Disclaimer: Crimson Peak belongs to Guillermo del Toro and The Lodgers belongs to Brian O'Malley.

Summary: Sean Nally was supposed to die that fateful night when he tried to help Rachel escape her fate. He was supposed to be the price of her freedom. So why and how did he find himself in Allerdale Hall, far from home, serving the Sharpes?

Author's note: Please note that my first language is not English, it's French. If you find any mistakes or weird sentence, let me know, so I can better myself. While I know I am almost fluent and while I do read after myself and use Grammarly to help, sometimes, a mistake can pass by.

Entwined Souls

Chapter 8

Thomas had screamed for help. William and another man arrived and helped him, carrying Sean to his bedroom. The baronet noticed the Irishman seemed to get paler by the minute and from the discrete pearls of sweat on his forehead, he seemed to have a fever as well. And it couldn't be because of an infection due to the clay. His wounds had closed up perfectly, leaving a thin scar that would fade with time. That could mean only one thing in his mind:

Lucille was poisoning the man.

Sleep issues, apparent migraine, fainting... Those were symptoms Margaret had experienced before she passed away, murdered by her afternoon tea. However, he was a bit surprised by how quickly it seemed to work on Sean. Usually, the victims didn't faint before they had started to cough up blood and from what he knew, he hadn't experienced that. And it couldn't be due to a weaker organism because of his near-death experience, he had recovered from that. The only thing that came to mind was the possibility of Sean having poor health but again, he had shown nothing of the sort. Unless he managed to hide it from them.

"What's going on here?"

He turned around, seeing Lucille near the door, Rachel on her heels. The young woman paled as soon as her eyes fell upon her friend's lifeless form and she entered right away, making her way by his side. His sister stood there, surprise painted on her face. Genuine surprise. Thomas knew her well enough to decode her facial expressions. He started to doubt his logic. What if Lucille hadn't poisoned Sean at all? What if the young man was simply ill like anyone could be from time to time? No, it had been too sudden!

"Sean lost consciousness while we were having a chat." Thomas explained. "From what we know, it seems he had a rough time getting true sleep these days."

"The poor dear." She said, faking a saddened look for the employees. "I'll have a look at him. If I can't do anything, then, we'll have no other choice than calling the doctor."

"I'll watch over him tonight." Rachel immediately volunteered.

"Thank you, my dear." Lucille replied

As the men went out, Thomas took Lucille somewhere private and whispered angrily:

"Did you poison him?!"

Her startled look fed his mind. Was it possible she had nothing to do with this?

"Of course, I didn't!" She answered. "I would have told you if I did! After all, I promised you I wouldn't harm him!"

"He's under your watch."

"Yes, because he saw us! But right now, he is true to his word! Nothing led me to believe he was selling us out!"

"He has the symptoms Margaret showed!"

"I chose my poison so the symptoms would pass for an illness! Seriously, Thomas, how can you be so dense? I told you I'd leave him in peace!"

"I simply can't believe he just fell ill like that! You don't faint like that because you have a few roughs nights in a row!"

"Believe what you will but I didn't spice his tea up!"

He sighed.

"I'm sorry."

She smiled at him.

"Don't you worry. I understand your logic. But you are right, something is off about that man."

"Don't tell me you wished he died in the clay or by the grace of your shovel?"

"I actually don't mind him. He doesn't take too much space. I'll try and see what he has."

Rachel had taken the opportunity by the horns. Lucille busy with Sean's diagnosis, she managed to sneak out. There was something on her mind, a theory she needed to prove. When she was by Sean's side, while Lucille was told what had happened, she had heard a voice. A ghastly, rough yet familiar voice. And judging from everyone around her, she had been the only one to hear it. Sean's was ice cold to the touch. It reminded her of her brother's.

"Sean arrived here through the clay tanks. He said he was drowning under the manor, he heard a voice and he was here the second after. And from what he told me, the voice he heard sounds familiar to the one I have heard."

Her brain was working fast. Her ancestors had been banished to Loftus Hall from Allerdale. Was it possible the two estates could be linked by the water underneath them? Was it how Sean arrived in England? Because the two were connected? If so, how? She went to the library where she searched for traces of Francis and Mary Sharpe, about their banishment.

"What are you doing here?" Thomas asked

She almost jumped, surprised.

"The medicine books aren't on this shelf." He added

"I was trying to find out more about our parentage." She explained, feeling playing the honesty card was the better way to get out of this.

"You're trying to keep your mind occupied." He said

She stared at her feet.

"I get that." He continued with a kind smile on his lips. "I know it seemed scary for you. Sean is your friend. He will get better, I'm sure of it."

She nodded.

"I'll leave you to your research then."

He left and she kept going. After a while, she found an inventory of what the twins had been allowed to take from Allerdale before going to Ireland. One item was particularly strange:

A phial filled with some of the red clay that belonged to the clay tanks.

Next to this, a mention: To remind themselves where they come from and what they lost.

