Chapter 19
Two people greeted us as we entered the Hall – a dark-haired man and a red-haired woman.
Mia introduced them as Clara and Jack, and they were clearly surprised to see me, though they did a valiant job of trying to hide it.
A beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog padded through to inspect us the minute we walked in, but it was Honey he really paid attention to, and luckily they quickly decided – after preliminary investigations – that they liked each other.
‘How’s Lawrie?’ Mia asked, while I breathed a sigh of relief as warmth began to seep through my frozen bones and I finally started to defrost.
‘He’s asleep,’ Clara said. ‘I checked on him about twenty minutes ago and he was out for the count, bless him. He only sat with us for about ten minutes, probably out of politeness, but it was obvious he was tired, so we told him not to stay awake for our sake and he went to his room. Wish the kids were so easy.’ She gave us a rueful smile.
‘Caitlyn’s been asleep for hours, thank God, but the boys and Immi are a bundle of excitement and Jack’s been up to warn them several times. ’
‘They love sleeping at the Hall, don’t they?
’ Mia said, laughing as she led us into the kitchen, washed her hands, then began making cocoa as she explained to me that Clara and Jack lived in the village at Honeywell House, that Jack was a train driver, and that Clara was an artist working for the Harling Estate.
‘We’re having buttered crumpets,’ she told Clara. ‘Would you and Jack like some?’
Clara shook her head. ‘I’m absolutely beat, and Jack was bobbing off on the sofa ten minutes ago. Now you’re back we’ll head straight up to bed, if that’s okay with you?’
‘Of course. Thanks so much for keeping an eye on Immi and Lawrie for us. Toby can stay here with me and Verity, if you like.’
‘Thank you.’ Clara smiled at me as she nodded at the two dogs who were already curled up together in the corner of the room.
‘I don’t think he’d leave your gorgeous dog now if we begged him.
As for watching over Lawrie and Immi – it was our absolute pleasure.
It’s a real treat being here. We all love this place so much. ’
She left the kitchen and a few minutes later we heard the faint sound of her and Jack heading upstairs to bed.
I couldn’t help feeling a bit envious. I was so tired and drained I could cry.
I couldn’t even force myself to look away when the little ghost girl sneaked into the kitchen, giving Mia a cheeky look as if she knew perfectly well she shouldn’t be there.
‘Whoa, Verity! Are you okay?’
Mia placed a mug of cocoa on the table in front of me and reached out to me, lightly rubbing my back in concern. I felt so peculiar that I couldn’t even muster any excitement about that, which was worrying.
She sat next to me, her grey eyes full of anxiety. ‘You look awful. Are you warm enough? Let me get you a blanket.’
I managed to croak out, ‘No, it’s okay, I’m—’
The next thing I knew I was lying on a sofa, and Clara was carefully tucking a blanket over me, while a few feet away Mia was thanking Jack for carrying me through into the sitting room. Honey nudged me worriedly, and I managed a reassuring smile.
‘It’s okay, Honey. I’m fine.’
I tried to sit up to prove the point, but Clara gently restrained me and Mia hurried over, telling me to lie down until I was properly recovered.
‘How long were you out in the woods?’ she asked me. ‘You were so cold you scared me to death. I’m so sorry for dragging you here when I should have taken you straight back to the inn and made sure you were all right.’
‘Honestly, it was my fault,’ I said. ‘Please don’t worry.’
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Clara asked. ‘Would you like me to call a doctor?’
‘Please, there’s no need to make a fuss,’ I promised. ‘I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never fainted before.’
‘It was good timing,’ Jack said cheerfully. ‘I’d just come down for a glass of water and there you were, slumped over the table. Poor Mia looked stricken.’
Mia’s cheeks flushed and I thought she probably wanted to throttle Jack for his wild exaggerations but was far too polite to do so.
‘Well, if you’re sure you’re okay…’
‘I am, Clara, thank you. Thank you, Jack.’
After giving Mia querying looks and receiving a nod of assurance from her, Clara and Jack left us and went back upstairs.
Mia sat on the sofa next to me and lay the back of her hand on my forehead. ‘You’re warming up a bit at last,’ she said, relieved. ‘Would you like that cocoa now?’
I nodded and she hurried out of the room. I heard a door opening and closing, and the sound of voices, and footsteps in the hallway. They retreated and, as another door closed, I shut my eyes, too tired to worry about it all right then.
A few moments later the door opened and Mia returned with the cocoa and a plate of buttered crumpets on a tray. After putting them on a coffee table, she placed several cushions behind me and helped me to sit up, then handed the tray to me.
