Penelope was getting some strange vibes from her mother from the moment they'd said good morning to one another. Penelope kept eyeing her mum, watching as she absently ate her scrambled eggs and sipped her tea.

"Something on your mind, Mum?" Penelope took a bite of her toast, gauging the wavelength that appeared to be radiating off her mother. Penelope noticed how pale her mother seemed, along with the dark circles beneath her eyes. Wasn't she sleeping well these days?

"No." Jane smiled faintly, the smile appearing more like a grimace. "It's just being here brings about so many unpleasant memories."

"Why precisely did you want me to come here?" Penelope asked pointedly.

"The dreams, Penelope. They were calling out for you to come."

No. Penelope thought. Oliver was the one calling to me, through telepathy. Not this damned mausoleum that you call a home.

"What if I told you it wasn't necessarily the house calling out to me but another person?"

Penelope saw how her mother stiffened, the corners of her mouth turning downward, the slightly panicked look in her eyes.

"Have you met such a person?" Penelope immediately wished she hadn't spoken so freely. She couldn't betray Oliver in that way. She'd grown fond of him, feeling a strange protectiveness about him.

"No, of course not." Penelope wiped her mouth with the serviette and slid her chair back. She'd had enough of being polite and was aching to begin searching the house for more clues as to what had truly happened to her great grandmother and Addie.

Penelope went to walk past her mother and her mother's hand shot out, grabbing Penelope by the wrist. Penelope wretched her arm free, scowling down at her mum.

"A word of caution, darling," Jane said in a strained voice. "You can't trust someone just because they claim to have the same gift as you."

"Yet I'm to automatically trust you and Auntie Lenora, who's as mad as a damn hatter?"

"Yes." Jane looked away, staring out the window in front of her. There was something arresting in her gaze and it made Penelope's skin crawl.

"You know I've told you about my grandmother's death that took place here. And Addie's. There's been more. This place is old. It holds much unsettled history."

Jane looked up at her daughter. Penelope had the appearance of a calm woman. She knew better. She'd frightened her daughter and although she knew it wasn't proper, she felt a small victory.

"Watch who you trust, Penelope. The only ones who can hurt us are those we allow to get too close."

****

Laina was searching in her aunt's house for...what she wasn't sure. Her aunt had went to the store to pick up some more groceries and Laina had claimed she'd been too exhausted to come along. In truth, she'd merely wanted the place to herself so she could do a bit of snooping.

So far she hadn't uncovered anything of interest. Mostly she discovered that her aunt enjoyed hoarding old magazines and several old DVDs of old, corny monster flims.

Laina sighed in disappointment as she left the spare bedroom and headed for the hallway, searching through a closet next to her aunt's bedroom. She found some old baby toys and frowned, wondering who they'd belonged to, as her aunt had never had any children. Unless they were childhood toys. They didn't look too old so Laina couldn't be certain.

She started to close the closet door when she caught sight of an old wooden box on the very top shelf in the closet. Laina couldn't reach it so she went to fetch a chair out of the bedroom she was sleeping in and set it down, stepping up and grabbing the box.

It was heavier than she expected and she nearly lost her grip on it before balancing it in her hands and carefully climbing down, setting the box on the seat of the chair. The outside of the box had a faint layer of dust covering it and Laina wondered how long it had been sitting in her aunt's closet.

She carefully pried open the lid and peered inside, hoping it wasn't full of dead insects or rodents or even just some cobwebs. There didn't appear to be any insects or rodents, thank goodness. There was however some old hand written letters, bound with some string and some old photos.

Laina wasn't comfortable reading the letters so she reached for the photographs instead. They were of two people. One was Laina's mom. The other one was...Addie? At the bottom of the pile, both Penelope's aunt and mom were in a few. She frowned again. Apparently Laina's mom had known these people. They looked quite comfortable with one another in the photos, laughing and smiling and apparently having a good time together.

Laina carefully replaced the photos back into the wooden box, getting ready to put it back. She was certain her aunt wouldn't be pleased to return home to find her niece snooping through her personal belongings.

