Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)
    The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)
    The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)
    Ebook272 pages3 hours

    The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)

    By Merabeth James

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The salt scented wind tugged at their hair, their clothing, and tossed the long grass about them in undulating waves. Overhead, gulls circled calling plaintively to each other as they rode the air currents with the sun glinting off their white wings.
    It was beautiful and peaceful both Ravynne sisters thought with an inward sigh, but neither forgot even for a moment where they were. Danger lurked in that tall grass...in the man beside them...and most of all in the ancient haunted manor with its restless dead that stood on its rise above the sea where a man scarred in both body and soul reigned.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMerabeth James
    Release dateAug 1, 2021
    ISBN9781005630140
    The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)
    Author

    Merabeth James

    There are six things important to me...well, most important to me: To love unconditionally, to always keep a sense of 'wonder', to always be kind, to find joy in simple things, to never take myself too seriously, and to make sure I don't leave this earth with a list of "if only I hads".I've taken many 'leaps of faith' in my time and, so far, have landed on my feet or, in one case, on a dilapitated houseboat with my dog, and a lot of enthusiasm. I named her 'Sanctuary Annie' and hoped for the best. I knew nothing about boats, couldn't swim and wondered how long she would stay afloat. In the middle of the night, when my dog jumped up to join me on the antique Victorian bed I had moved on board, I would check to see if he was wet, knowing, if so, we were both in big trouble. But Sanctuary Annie hung in there, even surviving a hurricane, when others around her were not so fortunate.Living in the small marina, with the sea as my back yard, I found a profound sense of peace..and the love of my life....my Jim, captain of 'Wings', a beautiful racing sloop that flies across the water, when the wind fills her sails.I often think how much I would have missed out on, if I hadn't taken that leap of faith and followed my heart. Life is meant to be lived and I intend to keep on doing just that.

    Read more from Merabeth James

    Related to The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)

    Related ebooks

    Thrillers For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      An ever-fixed MARK

      Nov 1, 2023

      An ever-fixed MARK
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Freedom

      Aug 6, 2020

      Freedom
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Partners

      Sep 15, 2018

      Enter,” she says, and is obeyed. He’s taller than before, or perhaps he only seems taller now that he’s here, in the house. She walks behind him, moving toward the living room, and wonders if he might be too tall for her house. It soon dawns on her t

      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Haunted

      Sep 27, 2023

      Haunted
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The King’s passion

      Aug 11, 2021

      The King’s passion
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The King’s passion

      Aug 11, 2021

      The King’s passion
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Learning To Fly

      Oct 5, 2023

      Learning To Fly
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Book Extract

      Oct 24, 2020

      Book Extract
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      BROKEN Wings

      Nov 25, 2020

      BROKEN Wings
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Summer Of Love

      Jun 22, 2022

      Summer Of Love
      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Wings

      Sep 1, 2023

      “BUT WHAT MUST I give you in return?” I ask, suspicious. “Nothing,” she replies. “Well. Next to nothing.” She has offered me wings, beautiful, silvery wings. And I am not mad, so I intend to accept. But I’m also not a fool. I touch a feather. Delicat

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Coven

      Oct 2, 2024

      The Coven
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      First Date

      Jul 9, 2020

      First Date
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Small Tortoiseshell

      Mar 8, 2022

      Small Tortoiseshell
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Files Karina Machado

      Aug 24, 2020

      Karina Machado is a journalist, host of the podcasts Spirit Sisters and The Ghost Files, and the author of Spirit Sisters, Where Spirits Dwell and Love Never Dies, a series of non-fiction books exploring the extraordinary experiences of ordinary peop

      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      From The heart

      Oct 27, 2020

      Dear Sally My step daughter often feels spirits around her. The other day I was talking to her on Facetime and I thought her husband was standing behind her until she told me he was at work. She took a picture of some poles she was selling and later

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A WING AND a prayer

      Sep 28, 2021

      A raven saved my life Cate McMurray, 47, from West Midlands I ’d always known I was different. As a small child, I used to see and hear people who weren’t there. One day, I was playing hide ‘n’ seek with my two sisters, and tucked myself away in a cu

      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A New Beginning

      Mar 25, 2022

      A New Beginning
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Cricket Ceague

      Apr 1, 2019

      Penelope Berkeley, age 9 Mars Hill, NC Night had fallen, and Luna awoke from where she had been sleeping in a cornfield. She moved steadily through the stalks with barely a sound, keeping her eyes on the glittering glass rooftop of the greenhouse in

