Page 24 of Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall (Ghosts of Rowan Vale #1)

24

As it turned out, I didn’t ask Agnes and Aubrey why they never left the grounds. At dinner that evening, I’d mentioned to Lawrie about seeing Quintus Severus and the questions it had thrown up for me, and when I told him my thoughts about our housemates never leaving the grounds of Harling Hall, he’d advised me not to discuss it with them.

‘It’s their business, Callie,’ he said. ‘Best not to interfere.’

‘I wasn’t going to interfere,’ I said indignantly. ‘I’m just curious, that’s all.’

‘But if you mention it, you could stir up some issues that are best left,’ he explained. ‘Take it from me; however Agnes and Aubrey choose to live their afterlives is up to them. You’ve still got a lot to learn about this place and it’s best to tread lightly until you’re better acquainted with the facts.’

‘So, what are the facts?’ I asked, feeling rather annoyed. I was still peeved that he’d blocked the lessons, so I wasn’t in any mood for him to make even more demands.

‘It’s not for me to say,’ he said, clearly uncomfortable.

‘But if I can’t ask them , and you won’t tell me, how am I supposed to know?’

He sighed. ‘You don’t have to know everything. Agnes and Aubrey are entitled to a private life. Just leave them to it.’

I couldn’t hide my annoyance, and Brodie clearly sensed it. As Lawrie and Immi headed into the sitting room after dinner, he stayed behind to help Mia and me clear the table, something I did regularly, even though Mia insisted she didn’t need my help.

‘Don’t take it personally,’ Brodie said as he scraped the leftovers from each plate and stacked them on a tray. ‘He’s very protective of the ghosts – especially the ones in this house.’

‘Especially Agnes,’ Mia added primly. As we both looked at her, she said, ‘Sorry. None of my business.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ I said. ‘You’re as entitled to your opinion as anyone else. Why do you say he’s especially fond of Agnes?’

She shrugged. ‘No reason really. Just the things he says sometimes, and the way he talks about her. I don’t know. He always seems to have a soft spot for her, that’s all. I don’t know why.’

‘I do,’ Brodie admitted. ‘Agnes was the first ghost he can remember seeing when he was tiny. He was born in this house, remember? Agnes apparently spent a lot of time with him when he was a small child. His first memory isn’t of his own parents, but of her, sitting by his bedside, telling him stories. She doted on him by all accounts, and he saw her almost like a loving grandmother.’

‘Really?’ I gasped. ‘Agnes?’

‘Yes, really.’ He grinned. ‘Is it so hard to believe? Is she really that bad?’

‘Yes,’ Mia and I chorused, then looked at each other.

‘From what I’ve heard,’ Mia added hastily. ‘You’re right, though, and it would explain a lot. Lawrie always speaks of her so fondly, and even when she’s being stubborn and annoying, he makes excuses for her. Poor Aubrey doesn’t stand a chance, really.’

‘Well, the fact remains that Grandpa doesn’t want Agnes upset, so it’s best we just let them get on with things,’ Brodie said. ‘But that doesn’t mean you should see it as an insult, Callie. I’m sure he didn’t mean to offend you. He’s just protective of her, as I said, and was desperate to ensure you didn’t rock the boat in any way.’

Thinking about it, I supposed I had been a bit pushy. After all, Lawrie had lived in this village all his life. He knew the ghosts and what they needed more than I did, and I was probably unwise to think I should just barge in and change things. I didn’t really have the right to interfere in the Wyndhams’ relationship. Maybe I’d been wrong to push for the children to have lessons too, although I still thought it was a good idea. But if Lawrie said it wasn’t…

‘I don’t want to fall out with him,’ I said reluctantly. ‘Especially not over Agnes.’

‘Well then.’ His face brightened. ‘Let’s forget all this and join them in the sitting room.’

‘Yes, do that,’ Mia said with feeling. ‘Leave me to do my job for once. You’re making me feel surplus to requirements, Callie.’

‘I seem to be in everyone’s way lately,’ I said with a sigh.

‘Not at all.’ She placed the empty gravy jug on the tray beside the stack of plates. ‘I do appreciate you offering to help and your concern for my welfare, but I promise you, I’m quite happy with my own routine and I’d rather you joined Lawrie and Immi for the evening. And you were saying you’ve barely had time to be with Immi lately so make the most of it while you can.’

She had a point so, reluctantly, I left her to finish up in the dining room and headed into the sitting room where Lawrie and my daughter were sitting in opposite armchairs and Immi had the kitten – still nameless – on her lap.

