Page 18 of Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall (Ghosts of Rowan Vale #1)

18

After a dinner of shepherd’s pie and chocolate cheesecake, Mia offered to keep Immi company while I had my meeting with Brodie.

I was ridiculously nervous, which made me quite cross with myself. After all, I was the boss here, right? This was my estate now. I shouldn’t have to feel anxious about asking Brodie for help, although he hadn’t exactly reassured me over dinner. He’d barely said a word, and when Lawrie had told me the meeting was on, I’d thanked Brodie, and he’d merely grunted in response.

I couldn’t fathom him out. Was he the misery who let his disappointment over his life not turning out the way he’d hoped turn him into a sullen jerk, or was he the kind-hearted man who was nice to Immi and mowed old ladies’ lawns for them? Maybe, I thought philosophically, he was both.

Most of us are, after all.

Finding myself alone with him in the study was enough to make my palms sweat. Mia had kindly brought us coffee and left us to it, and Brodie indicated that I should take the seat behind the desk.

‘I think you should sit there,’ I said. ‘You’re the one explaining things to me, after all.’

‘It’s your study,’ he said mildly. ‘Your desk. Your chair. You should sit in it.’

‘I’d really rather not,’ I began, but I saw his eyebrows knit together in a frown and changed my mind. ‘Okay.’

Brodie sat on the other side of the desk and surveyed me with cool blue eyes. Brilliant blue eyes. Gosh, they were so blue. I’d never seen anything like them. And those black eyelashes…

‘Right,’ he said. ‘Where do you want to start?’

‘As far back as you can go,’ I said glumly. ‘I don’t understand much at all.’

He nodded. ‘Right. Well?—’

‘But the main thing that’s worrying me,’ I said, considering, ‘is money. How am I supposed to finance this house? It’s huge. And then there’s all the staff popping in and out, and the food bills – because, let’s face it, Mia hardly skimps on the cooking, does she?’ I held up my hand as he opened his mouth to speak. ‘I know, I know. Everyone in this village is a tenant, and we get rent from them all. But is that enough, really? I’d have thought the rent would go towards maintaining their properties. They’re not exactly newbuilds, are they? When I think of the upkeep, it makes me shudder. And anyway, what about?—’

Brodie cleared his throat. ‘Am I allowed to speak?’

‘Oops,’ I said. ‘Sorry. Go ahead.’

Brodie opened his mouth again.

‘The council tax must be astronomical on this house,’ I considered. ‘You can see why I’m worried?’ I didn’t, after all, want him to think I was making a fuss about nothing.

Brodie remained silent.

‘Well? Aren’t you going to explain?’

‘I’ve been trying to!’ He shook his head. ‘Good God, you’d try the patience of a saint. Will you let me get a word in edgeways or not?’

My face burned with embarrassment. ‘Sorry. Again. Go ahead.’

‘The Harling Trust,’ he said simply.

There was nothing else. I waited then gave an impatient shrug. ‘And?’

‘Oh, sorry, I assumed you’d be butting in, so I was waiting for you to get it over with.’

‘Very funny. What’s the Harling Trust?’

‘It’s a fund that was set up back in the days of the Harlings, hundreds of years ago. It’s only to be used to fund the upkeep and repair of the estate. Nothing else. No personal gain whatsoever.’

‘Does that include keeping this house going? Doesn’t Eton mess and chocolate cheesecake count as personal gain? Personal weight gain at the very least.’

‘Callie!’

‘Sorry. Go on.’

‘The estate includes Harling Hall, naturally. The upkeep of the house is covered by the fund, and that includes the cost of staff to keep it maintained and clean. Personal items are not covered, and that includes replacing original furniture with new, and any food or clothing. The fuel bills are covered, though, as is the council tax, you’ll be relieved to know.’

‘But if the fund doesn’t cover food or clothing,’ I said frowning, ‘that means I’m already in debt.’

He shook his head. ‘Grandpa’s covered all that for now, until your allowance kicks in.’

I gave him a hopeful look. ‘My allowance?’