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      In The Spotlight: Your Writing Genre - Busting

      Apr 4, 2024

      What an inventive lot the WM writers proved themselves to be with the ‘Genre-busting' submission call! The response was terrific, with a postbag full of playful, off-the wall writing that read as if its creators had a gonzo riot mashing up elements f

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Wolf

      Nov 6, 2018

      The Wolf
      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Counselor of Chippewa Cabin

      Jun 26, 2020

      Counselor of Chippewa Cabin
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9)

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Phantom of Malverne Manor (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Thriller Book 9) - Merabeth James

      This book is entirely a work of fiction. All characters are entirely fictitious and do not represent any persons living or dead. Product, business, location names used remain the property of any all trademark holders and do not represent an endorsement or association of any kind, either expressed or implied.

      (copyright 2014 Elizabeth Repka all rights reserved)

      "We are each our own devil and we make this world our hell." Oscar Wilde

      The Phantom of Malverne Manor

      by

      Merabeth James

      PROLOGUE

      The small forest outside the wall grew quiet around them as he led her by the hand deep into the moon-drenched shadows under the ancient oaks. There are those that believe dryads or wood nymphs inhabit these trees that were planted centuries ago by the original owner, he told her attempting to lighten the mood which had grown increasingly tense since they’d left the old manor behind and stepped into the darkness with just a lantern and the moon to light their way.

      I think I’m beginning to be afraid of you…of this whole thing, she murmured suddenly very aware of how utterly alone they were as she stopped in her tracks and looked back over her shoulder at the postern gate he’d closed behind them. Where are you taking me?

      To a special place I have created just for you because I know how much you love the night sky with the moon and stars shining down on you. My own choice would not be at all suitable, and I so very much want to please you, my love. Everything is in readiness, Emma. You want me. I know you do. Don’t play coy now and spoil the mood. Look around you. Don’t you find the dark woods exciting? Imagine all the creatures watching us from the shadows.

      I want to go back. Now!

      See the clearing just ahead? That’s where we’re going, and it’s really too late to turn back. Give me a chance to please you, my darling. I promise you won’t regret it. You love me. I know you do. You told me you’d be willing to do whatever I wanted, remember?

      I can’t imagine I ever told you that, and even if I did I’ve changed my mind, she replied but he was right about one thing. She did love him, but what they were about to do suddenly felt way wrong for some reason she couldn’t begin to explain.

      They paused at the edge of a moonlit glen where a striped tent glowed from within like a Japanese lantern. Come, Emma, he coaxed pulling her up against him. All is ready and waiting. I have duplicated a scene from one of those romance books you are so fond of reading solely for your pleasure. At least have a glass of champagne with me if you don’t want to go inside. We’ll count the stars and look at the moon together. It’s exceptionally large tonight, don’t you think? You could almost touch it.

      It’s a hunter’s moon, she murmured as a shiver raced up her spine. My uncle used to track and kill under that. I’m really cold and….

      I will warm you, Emma…make you burn, he told her. Sweeping her up in his arms, he murmured softly the lines he had memorized from one of her books. I insist ‘on teaching you what it feels like to be thoroughly and completely…loved. Two halves of one whole united in passion with only the moon as our witness’.

      She struggled briefly but it was no use. He was far stronger…his grip unrelenting…and then there was that part of her that didn’t want him to stop. His arms around her…his scent…the thud of his heart all sent her pulses racing. Her body was responding in ways that were unfamiliar to her. Ways that frightened her and excited her at the same time. She wanted him to take her. Do what he would to her. She was more than willing to hate herself in the morning if the price was a fraction of the strange feelings that were invading her body.

      He seemed to sense what she was thinking as he smiled wickedly to himself then carried her across the clearing to the tent where he stepped inside and looked around. Everything was in readiness just has he had ordered. Tall ornate candelabras jutted up from the floor that had been strewn with red rose petals like drops of blood their fragrance almost cloying in the still air. He placed her among the pillows and thick, soft furs that were strewn on top of an oriental rug then rose to his feet.

      Candlelight reflected in his half-hooded eyes as he stripped slowly. You are very beautiful lying there before me, Emma. A feast for all my senses.

      Mesmerized, she watched until he stood before her fully aroused and sanity came rushing back. She had never seen a man naked before…never that part anyway or in that condition and fear wiped out her burgeoning lust. Please. This is all wrong. I mean…just look at you. How could you….I….anyway I want to leave now, she stammered as she struggled to rise, but it was hopeless, and she knew it even before he dropped down and covered her with his hot body.

