Chapter Twenty-Four

‘Where are you, Lorna?’ Rosalie almost shouted as she left the message on the answerphone. ‘Call me back as soon as you get this. It’s important. It’s about Mum. I found something I don’t understand, something horrible, and I really need to talk to you about it.’

Why did Lorna have to be out, again? She slammed the receiver down, and put a hand over her heart. She should calm down, and think, but her mind was a turmoil of thoughts and questions, and she felt like she was about to be sick.

‘What’s going on?’ Kirsty stared at her from the doorway to the library and shook her head in an impatient gesture. Her sleek, blond hair fell back in place, framing her perfectly beautiful face. She had accessorised her skinny black jeans and a plain black tunic with a beautiful gold pendant and matching gold ring, and she looked incredibly chic and glamorous.

‘Nothing,’ Rosalie mumbled, her hand still shaking as she brushed her curls away from her face. ‘I have things on my mind.’

Kirsty shrugged. ‘I suppose I might as well finish work for the day. Not that I have made much progress. I don’t know what Marc’s father was thinking of when he bought this place. Marc will be lucky if he recoups half of the money the company paid for Raventhorn, never mind make a profit. Even Marc’s American contacts have gone cold about the idea of turning the castle into a hotel. I called them all and no one is prepared to commit to an investment now. I am wasting my time.’

‘So you’ll be leaving soon, then?’ Rosalie asked, although right now she had other, much more worrying things on her mind than Kirsty Marsh or Raventhorn.

‘It looks that way. I’m thinking of hiring a house clearance firm, put the castle up for auction and be done with it.’

‘You can’t do that! They’ll take away all the paintings and the furniture and pay you a pittance for them.’

Kirsty snorted. ‘I don’t think we’ll get much anyway. Talking of furniture, I’m not spending another night in that horrid crimson bedroom. There’s a cold draft blowing through the window. The wardrobe creaks, the bed curtains twitch, and don’t even mention the door to the bathroom which slams shut on its own in the middle of the night. I hardly slept a wink. Poor Marc, no wonder he looked so exhausted after a couple of weeks. I had a look around this morning and I decided to move my things into the nice pink and white bedroom down the corridor.’

Rosalie felt the blood drain from her face. ‘No, you can’t sleep in there. You can have my room, or any other room, but not that one.’

Kirsty arched her eyebrows. ‘And why on earth not? It’s empty, isn’t it?’

‘It’s my mother’s room.’ The mother she had loved and trusted, the mother who’d always been there for her, strong, supportive and truthful –the mother who had lied and hidden her past from her all her life.

The enormity of what she’d just found out finally dawned on her.

‘Is she coming back any time soon?’ Kirsty looked puzzled.

Rosalie stiffened and replied in a harsh voice. ‘She won’t be back. Ever.’

‘Oh. I see. I’m sorry.’ Kirsty nodded, her eyes softened and for the first time she looked almost kind.

‘Listen, I need a break from this place tonight. I’m not cut out for spooky old castles. I need to see lights and people, to listen to music. Is there anywhere around here where I could have a decent meal?’

‘The Four Winds Hotel has a nice restaurant,’ Rosalie replied.

‘A hotel, did you say?’

Rosalie nodded. ‘It’s a four star hotel.’

‘You’re a lifesaver,’ Kirsty said with a relieved sigh. ‘I’ve had enough of draughty rooms and creaky wardrobes. I’m off to pack. I’ll stay at the hotel tonight and until Marc arrives.’

Rosalie’s heart lurched, her throat went dry. ‘Oh. So you have heard from him.’

Kirsty pursed her lips. ‘He emailed to say he should be back in London by the end of the week and will probably make his way up here.’

Rosalie turned away and pretended to stack up some old telephone directories in a neat pile so that Kirsty wouldn’t see the blush that heated her face. Marc was coming back!

‘It’s such a shame about his father,’ Kirsty carried on. ‘We’re all still in shock about his death. He was an extraordinary man – the archetype of the powerful businessman, driven, cool-headed, completely dedicated to making his company bigger, stronger, and more successful. Marc is very much like him.’

Driven, cool-headed, dedicated to making money, Rosalie thought. Yes, that summed up Marc all right. And yet in the weeks he’d spent with her, she had seen another man. A strong, warm, if reserved, man. A man she could fall in love with. She’d probably imagined him, made him all up.

‘And his mother is wonderful and so much fun!’ Kirsty added. ‘I’ve met her a few times and we had great fun shopping together.’

‘You know the family well, then?’ Rosalie couldn’t help the bitter sting of jealousy in her voice.

Kirsty nodded, smiled and stretched her arm in front of her to admire the gold ring on her finger. An awful thought struck Rosalie. What if this was no mere accessory, but an engagement ring?

‘Let’s say that I have become very close both to Marc and his parents since starting work at the company. Marc and I are moving to New York to open a new office – a dream come true, both professionally and personally, for both of us.’

