Quirk: Read Outside the Lines

The Festival

Chapter 1

Her fingers touched the necklace as her eyes wandered to the star-studded Vermont sky. She'd come home.

"What a long ride," her husband of seventeen years said.

Dagny glanced at him. Time had added pounds around his midsection and lines to his face while taking away the hair on his head. He seemed shorter in the darkness, a toad squatting amid the leaves. She turned back to study the lavish night. "Six hours from New York City."

"You look beautiful in the moonlight," he told her. "Exactly like the day we met."

"Thank you." It was true. As much as he'd aged, she'd retained her youthful appearance. "I'm so happy you were receptive to coming here."

Growing older and nearing retirement had been important considerations when the couple decided to abandon the city for a fresh start in her ancestral home. Hopewell, Vermont, had called her back.

"Do you want to unpack now or wait until tomorrow?" Ron moved close and put a hand around her tiny waist.

"Let's leave it." Taking one last look at the sheltering sky, she led him inside, the balcony door banging shut. There was much to be done on the estate, but a caretaker, an outsider who wasn't privy to the mansion's history, had managed the premises throughout the years.

Following her husband into the bedroom, she noted his wrinkled khaki pants before enduring his long, meticulous nightly routine. When he was done, she entered the bathroom to brush the chestnut curls that fell to her mid-back and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Clad in only a t-shirt and shorts, she slept soundly for the first time in years.

His snoring woke her the next morning. She slipped from under the blankets, walked across the wide-planked wooden floors, and opened the window. The day dawned bright but chilly. Ron shifted in the bed toward the now empty spot. She heard him rustling with the sheets trying to find her. When he couldn't, he sat and squinted, peering around the room.

"There you are." He patted the bed. "Let's plan the day."

Silhouetted by the window, she stretched her arms above her head but didn't move closer. "Do you want a tour around the house and grounds? You've visited a couple of times, but I'm not sure you've seen the entire estate."

"I remember the mansion. It's large and foreboding."

"It's not foreboding. It was most pleasant to grow up in."

He snorted. "Sure."

She detested when he did that. "Do you want a tour or not?"

"I do, but breakfast and a shower are first. We should go into town after that to get supplies. I need my soy milk. My stomach's been off since yesterday."

"How about some tea? I'll make you my special blend."

"I'd prefer coffee. I'm not sure herbs and berries help."

"For me?" She moved close, sat on the bed, and kissed him with honeyed breath.

"Anything for you." He ran his fingers along the soft skin of her arm, up her shoulder, and along her collarbone, where they caressed the vial hanging from a leather string. "Still wearing it even now that you're back home?"

"I never take my necklace off, but I might be persuaded to lose some of my clothes."

His fingers met her cheek and angled her face to his. It took a while for the couple to reach the kitchen.

Chapter 2

After breakfast, they toured the mansion. The top level contained six large bedrooms and the master where they resided. The main floor rambled, additions having been built throughout the years. A spacious living room with a large deck overlooked endless trees. A hot tub perched at the edge by the stair leading down to a manicured lawn. Beyond that spread a rock wall and infinite woods. Her family had done well in the logging business, and it showed.