She thought back to what the cabbie had said — that the bad luck that surrounded Hendry Hall didn’t affect members of the family. Given the circumstances that had brought her here, she wasn’t too sure of that. Even if it had been, that familial shield wouldn’t have protected her — given that she was here under false pretenses.
The entire affair had begun with a newspaper account of Maxwell Hendry’s death. The elderly patriarch of the family had passed away in his sleep, leaving behind a small fortune… along with rumors of occult dealings and a very peculiar will.
According to Hendry’s lawyer, his estate would be divided up between all of his relatives, no matter how tenuous the connection. Anyone wishing to claim a piece of the pie had to be present at midnight on March 23.
Gravedigger had dispatched Li on this particular errand, having forged papers that Li now carried with her. They showed that one of Maxwell’s cousins had fathered a child with a Chinese woman. It wouldn’t hold up to extended investigation but it would be good enough to get Li inside the house.
The porte-cochere that covered the steps blocked out the moonlight, leaving Li standing in almost total darkness when she reached the door. Setting down her bags, she reached around blindly until her slim fingers made contact with an iron knocker. The clanging sound echoed loudly. When there was no answer, she repeated the knocking, finally bringing someone to the door.
The fellow who admitted Li was the butler, dressed in a faded jacket and stiff shirt. He wore yellow-stained white gloves and had a long face that reminded Li of a bulldog’s.
Li stood in the foyer, waiting for the butler to say something, but he merely stared at her in silence after shutting the door. Refusing to speak first, Li playfully glowered at him.
The stare down ended when an old woman’s voice issued from a nearby room. “Who was at the door, Sebastian? Another relative, come to pick at the bones of Maxwell?”
The butler turned as if to say something to the unseen figure but Li beat him to the punch. “I don’t care anything about the bones but I sure would like some of the money!” she exclaimed.
The butler’s bushy eyebrows shot up and his dour expression deepened.
A figure emerged from the room and Li realized that she had come face-to-face with one of the strangest looking women she’d ever seen. The woman was very tall, well over six feet, and cadaverously thin. Her skin seemed shrunken against her bones, accentuating each one. Her silver hair was piled high atop her head and she wore a scarlet shade of lipstick, which only served to make the paleness of her skin more apparent. When the old woman spoke, only her lips moved, the rest of her face apparently frozen. Li noted that she had a pronounced Adam’s apple, as well — an unusual feature for any woman.
“Money, you say?” the old crone asked, emitting a laugh that sounded equal parts bark and cough. She stopped and regarded Li with interest. “And you are-?”
“Li Yuchun. Distant relation.”
“I should say so.” The woman straightened and offered a leathery hand. “My name is Myrtle Hendry. Maxwell was my cousin.”
“Nice to meet you. I brought papers.”
“The lawyers can sort through them later,” Myrtle said. Her touch on Li’s hand was brief but the young girl was surprised by how cold the old woman’s fingers were. Turning to the butler, she said, “Take these bags up to one of the guest rooms, Sebastian, while I show Miss Yuchun to the parlor.”
Sebastian lifted the bags easily and began ascending the stairs, which creaked with each and every step. The interior of the house was illuminated only a few sparse candles, which threw frightening shadows along the walls.
Myrtle put an arm around Li’s shoulders and led her into the living room. A large fireplace was crackling, giving much needed warmth and brightness to the environs. There were three people in the room and Li was glad to see them, as she loved making new acquaintances. She was even happier to see that all three were male.
The first man was in his early fifties and well dressed. He had a roundish face, a thin moustache, and one droopy eyelid. Engaged in a game of solitaire, the man looked up when Li and Myrtle entered. His scowl vanished immediately and he stood up, bowing low. He smiled a bit lasciviously at Li, chuckling when Myrtle introduced them. Named Marlowe Wayne, the man was related to the Hendry’s through his grandmother.
A bald man named Nicholas Koepp was the next to say hello to Li. He looked surprisingly young to be so bereft of hair. He greeted Li respectfully though a bit coldly — Li wasn’t sure if it originated from her race or from the fact that every newcomer meant that the estate’s pie was now being sliced into thinner slices.
The third and final man was by far the most handsome. With dark hair, deep-set eyes and a square jaw, Cedric Hendry was a businessman from Pittsburgh. He held Li’s hand and gallantly kissed it.
“Thank you, Miss Yuchun, for bringing a ray of sunshine to this dreary old house,” he said.
Myrtle gave an unladylike snort. “Maxwell didn’t believe in electricity and refused to have it installed. Whoever ends up with the house will have quite a time retrofitting this place.”
Li glanced at her. “Surely Maxwell left the house to someone in particular?”
“If he did, we don’t know it yet,” the old woman answered. “Maxwell insisted that all his relatives be assembled in one place and then everything would be made clear. His lawyer, Jenkins, is already in Maxwell’s old office upstairs, getting ready for tonight’s ceremony.”
“Any reason why he wanted to do it at midnight? I’m normally getting my beauty sleep at that hour!”
“My cousin was quite the night owl… he used to tell me that most of his important work wasn’t even started until The Witching Hour. I suppose in death, he thought it amusing to force us all to keep his schedule.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Cedric said. “You look like you could miss whole weeks of beauty sleep and still be the most attractive woman on the East Coast.”
Li stifled the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she lowered her head and looked embarrassed. “You’re much too sweet, Mr. Hendry.”
“Please call me Cedric.”
Li agreed to do so and then she turned to Myrtle. “Do you think it’s possible that I could see my room? I know we have over three hours before the reading of the will but I’d like to powder my nose and maybe catch a quick catnap.”
“Of course, my dear.”
After a series of polite goodbyes, Li followed Myrtle up a set of rickety stairs. The older woman held a candelabrum in her right hand and it was the only thing that kept Li from losing her footing.
“I don’t blame you for wanting to get free of young Cedric,” Myrtle said. “He’s a bit of a wolfhound — he was even going so far as to flirt with me before you arrived.”
Li found that hard to believe but she chose not to pursue it. “I’m really just tired from the ride out. The driver wouldn’t even bring me through the gate!”
“There are many rumors about this house,” Myrtle agreed. “It makes the locals a bit jumpy.”
“Really? I haven’t heard any stories,” Li fibbed.
“Our family has a history of occult involvement. Have you heard of the Sons Or Daughters of Malfeasance?”
“Um, no.”
“There are those who think they were the true founders of Sovereign City. That their worshipping of a dark…something… is the real reason why this region is so steeped in the supernatural.”
Myrtle took her on a winding path through a number of dark halls and Li realized that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to find her way back downstairs. “So our relatives were part of… the Sons or Daughters?”
“That’s what some say.” Myrtle stopped next to a large window and pointed out towards the back of the property. Li was surprised to see a large cemetery, located behind an abandoned church. The stained glass windows were now broken and weeds had overgrown the tombstones.