Cora blinked her eyes. Once. Twice. Three times. But the apparition was still there, moving steadily down the hall towards the bedrooms in the bachelors' corridor. Gulping, she watched without blinking until the figure vanished.

"Robert…" she whispered, her voice strained.

Slowly, she reached her hand back to grip his, but was met with only empty air. Whipping around, she discovered she was entirely alone on the gallery. Nausea churned in her stomach as chilled fear coursed its way through her veins. Shivering, she tightened the belt of her dressing gown and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Robert?" she croaked.

But there was no response. Worrying her lip between her teeth, she glanced up and down the hall, uncertainty etched across her face. The notion of waiting alone on the gallery with an eidolon running around the house, even if it was merely James wrapped in a sheet, was not an appealing one. But Robert's silent departure gave her the impression that he didn't want her to follow him for what ever reason. Taking a deep breath, she set off in the direction she assumed Robert had taken. At least if she came across anything it would be him and not a puerile relation.

Shadows had sprung up and danced alone the walls despite the lack of light, but Cora refused to allow herself to notice them. Her mind had played enough tricks on her for one evening and, with James hiding somewhere in the vicinity, she had resolved to show no reaction of any kind.

But her determination melted away as she rounded the corner. A sharp yelp suddenly pierced the silence, the cry reverberating off of the walls.

'Die! Die!'

Before she had time to think, Cora turned back and rushed towards the sound, her feet carrying her blindly down the hall. Lumbering footsteps echoed down the hall, but she barely heard them over the thundering of her heart in her chest. Passing by the top of the staircase, she caught sight of a light colored flash, but it hardly registered, her thoughts entirely consumed by finding Robert.

Racing around the corner, she collided with something solid, the force knocking the breath out of her and pushing her back a few steps. She continued on, but only made it a few paces before she was grabbed from behind. Panic seized her as she fought and struggled, but the grip was too strong.

"Cora!" came a strained whisper.

Instantly stopping, she whipped around to see Robert staring down at her, his brows drawn in concern.

"It's just me," he murmured.

"Robert," she sighed, sagging against him, burying her face in his chest.

He caught her, his right arm holding her tightly against himself. "What happened? You seemed scared out of your wits just now."

She shook her head and stepped back, running her eyes over him. "You disappeared and then I heard the shrieks. It sounded like someone was hurt."

"It was just Hathor," he answered. "I saw her running down the hall so I went after her. She got tangled under my feet and I stumbled over her. She yelped, but isn't hurt."

"So you didn't see the…" Cora stopped and, furrowing her brow, gestured to the large obscured object in Robert's hand. "What is that?"

Robert grinned and held it aloft so that she could see. "Our ghost," he stated.

It was a doll, or at least it had been. Now it was more of a tangled mess than anything else with its shredded clothing and limbs either missing or contorted into odd angles. Beneath the matted brown hair, a pair of large startled grey eyes stared at Cora with a vacant expression and pink lips were stretched back to reveal a row of painted teeth.

"Frightening, isn't it?" Robert remarked, amusement in his voice. "It speaks too, although I'm not sure how well since Hathor got a hold of it. Curious thing, I wonder where she found it. Stole it from one of the village children, I imagine."

Cora shook her head, a bashful smile twitched at her lips. "Actually, it's mine," she stated softly.

"Yours?" Robert asked incredulous.

"Mm-hmm. You remember my telling you about my eccentric aunt?"

He nodded.

"Well, she gave it to me— us really, upon our marriage as a present to be gifted to our future child."

"I see," he said, slowly. "But why—"

"It's a phonograph doll," Cora shrugged. "They each say a different nursery rhyme. This one recites 'Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep'. I gather it's supposed to be entertaining."

Robert glanced from her to the doll and back again. "Maybe it can be repaired," he stated hesitantly.

"Robert," she laughed, rolling her eyes, "I wasn't actually going to give it to a child of ours. Or any child for that matter. It is much too frightening."

"Thank heaven for that," he smiled, visibly relaxing. "I wouldn't want it frightening our children, or us for that matter, with eldritch shrieks in the night."

"Definitely not," chuckled Cora.

"What on earth should we do with it?" Robert asked after a pause.

"Find someplace to put it where Hathor can't find it again and go to bed," she answered. "We can worry about it in the morning."

Robert nodded his agreement and slid his hand into Cora's. "I'll walk you to your door, if you'd like," he murmured.

"Very much," she answered, squeezing his hand.

A companionable silence accompanied them on the walk back to their rooms. They had only taken a few steps when another eerie whimper cut through the night. It wasn't as loud as the other cries had been and Core looked over to see if Robert had heard it too. From the bend in his brow, she knew he had. Silently, they stood listening, but the house was quiet.

