Page 16

Lavender

Even through the panelling, I heard the eerie screech that raced through the house. Margaret was warning everyone the heir was in danger. The way Rik stiffened informed me that he wasn’t behind the scream.

“Move,” Rik demanded, poking me in the back with the knife. He glanced over his shoulder in worry.

“Harming me won’t get you what you want. Let me go, and you can run,” I offered.

Rik laughed. “Not until I get what I want, bitch. And that’s half of this pile. Why the fuck should you inherit it all?”

“Because I’m the legal blood heir! You don’t have an ounce of my line in you!”

“Uncle Ronald married into this. That means we should get something, as his family!”

“Uncle Ronald didn’t have a claim on this either! Is that what you thought? Then you are wrong. Everything remained in Aunt Aggie’s hands!”

“You’re lying!” Rik spat.

“No! I’m not. Uncle Ronald was not entitled to any of this. The estate and trust stayed within the Bloodsworth line! Nobody who married in was given any part of the estate or trust. Uncle Ronald would have been given a small widower allowance, but nothing else. He wouldn’t have inherited anything, as he wasn’t a Bloodsworth!”

“He had money!” Rik snarled as he poked me in the back and made me move.

I tried to get my bearings but was confused. I’d never been in these corridors before, and I didn’t even know they existed.

“Aunt Aggie gave Uncle Ronald money!” I explained, trying to be patient.

“I don’t give a shit, I want half of the estate, and you’re going to sign it over,” Rik snarled as we faced a split. Rik forced me into the left-hand-side corridor, which seemed to have had a lot of foot traffic. Namely him.

“How long have you been hiding out here?” I demanded.

“Ever since you arrived. I was behind those footsteps and chains. I placed a small hidden speaker in your room and played those noises. You should have seen your faces.” Rik chortled, thinking himself clever.

“And the hulking figure?”

“He’ll be dealt with,” Rik growled.

Interesting. The strange man wasn’t with Rik. Who was he?

“Aunt Aggie’s ghost?”

“You’ve seen her ghost?” Rik asked, sounding surprised. “Might have guessed that old bat wouldn’t leave this house.”

Rik shoved me into a room, and I fell over my feet and hit the ground hard.

“Where are we?”

“Wow, how can you be the heir when you don’t know about the passageways and rooms?”

“I do! Just not this one,” I answered stiffly as I got up. My back felt pained, and I knew the knife Rik had used had pricked my skin.

“This was an old servant’s quarter. The family, at one point, didn’t want their servants visible, so made the passageways to allow them to move around.”

“How snooty,” I said.

“Makes sense to me. Who wants to be confronted with inferior people?” Rik snapped.

“Oh, drop it. You’re from a middle-class family that came from the working-class. Who are you to judge anyone?” I retorted.

“Same goes for you!”

“But I’m not judging anybody!” I exclaimed, and confusion crossed Rik’s face. He wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box.

“Here. This paperwork. Sign it, and you can go,” Rik said, shoving me towards a table.

“When are you going to understand? I will not sign anything. Even if I did, it wouldn’t legally break the trust either. The trust is set in cast iron. You can’t touch it. Go ahead and kill me. You still won’t get a cent from it. Why can’t you get that? Only someone with Bloodsworth blood can access it!” I sighed.

“Then you’re no use to me, and I’ll kill you!” Rik said, waving the knife about and looking unhinged.

“Go on! Because dead or alive, I’m worthless to you,” I shouted.

“What about a ransom? The estate would pay to get the heir back,” Rik mused, and I shook my head.

“You are so damn greedy. You want something to do nothing!”

“Just like you! It’s not as if you worked for it, Lavender!” Rik retorted, backhanding me.

I cupped my cheek and shook my head. “But I’ve worked ever since for it. I have been trying to be what the estate needs!”

“Oh, shut up with your sanctimonious shit. I think you’re delaying me.” Rik leaned into my space and pressed the blade against my throat. “Sign the papers, Lavender.”

“No.”

“Then die!” Rik snarled, and his arm raised. A whimper left me as the knife glinted in the light. A loud smash echoed around the room, and I jumped backwards.

Rik spun as a figure came through the wall. In his hands, he held a sledgehammer, and he slammed it into Rik, knocking him flying.

I gazed at the man-sized hole in the thin slats showing in the broken wall and then at the massive figure in front of me.

“My Lavender!” it muttered. “Ronnie loves baby cousin!”

“Ronnie!” I gasped. The memories came flooding back. This huge guy had been there throughout my childhood. But he was a secret. Mom and Dad weren’t allowed to know about him! They’d hurt him. And as Mom and Dad were often away from the Manor, Ronnie and I could play happily.

“Baby cousin,” Ronnie replied, lumbering towards me and sweeping me up in his arms. “Sweet Lavender.”

“Hey, big guy,” I said, patting his huge chest.

“Missed you. Grown up,” Ronnie stated, hugging me to him. “Come. We go. Rik is bad.”

Ronnie grabbed Rik’s ankle and began dragging him towards the hole he’d made. I followed, totally bemused but remembering a lot of things.

