Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97229 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97229 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Empty.
I got another strange tickle of a sensation, and it still took me aback, despite the fact I should be getting used to them by now.
“Is Frederick really taking that empty glass to the bathroom with him?” I whispered to Hans.
“Yes,” he whispered back. “Trust your instincts. Feelings not thoughts, remember?”
I let the tickle spin around inside me. Trust your instincts.
“What do you think is happening here?” Hans queried. “You wouldn’t have seen it before. We were very careful to hide it from view, and even the most observant people aren’t all that observant. But your instincts are heightening. View this as a tester of instincts. Say what comes into your head.”
“Is he, umm…”
I struggled to voice it out loud. In case I was wrong.
“You aren’t wrong,” Hans said. “Just speak it.”
“Is he bleeding for you? Into the wine glass?”
Hans smiled like I’d just won a competition.
“Your senses are indeed heightening. Very good, Katherine. That’s an excellent sign.”
An excellent sign of what, exactly?
The trapdoor thumped into my mind.
Luckily, the thumping was interrupted when Frederick arrived back at the bar with a fresh glass of merlot. I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed that before. It was plainly obvious that Eliza hadn’t, either. She handed us our freshly poured glasses, completely unaware.
She didn’t notice when Hans switched glasses with Frederick with a cheers. I joined in with them, amazed by the full scale of the association between them. Frederick was definitely a lot more than an accountant.
“Are you enjoying your new opportunity with the excellent Mr Weyer?” he asked me.
I nodded, with a genuine smile.
“Very much. It’s been quite a shocker of an experience so far, but a very good one.”
Hans squeezed my fingers again.
“She’s a very, very astute learner, and very inquisitive,” he told his friend. “We’re going to be visiting the Manor later.”
Frederick’s brows shot up as he sipped his merlot.
“The Manor? Really? That’s quite a sharp introduction.”
Hans nodded, with a proud look on his face.
“Yes, but I’m certain she can handle it.”
I wasn’t so sure I agreed with him when I saw the look pass between them. I felt utterly out of my depth.
A merlot or two would definitely help me.
I finished my first one quickly, and Eliza refilled my glass in an instant. My second turned to a third, and conversation flowed steadily with both with Hans and Frederick, and also between me and the people I used to refer to as sir when I was pouring their drinks. They chatted to me easily when they arrived at the bar, as though me being there was most natural thing in the world.
Hans hadn’t been lying when he said they liked me. I saw it in their eyes.
I felt it.
It went to show one thing, with crystal clarity. My life was definitely better suited to here than it was in Orcop. I didn’t belong in Orcop at all.
Hans cleared his throat and leant in to whisper something, no doubt reading my thoughts, but he didn’t get the chance.
I spun like I’d seen a ghost when the entrance door opened and the eccentric George Miller appeared.
“Oh my God,” I said to Hans, my eyes wide on his. “I thought George was… gone!”
I clapped my hands together. It was such a relief to see George there, and wow, there was a woman alongside him as he stepped inside.
“Is this a bring your partner night or something?” I said when I saw her.
I was so grateful that George had survived his planned death that I smiled up at Frederick.
“Thanks,” I whispered. “That’s amazing. I’m sure you must have had something to do with the turnaround.”
Only Frederick looked at me blankly.
“Thanks for what?” he asked, his gaze turning in the same direction as mine as George and his partner crossed the room.
There was no reaction from Frederick when he saw them. He shot a look at Hans and not at me.
“Is she seeing George?”
“I imagine so,” Hans replied.
He put a hand on my shoulder firmly, turning me towards him.
“What’s happening, Hans?” I whispered, my senses dawning.
Feeling, not thinking. Instincts. But no. No. It couldn’t be…
Hans leant in closer than ever. His lips were a ghost against my ear.
Which was fitting, wasn’t it? Given the words he was about to tell me…
Instincts. Instincts.
Feelings and whispers…
“George Miller is dead, Katherine. He died two nights ago. A terrible accident in his home. People will be so upset in here when they find out.”
My stare shot straight back to George as he took a seat at the other end of the bar from us. He waved and pointed me out to the woman at his side, both of them smiling happily.
It was insane.
George Miller was THERE, in crystal clear vision, but nobody else so much as caught sight of him, bustling around him like he didn’t exist.
“You can see him right there, can you?” Hans asked me, and I nodded.