Lawrie turned and beamed at me, our rather heated conversation evidently forgotten. ‘I was just saying to Immi,’ he said, ‘that she really ought to think of a name for this poor little chap. We can’t keep calling him Kitty and Tux. Unless, of course, she intends to name him Kitty or Tux.’

‘It has to be just right,’ Immi insisted. ‘I can’t just call him any old thing.’

‘You’ve had him for five days now,’ I reminded her, settling on the sofa where I was joined by Brodie. ‘It can’t be that hard to think of a name, surely?’

‘How old was I when you thought of my name?’ she asked slyly.

She had me there. As I’d foolishly once told her, I’d ummed and aahed and dithered pathetically after she’d been born, changing my mind on a daily basis until the deadline for registering her birth was nearly upon me.

At that point, my stepmother’s patience snapped, and she wrote all the names I’d been considering on scraps of paper, stuck them in an empty cereal bowl and made me draw one out. I’d drawn out the name Olivia, and she’d insisted Dad drive me to the register office immediately before I could change my mind.

Except, I had changed my mind, and when the registrar asked me for the baby’s name, I’d blurted out Imogen. So, Imogen she was, and with only twenty-four hours to the deadline too.

‘All right,’ I said with a sigh. ‘You win. Take your time.’

‘Hmm,’ Brodie said, ‘I get the feeling there’s a story behind that sudden surrender.’

‘Never you mind,’ I said darkly. ‘Though I’ve no doubt Immi will fill you in before too long.’

He winked at Immi, who grinned back. Yep, no doubt about it. She’d tell him everything. Although, it was nice to see the two of them getting on so well. He was really good with her. In fact, I had to admit that, just lately, he’d been very easy to live with. He seemed to have accepted that it was time to move on and made his peace with it.

It was odd, but it was I who was struggling to accept it. The thought of Harling Hall without Brodie – and Lawrie of course – was depressing. I’d got used to having them around and enjoyed their company. It just wouldn’t be the same without them, even though I knew it was for the best.

‘Violet sent me a text earlier,’ Immi told me. ‘She was asking me loads of questions about this place and how we’re getting on. I can’t wait for her to visit in the summer holidays. She’ll love the kitten.’

My heart sank like a stone. ‘I don’t think that’s such a good idea,’ I said, trying to hide how appalled I felt at the notion.

Her face fell. ‘But you promised! We’ve already told her she can come in the summer.’

‘I know,’ I said uncomfortably. ‘But we’re still getting used to this place ourselves. Maybe it would be better if she visited later in the year. Maybe after Christmas?’

‘Christmas? That’s months away!’

‘Not really. It will fly by, we’re both so busy.’

‘Well,’ Immi said stubbornly, ‘I think you’re wrong, but I suppose you get the final say as usual.’

She scooped the kitten up and flounced out of the sitting room.

‘So now she’s eleven, she starts to act like a moody teenager?’ I asked, throwing up my hands in despair. ‘Great. That’s all I need.’

‘I’ll go and talk to her,’ Lawrie said, easing himself out of the chair. ‘Might coax her back into a good mood with some ice cream.’

‘She’s just had a dessert,’ I pointed out. ‘She doesn’t need bribing with more food.’

‘No, but I really fancy some ice cream,’ he said, his eyes twinkling. ‘She can watch me eat mine if nothing else.’

He reached for his stick and made his way out of the room, and I gave a heavy sigh.

‘Not having a good day, are you?’ Brodie said sympathetically.

‘Does it show?’ I gave him a rueful smile. ‘It will be okay. Immi’s not one to hold a grudge.’

‘Forgive me if I’m speaking out of turn,’ he said, ‘but I really don’t see the big deal about inviting her friend to stay. There’s certainly enough room here.’

‘She wouldn’t like it at the Hall,’ I said, although I wasn’t convinced that was true. Violet hadn’t minded Immi seeing ghosts so I couldn’t see her freaking out about this old house, particularly as she’d nagged to go ghost hunting in graveyards. ‘She’d find it old and creepy.’

He laughed. ‘Oh well, maybe she can bring a tent and pitch it in the grounds.’

‘I wouldn’t put it past her,’ I said glumly. ‘And I wouldn’t put it past Immi to suggest it to her.’

‘What’s the problem, really? Don’t you like this girl or something? She surely can’t be as bad as Florrie!’

‘She’s not. She’s actually a really nice girl,’ I said.