‘You don’t have to eat the crumpets if you don’t feel up to it,’ she said, taking her own cocoa and settling in the nearest armchair. ‘But it might help.’
Callie entered the room, a mug in her hands and a look of concern in her eyes.
‘How are you feeling?’ she asked.
‘I’m fine. I should be going back to the inn. Mel – Mariska will be worrying about me.’ Or she might not care at all, given the massive row we’d had earlier.
‘I’ll ring her and tell her you’re here,’ she offered. ‘What’s her number?’
‘My phone’s in my jeans pocket,’ I said, and she put her mug on the tray and lifted the whole thing off my lap so I could retrieve the phone.
‘Oh,’ I said, as I looked at the screen, ‘she’s messaged me. She, er, won’t be coming back to the cottage tonight so I’ll see her in the morning.’
Thankfully, neither of them asked questions, so I didn’t have to explain that my sister had evidently had some sort of breakthrough with Diccon and was spending the night in his room, as she’d informed me in a text with the addition of several exclamation marks.
Clearly, in her excitement she’d forgotten we weren’t speaking.
‘Well, that’s settled then,’ Callie said, giving me back the tray and removing her mug of cocoa. ‘You can stay the night here on the sofa.’
‘Oh no, I couldn’t!’
‘Of course you can. It’s very comfortable and we don’t want you heading out again at this time of night when you’re clearly not yourself.’
‘I’m so sorry to be such a bother,’ I told her, my face burning. ‘I feel so stupid.’
‘Verity, you’re no bother at all,’ she promised, sitting in the other chair. ‘I’m just glad Mia managed to get you indoors before you fainted.’
‘It’s not something I make a habit of,’ I said, not wanting either of them – but especially Mia – to think that I was some weak and feeble woman who couldn’t even stand to get a bit chilly. ‘In fact, like I said, I’ve never fainted before. It’s been a very weird evening.’
‘Oh?’ Callie took a sip of her cocoa and raised an eyebrow. ‘In what way?’
I could hardly tell her, could I? Instead, I shrugged, then recalling something Mia had said earlier, I turned to her. ‘What did you mean when you said the séance could hardly be called that? Did something go wrong?’
‘Are you sure you’re up to a conversation?’ Mia asked.
I nodded. ‘Definitely.’
‘Okay, I’ll tell you if you promise to drink that cocoa.’ She grinned and I smiled back and took a sip. It was delicious. The best cocoa I’d ever tasted.
Mia gave me an approving look and settled back in the armchair.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘it didn’t go as expected, let’s put it that way.
Madam Mariska started off well enough. She began like they do on It’s Haunted!
by explaining that not every location is haunted and that she couldn’t guarantee that she’d be able to contact the spirits.
But then she began putting on a show – you know, walking round the barrow and muttering to herself and closing her eyes and all that malarkey. ’
Despite everything, I felt a stirring of indignation on Melissa’s behalf. ‘All that malarkey’ indeed! To be fair, Mel did have a habit of being a bit theatrical about it all. But then, she was paid to do so, so you couldn’t really blame her, could you?
‘Well anyway.’ Mia shifted, suddenly sounding a bit unsure and uneasy.
‘She, er, managed to contact – at least, so she said – the ghost of a former landlord of The Quicken Tree Inn, and an Edwardian stationmaster, and a baker who’d been put in the pillory for being drunk when he should have been in church. ’
She gave me a rueful smile. ‘Apparently, his wife threw a rock at his head and killed him. That drew laughter from the crowds which was a bit cruel of them, if you ask me. And there were the spirits of two First World War soldiers, who’d died at the railway station.
And then…’ Her voice trailed off and I realised she’d been watching me closely the whole time, looking for my reaction.
She glanced at Callie, as if seeking her consent for something. Callie nodded, saying nothing.
I gulped down more cocoa and waited for the bombshell. How much had Melissa revealed about Harmony and Polly, and those poor young ghosts whose families might get to hear about all this?
‘And then she said there were no more spirits coming through, but she had some good stories to tell us about some of the ones she’d met while filming It’s Haunted!’
‘She-she did what?’
Callie nodded. ‘And she proceeded to give us some brilliant anecdotes that had the crowd gripped, and then she took questions about It’s Haunted!
Because of course, everyone wanted to know all the gossip from behind the scenes.
And, oh my God, she was so funny! She had us all laughing.
Actually, I have to say that, despite my scepticism, she was marvellous, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. ’
I couldn’t believe it. Melissa had kept the promise I’d made to Polly after all. Tears sprang into my eyes and to my utter shame I began to cry.