Page 52

POLLY

Polly was thrilled to see Shona and Max stepping through the French doors onto the terrace at the side of the Hall. She’d watched in delight as the two of them had kissed and made up, and realised Shona was about to tell him the truth about his grandfather. For that, they needed privacy.

Even so, she didn’t think Shona would mind if she was hanging around nearby. After all, her niece might need some support if Max still struggled to accept the reality of ghosts.

She moved forward but was surprised to hear a voice say, ‘Oh no you don’t, Aunt Polly!’

Pippa moved to her side and shook her head, a look of amusement in her eyes.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Polly said indignantly.

‘I think you do. You were going to follow Mum and Max and do a bit of eavesdropping, weren’t you?’

‘I was not! I was simply going to offer your mother my support if Max proved difficult.’

Pippa laughed. ‘It’s me you’re talking to! We’re too much alike, Aunt Polly. Incurably nosy. Why do you think I became a reporter?’

Polly hesitated, then she started to laugh. ‘All right, you have a point. I’ll leave them to it. It’s looking very promising though, isn’t it?’

Pippa nodded. ‘It really is. Fingers crossed, eh?’

Polly held up her hand, showing her fingers tightly entwined. But in the next moment, her hand dropped, and she murmured, ‘I don’t believe it!’

She heard Pippa ask, ‘What is it, Aunt Pol?’ but didn’t reply.

She looked around, wondering if the other ghosts had noticed anything and saw some of them certainly had, as there was a great deal of staring and muttering going on.

Then Callie and Lawrie moved closer to the door, stunned expressions on their faces, and the other ghosts, including Polly, followed them.

Quintus Severus!

The big, burly, Roman centurion was standing on the threshold of the room, as serious and official-looking as always.

‘Quintus, my dear fellow,’ Lawrie cried. ‘How marvellous to see you here!’

‘I’m so pleased to meet you,’ Callie said, a wide smile on her face. ‘I’m Callie Chase. I’m the new owner of the Harling Estate.’

Quintus gave her a stiff bow. ‘An honour to meet you,’ he told her.

Polly couldn’t take her eyes off him. It had been a long, long time since she’d been this close to him, and she hadn’t been in any fit state to really take in any details.

He was a big, burly man of North African origin, and there was something incredibly magnetic about him.

She wanted to hug him. To thank him for all he’d done that night.

But she was too nervous, and besides, there were all these people around.

Callie evidently shared her admiration, though. ‘You look magnificent,’ she told him. ‘You really do. So, they let you keep the uniform? The armour, I mean. Whatever you call it.’

Quintus looked puzzled. ‘Let me keep it? I don’t understand your meaning.’

‘The bosses. You know, whoever was in charge of you when you were in the Roman army. They let you keep all that gear when you retired?’

Quintus gazed down at his white tunic, brown sandals, and heavy body armour.

He carried a shield and a spear and had a sword strapped to his side.

His helmet covered the sides of his face as well as the top of his head, and he had a brown scarf wrapped around his neck and tucked under his breastplate.

Impressive wasn’t an adequate word for him really.

‘I had not yet retired,’ he said briefly.

Callie glanced at Lawrie, who shrugged.

‘But Lawrie said?—’

‘No.’

‘Okay. But you lived in Gloucester, right? Glevum, I mean.’

Quintus blinked. ‘No.’

Lawrie cleared his throat. ‘Well, maybe I got a little mixed up. It was an awfully long time ago that he and I talked.’

‘Evidently,’ Callie said. ‘Well, it’s lovely to meet you at last. I can’t believe you’ve come to the tea dance. Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.’

The Roman shook his head. To Polly’s horror, he pointed directly at her.

‘I’ve come to fetch her .’

Everyone turned to look at her.

‘Polly?’ Lawrie asked. ‘What do you want with her, old chap?’

Quintus didn’t reply. ‘You must come with me,’ he told Polly firmly.

Polly didn’t like the sound of that. She stepped back, feeling a growing fear. Quintus Severus might have helped Sir Edward back in the day, but he was a soldier when all was said and done, and everyone knew how brutal the Romans could be. What the heck could he want with her? It didn’t make sense.

