Chapter Three: Family Dinner

"I just don't understand how the door could have snapped shut like that." Julia Tyler shuddered as she remembered the strange mishap that had sent her tumbling into the arms of Dr. Carlson. It was evening now, and the wealthy Dunwich clan was dining by candlelight in the ornately furnished parlor.

"Nothing to worry about, my dear," Mrs. Caroline Dunwich declared, noisily sucking the last bit of marrow from a heap of bones on her plate. "The damp New England weather does funny things to the doors and windows of this old house. It's constantly seeping into my poor old bones, no matter how warmly I wrap myself up. If only I could be young again, young again like you!"

"A swollen door frame wouldn't have kept a girl like Julia trapped for long, Aunt Caroline," Dr. Ben Carlson objected, giving the girl seated beside him an admiring glance. "If I hadn't come along in time she would have kicked that old door right off its hinges."

Laughter and approving looks from everyone at the table made Julia feel safe and well-protected. Dr. Carlson was just pouring her a glass of wine when Professor Henrietta Bradshaw spoke up.

"The Old North Tower is where Silas Dunwich murdered his wife, isn't it? It's where he tortured all those other girls, too. The ones who were falsely accused of witchcraft!"

"Ah, but Madge Tarleton really was a witch. She drained the life from all those young girls, seeking to regain her youth and beauty. So of course Silas had to intervene." Mrs. Dunwich gave Henrietta a smug look. The old lady in diamonds and pearls was head of the family, so she always spoke the last word on every subject.

"Mrs. Dunwich, are you a direct descendant of Silas Dunwich?" Julia asked, sipping her wine and starting to feel more at home.

"Hardly, my dear child." Caroline Dunwich smiled as she watched Julia lean back in her chair and drain the ruby-red liquid from her glass. "My grandmother was Ellen O'Flaherty, a nurse from Boston. She cared for old Arthur Dunwich until he died in 1922. And then she inherited everything, this house and all the grounds. He left it to her in the will, you see, just before he died."

"That's so sad. But in a way it's so incredibly romantic!" Julia's wine glass was empty. Her cheeks were flushed, and her dark blue eyes sparkled. She leaned forward, consumed with curiosity. "How did poor old Arthur die? Did your grandmother love him? Were they married? Did they have children?"

"Goodness!" The old woman's wrinkled features took on a look of bitter scorn. "You can't know much about New England, my dear girl, if you imagine the old Puritan families would ever intermarry with the Irish. We were immigrants and foreigners, and Catholics! To them we were the lowest of the low. Why, I can remember . . ."

Ben Carlson refilled Julia's empty glass and then lifted his own. "Aunt Caroline, let's forget the troubling and unpleasant past. Here's to Julia and the future!"

The old woman raised her glass as well. "Of course, Ben dear. You're such a charmer, aren't you? To Julia and the future!"

The next morning, instead of waiting for Julia in the family library, Professor Bradford greeted her assistant in the main hallway.

"You were quite a success last night," the older woman said, her shrewd gray eyes twinkling yet touched with a hint of jealousy. "Did you sleep well? No nightmares about the family witch trials?"

"No, I slept soundly and don't remember anything like that!" Julia felt like a fool. The sun was high and she had clearly overslept. "Do you need me to type up your notes from yesterday?"

"No need, I've already taken care of that." Professor Bradford laughed and patted Julia's cheek. "Don't worry! You're quite a smashing success as my assistant. But this morning while you were still asleep, Caroline Dunwich and I had our coffee together in the library. She suggested that a day off from deep historical research might do you good. The Dunwich family is planning a picnic. Would you enjoy a trip into town and a little shopping?"

"Oh, yes!" Julia couldn't resist giving her academic advisor a hug. The two women strolled outside together, with Professor Bradford joking away about picnics in freezing weather and even wrapping her arm around Julia's slender waist. The air really had turned rather chilly all of a sudden. But there was no cause for worry. The sun was shining, and a long and luxurious-looking black limousine was waiting to take them into town. And then Julia caught sight of the great big brute sitting behind the wheel, his huge paws impatiently beckoning to the two of them.

"Get in, ladies," Matthew grunted. "We've got a lot to do today."