Colton Manor by Francene Carroll Page A

his hand to her forehead.
    “Hmmm. You could be a bit warm. It would be a good idea for the doctor to have a look at you when he arrives. The last thing we need is for you to come down with the bug.” The feel of his skin against hers was very nice but it wasn’t enough to distract her from her worries.
    “I was thinking that myself, but right now I just want some rest.”
    She’d only just closed her eyes when she heard a car approaching up the drive. She listened as Damien went downstairs to greet their visitor, and a few minutes later there was a knock at her door.
    “Come in,” she said , sitting up and running her hand through her hair. To her disappointment it was Doctor Matthews and not Bonnie who pushed open the door. Damien was right behind him.
    “I hear you’re not feeling too well today, young lady, unlike you’re friend here whose recovery is nothing short of miraculous.” Ursula just smiled in response. “I guess I’ll start by taking yo ur temperature and then we’ll decide what to do from there.” Damien left the room while the doctor fished around in his leather bag and then took out a thermometer which he placed in her ear. She studied his face as he pulled it out and examined it.
    “Well, you definitely don’t have a fever. It’ s perfectly normal.” She felt a stab of disappointment. At least if she was sick there would be an excuse for the strange events, but now she had to consider the other possibility that it was something in the house affecting her. “I’d say it’s just the stress of the past day that’s making you feel unwell. My suggestion is for you to take it nice and easy today, and tomorrow you should be right as rain.”
    “Thanks, doctor ,” said Ursula, smiling weakly as he closed his bag and said goodbye. He spent a short time in Damien’s room before Ursula heard Damien show him to the door. Bonnie had said she’d be there early, and as the doctor drove away Ursula picked up her phone to call her. She found her number and was just about to press the call button when Damien knocked and stuck his head around the door.
    “I’m very glad to hear you’re not sick. I don’t think I could have forgiven myself if I ruined your holiday.”
    “It wouldn’t have been your fault. I was just about to ring Bonnie. She said she was coming over this morning, and she should be here by now.”
    “ Oh, Bonnie’s not coming.”
    “Why not?”
    “I texted her before you got up and told her there was no need. I’m all better now and she’s got more important things to do than look after me.”
    “Oh.” Ursula tried to hide her disappointment. She really needed someone to talk to and Bonnie was the only one who would understand. Her intuition was telling her to just pack her bags and get the hell out of there, but she wanted to talk it over with her friend first. Having nowhere to go and no money didn’t help either, but she also couldn’t deny that one of the reasons she was hesitating to follow her instincts was Damien. If she left they’d probably never see each other again, and she didn’t want to lose the only chance she had of getting to know him better.
    “ Don’t look so despondent. I’m not that boring, am I? I’m sure I can entertain you just as well as Bonnie.”
    “ I just wanted to talk to her about something.”
    “ How about we go for a walk on the beach? It’s stopped raining and it will do you good to get some fresh air.”
    “Didn’t the doctor tell you to rest?”
    “Not really, he said he could find nothing wrong with me and I could do whatever I felt up to.”
    “Alright,” said Ursula, without much enthusiasm. It might do her good to get outside for a while and forget about the house, and she still hadn’t been down onto the beach. “I’ll just get changed.”
    “Okay, see you in ten minutes.”  She saw the Ouija board still on the floor as she sat down to put on her running shoes.
    “Damien,” she called. “Can you please