‘I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you,’ she said.

‘Harmony said so,’ he told her.

Polly felt a little easier at that, although she was still wary. ‘Harmony sent you to fetch me?’

‘Will you come?’ he asked.

She still wasn’t sure. Callie gave her a sympathetic smile and turned to Quintus.

‘Would it be okay if I went with Polly? I think she’s a bit nervous, you see, and a familiar face might make her feel a bit easier.’

Quintus frowned. ‘Why are you nervous? I have been polite, have I not?’

‘Well, yes…’ Polly said.

He gave her a brief nod. ‘Good.’ He turned to Callie. ‘Very well. You may come with us as you are the owner of the Harling Estate. All others remain here.’

It wasn’t a request, and looking at the faces of the other ghosts, Polly didn’t think any of them were likely to test him on it.

Even Brooke, who was clearly enchanted with the handsome soldier, was looking a bit scared.

She’d half-hidden behind Danny, which was almost laughable, given how petrified he looked.

‘Let Brodie know, will you?’ Callie murmured to Lawrie.

He nodded. ‘Don’t worry, Callie. He’s a good chap. He won’t hurt you.’

‘Says the man who seems to have got every fact about Quintus Severus wrong so far,’ Polly muttered.

They left Harling Hall and began to walk in the direction of the church. A couple of people waved at Callie, completely unaware that she was with two ghosts.

‘Lovely weekend,’ they called. ‘I hope you’re going to do it again next year.’

Callie smiled and waved back, but Polly could tell she was distracted, and no wonder. It was hard to keep up with Quintus, as he had long strides and covered the ground far faster than they did.

‘Where are we going?’ Polly whispered to Callie as they passed the church, crossed the road, headed along the riverbank opposite the green, crossed a stone bridge and headed up the lane before turning off towards the woods.

Polly shrank back. ‘We’re not – are we?’

‘Going into the woods? Looks like it.’ Callie eyed her curiously. ‘I’m sorry, Polly. Are you afraid of them?’

Polly nodded. ‘It’s where I – where it happened.’

‘Where what happened?’ she asked, puzzled. ‘Oh! Do you mean you died there?’

‘I – I was murdered there,’ Polly told her.

‘Murdered!’ Callie’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘I had no idea! I’m so sorry. Did they ever catch the person who killed you?’

‘No. It’s a long story, and not as simple as you’d think.

I can tell you about it, if you like. I’ve kept this to myself for so long, but now I realise that talking about it helps me to manage it all.

Silence made it so much worse.’ As they walked, Polly briefly filled Callie in on what had happened, and by the time she’d finished explaining, she realised they were already in the woods and Quintus Severus was still marching onwards, not even bothering to check they were behind him.

Evidently, he was used to his orders being obeyed, and it hadn’t occurred to him that they wouldn’t be.

‘That’s such a terrible story,’ Callie said sadly. ‘I’m so sorry for you all. I think you’re amazing, the way you’ve forgiven Ray like that. Poor man. He needed help, and it seems it was sadly lacking after the war. And fancy Rissa being descended from Gerhard! How did you feel about that?’

‘About Rissa?’

‘About Gerhard having married someone else and had a family. It must have hurt.’

Polly allowed herself a smile. ‘Do you know, that was the one thing that didn’t hurt. I was so happy for him. He was such a beautiful man, inside and out. He deserved a wife and family. I’m so glad he made a new life for himself when he finally got home.’

‘You’re right,’ Callie said. ‘It’s lovely that he…’ She frowned suddenly. ‘Are we nearing the Wyrd Stones?’

Polly glanced around and shivered. ‘We are. That’s the Penitent King over there. Oh, it’s getting dark, too. I really don’t like it out here at the best of times, but at this time of night…’

It had been decades since she’d last seen the Wyrd Stones or the neolithic barrow.

The King’s Court was a circle of fourteen stones, with three more stones huddled together in the centre of the circle.

The Penitent King was a single, large stone that stood all by itself in a field.

