THE CURSE OF ALLSTON MANOR

By Valerie Claussen

Lillian longs to see the world. Instead of soaking in incredible sights, learning different cultures, and eating delicious food, though, she gets shunted off every summer while her parents travel without her. When someone she thought she could trust kindles a rumor about Lillian, it spreads like wildfire through her little Arizona town. Lillian suddenly finds herself a pariah. Now more than ever, she wishes to escape.

When the abnormally perfect William and Olivia move into the beautiful Victorian manor they inherit from their uncle, Lillian finds herself inexplicably drawn to them. The twins are reclusive, never seeming to leave their home despite the business and millions left to them by will. But shy, William is growing restless, and overbearing Olivia is pushing everyone to their limits with her antics. Still, they are the rare few who don't treat Lillian as an outcast. Lillian wonders, however, if there could be an ulterior motive to their benevolence. The twins seem to want something from her, but Lillian can't figure out what.

Unexplained happenings, pranks that cross the line, and stolen dreams cause chaos to grow to a boiling point in the small Vermont community. "The Curse of Allston Manor" is rife with betrayal, sacrifice, and love. This book will grab you from the first page and leave you desperate to find out what happens next.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781365362644

Book preview

Chapter One

Summer vacations meant my parents traveled the world kid-free while they shunted me off to stay with my aunt’s family in London. This went on from the age of six until shortly before I turned sixteen. Although I adored my British relatives and looked forward to seeing them every year, I longed to accompany my parents on their global adventures.

During my last visit, my cousin Beth developed a massive crush on her brother Stephen's muscular, curly blond-haired teammate. She invited him and his sister over to their house to swim. I did my best to give them some space, but Philip followed me around. He seemed curious about everything American. As a proper wingman, I remained polite and answered his questions but then changed the subject to say positive things about Beth.

As soon as no one was around, Philip invited me to go with him to a movie the following evening. I told him how much Beth wanted to see the film, but maybe we could all go as friends.

I meant the two of us, he said. A date.

Oh, I replied. My stomach knotted up.

Beth appeared out of nowhere, grabbed me by my ponytail, and then smacked me across the face. In shock, I said nothing. She stormed back inside. We never argued in my ten years of visiting. I could not imagine what I did to upset her.

I sobbed as my uncle took me to the airport to send me home early the following day. Beth had told him that she caught me making out with her boyfriend in their hot tub. No matter what I told him, he would not believe me. My word against hers meant my uncle took her side. He kept blasting me with disappointment and speeches of loyalty, trust, and family. Being a year and a half older and noticeably more popular, prettier, and more intelligent, I had always admired Beth. None of it made any sense, and it crushed my spirit.

Everyone I knew understood I found foreign accents to be incredibly charming, but I never flirted with anyone during my visits. My parents prohibited me from dating until after I turned sixteen. I honored their wishes entirely because they promised me a new car and a family trip to any country of my choosing if I followed their rules. Waiting to go out on dates seemed well worth the price.

When I arrived in Arizona, a neighbor picked me up and drove me home to an empty house. My parents grounded me from using my phone and having friends over, but they allowed me to walk to the grocery store alone before dark. I spent the rest of the summer alone. It especially upset me because Beth and my aunt helped me plan my sweet-sixteen party for two years. We had already bought all the decorations and booked a fantastic venue and caterer. They canceled everything, including the car and my long-awaited trip to Japan.

My parents returned before school started back for the fall. They drilled into me that Beth’s emotional devastation required her to take heavy anti-depressants. My parents took my allowance to cover her medical bills, despite explaining that they had zero out-of-pocket costs. When I tried to get a part-time job, they said I was not responsible enough.

During a themed dinner party at our home, I overheard my parents telling their closest friends how promiscuous, egotistical, and unruly I had become. Their rumors spread like wildfires in the small town.

The next day, my mother took me to see the doctor to be put on birth control. Other than a peck on the cheek in first grade, no one kissed me. With only my doctor and honors class English teacher believing my side of the story, I was labeled the town slut.

I hoped when school restarted and I had a chance to give my side of the story, things would improve, but they got worse. I had gone from a semi-popular girl to someone no one would share a table or bench. I was mercilessly teased and tormented by the other students and several teachers. I couldn’t use the restroom without being called obscenities and seeing my name written all over the stalls. I spent my lunch period in Mrs. Offerman’s classroom with no friends watching and analyzing horror movies. Having somewhere to hide while chatting about all things supernatural gave me a sanctuary. I never forgot her kindness.

The jocks at our school who dated the most popular girls followed me around and passed me notes in class. Their sudden interest in an average-looking person like me fueled the rumors. Invited to the drive-in movies, the lookout, and other well-known make-out spots, what they expected to get from an evening with me became apparent. In the hope of returning my high school life to the pre-gossip world, I chopped off my waist-length blonde hair and stopped going to all social gatherings.

My GPA gained me acceptance into UCLA as well as the University of Southern California. Although my parents could easily afford the tuition to either school, I somehow still had not earned their trust. They refused to pay for me to go anywhere but to a local university. I wanted a fresh start where no one knew me.

