Читать книгу The Sound of Secrets - Irene Brand - Страница 9

Illuminated by the faint light of a half moon, Blanchard Manor resembled a phantom house. Swept inland by a brisk wind from the turbulent Atlantic, thick fog shrouded the stately mansion with wispy white tendrils. The faint scent of seaweed blended with the pungent fragrance of spruce trees. It was a peaceful night and quietness reigned on the promontory. Presumably the inhabitants of the mansion had long since gone to bed.

A man stealthily opened a side door of the mansion. He paused briefly to survey the moonlit scene before he strode purposefully toward the gazebo at the edge of the manicured lawn. Stopping once, he looked upward at the house, wondering if his daughters were sleeping. He climbed the steps into the gazebo, questioning how long he would have to wait. Not long, he thought. His expected visitor wouldn’t be late when her financial future hung in the balance.

A figure, swathed in a hooded raincoat, approached the gazebo and hesitated in the shadow of an ancient, sprawling maple tree before entering the small, wooden structure. Soon the wheedling tones of the woman were muffled by the man’s strident, angry voice.

The argument intensified, and two faces appeared at a window in the mansion. Kneeling with their arms folded on the sill, the sisters strained their eyes to discover the identity of their father’s mysterious visitor. Finally, Ronald Blanchard’s voice rang out loud and clear in the stillness of the night.

“If you ever darken my doorstep again, I’ll have you killed.”

A shaft of moonlight swept across the lawn and highlighted the figure of a tall, powerfully built man with his hand lifted as though to strike the woman. Was he holding a knife? A cloud covered the moon and the gazebo was again plunged into darkness.

The man stormed angrily across the lawn and disappeared into the house, but what had happened to the visitor? A door slammed downstairs, leaving the two sisters alarmed and troubled. They returned to their beds, but not to sleep. Would there ever be an end to the troubles that plagued the Blanchard family?