Page 46 of The Legend of Lovers Hollow
“No showing yourselves to the living,” he says firmly, and then he too disappears.
“Where do you think he’s going?” Edwina asks innocently.
Skid grins at her. “To discuss regulation three-four-two, subsection ninety-three… A. Repeatedly, I’ll bet.”
“I say, that’s jolly good of Roger to take one for the team,” I mutter.
Skid snorts. “I don’t think he’s taking one for the team at all, Bertie. He’s taking it because he likes it.”
“Either way, this presents us with an opportunity. If Roger can keep him busy, we can get our plan underway.”
“What plan?” Edwina blinks.
“Oh, for pity’s sake. It may have been over a hundred years, girl, but sometimes I don’t think your brain ever thawed out from when you froze to death in the orchard.”
“That’s really quite rude.” Edwina sniffs. “I can assure you my mind is as pert as my wit.”
“What did she say about her tits?” Lady Violet squints as she holds her ear trumpet to her ear.
“Good god, who woke her up?” Professor Plume snaps sulkily, his lip curling in annoyance as he stares at the old woman in her high-necked nightgown and nightcap, her thick, grey braid curling over her bony shoulder.
“Alright, settle down, you lot.” I clap my hands to get their attention. “Let’s not waste this opportunity. Make sure you titillate the fleshies every chance you get; on camera would be top-notch. Otherwise, concentrate your efforts on general scare tactics.”
Professor Plume grimaces. “This is really not going to end well.”
12
“Okay everyone, settle down.”
I look at all the faces staring back at me. “Now that everyone’s here, we’d like to officially welcome you all to the Ashton-Drake’s Legend of Lovers Hollow Valentine’s Weekend Ghost Hunt!”
There’s a small round of applause.
“Most of you should have had the chance to introduce yourselves already at the meet and mingle, but I’m just going to do a quick round of the room. So, over here on the left, we have Mina, Sieg, and Ans. Just by them, Mr and Mrs Taylor-Jones. Then we have Haruto and Amelia. Mr Victor Clutterbuck is seated by Mr Cedric Ashton-Drake, who owns our lovely hotel. Morgan Ashton-Drake, his grandson, is over there, and next to him is his brother, Warren.”
I smile at my boyfriend as he leans against the bar, sipping his coffee.
“We also have Essie and Martha and Mr Pennington, who’re all permanent residents here at the Ashton-Drake.”
The twins give a little wave and Mr Pennington lifts his cup in a bit of a pompous toast.
“But we’re very honoured to have some special guests with us this weekend,” I say happily as I glance at Thad. “Dr Thaddeus Dalton and his team, Bez, Jules, Kem, and Faiz. They have a very popular online show, and they travel all over the world investigating cases and gathering proof of the paranormal. This weekend they are going to be investigating the legend and hoping to catch sight of…the ghost of Lady Clare.” I drop my voice to a spooky whisper for the last few words and wiggle my fingers for dramatic emphasis.
I know Lady Clare’s ghost is definitely not wandering around the hotel, but the guests don’t know that, and it certainly won’t hurt to feed their imagination, especially after this morning’s antics courtesy of ouractualresident ghosts.
“Now, those of us who are local are well-versed in the Legend of Lovers Hollow, but Dr Dalton and his team have conducted extensive research on the subject, so I’m going to hand the floor over to him. He’ll be telling you all about the tragic love triangle of Lady Clare, her husband, and her lover. Afterwards, Rosie and I will be running you through the itinerary for the rest of the weekend.”
I move back as Thad pushes himself up from where he’s been perched on the arm of one of the sofas and steps into the place I’ve just vacated.
“Hi, it’s great to meet you all.” He smiles and I can see several of our audience swoon dreamily as he takes a moment to look around the group. “As we’re all going to be hunting ghosts together, I think we can dispense with the formalities, so please call me Thad. My team and I are going to be filming throughout the weekend, so you may see Kem wandering around with a camera and Faiz with a sound boom.”
He points to each of them in turn and they give a little wave to the assembled guests.
“Bez, you can’t miss her”—she also gives a wave—“is our editor and producer. She’ll be on hand if you have any questions. Lastly and most importantly, we have Jules. He’s my assistant, but don’t let the title fool you. He keeps us all ruthlessly organised and we all do as he says.” Thad gives a little chuckle.
“I brought some merch with me, so if anyone is a fan of the show and wants a free Deuce Dalton Ghost Hunter T-shirt or anything, let me know.” Jules points to a box next to him.
“Oh, me. Me. Me!!! Please!” Haruto bounces up and down with his hand in the air. “Amelia wants one too, please.” He turns to his new friend, who blushes.