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POLLY

It was a surprisingly cheerful group of people that stood around The Penitent King one evening in late September.

Present and correct were Ray, Polly, Jimmy, Shona, Max, Pippa, Christie, Scott, Lawrie, Brodie, Callie, Harmony, Betty, Nick and Quintus Severus.

Also present – to most people’s amazement – was the Reverend Silas Alexander, who had agreed to bless the grave.

Although it must have been very strange to those who couldn’t see most of the ghosts, or indeed any of them, nevertheless, everyone was glad to be there, and honoured to have been invited.

‘I still can’t believe what happened,’ Betty admitted as they finally left The Penitent King behind and began to walk back to the village. She gave Max an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry I was so horrible to you. And I’m sorry I doubted your grandfather’s innocence.’

‘I’m sorry that I believed your grandfather had hurt mine,’ Max told her. ‘I still struggle to accept that he carried such a huge secret within him until the very end. To witness what he did, to lose the woman he’d loved in such a fashion, and to say nothing. If only I’d known.’

‘He gave his word,’ Shona said. ‘He knew Polly wouldn’t have wanted her parents to suffer, and he promised Sir Edward he’d never tell a living soul. And he didn’t. He must have been a remarkable man.’

‘I think his grandson is pretty remarkable, too,’ Ray told her. ‘Knowing that I tried to kill Gerhard, he still came here today for this blessing. That’s very forgiving of him. I’m glad you’ve found him, Shona. He’s a good man.’

Shona smiled. ‘Thanks, Uncle Ray. I’ll pass that on.’

Polly had one of those moments where, just then, everything in the world seemed perfect. Shona and Max were back on track, Max having learned the truth about his grandfather, and finally accepting that Rowan Vale really did have its own special secret.

As she’d expected, Jimmy and Shona had been thrilled to finally meet their Uncle Ray after all these years, as had Pippa.

Christie was frustrated as always that she couldn’t see him, but Maddie certainly could, and Ray was clearly smitten with her from the moment the toddler gave him a beaming smile, showing off her brand-new bottom teeth.

Ray had moved into the flat above the teashop, and to Polly, it felt like the old days.

She was in her element, fussing over him and making sure he was comfortable, and Shona, bless her, had been as good as gold, finding them films and programmes that Ray would enjoy and popping upstairs between breaks to change channels on the TV for them and check they had everything they needed.

The ghost community had finally learned the truth about Polly’s relationship with Gerhard, and what it had led to, and those with living relatives who could see and hear them had been sworn to secrecy by Callie and Lawrie.

Since they’d had Quintus Severus standing behind them, Callie said she was certain no one would dare break that promise.

As it turned out, the ghosts were a forgiving bunch and made Ray very welcome in the community.

Quintus, meanwhile, had a new job. Callie told him that things had changed a lot in Rowan Vale since his day, what with all the tourists coming and going.

‘I’d really appreciate it if you’d become a sort of policeman for the village,’ she told him.

‘You know, patrol the streets, keep the peace between the ghosts, let me know if they have any problems or issues, make sure there’s no bad behaviour among the day trippers and holidaymakers, that sort of thing. ’

She’d given Polly a sly wink as he considered her proposal.

Polly had begged her to help the Roman soldier, after everything he’d done for her family, and Callie had agreed he deserved some sort of reward.

He was a very loyal and obedient soldier who’d been given his orders and had carried them out in full.

They both wanted him to have a better afterlife than the one he’d been leading.

To their relief, Quintus seemed honoured to be given his new role and had sworn to uphold the law and keep the peace in Rowan Vale to the best of his ability.

He’d also agreed to move into Appleseed Cottage after Callie had told him she was worried about Harmony.

‘I don’t like her being all alone, Quintus. She’s too reclusive. And she’s far too young to hide herself away from the world. If she doesn’t want to mix with the rest of us, I think she’d benefit from having you to talk to. Would you consider moving into her home to keep an eye on her?’

To Harmony, she’d said, ‘I’m worried about Quintus.

He’s not used to mixing with people, and although he’s happy to do the job I’ve given him, I don’t think he’ll talk to anybody.

He’s been alone far too long, Harmony. Would you consider letting him live at Appleseed Cottage, just so you can keep an eye on him? ’

Quintus had said he would be happy to do his duty by Harmony, and Harmony had rolled her eyes and said, ‘I guess. I mean, at least he don’t jabber on all the time, and I can’t deny he’s eye candy.’

So that was that sorted, and Polly had to concede that Callie was a genius. It amazed her that she’d managed to persuade Silas Alexander, of all people, to give a blessing at Ray’s grave, but Callie said he’d been surprisingly willing to do so.

‘It turns out he remembers a lot of soldiers with shellshock coming back from the Great War,’ she said.

‘He understood the situation at once. No judgement. And between you and me, I think he was quite chuffed that I’d asked him to do the service and not Amelia.

Made him feel useful again. Maybe his bark’s worse than his bite. ’

Polly wasn’t so sure about that, but she was grateful to Silas for performing the ceremony. Whoever would have guessed she would have cause to thank that old buzzard? Wonders would never cease.

‘Shona, look!’

She heard Max’s voice behind her, low and urgent, and turned to see what he was looking at.

The entire group slowed and stared at the space between trees where a fox stood, watching them.

‘Old Reynard,’ Shona murmured, and Polly squeezed Ray’s hand, remembering how much he’d always loved foxes.

‘Isn’t he beautiful?’ Max whispered. ‘I’ve never seen one so close before.’

A killer , thought Polly. But a misunderstood killer. Not vermin at all. Not a creature who deserved to be hunted or hated. She knew she’d never be wary of foxes again.

‘Look!’ Shona gasped and Polly saw another fox come to stand by the first one’s side. They greeted each other with open mouths and flattened ears, then the second one shook its head and ran into the woods. Old Reynard gave them all one last look, then followed his mate into the trees.

He’d never been alone after all.