‘Naturally, you’re not expected to live on fresh air. The Harling Trust pays for the estate. The money from the entrance fees and parking charges goes into a separate account for emergencies, along with the rents. Apart, that is, from your monthly allowance. It’s not an astronomical sum so don’t get your hopes up, but I’ve no doubt it will be more than you were earning at the agency, and you’ll have no rent or bills to pay, obviously. It should be in your account by the end of next week.’

I felt weak with relief. ‘But where did all this money come from?’ I asked.

‘The Harlings were close friends with William.’

‘William who?’

Brodie sighed. ‘Who do you think? The King of England after 1066 and all that. Basically, they saw what was happening and wormed their way into his good books. He awarded them this estate, although rumour has it that it belonged to them before he seized it after the Conquest anyway. Seems they did whatever it took to win it back. We have no details of what that entailed and it’s probably a good thing.

‘Grandpa’s of the opinion that they wouldn’t have tolerated him if not for the ghosts. He believes they were already guardians of the place and were determined to claw it back by whatever means necessary, to continue their duty. Anyway, whether that’s true or not, they managed it and made a huge success of it. Their fortune grew and they hid money away for centuries. Masses of gold and possessions, stashed away safely. They even managed to keep it safe from the Parliamentarians in the Civil War, which can’t have been easy.’

‘Ooh,’ I said, entranced. ‘I’d forgotten about the Civil War! What happened to the Harlings then? And this house?’

‘It was seized, of course, and sold to another family who weren’t Royalists. But the Harlings were determined people. Even before the monarchy was restored, they’d paid land agents to buy the estate back for them and continued as before. It was only when the gift of the sight wasn’t passed on that they gave it up.’ He shook his head. ‘It must have been so traumatic for them. They were here centuries – far longer than any other owners managed. Everything they did was to protect this place, invest in it, guard the ghosts. They must have been an incredible family.’

‘What happened to them after they left here?’

Brodie shrugged. ‘There’s no record. I guess they made a new life for themselves somewhere and tried to put this place out of their minds. What else could they do? They could have driven themselves mad pining for it otherwise.’

The set of his mouth told me he was expecting much the same fate, and I felt another pang of sadness for him.

‘Anyway,’ he said brusquely, ‘the Ashcrofts took over and, although they started as lowly peasants, they soon changed their fortune and managed to add to the Trust, as did the Wyndhams and, actually, the Davenports.’ He gave a modest shrug. ‘So, you have no need to worry about funding this place.’

‘Thanks so much,’ I said, incredibly relieved. ‘Honestly, if you knew how scared I’ve been!’

‘I don’t get it. Why didn’t you just read the documents that came with the contract? They explained everything.’

I hesitated, not wanting to admit my dyslexia to someone I was sure would never understand it. ‘It looked so complicated and, well, boring. Just skimming the first paragraph told me I’d never grasp it.’

I waited for his scornful retort, but to my amazement, he burst out laughing. ‘You sound just like Grandpa! He leaves all that sort of thing to me.’

‘So I heard,’ I said, amazed that he found my incompetence funny rather than another source of irritation.

‘You should see his face go pale when I start talking about finances. “You deal with that, Brodie; you’re so good at this sort of thing.”’

It was my turn to laugh at his surprisingly accurate impersonation of his grandfather.

‘Tell you what,’ he said, ‘I’ll do you an Idiot’s Guide to the Harling Estate , so you won’t have to read the real thing, and you’ll know how everything works. How does that sound?’

‘You will?’ I couldn’t believe it. ‘That would be amazing! Do you understand all this financial stuff then?’

‘I should do,’ he said. ‘I trained as an accountant.’

‘You did?’ I wrinkled my nose at the thought. ‘Why?’

‘Probably the same reason most people do any job. To earn money.’

‘But you don’t have a job,’ I said puzzled.

‘Of course I do. I’m the estate’s accountant,’ he explained patiently. ‘The trust pays me a salary. It was Grandpa’s idea. I was happy to go along with it.’

‘Oh.’ Did that made him staff? Awkward. ‘Then what will you do when you leave here?’

‘Get another job or set up my own business. That was always the plan. We knew the day was coming when we’d have to leave, so Grandpa figured I’d better get a decent career for when that happened. In the meantime, I took care of all the financial matters for him, which he hates.’

