EPILOGUE
‘I think he’s a keeper,’
said my niece Cora, smiling up at me as I set down a tray of coffee and cake in the Little Duck Pond Café.
We’d been talking about the new man in her life as we’d queued to examine the cakes and pastries in the display case, and I could tell from the blush in her cheeks that Don was clearly someone special.
She sighed.
‘The problem is, I’m so frantically busy with this new project at work that I actually don’t have time for a relationship. But Don is so unbelievably understanding about it. That’s why I know he’s a keeper.’
I smiled at her as I stirred my coffee.
‘I’m so pleased for you, my darling. You deserve a lovely, supportive man in your life.’
I paused.
‘Being single has its advantages. It means you don’t have to compromise on anything. But a loving partnership can mean you don’t actually mind compromising because it’s so satisfying and fun doing things together.’
Her eyes flashed mischievously.
‘I guess you’re talking about you and Mark.’
I laughed.
‘Well, maybe a bit. But it’s you I’m thinking about. I just want you to be happy.’
‘I am. And I was so delighted when Mum told me you two were back together. Is it as good between you as it was when you first met all those years ago?’
I considered this with a thoughtful frown.
‘It’s different. And actually, it’s better. We’re older and more grounded now. We know what we want in life, and we’re prepared to put in the work to make sure it lasts.’
I shrugged.
‘I remember being so full of self-doubt when I was young . . . so uncertain about my future and where I was going. But I know myself now. And I think Mark is the same.’
‘And you’ve decided to step down as a judge on your show? Is that so that you can spend more time with Mark?’
‘Well, in a way. But really, I think I was caught on a treadmill, saying yes to another season of the show just because there was nothing much else in my life at the time. But that whole “celebrity” thing was never really me.’
‘So what do you want to do instead?’
‘Oh, I’d like to travel. And so would Mark. There’s so many places on my list that I’ve never had time to visit.’
I smiled.
‘I want to spend a long, lazy weekend in Florence or Venice without worrying about TV schedules, and I’d like to hire a villa in the south of France for two whole months in the summer and invite you all over to join us! I’ve talked about it with Mark and he thinks I could easily run my business at a distance, as long as I employ the right people in my absence.’
Cora’s eyes sparkled.
‘That sounds so exciting!’
She reached into her bag.
‘Nearly forgot. Have you seen this?’
She drew out a copy of a national newspaper and handed it over. It was opened at a particular page – and my eyebrows rose when I saw the photograph.
Riverbend Hall.
Quickly, I scanned the story. It seemed that Sarah Frobisher had brought the emotional story of Lady Annabel’s murder confession out into the world and people were naturally intrigued by it. I wasn’t mentioned by name as having found the confession letter, but I was there in the story Sarah related to the reporter.
‘I’ll always be grateful to the lovely woman who discovered Lady Annabel’s confessional letter and passed it on to me. Thanks to her, my brother and I now have an investor on board and a multi-million-pound scheme in place to bring this wonderful Gothic mansion back to life.’
‘Wow,’
I breathed.
‘That’s so good. I guess Sarah Frobisher will be able to move into a place of her own now, instead of being forced to rattle around in a draughty old house and live in one room because she can’t afford the heating bill! They’ll be able to keep Riverbend Hall in the family, hopefully for generations to come. I’m so, so delighted for her.’
‘I thought you’d be pleased. Hopefully, the ghost of Lady Annabel will be free now that her confession is out in the world.’
I frowned at Cora, puzzled. ‘Free?’
‘Well, yes. When you told me about the painting of her suddenly falling off the wall like that, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I mean, it had been up there for a century at least so why would it fall off when it did, unless someone had made it happen? But you said you were pretty certain no one had tampered with it.’
‘That’s right. I’d thought the reverberations from the washing machine might have caused it, but why would they? That washing machine was ancient and would have been used thousands of times before that day.’
‘Yes, so the only explanation in my mind is paranormal activity.’
‘Seriously?’