Laina quickly replaced the box just as she heard a car door slam. Shit! Her aunt must have returned. She hurriedly closed the closet door and grabbed the chair, hurrying to put in back in the bedroom just as her aunt came inside, calling out a hello.

Laina went to join her aunt, taking some of the shopping bags from her and setting them on the kitchen counter.

"Did you do anything interesting while I was out?" Her aunt asked as she busied herself with putting away the groceries.

"No. I just hung out until I heard you coming in." Laina helped her aunt, all the while wondering if maybe her mother's hesitancy to return here had something to do with Penelope's family. She was itching to ask her aunt but decided to wait until another day. Besides she decided that maybe she wasn't ready to hear the truth when it was finally presented.

***

Lenora had been keeping a watchful eye on her niece. She sensed that Penelope was up to no good and it made her uneasy and more irritable than usual. Especially given the fact that somebody had stolen her ingredients in her sacred locked room.

Who else could have taken her ingredients? Surely not her younger sister. Unless Jane had found a way to get inside without destroying the lock. Lenora couldn't rule out anybody as a suspect. Perhaps that nosy girl that Penelope had befriend was the culprit.

Lenora stood stock still at the end of the corridor, peering around the dark corner, watching intently as her niece wandered to and fro, her fingers brushing against wall cracks and occasionally stopping to peer into the unused rooms, her expression troubled.

Although Lenora didn't have the "gift" like others in her family had somehow managed to aquire, she could sense the darkness that surrounded her niece. She supposed that even though she didn't have any psychic skills, she certainly had learned much of the magical arts and that often proved to be just as insightful.

Now Penelope was standing only a few feet away from Lenora, she ducked back further into the shadows, hoping Penelope wouldn't sense her presence before she learned something useful.

Unfortunately, Penelope's acute awareness of anything close by was too sharp and she immediately knew that another human being was present.

"I know you're there," Penelope said loudly. "Just come out and we can discuss whatever is on your mind."

Lenora softly cursed under her breath. Must Penelope be so damn in tune with her ability? It was unnerving. She didn't immediately step forward, thinking that her silence might deter her niece from prodding further.

Penelope wasn't even looking in her direction. Her back was to Lenora but Lenora sensed the agitation swirling around in the air surrounding Penelope.

"Oh fine." Penelope's tone was dismissive and irritable so Lenora decided to stay put. Penelope would lose interest within a few minutes and probably wander off to explore the attic.

"Have it your way," Penelope added. "I can't waste my energy on someone who refuses to play a coward." Penelope headed towards the attic, just as Lenora had suspected. Lenora peered around the corner once more watching as Penelope opened the door which led to the attic, breathing a sigh of relief.

Just before Penelope headed up the attic steps, she paused, her head tilted slightly as though she were listening to something. Perhaps Lenora? She couldn't be certain.

"I know what you are," Penelope said, her tone icy. Lenora's heart immediately constricted. Penelope knew. She knew!

"You're a vindictive, hopeless woman who insists on breaking everyone's spirit all because the person you loved didn't love you back. And you know what? I'm glad they didn't. Because you didn't deserve their love, you old witch."

***

Quinn was sensing that her niece wanted to ask her about her mother. (Again.) She watched bemused as Laina fidgeted nervously with her spoon, poking at the tart in front of her, her expression blank.

"Laina?" Quinn hadn't raised her voice but Laina jumped all the same. Quinn smiled at her niece as she set her spoon down, swiveling in her chair to face her aunt.

"All right," Quinn said before Laina could open her mouth. "Spill it."

"Did Mom leave because of something to do with Penelope's family?" Quinn felt a sharp pang in her gut. Where on earth did that come from?

"Why are you asking?"

"Well," Laine began. "It's just that Esper Hall is so close to here, I thought maybe Mom knew some of Penelope's family."

"Like her mum and auntie?" Laina nodded, an expectant look on her face.

"As a matter of fact, we were quite close to them. Well, not me as much, since I'm a few years younger than your mum. But yes, your mum knew them."

