Page 34 of Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall (Ghosts of Rowan Vale #1)

34

FLORRIE

Florrie wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it when that Callie woman told her she was needed in the kitchen. Not that she needed coaxing into the kitchen. Far from it. It was probably her favourite place in the entire house, what with them nice smells coming from the range all the time, and Mia singing softly to herself in quite a decent voice. Nice songs an’ all. Songs Florrie remembered her mum singing to her when she was back home.

Even so, choosing to go and sit in the kitchen was entirely different to being summoned there.

‘What ’ave I done now?’ she asked suspiciously as Callie ushered her down the hall.

‘You haven’t done anything,’ Callie assured her. ‘We’re just going to have a little talk, that’s all.’

Florrie sighed, expecting another lecture. Oh well, Immi had promised that she could go back and play with the kitten later, so that was something to look forward to. She could sit still for a few minutes while Callie moaned about whatever it was she was going to moan about and that would be that.

To her surprise, Mia was sitting at the table. Callie pulled out a chair and indicated to Florrie to sit down next to her, while Callie herself sat at the other side of her. I’m a Florrie sandwich, she thought, to cheer herself up and quell the sudden fear that had made her tummy go all funny.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked, determined not to show how nervous she was feeling, because what was there to be nervous about, really? Callie couldn’t grab hold of her. She could escape any time she wanted. And Mia probably didn’t even know she was there. Nothing to worry about at all.

‘Florrie,’ Callie said gently. ‘I have some news for you, and it might come as a bit of a shock.’

Florrie’s eyes narrowed. ‘Oh yeah? What’s that then?’

Callie’s eyes met Mia’s. Mia coughed, then, in a hesitant voice, she said, ‘Hello, Florrie.’

Florrie grinned. Party tricks or summat! They’d got it planned between them.

‘What is it? A joke?’ She winked at Callie. ‘Very good.’

‘It’s no joke, Florrie,’ Mia said quietly. ‘I can see you. I can hear you. I always could.’

Florrie jumped to her feet and stared at Mia in horror. ‘You never can! You’re fibbing!’

‘I’m really not fibbing,’ Mia said, leaving Florrie in no doubt that the woman could hear her.

‘What is this? What’s going on?’ she demanded. ‘Who else can see me?’

‘It’s just me,’ Mia assured her. ‘Please, sit down, Florrie. There’s no need to be afraid.’

‘I don’t get it,’ Florrie said, taking her seat and eyeing Mia suspiciously. ‘Are you like ’er then?’ She jerked her thumb towards Callie. ‘Can you see us all? Since when?’

Mia shook her head. ‘I can’t see any other ghosts. Only you. And the reason for that is, I’m related to you. I’m your great-niece, Florrie. You’re my great-aunt.’

Florrie stared at her. ‘What you on about? ’Ow can I be your great-aunt? You’re way older than I am! Oh…’

Her face crumpled as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing. ‘Who?’ she asked at last, her voice barely a whisper. ‘Who’s your mum and dad?’

‘My mum’s name isn’t important at the moment. It’s my grandma’s name you’ll recognise. She was called Janet.’

Florrie couldn’t take it in. She pictured that squawking, annoying baby, who’d been the bane of her life. That was how Janet had remained in her thoughts and memories. A baby. Now Mia was telling her that Janet was a granny. Had been a granny. Was called Janet, Mia had said. Not is.

She felt a sudden and unexpected grief.

‘Janet’s passed over?’

‘Five years ago,’ Mia told her kindly. ‘That’s when I came here, looking to find out about you. You see, my grandma never forgot about you. She so wanted to know more about you, but she was always too afraid to come here. Afraid of the emotions it would stir.’

‘Janet never knew me,’ Florrie said cautiously. ‘Not really. She was just a baby.’

‘But she grew up hearing all about you. You were so loved, Florrie,’ Mia told her tearfully, ‘and so missed.’

Florrie swallowed. ‘I was?’

