"Jaimie, stop talking nonsense," Evette said lightly,

"I do not think it is nonsense," Erik said to her, and then he turned again to the young woman, "What else do they say?"

Jaimie considered for a moment, "They hear things coming from the rooms, and some have even said they have seen something moving around the house at night…"

"Oh honestly!" Evette exclaimed, "Are you trying to scare Monsieur Beaumont into leaving?"

"You may call me Erik," Erik said to Evette, "But I have to wonder…there is something about this house," Erik did not want to say that he heard things at night and did indeed believe that there was something in the house; these people most likely thought that he was mad already with out him saying he thought the house was haunted, "How many people have left this house?"

"Everyone leaves," Evette said, giving up the idea of shielding the knowledge from the new owner of the house, "We always come over to introduce ourselves, but usually they are gone already and it is just the estate manager here,"

Erik nodded; then saw Jaimie was staring at him and he realized that he had removed his hand from the side of his face and she could see him clearly. Erik moved frantically to cover himself again and he hated that he could not move out of the room without great pain,

"It is alright; you don't have to do that," Jaimie said sweetly, "My Father told me about your face, and it is not so bad really, not half as bad as the horse that died last summer; it had jumped the fence and we could not find it; when we did it was dead and some animal had picked apart its stomach, its guts were everywhere," Jaimie explained all this with enthusiasm to show she was not afraid of gruesome sights,

"Jaimie!" Evette scolded her daughter, "That is not proper,"

Erik grunted and turned away from the mother and daughter as best he could, "No, you are quite right Mademoiselle, to make the comparison between my face and rotting innards, they appear one in the same,"

Jaimie was distraught, she had been trying to show that she was not repulsed and that there were other things which could look much worse, but it seemed it had not worked and now Monsieur Beaumont was angry with her again,

"I did not mean it as an insult, Monsieur," Jaimie said apologetically,

Erik sighed, he knew what the girl had been trying to do and that he should not really be angry, but he could not change everything about himself at once,

They sat in silence until Elliot returned with the doctor. The next hour Erik spent in agony as the doctor worked on his leg; stitching up the deep cuts and extracting the wooden splinters,

"It is just you then, in the house?" The doctor asked Erik,

"Yes, I am alone here," He said, though he thought to himself that he was not really alone, not if you counted a ghost as a companion,

"I would prefer that you were not alone," The doctor continued, "Is there anyone you can have come and stay with you?"

"No," Erik said quickly, "There is no one,"

"He can stay with us," Jaimie suggested, again trying her best to be helpful,

"No," Erik said flatly, "I am going to stay here; I will be fine,"

The doctor sighed, "Try not to use your leg, if you can help it, and contact me immediately if you see that one of the cuts has become infected,"

Erik nodded, he was not worried about his injury; he had been hurt many times in his life and he knew how to take care of himself medically,

"We will check in on him," Evette assured the doctor as he gathered his things,

"That will not be necessary," Erik stated, trying to reassert his control over the situation,

"I think that is a good idea Evette," the doctor said as he left the room, ignoring Erik's complaint,

With the doctor gone the Davis family turned to their new neighbor,

"Do you need anything to eat?" Evette asked, "I could bring something over,"

"Really! I am fine," Erik insisted in a harsh tone, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself; I have done so for years; I am not hungry, and though I appreciate all the help you have given me today I must now insist that you leave,"

"Well…alright then," Elliot said slowly, sounding offended, "Have a good night," and he guided his family out of the house,

Erik closed his eyes and regretted his angry outburst; the Davis family had probably saved his leg and he had snapped at them as though they had been torturing him,

"and you wonder why you have no friends," Erik thought bitterly to himself,

Just then Jaimie came running back into the room,

"I just wanted to apologize again for what I said before about the horse…and about the ghost; I am sure it is not true! But I do want you to stay here," she spoke very quickly,

"Jaimie!" her father called her from outside,

"Coming!" she yelled back, "Good night Monsieur Beaumont!" she said to Erik as she ran back out of the room,

Erik had been so surprise when she ran back into the room he had sat up slightly, and now he lay back again against the dusty sofa; what an odd girl, Erik thought, and he wished that he had not turned down the offer of food; he was quite hungry,

Remembering the pie he had placed untouched on the floor earlier he picked up the plate and began to eat. It was quite good and Erik's regret at snapping at Evette increased with every bite.

Erik knew he should try not to be rude to people if he was going to stay in the house; but old habits die hard and he really hadn't even realized that he was being angry until it was too late.

Sleep took Erik not long after he finished his pie. As Erik lay on the sofa the shadows in the old house lengthened and slowly the light faded.

It was at this time when the house began to come alive. When night was covering the land and darkening the house the music room commenced its nightly ritual. It began; several notes ringing from the piano which was always in tune. Then, the music would grow louder and turn into a recognizable tune. There was something in the room, and it spread its influence throughout the whole house.

Everyone who had ever been in the house felt the eerie presence; the feeling that they were sharing the space with something or someone else.

Erik felt it too; but in a different way. As he lay on the sofa and heard the music in his sleep, he realized the initial fear he had felt was gone. Erik opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling;

He had always thought of himself as a ghost accidentally living in the human world where he did not belong. However, now that he was faced with a real ghost, Erik came to a conclusion which he had denied for many years; he was alive.

Erik thought about the room and instead of the fear it usually gave the inhabitants of the house, it gave Erik an uplifting feeling,

He was not alone in the house; he had always wanted someone to stay with him. He had wanted Christine to stay with him; to be his wife and go for walks with him on Sundays; but he would never have that.

But I have something, Erik thought, I have this ghost as a companion, and with this thought Erik closed his eyes again. He did not feel that the sprit in the house hated him; in fact he felt quite the opposite, and perhaps this situation could work; Erik had never been successful at relationships with the living; maybe he could practice on the dead first.