House of Secrets

by Lynda Stacey

  He glanced across to where she’d placed the notepad down on his desk. There was no doubt in his mind: the writing on the letter and the writing on the pad were very different. He’d read the letter so many times that the words and its handwriting were imprinted on his mind. He gritted his teeth in anger, now sure that Liam O’Grady had been behind it all along.

  He finally pulled Madeleine towards him. He shook from head to toe, nervous of his own flesh and blood. But for the first time in years he held onto his daughter as though his life depended on it.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘I guess this is it.’ Madeleine turned to Jess and hugged her. The van containing all of her possessions pulled away, as she and Jess stood awkwardly outside Liam’s house. ‘You wouldn’t believe how relieved I am to do this,’ she suddenly announced as she posted the keys through the letterbox. Another chapter of her life was over. She’d never see Liam again.

  Jess stepped from foot to foot. ‘Actually, Maddie, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but I’m relieved too. Something really isn’t right about that house and last night, while I was lying on Poppy’s bed with her, reading her a story, I heard a noise. I think Liam came back.’ She paused and Madeleine dropped her bag on the floor, beside the car.

  ‘Go on,’ she urged, knowing that whatever Jess was about to say, she wasn’t going to like it.

  ‘Well, actually, I know he did. I guess when he didn’t see your car out front he thought the house was empty. I froze and hid with Poppy in her bedroom, if I’m honest.’

  ‘What was he doing?’

  ‘I don’t know. He wasn’t here long and then I heard the front door slam and knew that he was gone. I went to see what he’d been up to and when I went into your bedroom, I found this, your locket, it was just lying there on the bed. All broken.’

  Madeleine looked at the necklace that now lay in two separate pieces in Jess’s hand. It was a locket that her father had bought her some years before and that she’d worn at every important event in her life, a locket that everyone knew that she cherished. ‘Who, I mean, why? It was him, right? I’ll kill him.’

  Jess nodded. ‘It had to be him, I mean, who else would it have been? They had a key,’ she said as she closed her hand over the locket and placed it back in her bag. ‘I’ll take it into town, get it mended for you,’ she said as once again she pulled her sister into a hold.

  Madeleine choked back the tears. ‘I love you so much, Jess. I can’t believe I’m going to be so far away from you.’

  Jess sniggered. ‘Oh, Maddie, it’s just thirty miles from my flat to Scarborough. Thirty miles is nothing nowadays, I could be there in forty minutes, faster if I had to. I don’t have to be back on the cruise ships for a couple of months and in that time, we’ll see each other loads. You’ll see.’

  Madeleine wasn’t so sure. She’d agreed to work for her keep. The hotel was busy all year round and at this point she had no idea what her workload would be. She presumed she’d have to work set days at the hotel and on top of that, she had to find time to write and look after both Poppy and Buddy. And, with all that had happened in the past, she would have to tread carefully before inviting Jess to visit the hall.

  ‘It’s just temporary, Jess. It’s not ideal, but I have to think of Poppy. At least she’ll be safe at Wrea Head Hall, even though I’ll most probably have to find her a minder on the days that I work. She’ll finally get the chance to get to know her granddad. He’s so excited to meet her.’

  ‘But you said he was a little distant with you. Are you sure you really want to live there?’

  ‘He did seem distant at first. But then, he seemed okay. I think it’ll be fine. And no one can be distant with Poppy, can they?’ Madeleine smiled as she looked in the back of the red Mazda where Poppy slept. Her sleepover with Jess and the sudden upheaval today had left her totally exhausted. A small cage rested beside her on the backseat where Buddy sat inside, looking sad, forlorn and completely unimpressed. He hated being restricted and hated the small car cage, even more than he hated the bigger day cage, and welcomed Jess’s hand as she reached in to stroke him goodbye.

  The journey was uneventful. Especially seeing as Madeleine had driven slowly, and had ignored Buddy’s whining which began the moment they set off and didn’t stop unless they slowed down at junctions, where he thought the car might stop and he’d escape from his prison.

  Thirty miles felt more like fifty, but her excitement rose as the sight of Wrea Head Hall once again loomed up before her on the distant hill.

  It was beautiful, impressive and already she loved it.