Aunt Aggie, Ronnie, and I had gone on lots of adventures. Rampaging through the woods that surrounded the estate, picnics, boating, fishing, treasure hunts; there were so many things we’d done together. I recalled Aunt Aggie calling us her greatest treasures and smiled.

“Come on, baby cousin,” Ronnie called. I hurried after him and climbed through the hole. Ronnie was dragging Rik in front of me, so I followed him.

We hit a set of narrow steps, and I knew where we were. These were the secret corridors I’d played in. Ronnie headed down another corridor and up some more stairs. I followed Ronnie as he continued pulling Rik, and I laughed as Rik’s head bounced off the floor. Rik would be a mass of bruises.

“Ronnie, where are we going?” I asked.

“Home,” Ronnie replied.

“This is your home,” I said, putting things together.

“Yup,” Ronnie agreed and pressed a brick in the wall. I was unsurprised when we exited into the widow’s tower. We were at the bottom of the staircase.

“Maybe pick Rik up because those steps would hurt him,” I suggested.

“Good,” Ronnie replied but did as I asked.

I followed him, instinctively knowing I was safe. He opened the door at the top and entered the sitting room. Sunlight flooded it today, and I blinked as I saw the figure sitting calmly in an oversized armchair.

“Somehow, I’m not surprised!” I shrieked and hurried forward to kneel at the woman’s feet. Aunt Aggie embraced me tightly.

“My darling girl! I’ve waited twenty years for this!” Aunt Aggie cried, and I held onto her. Ronnie grunted, but we paid him no attention as he dumped Rik in a corner.

“Why did you pretend to be dead?” I exclaimed.

“Because someone had tried to kill me!” Aunt Aggie explained as she released me and cupped my face. She smothered me with kisses, just like she had as a child.

“Why? Who?” I gasped.

“The answer is in front of you,” Aunt Aggie said.

“Ronnie? No, he’d not harm you,” I muttered, shaking my head.

“You remember him now? About time, darling, I was starting to worry,” Aunt Aggie responded.

“He’s your eldest son, named for Uncle Ronald. He didn’t die but survived,” I murmured, working it all out.

“Yes. Ronnie survived, but he was severely brain damaged. Uncle Ronald and I did everything we could to protect him, including faking his death. We realised that as heir, Ronnie would be a target of the assholes in our family. Bad men like Rik there or your dad. They’d lock Ronnie up while claiming in his name and fleecing the estate and trust,” Aunt Aggie explained.

“And you needed me to look after Ronnie,” I replied.

“Yes. I was here one night when Rik broke in. He was demanding money and trying to steal. What he didn’t realise was I had a companion here, an old friend. She was upstairs with Ronnie and heard the commotion and called the police. Mavis shouted down that the cops were coming and scared Rik, and he shoved me down the stairs and broke my leg.

“Naturally, sweet girl, I had to leave hospital, and Rik heard about it. He came back a few weeks later and frightened Mavis, and she had a heart attack. It was then that I knew Rik wouldn’t ease up. So, I pretended Mavis was me and hid out here with Ronnie.”

“But Aunt Aggie, food, utilities, and so on,” I said, confused.

“Food was easy, I pretended to be Mavis and had groceries delivered to her house, which was a small cottage a mere ten-minutes away. Mavis had no family and lived alone, so nobody knew if I was her or not. Ronnie and I would drive to her place, clean it, and wait for the shopping, and then bring them back here. The utilities had been left on and were paid through the estate, so they weren’t a problem.”

“Aunt Aggie, that was no life for you and Ronnie!” I exclaimed.

“It was only meant to be for a few years until you turned eighteen. But you never came, and I realised that they’d hidden your inheritance from you! A few times, I dithered about writing to you, but I couldn’t risk exposing us. But we had a good life. It’s only the last few weeks we’ve been confined up here. Other than that, we had the run of the house and the grounds.”

“Why didn’t you come forward, then?” I asked, confused.

“Because of Rik, you were in danger. And honey, if he had discovered Ronnie, then he could have gone for custody of him,” Aunt Aggie explained.

“And now?”

“Well, he kidnapped you and intended to harm you, darling girl. That should put him away for a decent amount of time.” Aunt Aggie chuckled as Ronnie thumped Rik on the head as Rik stirred.

“You want me to look after Ronnie,” I said, putting Aunt Aggie’s plan together.

“He can’t ever be the heir. Your father, Janice, and Rik are all a danger to him. I love my son, and he would lead a miserable life under them. With you, Ronnie will be happy for his remaining years. He’s sixty now. Ronnie wants to roam the estate, play with his train sets, and ride in the cars. That’s all it takes to make him happy, Lavender. Spending time with him.”

“And that is something I can promise you. This is Ronnie’s home, and he’ll be happy. I won’t let either of you down. I swear on everything I hold dear, Ronnie will be happy,” I promised.

“Love you,” Ronnie cooed in a sing-song voice.

“Love you, back,” I replied, knowing it was true. My heart, as a child, had adored Ronnie. He’d watched over me. Now, it was my turn to watch over him.

