Haunted by Tamara Thorne

she was just out of college. She met the hungan and, shortly after, her father died . Later, she claimed the priest cast a love spell on her, and blamed him for her father's death. At any rate, Christabel was born and Lizzie, a vital, well-educated young woman, languished on the island, a virtual prisoner. When her daughter was twelve, word came that her brother, Byron Baudey, had died, leaving her this house. She and Christabel managed to escape with the help of the captain of the boat that brought the news." He paused dramatically. "It's his headless ghost that's rumored to walk the lighthouse. As the legend goes, he was the first victim of Christabel's black magic. But she wasn't too good at it yet--the neck wasn't cleanly cut. Rather, it appeared that some huge beast had torn it off with its bare hands."
    Lizzie's emerald eyes seemed to watch him from the portrait and, suddenly nervous, he cleared his throat. "Lizzie had wanted her freedom, but even more, she wanted to get Christabel away from her father. By the time they were rescued, the father had taught the girl the black arts --he'd been instructing her since she was barely a toddler--and Lizzie knew her daughter's mind was being poisoned. By giving Christabel a fresh start, enrolling her in a good eastern boarding school, Lizzie hoped to undo the damage."
    "So she came here and opened a cathouse," Theo said sarcastically. "That makes a lot of sense.”
    "Boarding schools are expensive. So is maintaining a house like this. And Lizzie had no desire to be poor, so she carefully organized and opened a business, a very classy business, I might add, that would pay those bills. She took excellent care of the women who worked for her and she carefully screened the clients before accepting them.
    "She never had any intention of having her daughter in the midst of the business and she sent her off to the school she herself went to as a girl. But she was soon sent home. For nearly two more years, she enrolled Christabel in school after school, and the girl continued to be expelled."
    "Geez, Dad, what'd she do?" Amber asked. "Blow up toilets?"
    He chuckled, despite himself. He'd told Amber a good deal of the story on their way out west, so she already knew. She was just adding to the drama to torture Theo, who still wore a look on her face like she was smelling a fresh pile of manure. His earlier attraction to her began to fade and he continued his tale with gusto. "Blowing up toilets would have been preferable to Christabel's proclivities. She liked to kill things. No chicken coop was safe, and if a school happened to have dogs or goats in residence, she took care of them also. But chickens were her favorite. She sacrificed them to Erzuli, the goddess her father had taught her to worship.
    "So she ended up back here. Her mother interested her in art- -doll making--and, for a time, she seemed to reform. But it didn't last. Against her mother's wishes, she became involved in the business. The information is sparse about how she accomplished that." David cleared his throat. "Then, eventually, she destroyed it. So," he finished, crossing his arms, "that's why Lizzie Baudey wears the expression she does in the portrait."
    "Still, a cathouse," Theo said doubtfully. "It's no wonder she was so troubled."
    "Lizzie had inherited the house and grounds but no money to speak of." He stared at the portrait. "Look at her. Does she look like the sort of woman who would take in laundry or sewing?" He shook his head. "Of course not. She used her business sense and opened a house of prostitution that was world famous at the time. Lizzie had a hedonistic nature to go along with her artistic talents, and her business sense allowed her to indulge in both." He saw the sour look on Theo's face and added, "You have to admire a woman of that era who knew how to get what she wanted, even if it wasn't approved of by other people."
    Theo harrumphed then said, "Shall we see the rest of the house?"
    They