Night of the Candles by Jennifer Blake Page A

was in her mind. She was terrified of the thought of having a child and being ill was a good excuse … the eternal headache.”
    Theo stared at his sister’s scornful face. “She died of that headache.”
    “Did she? She died of fear. She took her own life because she knew Jason was aware of her fraud.”
    They stared at each other, their breathing harsh in the quiet room. Amanda looked from one to the other. Then, before she was even aware of the impulse, she blurted out: “But weren’t they happy together?” There was a surprised silence. It was as if Theo and Sophia had forgotten her presence. They glanced at each other warily, reluctant to speak. Then at last Theo cleared his throat.
    “It was hard to tell. At times Amelia would be wildly happy, singing, dancing about, hanging onto Jason’s arm, drinking in his every word. Other times she was … quiet, depressed.”
    “Ah, you admit then that our precious Amelia wasn’t perfect. She was, in fact, a moody witch, mooning about of an evening with that big dog at her side, her hair flying loose in the wind like a gypsy, and Carl following her like a faithful henchman.”
    “Sophia! You make her sound crazed! I will not have you talk about her like that!” Theo glared at her, his hands clenched, his face red with anger.
    “Temper, Theo. You’ll give yourself apoplexy. But you see, Amanda? She was a witch. She evoked either love or hatred, nothing in between.”
    “And which, my dear sister, did she arouse in you?”
    “She was spoiled, selfish, a woman who could not rest until she had attached every man she saw. She used her charm like a weapon to get what she wanted, and she did not care who got hurt in the process.”
    “Remember, Sophia, that she was a relative of Amanda’s.”
    “That is true, but I’ll warrant it makes little difference. If she knew Amelia she has probably been hurt by her. No, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I hated Amelia, but I certainly had no love for her.”
    Suddenly Theo smiled, looking beyond Sophia to the door. Sophia turned, then swung back to cast a look of loathing at her brother.
    In the doorway stood Jason, his face still, one eyebrow lifted in sardonic inquiry. No one spoke. They waited, frozen in a guilty horror for what they had said about the wife of the man in the doorway and his relationship with her.
    “This is not the place for this discussion,” Jason said at last, his soft tones carrying a flick of the lash.
    “Jason…” Sophia began, but he cut her off with an upraised hand.
    “Now don’t get on your high horse,” Theo said. “It was my fault for baiting Sophia. I can never resist pushing her to the limit, you know. Come on, Sophia. Jason’s right. We picked a bad time for our quarrel.”
    Jason looked for a moment as if he intended to make an issue of it, but then he stepped to one side.
    Theo took Sophia’s arm in a firm hold. “Forgive us, Amanda. I never intended to upset you. Thoughtlessness and temper, pure and simple. My apologies.”
    “Of course,” Amanda murmured, acutely embarrassed, feeling as chastened as if she had been at fault, wanting only for them all to leave her.
    Abruptly there came a rasping sound as someone cleared his throat. It was Nathaniel, standing in the hall, one fist to his mouth as he made that polite sound. Amanda felt a hysterical desire to laugh at the puzzlement of his expression as he sensed the tension in the room.
    “I … I was beginning to wonder where everyone had disappeared to. The woman in the kitchen could give me no satisfaction. I felt I should do something about my appearance before dinner, but I have no idea in which room my valise was deposited.”
    “How very remiss of me,” Sophia said, obviously happy to have a legitimate reason for detaching herself from her brother’s hand and leaving them. “You’ll be thinking I am not much of a housekeeper. Come with me, and I will show you to your room at once.”
    Their voices receded down