loud creak and Sara stepped into the cottage The rooht have once been rather nice

Holding her skirts away from the floor to keep them clean, she walked toward the next roo her, his footsteps hesitant

She walked through each roo here I don&039;t think anyone&039;s lived here for years"

"Don&039;t you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

With a shake of his head, Maurice grabbed Sara&039;s hand and led her down the cellar stairs As soon as they reached the door, he felt the short hairs rise along the back of his neck

"Don&039;t tell me you can&039;t feel that?" he exclaimed

"I&039;ll tell you what I feel," Sara retorted "I feel silly for listening to you"

"He&039;s behind that door," Maurice said "I know it"

"That&039;s ridiculous Gabriel&039;s a wealthyhere, in this old place?"

Yet even as she spoke the words, she remembered the deserted abbey in London

"Put your hand on the door and tell me what you feel"

Filled with a sudden sense of unease, Sara placed her hand on the door And in that instant, she knew Maurice was right Gabriel was behind that portal She could feel his presence as strongly as she felt Maurice&039;s hand on her shoulder

But it wasn&039;t a sense of evil that assailed her, but rather a sense of confusion and doubt Why was he here?

"Gabriel?"

Be gone!

Itwas his voice, loud and clear in her mind And in that moment, she didn&039;t want to knohy he was there, didn&039;t want to knohat secrets he was hiding

"Do you feel it?" Maurice asked

"No Let&039;s go"

"What&039;s wrong?" Maurice asked His fingers closed around the crucifix in his jacket pocket It was large and costly, made of solid silver "Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

"We have a rehearsal this afternoon I want to have ti, Maurice, there&039;s nothing scary here"

He followed her because he was eager to be away from the place, but he didn&039;t believe her words for a , and whatever it was had drained the color from her face

He rose as soon as the sun had set After draater froed his clothes and packed a few of his belongings

With preternatural speed, he s at the best hotel Paris had to offer After unpacking his clothing, he ordered a bouquet of flowers and a ht supper for two, and then he left the hotel

For an hour, he walked the streets For Sara, he would reenter the mainstream of hu and dancing, though he would have to be careful to avoid mirrors and other reflective surfaces If she wished, he would accompany her to London when the co her performance, mesmerized, as always, by her beauty SheEach step, each movement of her hand, each facial expression, was perfection

And Maurice Gabriel let his gaze rest upon the youngto do about Maurice? The , and yet he suspected far too much Gabriel&039;s first instinct was to kill Delacroix, but that he could not do Sara liked the young man But for her affection, Maurice would be dead even now