The Madness of Mercury (25 page)

I approached her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Dorothy.” She turned into my arms and I held her while she sobbed. “There’s nothing you can do tonight. We’ll figure it out in the morning.” She nodded silently. Richard took her hand and led her up the stairs, his arm supporting her. I looked at Reggie. His face was white and drawn.

“Do you think I should go walk about, Julia?”

“No. I think you need to stay and see what you can do to help Dorothy out. I know she’s been anything but gracious, but hang out for a little while till we see what’s needed, okay?”

He nodded and climbed the stairs to his room.

Nikolai approached. “Julia, vee should leave.”

I nodded. I helped him and Zora find their coats and watched them brave the rain as they ran to Nikolai’s car. Then I walked through the first floor, turning off lights and checking that doors and windows were locked. I climbed the stairs to my room. As exhausted as I was, I wasn’t able to sleep. I was haunted by my conversation with Dorothy, regretful that I had broached the subject of Richard, but there were questions that needed to be asked. Was it just a coincidence that Evandra’s strange behavior coincided with Richard’s presence? Was their connection truly an unhealthy one, with Richard’s Neptune affecting Evandra’s Ascendant and Moon? Was Dorothy right in her defense of Richard? After all, she was a nurse. She should know how long it would take a drug or poison to enter the system and symptoms to become obvious. She had said twenty to thirty minutes at most, not three hours or more. Nothing made any sense. How typical of a Neptune transit! I shed my clothes and climbed into bed, eventually falling into a fitful sleep.

T
HIRTY-
O
NE

I
WASN’T SURE AT
first what woke me. My hand groped around the bedcovers, trying to feel Wizard’s sleeping body. He had curled up in a ball next to me as I was falling asleep. I reached up and turned on the light next to the bed and called his name. He was across the room, standing at attention, staring at the door to the hallway. I called to him softly, but he ignored me. He stood, hair on end, and emitted an atavistic howl that made my blood run cold. Was someone outside my door?

I leaped out of bed and stroked his head. “Stay here, Wiz.” I grabbed my robe and cracked the door open. Making sure to keep Wizard inside the room, I stepped out. The hallway was dimly lit by only one wall sconce. I listened carefully, but heard nothing. Moving cautiously toward the stairway, I peered up into the darkness at the top, but could see nothing. I shivered involuntarily.

When I turned to go back to my room, I caught a faint floral smell. I couldn’t place it at first, and then it came to me—the smell of gardenias. Was I imagining that? What was it Evandra had said when she spoke of Lily?
When she’s present, you can smell gardenias.
I shivered again and rushed back to my room, shutting the door firmly behind me.

I was wide awake now, adrenaline coursing through my system. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d be able to get back to sleep. I put a sweatshirt on under my robe and some socks and turned on my laptop. I clicked on Evandra’s chart. We were now in the very four-day period that had so concerned me when I’d set up her lunar return chart. On top of that, she was in the thick of the Neptune transit that was draining her physically and causing mental confusion. I opened Richard’s chart and superimposed it on Evandra’s. His Neptune falling exactly on her Ascendant was one of those things that could go either way or both. Could his very presence in the house exacerbate her symptoms? Or was it simply elder psychosis as the doctor had suggested?

I found the piece of paper Dorothy had handed me earlier with Reggie’s passport number and birth date. From one generation to the next, there are often similar themes, and even similar placements in family charts. Skipping a generation, an astrologer can sometimes find more similarities in charts between a grandparent and a grandchild than a parent and child. I set up a solar chart for Reggie and studied it for a few moments. Nothing struck me as significant; I could only compare it to Dorothy’s and Evandra’s charts, and they weren’t in a direct line with his parents or grandparents. But I did notice that Mercury was very prominent in Reggie’s chart. He was a Gemini, the sign ruled by Mercury. His Moon and Venus were in Virgo, also ruled by Mercury, but Neptune formed a hard aspect to his Mercury. Neptune is the planet of illusion and delusion. Reggie was clever and bright—that much was obvious. But was he lost in a Neptunian fantasy? I wondered how much of what he’d claimed about his family and his research was embroidery, and how much was a deliberate out-and-out lie.

I was well acquainted with Dorothy’s Mercury-Pluto square. She had a tendency to bend reality and perceive it in a way that made no sense to others. She was stubborn and not one to listen to advice, and she bordered on obsessive when it came to the subject of her marriage to Richard. And speaking of Richard, no matter how courteous he might be on the surface, he was just as stubborn as she. Perhaps even more controlling. The combination of their charts created something I’d never liked. But had I been too judgmental of Richard? Dorothy undoubtedly played into his personality in a way that exacerbated it. Takes two to tango, as the old saying goes. Dorothy had explained that Richard’s business involved the sale and rental of hospital equipment for home use. His employees handled most of the functions of the business, which allowed Richard a great deal of freedom. Yes, he was always there, always around, always trying to be so helpful but subtly controlling nonetheless. Were his intentions simply well meaning? Was I judging him too harshly?

