Hello readers, i got another chapter for you. It's not that good, in my opinion, but like always i hope you guys will enjoy it. The next shouldn't take me long to post either since i already have everything for it planned. (emphasis on the shouldn't)

Haunted Dreams

Chapter 32

"A. . . biiirrrdd. . . sannngg. . . to. . . me frrroomm. . . the tallll. . . trreee." Jeramey finished, smiling up to his father.

"That's very good." Sweeney smiled at his son, brightly. "You know, I don't know many four-year-old that can read as well as you can."

Jeramey blushed, his smiling turning into a grin.

"Now, can you write that down without looking at it." Sweeney grabbed the piece of parchment and a pen, handing it to his son.

"Without looking at it?"

"Yes." He said closing the book. Jeramey hovered the pen over the paper, looking uncertain. "Oh, come on, you can do it. A bird sang to me from the tall tree. Simple." The boy scribbled it down, his handwriting slow and sloppy. When he finished he looked at his father for approval. Sweeney knitted his eyebrows at the paper. Jeramey started getting nervous.

"Well?" the boy demanded.

Sweeney smiled at him. "You pass."

"Yes!" the boy cheered, causing Sweeney to laugh.

He picked the book back up. "All right, shall we continue?"

"Papa, I don't want to learn anymore."

"Say that in a real school and you'll get a beating."

"You wanna go outside and play with my ball?"

"Just one more page and we can go, all right?"

"Mother always lets me have a break." The boy whined. "She says it'll make me remember things better."

"Hmmm. . ." Sweeney said, stroking his chin, causing the boy to giggle. "Race you." He said getting up from the table, and jogging in slow motion to the door.

"No!" Jeramey squealed running past his father. "I beat you." He shouted falling down on the grass.

"Careful." Sweeney smiled. He picked his son up and spun him around. Jeramey screamed and laughed with glee. After a while, Sweeney stopped spinning him, setting him down on the grass. Jeramey stumbled around, unable to walk in a straight line. "A little dizzy?" He laughed.

"Hmhm" Jeramey said.

Sweeney sat down, crossing his legs. "Woah." Jeramey said, falling on him.

Sweeney kissed his forehead, lovingly. "You need a haircut, boy." He told him.

"No, I don't." Jeramey demanded.

"Yes, you do." Sweeney teasingly demanded back. "It's so long." He ran his fingers through it.

"Your's is so long." Jeramey teased pulling his father's hair.

"Ow." Sweeney said, they both tugged each other's hair, laughing.

Nellie watched them from the sun room, elbows leaned on the table where a book laid open, smile on her lips. Johanna made cooing noises at her from atop the table. The little girl started moving again, and Nellie had to extend both her arms, forming a fence around the baby so she wouldn't crawl off the table. The crawling stage can be a dangerous one, and this one wanted to explore a lot more than Jeramey did. Something on the ground caught her attention. "No, Johanna." Nellie said, scooping her into her arms. The girl, stared at the ground, squirming to be let down. "What? What is it?" Nellie said looking under the table. She picked the cricket up off the ground, holding it up to the girl. "It's just a bug." Johanna stared at it for a while, before trying to grab it and put it in her mouth. "No, don't." Nellie said putting the bug back down on the ground. "It's not food." The baby giggled her little head off, causing Nellie to laugh. "You're so silly." She smiled, rubbing noses with the baby, and kissing her forehead. She glanced back over at her two men. They we're sat on the grass, tossing a red ball to each other into the air. Johanna crawled over to the other side of the table, Nellie subconsciously grabbed the baby around her waist, without even needing to look to see what she was doing.

The little girl pointed at the forest, "puppies" she said. Nellie looked at the edge of the woods, she hasn't seen the wolves in a long time. Johanna moved forward, curious about the woods. "Oh, you don't need to go over there, it's dangerous over there." Nellie said, picking the baby up and putting her into her lap.

She got up from the table, and went back into the house to see what time is was, Daniel should be arriving any minute now. Nellie went into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the children and Daniel. Her and Sweeney were dinning at that party they were invited to, which Nellie should also start getting ready for. She had a surprise up her sleeve. The invination to this party was a weird one, but it seemed something that the small town of Wexford was accustomed to. The men arrived an hour earlier than the women, a way to show off the women's appearance Nellie was guessing, for the bachelors of night. It was ridiculous in Nellie's opinion, she didn't even want to go to this party but she knew it would help Sweeney with his business, since not a lot people in the town, or surrounding towns knew about him. But Nellie had a little surprise for him, and she would need that extra hour to get ready. She smiled brightly, she couldn't wait to see the look on his face.


"Her bedtime is at 7:30, don't read her a scary story, but a happy one. And make sure she has her pink blanket with the embroidered flowers, she can't sleep without it." Sweeney was going on as Daniel pushed him out the door.

"All right, all right I got it." Daniel was saying.

"Don't let Jeramey stay up too late, he'll try to trick you into letting him, but don't listen."