‘But,’ I said dismayed, ‘who’ll do the accounts when you go?’

‘You’ll employ another accountant,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. Mr Eldridge will help you find someone suitable. He’s probably already on the case, knowing him. He’s very capable.’

‘He’ll have to find someone exceptional then,’ I said worriedly. ‘I mean, you’re obviously doing a fantastic job, and you understand the estate. You know the people. I mean, you mow some old lady’s lawn, for goodness’ sake!’

He sighed. ‘Gets me out of the office. But you’re right, I do understand the estate. I always loved it here, and Grandpa was more than happy to nurture my interest. I think it upset him a lot that Dad was never keen.’

‘Wasn’t he?’ I leaned forward, interested to know more about him and his family. ‘Where is your dad anyway?’

‘Sydney,’ he said.

‘Blimey, he couldn’t have got much further away, could he? What’s he doing there?’

‘Living a very happy and fulfilling life with my mum,’ he said with a shrug. ‘He’s got several business interests in Australia, and he loves the place, so…’

‘How old were you when they moved there?’ I asked curiously.

‘Twelve.’

‘Twelve! And you didn’t go with them?’

He shook his head. ‘I was supposed to, naturally, but I played up so much about it that they were seriously worried. When Grandpa offered to look after me, it was all sorted.’

‘They just let you stay here?’ I couldn’t imagine letting Immi go so easily. The thought of leaving my daughter to move to the other side of the world filled me with horror.

‘They knew I wouldn’t settle and that I much preferred the Cotswolds, but they had to be in Oz for business. What could they do?’

Sod the business and stay with their child I thought but said nothing. I supposed people were all different, and besides, it had clearly been a good decision as far as Brodie and Lawrie were concerned.

‘I’m in touch with them regularly,’ Brodie said hastily, as if worried I was judging them too harshly. ‘We have a great relationship, and I don’t have any regrets about not going to Australia. I belong here. I mean, I belonged here…’

He looked away, clearly embarrassed.

I said gently, ‘I’m so sorry the way things have turned out, Brodie.’

For a moment he was still, as if considering how to respond, then he turned back to face me. ‘Thank you,’ he said simply and smiled.

I smiled back and for a moment, I felt a real connection with and empathy for him. Then my hand flew to my chest, and I shrieked before I could stop myself.

Brodie jumped. ‘What is it?’

‘Florrie!’ I said, leaping up.

I glared at a grinning Florrie, who’d stuck her head through one of the portraits on the wall, crossed her eyes and waggled her fingers at me, momentarily frightening the life out of me.

She wasn’t grinning for long, though. Agnes’s head appeared next to hers, and she glared at her.

‘Behave yourself, young lady! Can’t you see Callie and Brodie are in a meeting?’

‘Ooh, a meeting,’ Florrie said, pretending to swoon. ‘Is that what it is? Callie and Brodie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!’

‘Do you mind?’ I said, my embarrassment temporarily making me forget that Brodie couldn’t hear her.

‘What on earth are you babbling about?’ Agnes asked, clearly bewildered. With obvious reluctance, she said, ‘I’m sorry about this, Callie. I’ll take her back upstairs.’

They disappeared and I landed back in my chair with a thud.

‘That girl!’ I said crossly. ‘Honestly, you have no bloody idea how lucky you are not to be able to see ghosts!’

Brodie’s expression darkened and I realised my mistake. What a stupid thing to say to someone who was about to lose everything for that very reason.

He got to his feet. ‘Well, I’ll be going,’ he said, and the old, sharp tone was back in his voice. It felt as if all the closeness we’d just achieved had been washed away by my one careless remark.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I didn’t mean?—’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he replied. ‘I do have to go, though. I’m meeting someone. I’ll get onto the simplified version of the contract tomorrow. Have a good night.’

With that, he left me sitting alone in the big, empty study, and I sank back in the chair with a sigh. Just for a moment there, I’d really thought we’d connected. There was such a nice side to Brodie, and I couldn’t help wishing I could see it more often.

Then my thoughts turned back to Florrie, and I frowned. What was I going to do about that little madam?