      I won’t hurt you, Emma, he murmured huskily feeling the rapid thud of her heart against his chest…the scented heat rise from her body. Am I such a monster? Do you find me repugnant?

      Yes, she whispered, but he knew she lied. She wanted him. How could she not? He had taken such pains with her…far more than any of the others. His body had craved her flesh for weeks and ‘romancing’ her virgin heart had taken time, but it had been necessary. She must be willing or it wouldn’t work though taking her here was risky. Not that he cared at the moment. All that mattered was satisfying the now painful ache that burned through him with searing intensity.

      She pushed at him weakly feeling the hard, urgent press of his arousal as his teeth and tongue explored her throat while his hand found its way inside her clothes. Fleetingly, her mother’s words returned to haunt her. Remember what happened to your aunt and don’t ever be stupid where men are concerned. A bubble of laughter worked its way up her throat. She had been more than stupid and now she was here, and there was no turning back. She had seen it in his eyes. Could feel in it in his touch. Nothing would stop him now.

      His bite deepened, and she heard him groan. He was a vampire and she would be an ‘undead’ and how would her mother feel about that? And then quite suddenly and unexpectedly she didn’t care as her body responded to the things he did with his mouth…with his hands. She didn’t protest as he pulled off her thin lace panties impatiently and forced her still rigid thighs apart with one knee. You promised not to hurt me, she murmured shakily as she looked up into his passion darkened blue eyes that gleamed with feral intensity. A hunter’s moon, she thought, and I am the prey.

      Then you are willing? he demanded hoarsely.

      Heart hammering wildly, she nodded mutely. White teeth flashed in a wicked grin before he murmured something she could not hear. A moment passed as a shiver worked its way through his muscular frame, and his eyes turned night black. With a howl of triumph he thrust into her hard….mercilessly…and she screamed in sudden pain. He drove into her fiercely again and again and her body began to respond despite her terror. The tearing pain had gone and in its place was a growing intense pleasure that was building and building when, suddenly, a strange tingling began to spin its way through her entire being. A drawing…pulling sensation she couldn’t decide was painful or pleasurable. It almost felt like she was liquefying and then….

      He looked down at her as his release found him, and howled again like a wild animal as a white, fog-like substance poured from her into his skin…his nose…his mouth. With a satisfied grunt, he rolled away from the still body beneath him and rose to his feet. She had been just as delicious as he’d thought she’d be. Almost worth the effort. Pity in a way. She had been useful around the place. Now he would have to find a replacement and that was always a tedious process.

      In some ways, it had all been way too easy, he thought with a sigh as he gazed down at her lifeless body that looked thoroughly emptied like all the rest in his collection. She’d been an innocent delivered right to his doorstep like a Christmas package. A little virgin willing to do anything for him until the very last when he almost thought she would deny him his due after all the trouble he had taken to set the perfect seduction scene.

      He sighed again. Not that she troubled herself to notice. Perhaps the tent had been a bit over the top and the rose petals rather cloying and then to top it off he had dropped his trousers like a schoolboy in heat instead of taking the time to undress her slowly uncovering her inch by luscious inch. Not at all good form. Demonstrated a rather pathetic lack of control he hadn’t shown with the others. But then she’d aroused him in a way he’d not experienced before and for the life of him he couldn’t name why.

      Dressing quickly, he blew out the candles without another glance in her direction and strode out into the waiting night. He would have Devlan tidy up for him when he returned from the mainland though he would be pissed. He’d warned him off Emma. Had reminded him, when he saw where his interest lay, that the island was a dependency of the UK and the authorities would come knocking if she went missing. But no one had caught him yet, nor Devlan for that matter, and he’d been at it for a very, very long time.

      He smiled to himself as he followed the moonlit path back to the manor humming softly under his breath some half remembered tune that made him both happy and sad for no discernible reason.

      CHAPTER ONE

      Pack your bags and come out of there, you little fur beast, or I’m going to do something to you that you’ll seriously regret though I haven’t exactly figured out what that will be just yet, Meg warned the groundhog hiding under the tool shed as she knelt on the ground peering into the dark hole where he had dragged his latest garden find.

      Why not feed him some of your casserole, Charlie suggested from just behind her.

      A startled Meg leaped to her feet. Don’t do that!

      Do what?

      Sneak up on me like that. I was trying to coax him out of his burrow.

      By threatening him?

