Chapter 11: Collinwood

Amanda's Return

Amanda felt a comforting hand soothing her brow and she sighed. "Amanda? Are you OK? Amanda?" The voice slowly penetrated the fog filling her brain and she opened her eyes.

"Oh, sweetheart, we were so worried about you," Lee said, smiling tenderly at her.

"Wh. .. uh, what happened, Lee?"

'We don't know, honey. One moment you were fine and then all of a sudden you fainted. We've been trying to rouse you."

"How long was I out?" she asked.

Lee looked to David who glanced at his watch and answered her, "Almost ten minutes, Amanda."

"Are you sure? Only ten minutes? No, I must have been out longer than that. I've been gone for three days."

"What are you talking about, Amanda?" Lee asked.

She sat up on the couch and took in the concern of the group facing her. "I mean I was gone for three days, Lee. During the séance . . ."

"Wait a minute; what séance?"

"The séance we had to contact the spirit of Daphne, Lee," she answered him in exasperation.

"Who?" he asked.

"Daphne! The ghost who resembles me. Why don't you know what I'm talking about? What's going on here?" She looked to Barnabas for help. "Barnabas, you told us the story of Daphne, who lost her first husband in a shipwreck. Then, she remarried and her presumed dead husband returned. She killed herself by jumping from Widow's Hill. We had a séance to contact her spirit."

Barnabas appeared surprised saying, "I'm sorry, Amanda, but I don't recall telling you any such story."

"Are you telling me you've never heard of Daphne?"

"Oh no, on the contrary; I know the woman you're speaking of, but all your details don't match. She didn't die at Widow's Hill. She lived a long and happy life. You know, I believe her portrait is hanging in the main hallway upstairs."

Amanda stood up and walked to the doorway. "Let me see her," she demanded. Barnabas led the group to the portrait hanging on the wall.

Caroline studied it for a few minutes before declaring, "Amanda's right, Daphne does look like her. Don't you agree, Burke?" she asked her husband.

"I remember looking at this portrait when I was a kid. Even though she's smiling, I always sensed a deep sadness, a melancholy in her soul," David added.

Barnabas nodded. "It's said she never got over giving up one love for another. Although she made peace with her decision to stay with Jonas, she never stopped loving Ian."

For several minutes, the small group clustered around Daphne's picture, but eventually, they turned away and one by one walked back downstairs, leaving Lee and Amanda alone.

"It's all changed," Amanda whispered.

"What?"

"It's all changed. Lee, what made you single me out at the train station?"

"What?" He had long ago stopped wondering how her mind worked.

"What made you stop me? There were hundreds of people you could have asked, yet you picked me.  Why?"

"I was running for my life, Amanda. I needed to hand off the package to keep it safe. You were there."

"I wasn't the only one there, Lee. Why me?"

"What are you getting at?"

She looked back at the portrait of Daphne, then back at Lee. "No matter how many lifetimes it takes, you will be mine."

"Huh?"

She gave her husband a big smile and said, "Nothing, Lee," before throwing her arms around him and pulling his head down to hers for a long satisfying kiss.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Lee said, "I don't think I'll ever understand you, honey."

"That's what keeps our marriage exciting, sweetheart. That and destiny," she added before initiating another kiss. As her lips met Lee's, Amanda was vaguely aware, at the very periphery of her consciousness, of the soft trill of laughter and a whispered sigh of contentment.

THE END!