Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine (reading an ebook TXT) 📕

She smiled and gave another shrug. "Just something I thought of, someone who's been behaving rather strangely. " She bit her knuckles for a moment. "But if he is the reincarnation of someone from my—from Matilda's past—who is he?"

David let out a little chuckle. "Don't worry about it too much, girl. I'm sure it will come to you. Either that, or you'll regain your wits. Now, why don't I find a bottle of wine so we can celebrate your visit, then while we eat I'll help you plan an itinerary so you can follow Matilda's footsteps, starting at Hay, where most of her legend is centered. That is why you've come to Wales, isn't it? To follow her footsteps?"

"I suppose it must be, " Jo said after a moment.

"You know, " he said, his hand to his cheek. "You could be like her, at that. I suspect you're a very determined lady when you want to be!"

Jo laughed. "I have that reputation, I believe. "

"And you're not superstitious or anything?" he went on, almost as an afterthought. "Not in the slightest. "

"Good. " He handed her the book. "Some bedtime reading for you, Jo. I think you'll find it interesting.

Nick let himself into his apartment with a sigh. He dropped his case to the floor and picked up the mail from inside the door, then he stopped and looked around, listening. "Is someone there?" he called.

An inner door opened and Sam appeared, lifting his hand in a laconic greeting.

"Sam!" Nick threw down the letter.

Sam raised a cynical eyebrow. "I don't think I've had so ecstatic a welcome for years!"

"Shut up and listen!" Nick pushed past him and went through into the living room. "I hurt Jo. "

Sam had followed him and was about to help himself to a drink. He swung around and stared at Nick. "You did what?" he said.

"I hurt her, Sam. Last night. We were talking about the regressions and she began to tell me about things that had happened to her in that life—things she hadn't mentioned under hypnosis. She began talking about de Clare—describing how they had made love.... " He went to the tray of drinks. "I grabbed her, Sam. I saw red and grabbed her. I wanted to punish her. I wanted to hurt her. I might have killed her. "

Sam was very still. "Where is she?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. I called a dozen times this morning and went back at lunchtime. Her car had gone. I went up to the apartment and looked around. She'd taken her typewriter and a suitcase. There wasn't a note or anything. "

Sam pushed him aside and poured out two glasses of Scotch. He handed his brother one, then stood watching him thoughtfully. "How badly did you hurt her?"

Nick shrugged. "She knocked the tray off the coffee table and cut her arm. That was an accident, but I was pretty rough with her—"

"Did you rape her?"

Nick could feel Sam's eyes on him. He straightened defiantly. "Technically, I suppose I did. "

"Technically?"

There was something in the coldness of Sam's voice that made Nick step back. "She and I have been living together on and off for years, for God's sake!"

"That is hardly the point. " Sam sat down slowly. "So you forced her. Did you beat her up?"

"I hit her. She was covered in bruises. I don't know what came over me, Sam. It was as if I wasn't me anymore. I couldn't control myself. I knew I was hurting her, and I didn't want to stop!" He fumbled in the pocket of his jacket for a pack of cigarettes, extracted one, then threw it down with a curse. "Christ! This is all such a mess. I was jealous, Sam, of a man who died God knows how many hundreds of years ago. I thought for a while it was Jo going out of her mind. Now I think it's me!" He threw himself down opposite his brother. "You've got to help me. What the hell do I do?"

Sam leaned back in his chair. He was gently swirling his Scotch around in his glass. "You really want me to help you?" His voice had softened slightly. "I can, Nick. But you'll have to trust me. Have you ever considered, " he said thoughtfully, "that Jo might not be the only one among us who is living again?"

Nick snorted. "You're not suggesting I am the reincarnation of her husband, or something?"

"No, " I am not suggesting that. But I think it possible that you were perhaps someone close to her in the past. "

Nick stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Perfectly. "

"Oh, come on! Don't hand me that crap. Jo might have been persuaded by all this. In fact, she actually asked me if I thought I'd lived before—"

"Perhaps she recognized you. "

"No! Oh, no, I don't believe it. I've got enough problems in this life, and I'd have thought you'd have more sense than to encourage her. You of all people who saw the danger right from the start!"

"I saw the danger. " Sam swung his feet up onto the coffee table. "But as Jo would not sidestep it, neither can we. "

Nick glanced at him sharply. "What do you mean exactly?"

Sam had closed his eyes. "There is one easy way of finding out whether you were involved in her past, Nick, " he said.

"How?" Nick paused. "Oh, no! You think I'm going to Bennet to let him try his regression on me?"

"There's no need. " Sam took a sip from his glass. "I can do it if you'll let me. "

Nick's mouth dropped open. "Are you suggesting that I let you hypnotize me?" he said incredulously.

"Why not? I can do it, Nick. And I have a feeling you might be surprised by what we find out. " Sam smiled gently. "Have you ever wondered why Jo and you were so instantly attracted when you first met? Could it not