"Did she know all of them?" Laina pressed. She recalled the photographs, how happy her mum and Penelope's mum and auntie looked in them. Happy, like they had not a care in the world.

"Most of them." Quinn paused, knowing she was on shaky ground here. She had to watch her words carefully. Her sister wouldn't be pleased knowing that she was speaking too plainly of a past they wanted kept secret.

"There was another girl, Addie," Quinn said softly. "She was married to one of the male cousins. She...she...died only months after they wed. I guess she'd been ill for the majority of her life. It was so sad."

"Mom knew her as well?" Quinn nodded, staring just past Laina. Her eyes held unfocused and dazed look.

"Yes. They weren't terribly close. But your mum was devastated when she'd learned the news. I was as well. Addie was such a kind soul. Always thinking of others even though she was so ill."

"That is sad," Laina murmured. She was curious if Penelope was aware of what happened to that young woman.

"How long ago did it happen?" Laina asked.

"Oh goodness. Probably twenty or so years ago? Jane had just gotten married herself and had been pregnant with her oldest daughter. She was so upset. Especially when only days later, her grandmother was found murdered in Esper Hall." Quinn shook her head, as though she were trying to clear her mind of the terrible images.

"Huh." Laina rocked backwards, her fist under her chin, frowning ferociously. "If you ask me, that house is cursed."

Quinn suddenly stood, leaning over and began gathering the dirty dishes from tea. As far she was concerned, this conversation was over. She wanted to quit before she really said something she'd later regret.

"Perhaps," Quinn said in a dismissive tone. "It's not our concern. What happened in that house is ancient history. There's no sense in dredging it up."

Laina watched her aunt carry the dirty dishes into the kitchen. Something about her body language sent warning signals to Laina. She was the type who liked to poke and pry until she uncovered the truth. Maybe her aunt wouldn't tell her anything but Laina knew that she needed to find out the truth behind her mother's refusal to return to this place. And she didn't care how much digging it took. She'd find out, come hell or high water.

***

Penelope was wandering aimlessly through the attic. There wasn't much lighting up here but that didn't deter her much. She'd grown up around darkness. It didn't frighten her as much as it probably should have. Her thoughts immediately drifted to Oliver. Where was he? Was he doing all right?

Penelope felt a twinge of pity for Oliver. The poor man had suffered greatly, losing not only his beloved but his grandmother as well. She wasn't surprised that the man was a bit of an eccentric. Penelope was beginning to think that eccentrics ran in her family. Although she didn't necessarily see that as a bad thing.

Penelope was suddenly drawn to a room at the end of the attic. The door was closed and she wasn't sure she wanted to go inside. What if...Addie's restless spirit was lingering in there, tempting Penelope to come inside and...well who knew what she'd do?

Penelope took a deep breath and walked forward, her hand reaching for the door handle as she twisted it, slowly opening it. Luckily nothing or no one was inside. (No one she could visibly see.) She frowned as her gaze searched the dark room. Penelope's fingers fumbled for the light switch. She found it, flipping it on.

She gasped. Not because there was something frightening in the room but because of what stuff was in the room. It looked like...a nursery. There was a crib and a wardrobe and a table, along with a rocking chair. Penelope spied a book shelf lined with children's books and a basket of stuffed animals.

She took a step further into the room. Whose was all this? Why was there a nursery set up in the attic, of all places? It was so odd and unexpected that Penelope was stunned beyond belief. Had her ancestors used the attic as another floor for living in or was this something more modern? It baffled her.

A flash of anger erupted inside Penelope. Why couldn't her family just be truthful with her about this house and the awful things that had taken place here? Why did they insist on being so secretive? Was they family history so terrible that they couldn't repeat the stories or were they more interested in protecting their family name?

Penelope sighed as she went to turn off the light. As she did, she caught sight of a framed photo sitting on one of the book shelves. She went closer, examining it. She didn't recognize the people in the photo. It looked like it was taken many years ago. She decided to go back downstairs. There wasn't anything up here that was helpful to her uncovering the mystery.

Luckily as Penelope headed down the stairs, she didn't see the dark figure, lurking in the shadows, watching her.

Chapter 10

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