‘Of course. Your mother never got over your loss. And your dad – he was broken. They lost so much in the war, you see. The family never recovered, and my grandma grew up in a terribly sad household.’

‘She did? Why? What else happened?’

Mia hesitated and looked at Callie.

‘Do you really want to know, Florrie?’ Callie asked her. ‘We can do this another time, if you like. It’s a lot to take in.’

‘I want to know it all now!’ Florrie begged. ‘Please.’

Mia nodded. ‘As you wish. Well, your brothers, Henry and Francis, enlisted in 1943. I’m sorry to say that Henry was killed that same year, and Francis died in early 1945.’

‘My brothers?’ Florrie’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘I thought – I mean, I always pictured them all together after the war. ’Aving a good time without me. But all this time they were dead and gone! Mum! My poor mum. How did she ever get over that?’

‘She didn’t. Not really. Three children lost. You can imagine her grief.’

Florrie thought about her poor mum without her three eldest children. She couldn’t imagine it. What had she done without Florrie, Francis and Henry to look after? They’d been her life.

‘She had Janet, though,’ she said at last. ‘I expect they were glad of ’er. I expect she was their little princess, what with being all they ’ad left.’

Mia shook her head. ‘It wasn’t like that. You see, when your father came home from the war, he was a different person. The day he arrived home, Janet was playing in the street. He picked her up and cuddled her, but she screamed blue murder. She was four years old, and she’d never seen him before. She had no idea he was her father. It set the pattern, unfortunately. He tried, but she wasn’t you. He simply didn’t take to her.’

Florrie gasped. ‘But that ain’t fair! She couldn’t ’elp it if she didn’t know who ’e was!’

‘No, but you must understand that your father had been a prisoner of war for a long time. He’d suffered a great deal. More than you or I could ever imagine. He was changed. When he came home, he struggled to adapt to civilian life. He and your mother were never the same. They were both mired in grief, and Janet grew up in a very sad and oppressive atmosphere.’

Florrie couldn’t take it in. She’d imagined Janet being spoilt rotten, but it sounded awful.

‘What ’appened to Janet?’ she asked eventually.

Mia’s face brightened. ‘She did very well for herself. Something amazing happened to her. She was talent-spotted by a modelling agent and given a contract. It was the 1960s and Janet became a big name.’ She glanced at Callie. ‘Have you heard of The Wisp?’

Callie’s face brightened so Florrie assumed she had.

‘What’s a wisp?’ she asked curiously.

‘Wasn’t she one of the supermodels of the sixties? I saw a programme about them once. Twiggy, The Shrimp, and The Wisp. I can’t remember…’ Callie’s voice trailed off. ‘Oh. It was a tribute programme because one of them had passed away.’

Mia nodded. ‘Five years ago. My grandma.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Callie said. ‘Hey, wait a minute! I saw her photo in the boutique down Churchside! There was a big display of sixties’ icons, and she was one of them!’

‘That’s right,’ Mia said, smiling. ‘I’ll take you to see her photo if you like, Florrie.’

‘Blimey,’ Florrie said. ‘So, she was famous? And her photo was there all the time? I’ve probably seen it. Just never took no notice.’

‘She made a fortune,’ Mia told her. ‘That’s how my mum got such great opportunities to travel, and how she came to marry my dad. They met at a party in Cannes, and they have a fabulous life. But if not for Grandma’s hard work, Mum would never have moved in those circles, and she’d never have met my dad.’

Florrie wasn’t entirely sure what they were talking about, but she got the gist. Janet had done well for herself. Well, good for her.

‘What about Mum and Dad?’ she asked. ‘What happened to them?’

‘Your dad passed in 1973,’ Mia told her. ‘Your mum six years later. Grandma had bought them a lovely house by then, though. They had a few happy years together in the countryside at the end. She did her best for them, Florrie.’

