Haunted.| ✓

9

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In the heat of such a colossal mess that has been hit on the Livinggood mansion like a tempest; they momentarily forgot about Katie vanishing into the night; giving full focus on Patrick who was showing signs of insanity, scaring the household. The briefly forgot about Katie because they knew how brilliant a girl Katie was and she wouldn't do something rash. Thus, they put their focus on poor Patrick. 

Should they bring in the family doctor? Or take him to a psychiatrist? What will people say if they come to know about it?

People were such beautiful storytellers that Conard had always warned them to be careful not to mess around the wrong folk. Apparently, the kinfolk neighboring Livinggood mansion claimed the mansion to be haunted which was just a pile of hogwash gossip, a very drunk rival merchant scattered on the eve of Fall Ball at Conrad's resident back when he was healthy and happy feet with his wife.

Now, that Patrick was in a state where they couldn't deny him being mentally conflicted with the wild-eyed screams and incoherent sentences, Julian and Peter drowned their sorrows in a bottle of good old scotch.

Julian downed another amber colored liquid-pill down his throat, loving the instant buzz and warmth coiling through his body. But as the momentary warmth fizzed to normalcy, Julian was once again agitated. Peter stared into space without touching his drink that had a fine sheen of perspiration on the glass, melting down into a weird circle on the table.

"What do we do?" Julian asked Peter who was lost in his own world. "Peter..."

"Huh..." Peter jumped from his seat, striking the glass with the back of his hands from the table. It dropped with a thud, staining the cream colored carpet. Both of them looked at the stain for so long. At long last, Julian manned up to speak his mind.

"I fear if the history is repeating, Oh Peter..." Julian said looking at the stain in the orangish glow of the chandelier.

"Speak no more; nothing of that sort will happen. That was Nana's folktale in making us fill our tummy pouch. Eh! That was all made up fiction." Peter being the comedian of the house, never missed the chance to strike a joke; but right now, it fell dryly.

"Peter, be serious. I do fear..."

"Oh my God!" Peter howled and got up at once from the armchair in the main study. "I have forgotten about Katie." That brought Julian from his delusions and set out at once to find Emily and Lucy.

The girls were obediently waiting by the bed of Patrick for him to wake up since Lucy had a clear doubt in her mind that Patrick did say something familiar to them but didn't quite catch what it exactly suggested.

"Lucy, Emily... um, what about Katie..." Julian mumbled in fear, looking at the sleeping Patrick.

"We did take around to where she must have taken Sally but Rocky was off the sent soon, and we rode in circles behind him. We don't know where Katie wandered to." Lucy said in a very tiny voice that Peter had to strain what Lucy said.

"But, Rocky never misses a scent. That's impossible. Why... he is a very intelligent fellow. Besides, why did she take Sally, she is an old horse." Julian mumbled more to himself as he walked in circles in front of Patrick's bed.

Suddenly Patrick woke up with a start. He sat on his bed, shivering badly, sporting high fever and looked at every anxious face in the room. Lydia could take no more and she wept once again, lying on the side of the bed.