      Well, I didn’t really mean it. For a ground hog, he’s really kind of cute when he isn’t tearing up my garden for two years in a row…ate all my snapdragons lending a new meaning to the term ‘garden salad’…and what was that remark about my casserole supposed to mean?

      Charlie laughed. Let’s just say it wasn’t one of your best efforts.

      If it had been left up to you, we would have been eating P&J sandwiches for supper since it’s Agnes’ day off. You’ve been holed up in your tower room all day finishing up ‘the last bits’ on your book and yelling at me every time I checked to see if you were still alive in there and not flopped over your desk.

      As in every five minutes, or did it just seem like that?

      Well, excu-u-use me for bringing you coffee and blueberry muffins…stale though they were…that happen to be your very favorite kind, and what are you doing out here if you’re so busy you can’t be bothered?

      Got a phone call that sort of took me by surprise. Remember the woman I told you about one who started me down my career path finding justice for women?

      Meg nodded. You told me she was like me, but never told me her name.

      Her name was Sandra Phelps…Sandy…a red head sprinkled with freckles and the best smile. Her sister, Susan, tracked me down through my editor. It seems her daughter, Emma, has disappeared and the authorities have turned up nothing in more than a year. She wants me to find out what happened to her and collect her personal belongings, which means another trip…another adventure…and I’m not sure if you’re ready so soon after what happened last time.

      Meg sniffed and offered a lopsided smile that dimpled her almost plump cheeks. Where to this time? Some exotic port of call with ancient castles and their horde of ghosts?

      An island off the coast of Wales. She was working there when she simply vanished. Working for a billionaire with some rather interesting quirks from what I read on the Internet after her call.

      Like killing women?

      Charlie smiled grimly. Perhaps. But he also has an interest…an obsession with the circus of all things. Seems he was raised by clowns until he was sixteen and reclaimed by a long lost uncle.

      Meg grimaced ruefully. And we both know by now how I feel about clowns. You do know he sounds certifiable already, and we haven’t even had the pleasure yet.

      One has to wonder how a boy raised by clowns became one of the wealthiest men in the world, Charlie mused thoughtfully. Not to mention one of the handsomest. Did you ever hear of Luther Mallory?

      Who hasn’t! Meg exclaimed in surprise. He was absolutely jaw dropping gorgeous until he was injured in some way though I don’t remember the details. He disappeared from the public after that, and I never heard what happened to him.

      According to the Internet, he’d bought the defunct circus he’d grown up with and revived it. Was traveling with it as an ‘escape from corporate life’ when a fire broke out, and he was badly burned about eight months ago. The extent of his injuries was never revealed, but it was rumored that major reconstructive surgery was unsuccessful. He retired from public appearances to an island he had bought some time before. Stays there exclusively now in a ruined manor house that was built sometime in the 17th century by an English madman who ended up hanging himself in one of the towers.

      Meg sighed. Sounds like another spooky old mansion to crawl around in, under, and over not to mention the fact that it’s an island with probable mad people on it of both the living and the dead variety. And why do we always end up near the sea…the usually seething, stormy sea though that may be a case of excessive alliteration? It almost seems like we’re trapped inside a Gothic novel and can’t get out.

      Charlie laughed. So it would seem and something you may have mentioned before. But why would we want out? Aren’t you having fun?

      Meg snorted loudly. Some fun. Last time you nearly died. Let’s just see what we have here so far, shall we? One undoubtedly haunted manor on an island cut off from all possible help with no cell phone signal and no electricity, so its candles and groping around in the dark. Not to mention the ride there in a small boat quite probably in rough weather with a storm rolling in and a full moon. And then there’s the mysterious, reclusive ‘phantom of the opera’ lurking about before you toss the circus element into the mix to add a bit of icing to this horror. There could be clowns there, Charlie. Leftovers from this circus who fancy island retirement.

      Charlie had to laugh. You do know you are being ridiculous.

      Probably but only a little bit. All of the aforementioned may be true up to and including the clown element.

      So does this mean you don’t want me to go?

      You have to do this, Meg told her with a wry grimace. We both know that, and you’re not doing it alone. Period. What’s the plan?

      Odds are getting on the island may be difficult to say the least. He sees no one. All his business interests have been turned over to his managers, and all public appearances made by this uncle of his, Devlan Mallory. A formidable character from what I read between the lines. No photos of him on the Internet that weren’t back of the head or fuzzy group shots, so I can’t tell you if ‘jaw dropping gorgeous’ runs in the family.

      And when do we begin our new adventure?

      Charlie smiled. As soon as I can find a way to get past Luther’s gate keeper.