  Pulling up outside the hall, she carefully parked her car and when she unstrapped her daughter from her car seat an animated Poppy jumped out of the car.

  ‘Mummy, it’s this big.’ She tried to demonstrate as her arms spread wide. ‘And this tall. Wow. Is this really my house? Do I have a bedroom? Where will Buddy sleep? Where’s my new granddad?’ She looked around, eager to see him as soon as she could. ‘Mummy, you promised. Where is he?’

  ‘He’s right here.’ Her father emerged from a small wooden doorway that was sunk into a brick wall, beyond the car park. His voice was deep, distinct and much more cheerful than it had been the day before. Poppy suddenly turned shy. She jumped back in the car, pulled her blanket over her legs and began an animated, meaningless conversation with Buddy.

  ‘Hi, Dad. How are you?’ Madeleine smiled, immediately walking to him, holding out her arms for a hug. It was all still new, slightly awkward and a little uncomfortable, yet she yearned for the years she’d lost. Of course, she knew she’d never retrieve that time, but from now on, she’d do her best to make up for every lost moment.

  After a brief hug with her father she walked back to the car. ‘Come on, Poppy, say hello.’ She pulled the blanket from the child’s legs and watched as Poppy crept nervously out of the car. Her eyes opened wide. She looked upward and studied her grandfather, who immediately dropped to his knees, making himself more her height. He smiled and pushed his hand deep into his pocket, pulling out a bag of chocolate buttons, which made Poppy’s eyes sparkle with excitement.

  ‘Mummy, do you think my beautiful granddaughter would like these?’ He waved them in front of Poppy, who smiled and with a nod of Madeleine’s head, she reached forward and with the uncertainty that she now seemed to have around men, she took the sweets and whispered a thank you.

  Morris stood up and held out his hand to Poppy. ‘Shall we get you settled in?’

  Morris walked towards the back door of the hall, with Poppy skipping beside him, holding tightly onto his hand. The sight gave Madeleine a warm glow; it was one she’d wanted to see since Poppy had been born and something she’d never thought would happen.

  ‘We have a kennel block out here. I know Buddy isn’t used to them, but hopefully he’ll settle in. I’ve bought a new bed and fresh blankets for him.’ He looked apologetically towards Poppy as he opened a kennel door and turned the heat lamps on for Buddy’s use. ‘I didn’t want Buddy to be cold. So, I had these fitted last night to keep him warm.’ He pointed to the heat lamp.

  Poppy stared into the concrete kennel with horrified eyes. ‘But Buddy sleeps with me. He likes it in my bed.’ She nodded and tried to use her big eyes to convince her grandfather that she was telling the truth.

  ‘Oh, no, Buddy does not,’ Madeleine jumped in as she led Buddy into the kennel and closed the metal mesh door behind the pup. ‘He slept in the kitchen at our old house. This is a hotel, Poppy. Doggies can’t sleep in the kitchen here. Granddad would get into all sorts of trouble if he allowed it and you wouldn’t want that, would you? Besides, look the kennel has a tiled floor just like our old kitchen, a lovely bed and a warm blanket and Granddad installed this heater specially to keep him warm.’

  Poppy didn’t look convinced. She peered through the kennel door and pushed out her bottom lip. Madeleine knew that the whole move to such a huge house might just take her daughter some getting used to and this was just
the first barrier that they needed to jump.

  ‘Oh, I know, Poppy. Do you think Buddy will want a biscuit?’ Maddie asked as she dug in her pocket. ‘I think I have one in here somewhere. Now where is it?’ She wriggled and pretended that her pocket was deeper than it was, making Poppy laugh and nod at the same time. They opened the kennel door and Poppy knelt down on the floor.

  ‘Okay, what do we say to Buddy?’

  Madeleine watched Poppy look up at her granddad. ‘Watch Granddad, it’s a trick.’ She held the biscuit up in her hand and waited until the puppy sat down before her. ‘Speak, Buddy,’ she shouted just as she’d been taught and waited for the pup to bark back at her before throwing him the biscuit. ‘See, Granddad, he speaks.’ She giggled, grabbed hold of her grandfather’s hand and allowed him to walk her to the house.