I remembered what Don had told me about Reverend Roy’s birth date and place. I had no birth time, but decided to set up a solar chart. Nothing would be exact, but I had my suspicions as to what his chart would look like. As the program generated a full-color chart, I realized I hadn’t been that far off. He was a Gemini too; another Mercury-ruled individual. His physical appearance, I was sure, indicated a Leo rising. He had the broad shoulders and distinctive mane of hair typical of that rising sign. I rectified the chart to place Leo on the Ascendant. His Mercury was in Gemini, its natural sign. A stellium of Pluto. Jupiter and Uranus in Virgo in his solar third house. Tremendous ability to sway people with his words and a conjunction of Mars and Neptune, the ability to manipulate. Enormous charisma. Not surprising that he used his gifts to gain power. Was he a con man, a sociopath, or insane?

More importantly, I realized it was Eunice’s chart I should be looking at. A feeling of dread settled over me as her chart appeared on the screen. Pluto was exactly on her Capricorn ascendant. I mentally kicked myself. Why hadn’t I looked at this earlier? Mars was only a few minutes away from an opposition. Even more dire, the Sun, useful as a timing device, would reach her ascendant in less than forty-eight hours, exactly coinciding with a solar eclipse at the new moon. Eunice was without a doubt in danger. Something had to be done to find her. I knew now what I had to do.

I kept my robe on and burrowed under the covers in an effort to finally get some sleep. Wizard stared at me quizzically. He was still sitting in the very same spot by the door. I patted the bedcovers and called to him. He meowed once and sprang onto the bed. I rubbed his ears, his favorite thing, as he climbed onto my stomach. I decided to leave the lamp on, half afraid to sleep in the dark. My neck and shoulders started to relax as sleepiness overcame me.

Just as my eyes closed, a shriek cut through the night air.

T
HIRTY-
T
WO

I
BOLTED OUT OF
bed, my heart racing, and ran to the window. The sound had come from the garden below, the formal garden. The rain was over, but clouds now blotted out the stars and moon. As dark as it was, the pale statuary in the garden was still clearly visible. Something floated in the breeze near one of the sculptures at the far end.

I slipped on my shoes and left the bedroom, once again making sure to keep Wizard inside, and raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I hurried through the parlor and into the conservatory. I pushed aside the plastic sheets covering the outside door to the garden. I should have thought to look for a flashlight in the kitchen, but I was here now. I stepped carefully down the stone steps, which were slippery with dew, and moved toward the far end of the garden. The ground was wet with the recent rain and my feet sank into the earth with each step.

Evandra was balanced on a stone bench, walking back and forth on it and tilting her head as if speaking to someone behind her. She punctuated her nonsensical speech with shrieks and bursts of harsh laughter. Why hadn’t anyone else in the house come running? Had I heard her only because my window overlooked the formal garden?

I spoke softly. “Evandra. It’s me. Julia.”

She spun around, almost losing her balance. There was a moment of connection between us, and then it was gone.

I reached up and offered my hand. “Come down, Evandra, slowly.” She grasped my hand, but her head turned quickly in the opposite direction and she stared into space.

“Evandra. Come down.”

She started to laugh. I watched her struggle to form words.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Flower.”

“Yes?”

“Flower … house … comes … late … ” She looked at me as if I could understand.

I reached up, put my arms around her waist, and lifted her toward the ground. Her skin was icy. She was dressed in a night shift and no robe, her feet bare.

“Let’s go in.” I led her slowly down the path toward the house. Her head jerked rhythmically.

“She … ”

“Yes?”

“… Lily … ”

We reached the entrance to the conservatory. I let go of Evandra’s hand to move the plastic sheeting to the side. When I turned, she was wandering back into the garden. I ran to catch up with her and turned her back again toward the house. I led her slowly inside, through the darkened conservatory and into the parlor by the stairway.

Something would have to be done. Evandra could not be left alone during the night. Or she would have to be locked in her room. It wasn’t possible for Dorothy to stay awake day and night to keep an eye on her. I was annoyed that Dorothy hadn’t yet done something about securing Evandra’s room.

As we reached the stairway, the lights in the hallway chandelier blazed on. Dorothy came down the stairs, sleepy-eyed, tying her robe around her as she descended.

“Julia, what happened?”

“I found her in the garden. I can’t figure out what’s going on—she’s not making any sense.”

Dorothy peered into her aunt’s eyes. “Her pupils are dilated. Let’s get her upstairs to the bedroom. I’ll have a closer look at her.”

“Have you started her on the antipsychotics yet?”

“Not yet. But her eyes and that involuntary twitching … I don’t know what’s wrong with her.” Dorothy finally maneuvered her aunt into bed. I found a washcloth in the bathroom and ran the water until it was warm, then gently washed the grass and dirt from Evandra’s feet. She lay against the pillows, exhausted but trying to communicate with us without the ability to form words.

“Could she have had a stroke?”

“Possible, but I don’t think so. There are indications that aren’t consistent with a stroke. If anything, she’s hallucinating. I’m going to try to calm her down and get the doctor here first thing in the morning. But if she gets any worse, I’m calling an ambulance.” Dorothy turned to me. “Julia, I’m sorry … about earlier. I didn’t mean to bite your head off. I’m really sorry. It’s just the tension of everything that’s happening here.”