      Devlan the formidable one?

      Yep, and then we’ll break the news to Agnes we’re leaving again.

      It’s not Agnes I worry about, Meg replied with a heavy sigh. She’s probably glad to have us out from underfoot. It’s Timmy and the other little ghosts who seem to actually miss having us around, and then there’s my poor Freddie who’s beginning to think I’m never here.

      Charlie’s own sigh was just as heavy. Agnes loves that dog, too, so you know she’ll look after him, and maybe this will be the last time we have to go rushing off somewhere.

      Yeah, right, Meg replied with a groan. Like that will ever happen.

      ***

      It was nearly a week before they were on a plane and headed towards London’s Heathrow Airport. After more than seven hours flying through a turbulent night during which Meg slept only fitfully as she worried about what they would find at the ‘bottom of the rabbit hole’, they grabbed a quick breakfast at the airport, searched out their rental car, and headed cross country.

      M 25 linked them to a busy six lane M 4 that took them past wide stretches of open fields, woodlands, towns and villages. Crossing the mile long suspension bridge that spanned the Severn River, they paid the toll and followed the stream of traffic into Wales. You can tell we just crossed the border from all these place names that are totally unpronounceable by this human tongue, Meg told Charlie as she studied the map in front of her.

      The miles sped by as they traveled on through the Brynglas tunnels at Newport…past the steel works at busy Port Talbot, and the heavily populated areas that hugged the foot of the mountains until Meg said, From this map, it looks like M4 sort of merges into A48 and then vanishes at a convenient place to stop. Costa Coffee and just ahead. I think.

      As it turned out, she was right. One large coffee and one hot chocolate with an almond croissant later, they were back on the road. Suddenly, Meg cried out, Look! Another historic something or other sign, and we haven’t stopped even once.

      Charlie cast a sideways glance at her sister and scowled. What do you call that thing we did not that many miles back?

      That was ages ago and mostly for your caffeine addiction with a pee break thrown in. Hardly a sightseeing stop unless you consider that old man in the back booth a ‘sight’. Not too many can pull off a red polyester leisure suit in this century unless it’s a scaled down Santa Claus with issues and when will we get another chance if we don’t stop some place and smell the castles? Not that they smell exactly though I imagine some do.

      Charlie sighed resignedly. "It’s still early, and we could stop…once…so pick your once carefully."

      Meg grunted and slid down in her seat as she studied the map spread across her lap. Looks like it’s going to be Picton Castle. According to this, it’s not too far off the highway if I’m reading this right.

      ‘Not too far’ proved to be farther than an impatient Charlie liked, but she didn’t share that with an excited Meg as they drove on into the countryside until the walls of a gray stone castle loomed before them. After paying their fees, they joined the group gathering in the enclosed courtyard for the tour and listened to their guide as she told them, The castle was built in the 12th century by William Picton. His descendants continue on here to the present day though their name has been altered to ‘Philipps’ over the centuries.

      Leading her audience inside, they followed her through room after room each with exquisite white painted mouldings, arched windows set in deep embrasures, marble floors, and period antiques. For your safety, we won’t be going down into the lower regions today. They are strictly off limits and not part of the tour, she informed them with a cherubic smile as she herded them through the service areas.

      Thankfully, Meg murmured. There are more than a few ghosts here and not the friendly kind, or I don’t think so since I can’t understand a word they are whispering and going down to the nether regions is asking for all kinds of trouble.

      Once outside again, a cafe on the grounds beckoned Meg. We haven’t had a real lunch yet, she told Charlie as she peered through the mullioned window.

      How about that almond croissant? her sister reminded her.

      Just took the edge off, Meg replied with a grin. We need real food though my sweet teeth never thought I’d be saying that.

      Charlie shook her head. I think Haverfordwest is the next town of any size. We can eat there. I want to get to our destination before it gets too late, and this stop of yours has already delayed us more than an hour.

      I don’t see what difference it makes if we eat here or there, and you can’t pronounce it either, can you? Meg asked with a touch of smug.

      Pronounce what? Charlie replied taken by surprise even though Meg’s non-sequiturs were commonplace.

      ‘Our destination’ as you just called it. The village where we’re headed. You wrote it down for me, so I could find it on the map which I haven’t been able to do so far, but I have yet to hear you actually say its name.

      Charlie grinned. We’ll get you fed then ask for directions from someone there.

      Nice attempt to dodge the issue, Meg told her with a sniff. "Admit it. Welsh is not compatible with either of

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1