I smiled, having forgotten that Cora had been intrigued by ghosts and the supernatural ever since she was tiny.
‘Yes. I’ve read that it takes an enormous amount of energy for a spirit to move an object, especially heavy, cumbersome ones like that painting, so as a rule, they just won’t do it. Unless they have an undeniable reason to want to shift an object.’
‘Interesting!’
‘I believe the date on her murder confession being exactly one hundred years earlier when you found it, to the actual day, surely can’t have been a coincidence. Lady Annabel’s ghost had been trapped in that house for years, weighed down by the burden of her guilt. She needed her confession letter to be discovered and she made sure you found it.’
I chuckled.
‘By detaching the painting from its moorings and almost killing me in the process?’
She grinned.
‘It worked, though. You didn’t die. Riverbend Hall is on the up. And Lady Annabel is flying free at last!’
‘Well, that’s certainly an intriguing theory, my darling,’
I said, laughing.
‘I can’t wait to tell Mark.’
Cora pretended to be horrified.
‘Don’t! He’ll think I’m weird.’
‘You know what? I don’t think he will. We’ve talked about it, and Mark felt a presence in that house just like I did.’
‘Did he?’
I nodded. Then I paused. I hadn’t told anyone about my sighting of the ghostly Victorian woman on the staircase, I suppose because I thought they might think I was nuts! I hadn’t even mentioned it to Mark. But Cora . . .
‘I saw a ghost at the hall,’
I said in a hurry.
‘And I think it might have been the spirit of Lady Annabel.’
Cora’s eyes shone with excitement.
‘Well, of course it was her! Who else could it possibly have been? She was willing you to find her confession!’
Later, when we were saying goodbye outside the café, a thought occurred to me.
‘Cora?’
‘Yes?’
‘Make time for lovely, patient Don, won’t you? He sounds like a gem. Don’t let a good thing get away.’
‘I won’t.’
She smiled ruefully and we hugged and said we’d meet up very soon. And I walked away with a spring in my step and my heart full of love – and beating a little faster as Mark came into view.
I joined him on the bench overlooking the duck pond on the village green.
‘Hi!’
I plopped down beside him.
‘How did it go?’
‘Very well.’
He smiled into my eyes and my heart did its usual flip-flop in my chest.
‘There’s a house I think you’ll like. Out in the country. Huge garden. With borders just waiting to be filled with all things floral if you so wish.’
‘It sounds perfect.’
I snuggled closer and our breath hung in the cold November air as he wrapped his arm tightly around me.
I looked up at him.
‘Hey, guess what? Cora thinks Lady Annabel caused the painting to fall off the wall so that I’d find her confessional letter. What do you think about that?’
His beautiful mouth curved into a smile.
‘There was definitely something other-worldly going on in that house. I’m only glad it weaved its magic and brought us back together again.’
‘Me, too. I’m quite glad, too, that Mick and Sylvia decided not to take any action regarding Joyce. I know it was terrible what she did, especially with Sylvia’s meds, but I sort of ended up feeling a bit sorry for her. Losing her sister had made her so desperately sad.’
Mark nodded.
‘She needed someone to blame. But she saw sense in the end, thank goodness.’
‘All’s well that ends well.’
I gave a contented sigh as I rested my head against his shoulder.
Then Mark turned and we kissed, long and lingeringly, until a couple walking past with their dog gave us peculiar looks.
‘We should probably take this inside,’
I murmured.
He laughed softly.
‘Good idea.’
So I took Mark’s hand and we walked across the green to the car, and I was already thinking about those flower borders and wondering if, after years of employing someone to cut the grass because I was too busy to do it myself, I should maybe think about taking up gardening myself.
I thought about a young Lady Annabel and her footman, and how – against all the odds – they’d finally managed to find true happiness together.
I looked at Mark and he squeezed my hand, and we smiled at one another. And as a feeling of complete contentment spread through me, I saw a bright new future right there in his eyes . . .
Coming Soon