"All right, go, just go, have fun, there's nothing to worry about."

Sweeney gave his son a hug, "be good till I get back."

"You mean, I can be bad when you get back." Jeramey grinned.

"You'll be in bed fast asleep when I get back, at least you better be."

He kissed his daughter's forehead, "bye precious girl, I'll see you later." She played with her doll, not paying attention to him.

He turned to Daniel and opened his mouth to instruct something again, but Daniel cut him off. "Go, go, now, out." And he pushed him outside and shut the door in his face.

The babies ate their dinner, and we're playing on the floor in the living room with Daniel, when Nellie walked in an hour later. Daniel's mouth dropped when he saw her.

"How do I look?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

"Amazing." He beamed.

She smiled looking down at her dress.

"I didn't even recognize you for a second." Daniel said.

"Do you think it's too much then?" She asked.

"Oh, please, you look gorgeous. He'll love it!"

Nellie smiled brightly, gave Daniel and her babies a hug, and walked out the door.

She made it down the hill, just reaching the path into town when she heard a shout behind her. "Mrs. Todd!" A woman called.

Nellie turned around and saw her neighbor, Mrs. Bloom running towards her. She was wearing a fancy blue gown, covered in ruffles, with the collar reaching up to her neck. She looked beautiful yet modest.

"Evening Alicia." Nellie smiled.

Alicia Bloom caught up with Nellie, linking her arm with hers. "I'm surprised you're going? You and your husband stay shut up in that big house like hermit crabs." She teased.

"Yes, it feels nice to get out for once." Nellie laughed. They walked to the estate where the party was being held together.

The estate was located along the beach, just out of the market. It was almost castle-looking, and took Nellie's breath away.

"Is this the mayor's home?" Nellie asked.

"Actually no. Mayor Waters lives next door. No one knows who owns this house. Our host is mysterious."

Nellie stared at the looming castle as she entered through the front door, an arrange of all sorts of women walking alongside her. This evening is going to be quite the adventure. She thought.

The ladies walked into the ballroom one at a time, a butler standing at the entrance asking of their names, then announcing them. When it was Nellie's turn she blushed as she walked down the grand staircase, minding not to fall or she would embarrass herself, and then go into miscarriage and embarrass herself even more. She took each step carefully and nervously, feeling a million eyes on her, hearing murmurs of compliments. She looked up now and then, scanning the crowd. There was only one pair of eyes she wanted on her body tonight.

She felt their presence half-way down the steps. She smiled and blushed furiously, as Sweeney scanned every inch of her, mouth hung open in surprise at her appearance. I guess the surprise work well, she thought. She felt like Cinderella at the ball. She reached the bottom of the stairs and quickly walked over to him. He held out his arm to her, and led her over to the group of men that he was speaking with a moment earlier. His demeanor alarmed Nellie, she could tell he wasn't acting like himself tonight.

"Gentlemen, this is wife, Nellie." He smiled introducing her. The four men, all looking older than Nellie smiled and bowed their heads to her, or tipping their hats, muttering "How do you do, Madam?"

Sweeney turned to her. "Would you like anything to eat?"

"No, I'm fine."

"We are dinning here you know."

"Not the sitting down at a table kind I presume." Nellie stated seeing all the hands holding plates of food. "What kind of gala is this?"

"A different one."

"Not hungry Mrs. Todd?" One of the gentlemen asked.

She opened her mouth to answer, but Sweeney cut her off saying; "She's pregnant and hormonal gentlemen, she doesn't eat normally."

The men chuckled, "Here here." One said raising his glass. "If you feel sick dear, the bathrooms are that way." The man said.

Nellie bit the inside of her lip staring daggers at the man. "I feel fine actually. But thank you for the concern, I'll refrain from nauseating here and now, so you won't choke on your brandy."

At this comment the man, taking a sip of his brandy did choke during mid sip, coughing some of the brandy back into his glass. The other men stood with their eyes wide.

"Didn't know your wife was such a shrew Mr. Todd. You should have a better hold on her." An old gentlemen in the mix said.

"Pardon me, Shakespeare, but I-"

"Excuse me gentlemen, "Sweeney said grabbing hold of Nellie's arm, interrupting her. "As I said, she's hormonal, forgive her." He dragged Nellie away from the group of men.

"You're embarrassing me." Sweeney hissed in her ear.

"They were being rude."

"Go gossip with the other wives. I'll send for you if I need you." He said letting go of her arm.

"You've been here an hour and you already have your own squire?" Nellie joked to his back.

He spun back around. "I'm warning you woman, hold that tongue of yours." He hissed in her face.

Nellie turned around and glanced around the room, confused look on her face. She watched the hoards of people dancing and chattering around her. Ever since she stepped foot in this place, everything felt so surreal. Am I dreaming this? She thought. She pinched her arm to be sure, and knew that she wasn't. She was stuck here.

hope everyone enjoyed this. like i always sing; please review or i'll hate you... just kidding, or am i?