"Must be the wind," remarked Robert with a slight shrug. "It was really screaming earlier."

Cora made a noncommittal noise in response as they continued down the corridor. But after another few paces they heard it again.

"That is not the wind," she stated.

He twisted around to look down the hall. "Then what—"

"Robert, it's the doll!" she exclaimed, gesturing to his left arm.

Looking down, Robert swung his arm back and forth, listening as the doll let out a ghoulish whine with each oscillation.

"Must be Hathor's doing," he observed.

"I don't suppose we could march outside James' room with it," she suggested nonchalantly, her grin belying her tone. "It might be fun."

Robert looked at her and chuckled, leading her down the hall once again. "No. As enjoyable as it would be, it wouldn't be right. Unless of course, he had been tonight's spook."

Reaching her bedroom door, Robert kissed her cheek and dropped her hand, murmuring a goodnight. But Cora gripped his hand again and turned to face him, looking up at him through lowered lashes. He didn't usually spend the night with her, but she had been able to convince him to stay on occasion. And, after the evening they had had, she was determined it was going to be one of those nights even if she had to use every feminine wile in her arsenal.

"Stay with me," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "I don't want to sleep alone."

To her surprise and elation, he immediately agreed.

"Just let me put this in my dressing room," he said, holding up the doll and ignoring its mewl. "Unless you want to keep it in your room."

"Certainly not," she answered with a smile. "I'll see you in a few minutes."
Robert pressed a kiss to her forehead and continued towards his dressing room.

Sighing softly, Cora entered her room. The air was chilled and she noticed that the fire was down to its last embers. Making her way to the fireplace, she picked up the poker and stirred the ashes until they relit. Shadows sprang forth, but she merely smirked at them, no longer afraid for they had all been a product of her imagination…

The corners of her mouth turned down as she remembered the shadow she had seen when they first came upstairs. That most definitely wasn't a conjured image nor was it the dog.

After a few moments, she heard the dividing door click open. Turning her head, she watched as Robert entered and shuffled over to the bed, draping his dressing gown on a chair as he passed by. He gave her a curious look and Cora left her place by the fire, padding over to the bed. Flicking back the blankets, they slid into bed, adjusting until they were directly next to each other. With her thoughts still consumed, Cora fussed with her half of the bedclothes while Robert began to shuffle down to sleep.

"Robert," she began shyly, after a moment. There was no way she was going to sleep, it was weighing too heavily on her mind. "What about the shadow?"

He halted his movements and looked over at her, brow furrowed. "What shadow?"

"When we came upstairs, there was one moving down the hall."

"Don't tell me you believe in ghosts now," chuckled Robert.

"No, I just…" She paused, trying to find the right words. "It was just strange, that's all. And it definitely wasn't Hathor."

Robert stared at her silently. Cora looked away, her shoulders slumping as heat radiated from her cheeks.

"Forget it, Robert. I'm just being silly," she murmured, shifting away from him. "It's late, we should get some sleep."

She turned onto her right side and moved to lay down, but his hand wrap around her forearm, stopping her. Cora turned her head and looked over at him with a creased brow.

"No, I think you have a point," he said, pulling her over to him. "Whatever it was, it couldn't have been Hathor."

"Then what could it have been?" she asked, her head cocked to the side.

"Maybe it really was the ghost." Robert slid closer to her, positioning himself slightly behind her. His arms snaked around her middle and pulled her against his chest. He placed his lips by her ear and continued in a whisper, "Roaming the halls…seeking…searching…"

Cora bit her lip and grinned at the mischievous lilt in Robert's voice. An entirely different kind of gooseflesh developed all over her skin as he proceeded to murmur in her ear, his arms continuing to slowly tighten around her.

"…looking for its next victim…its next target…" He pressed a soft kiss to the space right below her ear. "Hoping this one will surrender…"

"You seem to know an awful lot about it for someone who claims to not believe in ghosts," Cora whispered, surprising herself with the evenness of her voice.

"Didn't I tell you?" he chuckled darkly, his breath tickling her neck. "I am the ghost."

Cora turned her head, her gleaming eyes catching his, a smirk twisting her lips. "Oh, really?"

"Mm-hmm," he murmured, nuzzling her face.

Cora leaned forward, intent on bringing her lips to his. But he pulled back so that there was only a hairsbreadth between them, his eyes glittering in the faint traces of firelight. Warmth flooded her under the intensity of his gaze and Cora was certain she was red from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. She could feel his breath on her cheeks and if he didn't kiss her soon, she was sure she would explode.

"Do you surrender?" whispered Robert.

"Yes," she breathed just as his lips crashed onto hers.