‘Then…’

‘Violet knows that Immi can see ghosts,’ I said heavily.

‘Well, that’s – that’s good. Isn’t it? I mean, the fact that she still wants to be friends with her is great. Right?’

‘Is it? Right now, her mum just thinks Immi had a vivid imagination when she was very young,’ I said. ‘What if, after Violet comes here and discovers what this village really is, she tells her mum the truth about us? About me!’

‘You sound so panicky,’ he said gently. ‘This is a really big deal to you, isn’t it?’

‘Of course it is! All I ever wanted was to be normal. It’s all Mum ever wanted, too, and I’ve tried so hard…’

To my horror, I realised tears had escaped my eyes and were sliding down my cheeks. How embarrassing!

‘Sorry,’ I said, frantically wiping my face. ‘Ignore me.’

‘Your mum,’ Brodie said, ‘is she?—’

‘She died when I was six,’ I said, swallowing down my grief. ‘Everything changed then.’

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

I half laughed, aware that tears were still escaping. ‘You wouldn’t want to know.’

‘Try me.’ He headed to the bureau in the corner of the room and took out a box of tissues. ‘Here,’ he said, handing them to me.

‘Thanks.’ I wiped my eyes and nose and stuffed a tissue up my sleeve. ‘Where do I even start?’

‘Tell me about your mum. You and she got on?’

I nodded. ‘She was lovely. Except… except she hated that I could see the ghosts. It really freaked her out. I always thought it was an overreaction, but then Dad – God, I hate calling him that, he never deserved the title – was so bloody horrible about it. It was Dad who called it a curse, but Mum agreed with him.’

‘I see,’ Brodie said slowly. ‘So, they made you feel…’

‘Like a freak,’ I said bitterly. ‘Mum made me lie constantly because Dad used to get so angry when I’d talked to a ghost, so in the end, I was paranoid about showing any signs of communicating with them. I used to ignore them. Close my eyes to them. Cover my ears when they tried talking to me. Then Mum died and it was just me and him and things got so much worse. You know,’ I said bitterly, ‘for the first time, I’d have given anything to be able to see a ghost. I used to wait for her – for Mum. But she never came. And then, gradually, they all stopped coming and… Well, I think I just forgot about them. That I could ever see them. Or I blocked it all out. This place,’ I said, ‘reawakened something. Not just the memories, but the curse itself.’

‘I wish you’d stop thinking of it as a curse,’ he said earnestly. ‘It’s an amazing gift. That’s how Immi sees it too.’

‘How do you know?’ I asked. ‘Have you been talking to her about it?’

‘A bit,’ he said. ‘She’s good at telling me when Agnes, Aubrey, and Florence are around and filling me in on what they’re doing or saying. Aubrey and I have been able to have brief conversations, thanks to Immi being our go-between. It’s kind of nice.’

I wasn’t sure I liked that idea. I’d been hoping Immi would be more interested in living people now she was at school, and I didn’t want Brodie encouraging her to spend time with the ghosts.

‘I had no idea,’ I murmured. Then again, how would I? I hadn’t been around much for her lately, had I? ‘Why didn’t your grandfather do that for you?’ I asked as the thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘He never offered, and I never liked to ask. He was always so busy when I was younger, and by the time he started to slow down, the pattern had been set, I suppose. The estate took up such a lot of his time, and I didn’t want to be a bother or get in the way.’

I nibbled my thumbnail. I could well understand how running the estate would take up Lawrie’s time, but to the exclusion of his grandson? Brodie must have been left alone quite a lot of the time. I didn’t want that to happen to Immi.

‘It’s different for you,’ he said, as if he knew what I was thinking. ‘Immi can see the ghosts too. She can be part of it. I never could. I wish I could be, though. That’s what I mean when I say it isn’t a curse. It’s a gift, and I can’t believe your parents made you feel that way.’

He waited while I tore another tissue from the box and dabbed at the fresh tears.

‘Are you okay? Do you want to leave it?’ he asked.

‘No, it’s all right. Now that I’ve started, I just want to pour it all out. I’m so bloody angry!’

He nodded. ‘Anger’s good. Get it all off your chest. I’m here to listen. So, after your mum died, you lived with your dad?’

‘Huh!’ I gave a bitter laugh. ‘You must be joking. He couldn’t pack me off quickly enough. I spent my childhood being passed from one of his relatives to another, and none of them were that eager to have me. It was only because of the benefits they could claim that they took me in at all.’

‘Didn’t – didn’t your mum have any relatives you could go to?’