Florrie nodded, thoughts running wild as she tried to picture the sort of life Janet must have had. She couldn’t understand all this talk of shrimps and twigs, and had no idea what a supermodel was, but she grasped the fact that Janet had had a tough childhood. Fancy Dad not taking to her! He’d been so good with Florrie, but Janet had missed out on all that. All them years, growing up with a mum and dad who didn’t really care about you cos they were too lost in grief for their other kids. It didn’t bear thinking about really.

‘Why didn’t you tell me before?’ she asked as the thought occurred to her. ‘You’ve bin ’ere ages. Why are you only telling me now?’

Mia looked at Callie and Florrie had a feeling there was something they were both reluctant to tell her.

‘Go on,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a right to know, ain’t I?’

‘All right,’ Callie said. ‘I suppose you do. But I want you to try to look at it from Agnes’s point of view, okay?’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Florrie asked suspiciously.

Mia shook her head. ‘Oh! I wish I could hold your hand or give you a hug or something! Look, Florrie, the fact is, Agnes didn’t want you to know about me. She and Lawrie asked me not to let on to you that I could see you.’

Florrie gasped. ‘Agnes did? But why? Why would she do that to me?’

‘Because,’ Callie said gently, ‘as odd as it sounds, she loves you. She was afraid that seeing a member of your family would bring back horrible memories for you. Unsettle you again.’

‘And,’ Mia added, ‘she was afraid you wouldn’t want her any more. That she and Aubrey would be pushed aside.’

‘Why would she think that?’ Florrie asked, confused.

‘Maybe,’ Callie said gently, ‘she’s not entirely sure how you feel about them.’

Florrie pursed her lips. ‘She should’ve told me,’ she said.

‘I know. But it’s done now. She did the right thing in the end,’ Mia reminded her. ‘Are you okay? I know this must be really upsetting for you.’

Florrie got to her feet.

‘I’m all right,’ she said. ‘It’s a lot. Too much really. I’ll ’ave a good think about it all later.’ She gave Mia a brief smile. ‘I’m glad, though. I’m glad we’re family. I always liked you. I’ll bet your cooking tastes smashing.’

Mia smiled. ‘I cook a lot of things just for you, because I know you like the smells.’

‘You never do!’ Florrie grinned. ‘Well, would you believe it?’ The smile slid from her face, and she said quietly, ‘Do you mind if I go now? I want… I want to go.’

Mia and Callie assured her that she was free to go and that if she needed them, she knew where to find them.

Florrie left them behind and headed slowly into the hallway, deep in thought. She could hardly believe what had just happened. She’d been so envious of her siblings – of Henry and Francis, who’d been accepted by Uncle Vic while she’d been rejected. And of Janet. Precious Baby Janet who took up so much of her mum’s time and energy. Yet Henry and Francis hadn’t made it through the war, and Janet hadn’t received all the love and attention she should have. Not like her. Her mum and dad had loved her.

And then…

She stood at the bottom of the stairs, remembering. Remembering that day when she’d tumbled down them. Remembering the confusion, the sheer panic when she’d seen herself lying there, crumpled and broken. The memory of it still made her shudder. How she’d screamed! And no one heard her. No one saw her. A terrified little girl who didn’t understand what had happened to her.

But then a man had come running down the stairs. He’d put his arms around her. He’d held her tightly to him and murmured soothing words to her as he’d carried her back to the landing, where a woman had been waiting for them. They’d stroked her hair and told her everything was going to be all right. They’d taken her to a room and laid her on a sofa and told her she didn’t have to be afraid; they would look after her. Always.

And they had.

She looked up. Agnes and Aubrey were standing at the top of the stairs. They were holding hands, and she could see their anxious expressions from here. All that love they’d given her, ever since the day she’d fallen down these very stairs. All the hugs and comfort. All the tenderness and understanding.

She’d envied Janet, but now she saw that she’d been the lucky one, and she wouldn’t exchange places with Janet for all the tea in China.

With a sob, she ran up the stairs, as fast as her slightly-too-big wellies would allow, and threw herself into the waiting arms of her mum and dad.

Because they were her mum and dad. And she thought the blinkin’ world of ’em.