She gathered her thoughts. There was indeed a phial in the attic but it was empty. And, in their family, they never really spoke of their past, just the rules, then the curse would hit them as soon as the parents died. In other books, she found traces of the pieces of information the spy placed by George Sharpe sent to his master. Francis and Mary had twins themselves. The twins ended up repeating the sin of their parents, getting pregnant as well. Their parents murdered the staff who tried to have their daughter miscarry and sent the bodies in the lake to drown. Once certain their babies and upcoming grandchild would be well, burdened by the murders they had committed, they killed themselves together, drowning themselves in the lake, to join their victims. As for the spy himself, from what she read a few lines down, after this, he was allowed to stay in County Wexford and married.

"Maybe... Maybe Francis and Mary emptied it in the lake when they arrived! That must be it! They certainly infused the lake with the clay! For them, it was just something to have a bit of Allerdale with them forever. But the repeated sin, the murders, it triggered the curse! The water became a link between the two houses. This is why the cellar was flooded and filled with creatures. Lust and blood were the nails in the coffin that Loftus Hall became! The rules were cruel derivatives of the orders Francis and Mary were under. Sean must have drunk some water while he was under the manor! He... He could be cursed himself, haunted by one of the ghosts! They might have released him but who knows what punishment their twisted minds came up with!"

She kept reading and her heart sank when she saw the man's name:

Wyatt Nally.

She wondered if Fate had a dark sense of humour or if it was just cruel.

Sean certainly was a descendant of Wyatt.

And now, she had a theoretical motive.

Sean certainly drank some of the water as he drowned, was sent here because she was saved and someone pleaded for him. Thanks to the links created by her ancestors' sin and the infused clay, he found himself banished in England just like the first set of twins was banished to Ireland. And one way or another, they certainly knew whose blood he had running through his veins. Were they trying to punish Wyatt through him?

"I am the death of him..."

When Sean opened his eyes, the moon was high in the sky. In an armchair near him, Rachel had fallen asleep. On the nightstand, a bowl filled with cold water and a cloth. Was she keeping an eye on him? He didn't deserve it. As soon as he thought that, an excruciating pain came back, burning his temple. He bit his lip, trying his hardest not to wake Rachel up.

"You are a coward!" The voice he had heard before exclaimed

"Who are you?" He managed to whisper

He blinked as something was forming in front of his eyes, blurry and dark. But soon enough, it took a human form, the appearance of someone he had encountered before:

Edward Sharpe, Rachel's twin brother.

"You're... You're Rachel's brother..."

"And you are the man she wanted to whore herself for so she could escape the curse."

"Rachel isn't a whore!" He hissed

"No. She isn't."

He wanted to get up but all the strength he had vanished.

"You are a coward. You are finally reunited and you want to break her heart!"

"It's the last thing I want to do to her!"

"Then why are you thinking about leaving her? You love her and yet, you want to push her away. I should have let you drown down there!"

He blinked.

"You... You were the voice who..."

"Yes, I'm the one who pleaded my ancestors to set you free! They told me Rachel was saved, that she'd certainly come home in England! I begged them to send you there so she would not be all alone in a strange land! You were ready to die for her but now, you don't want her anymore?!"

"If you are spying on my thoughts, then you know why!"

The ghost grabbed him by the throat and pushed as hard as he could.

"I could kill you right now, you know! But that would leave Rachel all alone with those freaks I don't trust! Your ancestor spied on my family to prevent our sin from going public! We paid enough for it! Now, it's your turn! You helped in destroying our world! And the only way for you to redeem yourself now is to do as I say: Your life is in Rachel's hands! You are her slave if not mine! You will protect her or die trying to! She gets to decide if you two are separated or not: You aren't relevant, you don't matter, so you shut up and you obey!"

Sean could feel his lungs burning.

"I thought you were pure-hearted, like she is, hence why you two hit it off so easily! If you are just like the others, I don't see why I waste my time with you and why I don't kill you on the spot."

Edward saw him mouthing something. He managed to read it.

If you kill me, you will break Rachel's heart and she will be defenceless!

The ghost saw his sister moving.

"Do not fail me again! And keep quiet about me!" He growled before he vanished

Sean gasped for air and started to cough. Rachel woke up instantly and helped him sitting down before she offered him a glass of water.

"You should go to bed..." He managed to say

"For once in my life, I'm not forced to be in bed by midnight's bell." She joked. "I don't mind, really. Just rest. I'm right by your side."

She gently put her hand on his forehead. The fever hadn't died but it felt slightly weaker. He closed his eyes, exhausted. It wasn't until he was completely asleep that she finally noticed something strange on his body:

Red marks around his neck, fresh, burning to the touch, as if someone had tried to murder him.

No one had entered the room, she was sure of it. It confirmed her fears, someone was haunting Sean! She adjusted the sheets around his shoulders, hoping he was warm enough.

"I don't know if you can hear me." She whispered. "But whoever you are, show yourself and face me! I'm the last heiress of Loftus Hall, the last carrier of the sin Francis and Mary committed! Leave Sean alone and fight me instead!"

The sound of the wind was the only answer she got. She sipped the now cold tea Lucille had brought her earlier.

This was going to be a long night.

To Be Continued