The Wyrd Stones and the barrow formed an almost perfect triangle in the landscape and were surrounded by rowan trees.

‘It’s been fenced off,’ Polly said in surprise, noting the iron fence that surrounded the Penitent King.

‘Sir Edward did that,’ Callie explained. ‘Over the years, bits of the stone had been chipped away by vandals, leaving it a bit scarred and misshapen, so he decided it needed protecting.’

‘Wait here,’ Quintus said suddenly. He marched into the woods on the other side of the monument, leaving Polly and Callie standing alone. Callie shivered.

‘Is it cold?’ Polly asked.

‘It’s chilly,’ Callie replied, ‘but I’m shivering because it’s a bit creepy really.’

‘You can say that again. What are we even doing here?’

‘I’ve no idea.’ Callie gave her a cheerful grin. ‘Still, it’s an adventure, right?’

‘Thanks for coming with me,’ Polly said gratefully. ‘You didn’t have to do that. It’s lovely of you.’

‘No worries. It’s nice to get to know you a bit better. I’d like to get to know all you ghosts better, but some of you are proving pretty elusive.’

Without thinking, she grabbed for Polly’s arm. Polly couldn’t feel it, but she saw the amazement on Callie’s face and turned to see what she was looking at. A young, attractive, blonde film star walking beside a huge Roman centurion. Not something you saw every day, even in Rowan Vale.

‘Is that – is that Harmony Hill?’ Callie gasped.

Polly nodded. ‘It is. I knew she was a friend of Quintus,’ she hissed. ‘Why did she deny it?’

‘Hey, Polly,’ Harmony said. She glanced at Callie. ‘And you are?’

Callie looked beside herself with joy. ‘I’m Callie Chase, the new owner of the Harling Estate.’

Harmony arched one of her beautifully shaped eyebrows. ‘You are, huh? Well, it’s good to meet you at last.’ She turned to Polly. ‘Look, honey, I’m sorry for all this cloak and dagger stuff, but I didn’t know how else to get you here. No one argues with Quintus, right?’

‘You said you didn’t know him. Why did you lie?’ Polly asked, rather hurt.

‘I didn’t lie ,’ Harmony insisted. ‘I was acting . There’s a difference.’

‘Not from where I’m standing,’ Polly said bluntly. ‘And why have you brought us here anyway? It’s not exactly the cosiest place to meet. You could have invited me to Appleseed Cottage if you wanted a chat.’

‘Appleseed Cottage?’ Callie squealed. ‘Is that where you’re living?’

‘Gee, thanks for that, Polly,’ Harmony said sarcastically.

‘I wouldn’t get too excited,’ Polly told Callie. ‘She’s never in anyway.’

Quintus was standing a few feet away, between them and the trees. He was watching them intently and Polly wondered what he thought of all this, and why he’d been so willing to act as Harmony’s messenger boy, given that he never went near the village normally.

‘Did you do it?’ Harmony asked her suddenly. ‘Did you tell your family?’

Polly nodded. ‘I did.’

‘That’s swell, honey. I knew you could do it! How did they take it?’

Despite her annoyance, Polly couldn’t help but smile at Harmony’s sweet face. She looked so hopeful, and Polly was glad to be able to give her good news.

‘They were great. Really understanding. They didn’t judge me or Ray, which is better than I could ever have hoped for.’

‘So, he’s not the bad guy then, huh?’

Polly shook her head. ‘Far from it. We all know he was ill. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know what he was doing.’

Harmony patted her on the shoulder then turned round.

‘You hear that?’ she called. ‘Told you. Come on, come and say hello.’

‘Now who’s she talking to?’ Polly asked, completely flummoxed by the events of the evening. She stepped back suddenly as a shadowy figure emerged from the trees. A man stepped slowly forward, his gait unsteady and hesitant.

Quintus nodded at him as he passed him, and Harmony reached for Polly’s hand.

‘It’s okay. He’s more scared than you are. It’s gonna be all right, Polly.’

But Polly couldn’t speak as she stared in dumbfounded silence into the face of her brother, Ray.