  Madeleine’s father then directed her and Poppy inside and showed them upstairs to the rooms that would be their temporary new home.

  Madeleine looked around her new room. The whole of it was wood panelled halfway up the walls and both the panels and the walls were painted in a beautiful soft sage-green. A huge dark wood four-poster bed stood centrally. A door opened to its side showing a smaller room, which contained a Poppy-sized sleigh bed. It stood in one corner with a white, mirrored dressing table to its side. Pink curtains had been hung in Poppy’s honour and a huge pink teddy bear sat at the foot of the bed.

  ‘Look, Poppy, Granddad did this for you.’ Madeleine pushed the door open as far as it would go as Poppy ran into the room to inspect it, immediately launching herself up and onto the bed, bouncing up and down with glee.

  ‘Mummy, it’s bouncy and I’m right next door to you.’

  Both father and daughter struggled for something to say and a silence fell between them; only Poppy managed to chat aimlessly. ‘Thank you, Granddad. I love my room. It’s pink.’ She walked around the room, stroking everything that was pink as though the colour was the most important thing in the world.

  ‘Err … I … I didn’t fill the rooms with too much furniture on purpose,’ Morris finally said. ‘I know your desk is following. I thought you’d like your own things around you. Let me know if there’s anything else you need. I’m sure we’d have a spare of almost anything, somewhere in the hotel.’

  ‘Dad. I’m so relieved to have got away from Liam. You have no idea how much this means to me.’ Madeleine walked over to the window, taking in the view. It looked over rolling green lawns, an old Victorian garden and in the distance trees stood, all partially bare as their leaves had already dropped in the October winds. To the left of the house stood an old broken greenhouse. It had originally been made of wood and glass but in its current state some of the wood looked to have decayed, and, at one end, pieces of glass seemed to have been missing for quite some years. The weeds and undergrowth had slowly taken over and had entwined themselves around the structure, making it look as though the garden had made an attempt to grow up and over the top of it, burying it from view. Next to the greenhouse was a vegetable garden. Only half of it was used. Vegetables and herbs appeared to grow within low brick walled structures, which was no doubt a good supply for the hotel’s kitchen. The other half of the area was also covered with the low brick walls, but these walls were full of overgrown summer weeds, which had now turned brown with the onset of autumn.

  Her father joined her at the window and looked out at the garden. ‘Sorry about the view. The greenhouse is about to be refurbished. It was one of the last jobs on the list and we kind of ran out of money. Besides, not many of the guest bedrooms overlook it, so I had to prioritise and the house, kitchen and guest rooms had to come first.’

  A movement in the distant woods made her squint to take a closer look. Bandit came into view between the trees. He walked effortlessly, even though he carried a huge bag on one shoulder and a brace of pheasants in his hand.

  ‘That man over there,’ she said, pointing. ‘Who is he to the hotel?’

  Her father stared into the distance. ‘Ah, he’s called Christopher, but everyone knows him as Bandit. He works here. He’s the gamekeeper, but he also does a bit of gardening, chops the wood for the log fires and, as you saw last night, he does a bit of light security. He lives in the gatehouse at the bottom of the estate; it belongs to his father. He’s worked for me since he left the marines and we tend to eat what he hunts. Why?’

  Madeleine thought for a moment. She remembered the gatehouse. It was run-down, stone built and had stood by the gates. It had a rusty white four bar metal fence with a rickety metal gate. There had been a white front door, along with white wooden windows, all of which had looked in need of repainting. In fact, the whole place had looked in need of renovation, albeit, it occurred to her, that the grass lawn and gardens had all been well tended.

  ‘No reason. As you saw, I ran into him last night. Well, actually, he ran into me like a damn bulldozer, knocked me over.’ A flush of colour began rising through her cheeks and she made a mental note to cautiously find out what times he was normally around. After their encounter the night before, she decided that avoiding him for a day or two might just be a good idea.

  ‘I take it you don’t like him?’

  She watched as Bandit strode out of the woodland and began walking towards the house. He looked strong, muscle-bound and had a certain something about him that infuriated her. Not only had he unceremoniously thrown her to the floor, he hadn’t apologised either. His hair was overgrown; he needed a shave and possessed a stupid nickname.