‘No. Mum was an only child, and her mum – my gran – died before I was born. Gran was adopted and had no brothers or sisters or even any aunts or uncles. I don’t know anything about my grandad’s side at all. All I had were my dad’s relatives, and they were as lousy as he was. Then he moved to Leicestershire and remarried, and I was sent to live with them . I was fifteen. He was a bit better while she was around, but she got fed up when I had Immi. Didn’t want a baby in the house. It was us or her, so obviously he chose her.’

Brodie rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. ‘Bloody hell, Callie. I’m so sorry.’

I shrugged. ‘It’s okay. Social services got involved and they got us a flat. When Immi was old enough to go to nursery, I started working – barmaid, waitress, checkout girl, school dinner lady. You name it, I did it. I got help with childcare and then, when Immi started school, she made friends with Violet and her mum offered to mind her until I got home from work and during the school holidays. I signed on with the care agency and I’ve been there ever since. I was lucky.’

‘Yeah,’ Brodie murmured. ‘Really lucky.’

‘Don’t feel sorry for me!’ I said, alarmed. ‘I’m not some helpless victim. I did all right. I did all right by Immi too.’

‘More than all right, Callie. I think you’re amazing.’

I hardly knew how to react to the way he was looking at me. The warmth in those blue eyes of his had made me go all funny inside, and that was something I wasn’t expecting.

‘I’m sorry too,’ I said. ‘That you can’t see the ghosts, I mean. It must be awful for you when you’ve grown up in a household where talking to ghosts is nothing unusual. I don’t know. We’ve both struggled because we’re not normal in our families, haven’t we? Shame we can’t swap places.’

‘It would be so much better if we could both see them,’ he said. ‘I really wouldn’t want you to lose your gift. And it is a gift, Callie. I hope one day you’ll come to fully accept that.’

‘It’s getting easier,’ I admitted. ‘Being here in this village where everyone takes it for granted that ghosts exist and that I can see them all – well, it’s stopped me feeling like such an oddity. But the fear never leaves. The feeling of being rejected. Abandoned. I don’t want Immi to go through that with Violet. Right now, they’re friends, but if she tells her mum…’

‘It’s odd,’ he mused. ‘You and Immi both having this gift. I wonder where it comes from?’

‘My gran,’ I said. ‘I remember Mum telling me once, when I was very young. I can’t remember all the details, but she said Gran could see ghosts, too, and that she had an awful life because of it, and she didn’t want the same for me. Well, look what happened. She died and I was left with him . And you say it’s not a curse?’

‘I understand why you’d feel that way.’ Brodie reached out and lightly stroked the side of my face with his forefinger. ‘But you’re special, Callie. So is Immi. Just remember, there’s nothing wrong with either of you, and you have nothing to be ashamed of, so don’t ever let anyone make you feel that way again.’

His blue eyes were warm with understanding, and I wondered how I’d ever considered him to be an arse. God, he was gorgeous! I could sit here gazing at him forever, him stroking my face and…

‘Pub quiz,’ I said as the thought occurred to me.

He blinked, dropping his hand. ‘Sorry?’

‘Clara says there’s a pub quiz on Thursday nights at The Quicken Tree. She’s invited me along tomorrow. Do you – I mean, do you ever go?’ I asked hopefully, just about stopping short of inviting him.

He looked a bit awkward. ‘Not really. I’m usually busy. I’ve got a lot on tomorrow evening.’

Of course he had. My heart sank as I realised he was making excuses and I’d been carried away by his kindness, seeing things that just weren’t there, probably because his was the only attention I’d had from any man in years. I’d forgotten that they could be nice without wanting anything in return.

Anyway, what on earth was I doing? He would be leaving soon. At the end of June, Lawrie had said. That was only a couple of weeks away. There was no point in me going all gooey over Brodie Davenport.

I jumped up and he leaned away, startled by my sudden movement.

‘I’m just going to pop upstairs and go through the Idiot’s Guide again…’

‘Oh.’ Clearly taken aback by my change in attitude, he said, ‘Okay. Look, Callie, if you need to talk at any time?—’

‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I’m fine now, honestly.’

I swept into the hallway without looking back and practically galloped upstairs, wincing as I heard Agnes calling, ‘Has no one ever told you that you should walk sedately up the stairs, Callie? You’re not a Labrador.’

Thank goodness Brodie couldn’t hear her.

Though it didn’t matter in the slightest what he thought.

It mustn’t ever matter.