Page 37 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
Arthur pulls a horrified expression.
‘No?’ Tiffany says, continuing unabated. ‘Ooh, what about a lady of the night then? Or his mistress? They all had mistresses back then, didn’t they, these old codgers?’
‘How do you know he was old when he died?’ I ask her.
‘That’s true – was he, Arthur?’
Arthur sighs, obviously deciding it’ll be easier to answer our questions than fight against them. ‘He was a good age for that time, I believe, and yes he was with his mistress. Now is that enough for the two of you?’
‘So that’s why the bed moves?’ Tiffany says, thinking out loud. ‘He’s still there having it away with his mistress!’
Arthur and I both pull looks of revulsion this time.
‘Eww! Tiffany!’ I say. ‘I don’t want to know that, thank you.’
‘I believe Percy simply haunts the room,’ Arthur says, his eyebrows raised sternly in Tiffany’s direction. ‘The reports of people seeing him are usually him simply sitting on the edge of the bed or moving between the bedroom and the dressing room.’
Tiffany looks a tad disappointed.
‘Well, that’s a relief,’ I say, then I hear myself.Wait, we are talking about a ghost here. I don’t believe in ghosts, spirits, an afterlife or anything remotely connected to any of them.
‘Anyway, I must be going,’ Arthur says, looking desperate to get away. ‘I only popped up to ask you about Doug. Oh, and to tell you to expect a visitor later.’
‘A visitor – who?’
‘I think he said his name was Benjamin?’ Arthur says. ‘He telephoned earlier to check you were here, and asked for his visit to be a surprise. I don’t know about you but I hate surprises, I much prefer to be prepared. So I thought I’d better mention it.’
‘That’s fine, Arthur. Thank you for informing me,’ I say calmly, although internally my mind is whizzing.
Benji is coming here – to the castle. But why?
Fifteen
‘Benji!’ I call happily, as he makes his way across the drawbridge and under the portcullis later that day. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Surprise!’ Benji calls back. ‘Although by the look of your calm face perhaps I’m not quite the surprise I’d hoped to be.’
‘Arthur may have let slip you’d be calling in,’ I apologise, as Benji puts his arms around me and we hug. ‘Sorry about that. How come youarehere, though?’
‘I’ve been up in Scotland visiting my parents – Stirling, to be precise – and I thought I’d call in on my way back down south.’
‘Well, it’s wonderful to see you.’
‘So this is Chez Amelia,’ Benji says, looking around him. ‘Very impressive.’
‘It is pretty special.’
‘You’re getting on all right, then? No teething problems just yet?’
‘Ah, I wouldn’t go that far. But I think it’s going okay just now. Come on, let me show you around, or would you prefer something to drink first?’
‘Tea first, then a tour?’ Benji suggests. ‘I’m parched.’
I take Benji up to the top of my tower, and while he admires the view I make us a pot of tea, then I carry it up the winding stone staircase on a tray, an act I quickly learned requires a lot of balance, and a fair amount of dexterity.
‘You look like you’ve done that a few times before,’ Benji says, taking the tray from me and placing it on the coffee table between the two sofas.
‘I’m getting better at it. The first few times there wasn’t a lot of tea left in the pot by the time I got up here, I can tell you!’