In my freshman year of college, I made my first real friend in years. Julie—a perky red-haired girl—lived in a neighboring city and missed all the gossip. I explained what had happened, she showed compassion and told me she wished we had gone to school together. Julie would have set them all straight. She enjoyed my quirkiness, helped me get out of my shell again, and I threw several themed parties for some of her chemist friends.

By our senior year, she had fallen in love with a lovely, red-haired man named Paul, and they married shortly after. They tried to set me up on blind dates, but I never met anyone I wanted to go out with more than once.

At twenty-two years old, my life flipped upside down when my parents were shot and killed by a man who robbed a gas station. My father’s side of the family never responded to my calls, but my London relatives came out to help me handle their estate, burial, and secure the nice-sized inheritance they left me. I hoped Beth would apologize for what she had done and finally tell the truth, but she barely said a word. Despite her past actions, I wanted to forgive her. However, her lack of compassion reignited the fire of resentment inside me that I tried to contain.

Another year later, Julie and Paul expected their first child. She worried about me not dating and pressured me into signing up on some random online dating site. I had little interest in following through on it, but she checked on me to make sure I had at least created an account. I never told her, but I feared a local guy would find my profile, causing old rumors to resurrect.

Could you have taken a crappier selfie? Julie asked.

Thanks a lot, I replied.

You’re supposed to try to attract men. Come on, Lily. You’re not even smiling. You promised you’d do this for me. I don’t want you to end up alone.

Neither do I.

You’re prettier than your picture. Let me take a new one.

Fine, but let me wash off my makeup. I’d rather have someone be pleasantly surprised when they meet me than expect too much and be disappointed.

But that’s part of the hook. Your picture’s the first thing they’ll see.

I grabbed some makeup wipes and cleaned my face.

Fine, Lily, but at least smile this time.

Julie took my picture, and I updated it to my profile.

Happy now? I asked.

Within an hour, my inbox had several new messages. I weeded through them but not one interested me. They all seemed staged. Their profiles contradicted everything in their letters. In the back of my mind, a nagging fear lurked that somehow the rumors of me reached online. I wanted to have a boyfriend, not a one-night stand.

After two weeks without suitable prospects, my cell phone vibrated on my nightstand at midnight. Half asleep, I decided to take a quick peep. I opened the application to find a message from a man in his mid-twenties named William Allston, who came from London but lived in Vermont. He had dark brown wavy hair, a clean-shaven face with prominent cheekbones, perfect thin lips, and deep-set blue eyes. His face was hauntingly beautiful. I must have stared at his picture for several minutes before reading the message. I wondered if this person had used someone else’s photograph or if it was photoshopped. He seemed unreal.

William explained that he and his twin sister inherited a beautiful Victorian-style manor from their American uncle, who passed away unexpectedly. He mentioned that their home was haunted and thought it would be fun to chat with someone fascinated by the supernatural.

We spent the next two months writing back and forth. I even told William about my issue with my cousin and how her betrayal impacted my personal life. He seemed like a genuinely kind person who was also tragically acquainted with bullying. He sent me a picture of what he looked like as a teenager to explain why they teased him. His face was narrower, his ears protruded, and he wore thick, black-framed glasses. I told him that he didn’t look ugly to me, and I would have had a secret crush if I had known him then. He wrote back with laughing emojis and then changed the subject. I wasn’t joking but didn’t bring it up again.

When I finally told Julie about him, she hijacked my laptop and invited him to visit. He immediately declined my offer, stating he had too much work to do on the manor but invited me to come to stay with them in one of their guest rooms.

You have to go, Julie told me excitedly.

My stomach had a dozen butterflies fluttering around. William seemed too good to be true, but exactly what I always wanted. It terrified me.

Don’t overthink this, Lily. Just write him back and tell him yes. He sounds like he really wants to meet you. You run your own business, and you have the means to go. You’ve been talking about taking some vacation time to travel anyway.

I flopped down on my bed. What if he doesn’t like me? I asked insecurely.

She grinned. What if he does?

Before I could say another word, she typed, ‘I’d love to.’

Julie, I scolded her. Why did you use the word love? That sounds so desperate.

She smiled. No. It makes you sound excited. Which you are.

He immediately wrote back asking if I could come the following weekend. Without hesitation, Julie typed ‘Sure.’ That settled it.

William and I never flirted back and forth in our messages, but he had become the person I most looked forward to hearing from each day. As much as I hoped there might be a romantic spark when we met, I was most excited to meet my new British friend and his sister.

Chapter Two

The day of my trip, I woke to a terrible clicking sound outside my bedroom window. An enormous web had caught a tiny bat. Its wings flapped desperately, trying to escape. I darted out back and snapped a small branch off the tree.

I wondered how a spider spun a web of that size overnight. I twisted the thin branch around in the thick web like cotton candy. I tried to pull it away from the young bat—careful not to harm it. After a few minutes, it was free. I tossed the branch to the side yard and turned to go back inside.

Click! Click! the bat called for help.

I spun around. A hawk swooped down and flew away with the tiny creature clenched in its large talons. I grabbed a stone to toss at it but couldn’t do it. I saw no way to save the helpless little bat without hurting either of