Chapter 32
We were to stay at Harling Hall as guests of the family.
Now that everyone in the house knew it was I who spoke to ghosts, not Melissa, it didn’t seem as important that we have our own space and privacy, so neither of us objected.
For my part, the thought of being under the same roof as Mia was a comfort, as I faced up to the challenge that lay before me.
She greeted me with a warm smile and a brief hug when we arrived at the Hall.
‘Thanks so much for coming,’ she said. ‘It’s great to have you back.’
Melissa raised an eyebrow, particularly when there was no hug for her. Mia did smile at her though and although the greeting she gave my sister was brief it was friendly enough – almost as friendly as the fuss she made of Honey.
I was relieved when Callie and Brodie didn’t berate me for what had happened. They greeted me with warmth and kindness, and they were surprisingly welcoming towards Melissa, too. It was as if our deception didn’t matter in the slightest any more. I suppose they had far bigger worries on their mind.
Agnes wasn’t so forgiving.
‘A fine pickle you’ve got us into,’ she told me crossly as I unpacked my case in the room Mia had shown me to.
‘What were you thinking? Meddling with things you didn’t understand and causing all this mayhem!
You have no idea what we’ve been through since you brought that woman back. She is insufferable.’
I thought Agnes was pretty insufferable herself but I forced myself to sound humble and apologetic as I assured her that I was aware of the mistake I’d made and that I would do everything I could to rectify it.
‘Well,’ she said with a sniff, ‘I suppose that’s something. Though how you’re going to send her back to wherever she came from, I have no idea.’
She wasn’t the only one. As we settled down for dinner that evening, I was aware that everyone at the table was expecting a lot from me and I wasn’t at all convinced I could deliver.
Honey had been fed and was in the kitchen with Brian the cat. Imogen had been given her dinner early and had gone upstairs to watch a film with Florrie, but there were plenty of people at the table as Agnes and Aubrey had decided to join us, along with the cause for all the concern.
Callie introduced me to Charlotte, Lady Davenport, who left me in no doubt that I was wasting my time to even attempt to send her back.
‘I suppose,’ she said, tapping her crop against her gloved palm in a truly unnerving manner, ‘I should thank you. Whether you intended it or not, you brought me back from the Great Beyond and now here I am, where I belong. Reunited with my beloved son in the house I love.’
Mel, who couldn’t see or hear anything, was watching my expression and must have realised I was listening to someone who wasn’t being encouraging. She gave me a sympathetic smile and I sighed, wondering how this was all going to play out and how it would end.
‘I’m very grateful to you,’ Lawrie told me. ‘You have a remarkable gift. I’m sure I could never have managed to bring someone back from beyond the veil. I’ve never heard of anyone who could.’
‘Let’s hope she’s learned her lesson,’ Agnes said, nodding furiously.
Aubrey, who’d been watching me with a compassionate expression in his eyes, chided her gently. ‘I’m sure she has, my dear, and there’s no need to make her feel even worse, is there? After all, she has a major task on her hands. We need her to feel supported and encouraged, do we not?’
‘You’re quite right,’ Agnes admitted. ‘I apologise, Verity, even though you were a foolish girl and it’s to be hoped you never attempt anything like that again.’
‘Don’t worry,’ I assured her fervently. ‘I won’t.’
Mia gave me a quizzical look, unable to hear the other end of the conversation, and I blushed and tried to look enthusiastic about my meal.
It was delicious, and the fact that Mia had cooked it herself only made it more appealing.
If I hadn’t been such a bundle of nerves, I’d have enjoyed it far more.
Lawrie, who we’d barely seen on our last visit, seemed to have improved in his health and was showing a great deal of interest in our ghost whispering skills.
He bombarded Melissa with questions about our family and was interested to learn that it was only the females who had the ability to see ghosts, and that it seemed to ebb and flow with our hormones.
‘And you’ve lost your ability?’ he asked her. ‘What a terrible shame for you.’
I glanced across at her and watched as she carefully dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
‘I, er, believe it’s a temporary glitch,’ she assured him. ‘I’m sure the sight will come back at some point.’
Mia gave me a knowing look, and I shook my head slightly.
I was frustrated that Mel still wasn’t accepting her fate, but I couldn’t blame her for keeping up appearances in front of all these people.
She had, after all, suffered a huge embarrassment already.
She’d advertised herself as the great Madam Mariska and had been paid to put on a séance, and yet it had been me who’d somehow raised two spirits and brought them to Rowan Vale.
