Page 100 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
‘Sorry,’ I apologise automatically, and then I shake my head. ‘What about a hug for your old mum, then, if I can’t ruffle your hair any more?’
Charlie looks at me, and for a brief moment I think he might actually refuse. But to my relief he puts down his plate, slides across the sofa and wraps his arms around my waist while I wrap mine around his shoulders.
‘Is that better?’ he asks in a slightly muffled voice.
‘Always,’ I reply, hugging him even tighter.
Charlie might be growing up fast, but he will always be my little boy however big he gets.
The next morning, I knock on the door of Arthur and Dorothy’s cottage. Unusually Arthur hadn’t appeared in the office this morning, and on asking around no one had seen him.
Although the cottage is part of the castle estate, it’s separated from the rest of the grounds by a picket fence, and has its own little garden filled with blossoming flowers and neatly trimmed bushes. It really is picture perfect, and could well be a photo on the front of an expensive box of chocolates, or a thousand-piece puzzle.
‘Oh hello, dear,’ Dorothy says on answering the door. ‘I mean madam, no Lady Chest . . . er, miss?’ she finishes with.
‘I much prefer “dear” to “madam” or “miss”,’ I tell her kindly. ‘Dorothy, I’ve just popped round to check if Arthur’s all right. Only, no one has seen him about the castle this morning.’
‘That’s kind of you to be concerned, dear,’ Dorothy says, actually listening to my preferences for once. ‘Arthur is fine. His blood pressure has been a little high again, that’s all. We had the doctor in this morning and he says he’s to rest for a few days.’
‘I’ll rest for one day only!’ I hear Arthur bark from inside the cottage. ‘And then I’m back to work.’
Dorothy steps outside and pulls the door to behind her.
‘That’s what he thinks,’ she whispers. ‘Just between us this isn’t the first time this has happened. He’s on medication, but getting him to take the tablets is a fight, and getting him to take it easy is a battle that even I can’t win usually. But I’m determined to this time for his own good.’
‘Is there anything in particular that might have brought on this latest rise in his blood pressure?’ I ask, knowing the answer before I’ve even asked the question.
‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ Dorothy says, shrugging. ‘But he’s not been himself for a few days, rushing here, there and everywhere like his life depended on it. I told him to slow down, but you know what he’s like.’
‘Yes, I do,’ I say, thinking. ‘Right, well, give him my best, won’t you? And you keep him away from the castle for as long as is necessary, Dorothy. The castle’s stood strong for many centuries; it won’t quite crumble without him. Contrary to what he might think!’
‘You’re a good girl,’ Dorothy says, patting me on the arm. ‘This place wouldn’t be the same without you and Charlie now, and whatever Arthur might have you think, he feels exactly the same way.’
I leave the cottage with mixed emotions. Part of me is guilt-ridden that what took place in the cellar might have caused Arthur to become ill, and part of me is feeling pleased as punch at what Dorothy had just told me.
‘Amelia!’ I turn around to see Benji chasing me up the path. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’
‘I’ve just been to see Dorothy; Arthur isn’t too well – it’s his blood pressure, apparently.’
‘I’m not surprised his blood pressure is up, if he knows what I now know,’ Benji says gravely.
‘Whatever do you mean?’
‘I think you’d better come with me, Amelia. We need to go somewhere quiet and comfortable for you to hear this story. It could take some time to tell.’
Thirty-seven
‘So, what’s all this about?’ I ask Benji as we sit up in the tower with a long cool drink of Dorothy’s homemade lemonade each. ‘I’m guessing you’ve read the missing diary?’
‘I have . . . ’ Benji taps absent-mindedly on the cover of the book that sits in his lap.
‘And?’ I ask impatiently.
Benji looks at me. ‘I think the reason this diary might have been hidden away was it contains some information, information that if it had become common knowledge might have completely changed the history of the castle.’
I open my eyes wide. ‘Really?What does it say?’
‘I think you should read it for yourself in case you come up with anything different from me, but it seems that there may have been another heir apparent to Chesterford Castle when Clara took the reins.’