She started to walk away but suddenly turned round.

‘By the way, you might want to put the burglar alarm on before we leave. There were a couple of rough-looking men hanging about at the front of the castle earlier today. I thought they might be checking the place out and was about to call the police when your demented cleaning lady arrived. They hopped back into their big four-wheel drive and drove off.’

‘A four-by-four, you said?’

‘Yes, a big black one.’

She forced herself to remain calm. ‘What did the men look like?’

Kirsty shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Tall and burly, with buzz cut hair. They were dressed in black coats – leather, I think. Like I said, they looked a bit rough.’

‘Did you see their number plate, or the make of the car, by any chance?’

Kirsty let out a sharp laugh. ‘My eyesight isn’t that good. Your cleaning lady might have spotted something, though. Give her a ring … although I wouldn’t give much credence to anything that woman says. She’s a complete lunatic, you know. Not only was she incredibly rude to me, asking me all kinds of questions, and telling me stupid stories about the ghosts that supposedly haunt this place, but she also claimed that Marc worked as a translator for McBride, and that he’d been doubling up as your apprentice cab driver! She even claimed she didn’t know anything about McBride selling Raventhorn to Marc’s father, and had the cheek to call me a liar when I insisted it was true!’

‘You told her about it?’ Rosalie opened her eyes wide in shock. If Marion knew, the whole of Irlwick would know about it by the following morning, if not earlier.

Kirsty shrugged. ‘Yes, of course. It wasn’t a secret, was it? I’ll go and pack now.’

As soon as Kirsty had gone upstairs, Rosalie dialled Marion’s home number. She started by asking her about the two men Kirsty had seen near the castle.

‘I didn’t see much of them, love,’ Marion said. ‘They were just big men dressed in black. They left as soon as I arrived. Is there anything wrong?’

‘I’m not sure. I don’t like the idea of people hanging about when I’m here alone.’

‘What about that snooty blonde – the one with the designer clothes and the posh accent – is she not staying with you?’

‘Kirsty Marsh? She was but she doesn’t like it here. I’m taking her to the Four Winds tonight.’

Marion tutted loudly. ‘In that case, you should come and stay with us. I don’t like the idea of you being on your own.’ She paused. ‘By the way, what’s this nonsense about Geoff selling Raventhorn to that nice young man Geoff hired as a translator – the one who drove your cab when you were poorly?’

‘That’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Marion. Kirsty got things wrong, that’s all.’

Rosalie fanned her heated cheeks with a piece of paper. Marion may not be able to see how red and hot her face had become but her shaky, hesitant voice was a giveaway and she’d be lucky if the woman believed a word she said.

‘Hmm. I thought so. I mean, it’s not as if Geoff would ever sell Raventhorn. It’s his home, his life. Besides, where would you and Lorna go? No, I told my sister at the supermarket tonight that it was all a lot of nonsense.’ She paused. ‘The thing is, Elaine was doing her shopping and overheard me. She went as pale as a ghost and made me repeat word by word what that blonde woman had said. Then—’

‘Then what?’ Rosalie whispered.

‘She marched out of the shop, leaving her trolley behind. I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to pay you a visit to talk about it.’

Rosalie dreaded the thought of such a visit – especially if Elaine had Rupert in tow. What could she tell her? Until she could speak to Geoff she knew no more about the situation that Elaine now did.

‘One last thing,’ Marion said, sounding indignant all over again. ‘That blonde woman also claimed she and Marc were … you know … together and as good as engaged. Fergus said this couldn’t be true, that it was obvious the man was besotted with you, so don’t worry too much about it.’

Rosalie’s throat tightened and tears pricked her eyes. ‘I won’t,’ she answered in a small voice, and put the phone down.

She had to get Kirsty to the Four Winds Hotel as soon as possible. If Elaine and Rupert came round now and found Raventhorn empty, they’d leave her alone, for tonight at least.

‘I’ll be glad to be away from here,’ Kirsty said when they set off half an hour later. ‘I don’t understand how you can be happy to live in that creepy castle.’

Rosalie sighed as she drove over the old bridge. ‘It’s where I grew up, where I’ve always wanted to live,’ she said. Once on the main road, she called Fiona on the cab radio to let her know she could close up for the evening.

‘I’m driving to the hospital to check on Geoff so I won’t be working,’ she explained.

‘You might want to keep well away from Raventhorn afterwards,’ Fiona remarked. ‘I’ve just had a visit from Rude Rupert who demanded I told him everything I knew about Marc Petersen. When I said I didn’t know very much about him, apart from the fact he is gorgeous, he threw a tantrum, shouted that he was going to get some answers from you one way or another and slammed the door behind him so hard my bones are still shaking! What’s going on, Roz, and what is he so angry about?’

‘I don’t know.’ So Elaine had alerted her son, of course, and now Rupert was on the warpath. Fiona was right. She would have to be careful tonight when she came back from the hospital.