  What was there to like?

  ‘I don’t know him.’ She decided not to share her thoughts.

  ‘He’ll have meant no harm. Trust me. He’s one of the good guys. Besides, you might have to get used to him, he’s around here a lot.’

  ‘Great. He’s annoying. He reminds me of an over-excited baboon.’

  Her father laughed. ‘Honey, seriously, he’s harmless, just protective. Avoid him if you like, he drops in early for breakfast each morning and Nomsa normally sends him away with a home cooked pie for his tea. She just loves to feed him and he seems to enjoy her food. It’s a good arrangement, it makes us all happy.’

  ‘Are they a couple?’ Madeleine questioned as she turned to the bed where Poppy had made herself comfortable with the new and oversized pink teddy bear lying by her side.

  Her father once again laughed. ‘Bandit and Nomsa? God, no, they’re not a couple. Wait till you meet Nomsa, she’d actually find that really funny. She’s probably old enough to be his mum.’

  For the remainder of the afternoon Madeleine stayed in her room. She busied herself, unpacking the boxes that the removal men had dropped off, while Poppy slept peacefully in her new bed. Her desk, laptop and box files full of research were all placed in the corner of her room, along with her numerous boxes of books. She wondered if she should ask about a bookcase but decided to keep the boxes where they were. The last thing she wanted to do was to impose for too long. She’d made herself a promise that as soon as she could afford it, she’d rent a small cottage, somewhere of her own, with a garden where Poppy could play.

  Poppy woke with renewed enthusiasm as she realised that her toys had arrived while she’d slept and had been carried into her new bedroom along with her piles of teddies, special pillow and baskets full of clothes. By the time she’d finished placing them exactly where she wanted them, her bed looked like an overgrown teddy bear mountain, in which she sat centrally, a huge smile plastered across her face.

  ‘Mummy, look at me. They’re all around me.’

  ‘Poppy, are you really going to sleep with all the teddies on your bed, all at once?’ Madeleine watched as her daughter ran out of the room and jumped up on the four-poster bed.

  ‘Nope, I’m gonna sleep in this big bed with you.’ She laughed.

  Madeleine shook her head. ‘Oh, no, you are not. This big bed is for your mummy. It’s not for little girls with a bounce like Tigger.’

  She began to tickle her daughter who squealed with del
ight and then ran back into her own room, disappearing beneath the teddy mountain like a hedgehog hibernating beneath a pile of autumn leaves.

  Madeleine smiled, knowing that although she could still quite clearly see Poppy’s legs, her daughter actually believed that she was now invisible beneath the bears. She waited for a few moments, knowing that within seconds, she’d begin giggling and peeping out.

  ‘Ah well, Poppy seems to have disappeared. I might just have to take Buddy for a walk all by myself,’ she announced as she stood up and began to leave the room.

  Walking out of the door, she looked over her shoulder and counted to three and just as she’d thought, Poppy ran towards her.

  ‘Mummy, wait, don’t go without me. He’s my Buddy too.’

  Chapter Eight

  Liam slipped a key into each of the front door locks, knowing that once he entered the house, Madeleine would be gone and his pain would begin. Nevertheless, he stepped through the door with purpose and carefully surveyed his home.

  He dropped a large heavy suitcase and a shopping bag down in the entrance, walked down the corridor and stood in the doorway of each room in turn. He wanted to see what she’d taken with her, but, more importantly, he wanted to be sure of what she’d left behind.

  Taking deep, deliberate breaths, he walked into the dining room and allowed his hand to travel across the keys of the piano, the noise reminding him of the days his mother would play and sing. Even then, the piano had been as out of tune as his mother and, though it had been in the room for as long as he remembered, he’d never once thought to learn how to play it himself, or to have it tuned.

  His eyes glanced down at the pedals. A small piece of blue Lego was trapped beneath and he knelt down to retrieve it, banging his head as he did. He cursed and picked it up, held it tightly in his hand and looked around the room for the box that it belonged in. The Lego had been his, a toy he’d loved as a child and he’d repeatedly told Madeleine that Poppy shouldn’t play with it, but like everything else, she’d gone behind his back and permitted Poppy to do whatever she wanted, in his house, in his absence.