It must be humiliating. Of course she was trying to save face in any way she could.
‘I wonder,’ Charlotte said with a malicious smile at Callie, ‘if the same fate awaits you? Maybe you’ll lose your ability to see us ghosts when you reach a certain age?
Now that would be interesting, wouldn’t it?
Your gift ebbing away along with your hormones.
Where would that leave Rowan Vale, do you think? ’
‘I shouldn’t think that would happen,’ I said hastily, seeing the stricken look on Callie’s face. ‘Lady Davenport was just questioning what would happen to Rowan Vale if the same thing were to happen to Callie,’ I explained, for the benefit of Mia, Mel and Brodie.
Brodie’s eyebrows knitted together in a frown. ‘You’re right. That will never happen.’
‘How old were you when you started to see ghosts?’ Melissa enquired, taking a sip of wine as she surveyed Callie over the rim of her glass.
‘About three or four,’ Callie said. ‘The first one I remember is a little boy called David, but there were others. Then the gift went away.’
Mel and I stared at her in surprise.
‘Went away? How? Why?’ Mel asked eagerly.
Callie shrugged. ‘I used to get in so much trouble from my dad when I saw them. He hated it. He said I was weird. Mum used to beg me to keep quiet about it and, in the end, I felt so bad about being able to see ghosts that I just… Well, I suppose I started shutting them out. I’d close my eyes, cover my ears.
If they talked to me, I’d ignore them. I wouldn’t even look in their direction. ’
‘Rude!’ Agnes said crossly.
‘And eventually, they stopped talking to me. I didn’t really see another one until the day I came here to Rowan Vale on my daughter’s school trip.’
I knew what Mel had been hoping but Callie’s story sounded nothing like hers. She’d been paid to talk to ghosts, for goodness’ sake. She’s hardly been hiding away from them or ignoring them. And anyway, Callie’s age was all wrong, which was something Mel clearly realised as she sighed.
‘Three or four? Not like our family then. We only start seeing ghosts when we hit adolescence.’
‘How fascinating,’ Lawrie murmured. ‘And how amazing that it’s only the female line affected. The entire history of the Harling Estate has been dominated by male ghost whisperers. Callie is the first woman we’ve ever had.’
‘Not necessarily, Lawrie,’ Mia contradicted him. ‘You’re making a big assumption there.’
‘Mia’s right, Grandpa,’ Brodie said. ‘We know so little about the Harlings after all. We’ve only really traced them back as far the late fifteenth century – at least in an unbroken line.
We know they were on this land years before that.
They were here before William the Conqueror stole the land from them.
They were mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Who knows how many women were the ones in charge before the written records start? ’
‘Nor,’ added Agnes wryly, ‘how many women with the gift were not allowed to take over the running of the estate, having to submit to their so-called male superiors – even those with an inferior gift?’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Lawrie said in surprise.
‘I never thought about that before. And of course, it’s the same for the other families who’ve owned the estate.
The Ashcrofts, the Wyndhams and the Davenports weren’t wealthy when they came here.
Well, the first Davenport owner was fairly wealthy, but he came from humble beginnings.
There are few records for such families pre-1700.
It’s perfectly possible that some of our female ancestors possessed the ability.
How extraordinary that I never thought of it before. ’
Charlotte yawned very loudly. ‘Fascinating, I’m sure. The fact remains, Callie is surplus to requirements now you have me, and this estate should be a Davenport estate once again.’
Callie glared at her. ‘Well unfortunately for you I’m afraid you can’t afford it. I don’t suppose you carry much money around with you, do you? And as legal owner I won’t be selling it any time soon anyway.’
‘Is Charlotte going on about running the estate again?’ Brodie demanded. ‘Great-Grandmother, get it into your head that’s never going to happen. You’ll be going home soon – wherever that is – and that will be an end to it.’
‘Your grandson is extremely rude,’ Charlotte told Lawrie. ‘I can tell your son didn’t chastise him enough.’
She hesitated a moment then, with a gleeful laugh, she tipped a jug of water into Brodie’s lap. He leapt up in shock as Callie yelled at Charlotte and Lawrie wailed, ‘Mother, please!’
‘That’s it!’ Agnes had clearly had enough. As Brodie grimly snatched up a napkin and began mopping the water from his sodden trousers, Agnes marched over to Charlotte and grabbed her by the hair. ‘You can leave this room until you learn some manners!’