“You should call your young man. No doubt he’s going frantic. You’ve been missing an hour,” Aunt Aggie said.

“I didn’t see your ghost, so what did I see?” I asked.

“The mirror was a two-way, so when a light flicked on behind me, you saw me. I wanted you to know you weren’t alone.”

“And the kitchen hallway?”

“Darling, did you forget there was a secret entrance there? Lavender…” Aunt Aggie tutted.

“Yes.” I laughed. “I forgot Ronnie. I remember why as well. When Mom and Dad took me away, I was so traumatised. I kept asking for you, and they just told me to shut up. That you didn’t want us anymore. That did not make sense to me, so I blocked out most of the happier memories. But now I know the truth. They stole twenty years from us. I’ll never forgive them,” I said.

“Can’t say I blame you. Shall we go downstairs?” Aunt Aggie asked.

“We can, but how much of the hauntings were real?”

“The doors opening and closing were the ghosts, darling. And the scream is all Margaret. The ghosts are real here, so get used to living with them. They were also the ones moving things around. They wanted your attention. You might not believe in them right now, but over time, you will. And they’ll always protect the heir.”

“Really?” I questioned dubiously.

“Yes. You haven’t asked about the missing jewellery,” Aunt Aggie said as Ronnie thumped Rik on the head a third time.

I laughed at Ronnie’s glee. How frightened of Rik he must have been. Well, Ronnie would be safe now.

“It wasn’t important to me.”

“It is all safe.

As is the Star of Lucia.

It’s all hidden in a secret room only I have access to.

And you will as the heir.

It is a room only the heir knows about, sweet girl.

Remember that.

Nobody else can know but the heir.

And the Star of Lucia must never leave this house.

Should it do so, misfortune follows. There are several times mentioned in the journal that has happened. Read it, learn it, and respect your ancestors, darling,” Aunt Aggie explained as she rose to her feet.

“That’s why the leg cast was here,” I gasped, and Aunt Aggie smiled.

“Ronnie, bring that nasty creature with us. We need to find Lavender’s young man and devise a story,” Aunt Aggie said and opened the sitting-room door. “Come now, let’s put your household at ease!”

Chatter

He had been going out of his mind when he discovered Lavender was gone. The screams of the ghost had alerted him, and he’d rushed to check on her. After checking the cameras, they’d learned she’d disappeared from inside the room. He, Jinx, and Tatum were trying to discover the secret panel when there was a commotion in the entrance hall, and he went to look.

Relief swept over Chatter as he saw Lavender standing there. After enfolding her in a huge hug, Chatter turned his attention to the tiny old lady with her and the hulking man. Lavender reminded everyone of their NDAs and then headed into the kitchen. She’d quickly explained what had happened, and Chatter glared at the unconscious figure of Rik.

Between him and Jinx, they’d created a cover story and called Lio.

Lio arrived half an hour later and carted Rik off as he screamed obscenities and threats. All of which Lio took note of and added to the charges.

Lavender immediately began stressing about where Ronnie and Aunt Aggie would sleep, and Aunt Aggie laughed.

“Dear girl, we’re good in our tower, and plus, I did overfill the house for you!” she stated.

Lavender merely giggled in return, and it lightened his heart to see her happy. There was real love between the three of them. Ronnie kept eyeing him suspiciously, but Chatter understood it would take time for him to gain Ronnie’s trust. After all, Ronnie hadn’t exactly had the best experiences with male figures.

Chatter grinned as he watched Ronnie chase Lavender around the drive with a frog in his hands. Lavender was screaming like a girl, and Ronnie chortled behind her.

“They did that when she was a child,” Aunt Aggie said from behind him.

“She’s scared of frogs?” Chatter asked, walking over to her.

“No, but it was a game they played. My son is gentle and has a heart of gold unless somebody he loves is threatened. Ronnie will never hurt anyone unless they hurt someone he cares about. Then he has the Bloodsworth temper.”

“We shall look after him, Aunt Aggie,” Chatter said. “Can I call you that?”

“Are you going to marry my niece?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you can call me Aunt Aggie. God blessed me with three beautiful children, and he took two from me. Ronnie was irrevocably changed after his illness, and God took away the clever boy he’d been. But then I was gifted with Lavender. And she was perfect, and I knew what her purpose in life was. Lavender brings sunshine and love wherever she goes. If she loves you, young man, do not abuse it. Don’t take it for granted, nourish it. Do that, and you’ll have a very happy time with her,” Aunt Aggie said.

“Can you imagine the journal entry about this?” Chatter asked, and Aunt Aggie laughed.

“Oh indeed, but if you read the journal, it won’t be the most scandalous. Just one in a long line of family secrets,” Aunt Aggie replied.

“I’ll be honoured to keep them,” Chatter stated and looked over to Lavender. She was squealing his name and running at him with Ronnie on her heels. Chatter chuckled and headed down the steps towards her.

“Excuse me while I rescue my woman,” he said.

Aunt Aggie smiled. “You’ll do, young man. You will do very nicely.”