‘You have no food, no microwave and no kettle. As soon as Lara’s finished her smoking—’
‘Smudging.’
‘Whatever. And when Hannah’s back with Grasper, we’re off to Asda. We’ll get these rooms liveable this weekend and move your camp bed in, but there’s no way you can put us to work without regular cups of coffee!’
6.
‘Fish and chips times four,’ Jayne said, puffing as she came through the door and put the bag on my new kitchen table. ‘Bloody hell, Verity, you’ll soon get fit living here – there are hills everywhere. And then this place, I’ve never been somewhere where I’ve actually had to look for the next staircase! I nearly got lost on the way up.’
‘It’s a great place for hide and seek,’ Hannah piped up. ‘I could hide for hours! You’d never find me, I’d win easily!’
I laughed as I found the salt, vinegar and ketchup in the array of Asda bags lined up along the wall ready to be unpacked into the newly cleaned kitchen cupboards. We’d eat out of the boxes for tonight. ‘Yes, you probably could, Hannah. Once all the alterations and decorating are done, it will look very different though, and should be easier to navigate.’
‘I bet your guests will still get a bit lost though,’ Lara said.
‘You’ll need lots of signs guiding people to their rooms,’ Jayne said, ever practical.
I brought the condiments to my new camping table, and Lara carried wine and glasses.
‘We did a good job today, thank you, ladies,’ I said, looking around the upstairs of my flat. We’d scrubbed, washed and swept, and I had a living space with basic cooking facilities. ‘I’d never have got this done without you, not before Monday.’
‘I know it’s rudimentary,’ Jayne said, glancing at my ‘furniture’: camping table, four foldaway chairs and a camp bed doubling as a sofa in the large, open-plan kitchen and sitting room. ‘At least you have somewhere to escape to while all the work is going on.’
‘We can decorate next weekend,’ Lara said. ‘It won’t take long to slap some paint on the walls and then you’ll be ready for proper furniture as soon as the New Year sales start.’
‘Are you both coming for Christmas? Have you decided?’
‘Definitely,’ Lara said. ‘Jayne talked to the receptionist at the Old White Lion about Christmas lunch and rooms, and we’re all booked in, so we can help out here over the holidays. It’s our Christmas present to you.’
‘I don’t know what to say,’ I said, feeling emotional as I hugged them both. ‘I can’t believe you’re giving up your Christmases.’
‘We’re not,’ Jayne said. ‘We’re spending Christmas with friends. Now come on and eat, the food’s getting cold.’
Lara and I laughed, and Hannah sidled up to her mother. ‘We’re not giving up Christmas, are we?’
‘Oh, no, Hans,’ Lara said with a laugh. ‘Don’t worry, it’s just an expression. We’re going to come here for Christmas.’
‘We’ll still have turkey?’
‘We certainly will – at the hotel where we’re staying now.’
‘So you won’t be cooking?’
We all laughed at the hopeful expression on Hannah’s face. Lara was an enthusiastic cook, but rarely followed a recipe or the recommended cooking times. She usually got away with it, somehow, but there had been one disastrous Christmas lunch two or three years ago which had come with an extra gift of food poisoning for all who’d tasted her undercooked turkey.
‘No, I won’t be cooking,’ Lara said with good grace, ‘and Grasper will be here to play with.’
‘Yay!’ the girl said, clapping her hands and hugging the dog.
‘Right, wash those hands again, young lady, then come and eat.’
Jayne poured the wine. ‘To your new home,’ she toasted.
We all clinked glasses and I looked around. Yes, this could be a home – my home. I started to relax. I could be happy here, couldn’t I? Okay, at the moment it reflected my life: bare, empty, and in need of decoration and filling, but that would not last.
I looked at Lara and Jayne, and raised my glass again. ‘To best friends and an empty guesthouse,’ I said with a wry smile.
‘From small beginnings are grand dreams realised,’ Lara said.
‘I’ll drink to that,’ Jayne said.
***
‘So what’s the plan for tomorrow?’ Lara asked, closing the lid of the cardboard fish-and-chip box.
‘Day off, it is Sunday, after all,’ I said. ‘I thought we could do the touristy things, explore Main Street, visit the Brontë Museum, ride the steam train, maybe even go for a hike over the moors.’
‘What, with Lara in high heels?’ Jayne laughed. ‘You know its stilettos or bare feet – nothing in between.’
‘Too right,’ Lara said, lifting one of her legs and wiggling her toes. ‘A girl has to have standards.’
Jayne snorted, but said nothing.
‘I don’t want to go to a museum,’ Hannah said from the camp bed where she was cuddling – and surreptitiously feeding – Grasper.
‘Someone needs to look after Grasper anyway,’ Jayne said. ‘Unless we lock him in which doesn’t seem fair when there’s so much countryside about.’
‘I can take him for a walk!’ Hannah said.
‘Is it safe?’ I asked.
‘Grasper will look after her – she’s part of his pack,’ Jayne said.
‘Okay, as long as you don’t go far and you have your phone switched on – but only while we’re in the museum, all right, Hans? And you go no further than I say.’
‘Okay, Mum,’ Hannah sang, then she turned to Grasper. ‘We’re going to— oh!’
‘What is it, Hans?’ Lara turned to her daughter. ‘Oh my God. Verity, Jayne, look!’
Grasper leaped from the camp bed, high enough to clear Hannah’s seated form, although she had ducked out of his way, then circled a couple of times and jumped back on to the bed, ran over Hannah’s lap, then tumbled back on to the floor.
‘What the hell was that?’ I cried.
‘I saw it too,’ Lara said, fumbling in her large handbag. ‘Damn it, where’s my phone? We need to video this.’
‘I’m on it,’ Jayne said, iPhone in position and already recording her pet’s antics. ‘I want to make sure it wasn’t a glitch or a special app on yours, anyway.’
‘An app?’ Lara was insulted at the suggestion, but was distracted by Hannah’s giggle as she dived away from ... nothing. Although I did think I saw a flicker of light near her head as she ducked.
I glanced at Lara and knew she had seen it too. ‘Wasn’t that sage-smudging stuff supposed to get rid of those orbs, or whatever they are?’
‘It would have if they were negative energies. If they’re still here, they must be of the light – good.’
‘Then why have you gone white?’
‘It just dive-bombed my daughter and I don’t know who or what it is!’ She rushed to Hannah’s side, although Hannah didn’t need comforting; she was still giggling.
‘Oh settle down, Lara,’ Jayne said. ‘You’re over-reacting.’
‘Am I? Don’t you want to know what Grasper’s playing with? If anybody is interacting with my daughter, I want to know who they are and what they intend.’
Jayne did not answer.
‘I need to know. We have to hold a séance.’
I looked at Jayne and shrugged. I didn’t expect it to help in any practical way, but if it put Lara’s mind at rest then I was happy to do it.
‘You can’t be serious, Lara!’ Jayne was not so easily persuaded.
Lara raised her eyebrows at her friend. ‘Why not?’
‘You can’t mess with things like that, you’re likely to make things worse, not better.’
‘I’ll be careful. Anyway, do you have any better ideas?’
Jayne shook her head, then looked at me. ‘Verity?’
I glanced at Grasper, who was still dancing with things we could not see. I spread my arms and held my hands high, palms up. �
�I don’t think we have much choice.’
Jayne nodded, although she did not look happy about it. The three of us might bicker like siblings most of the time, but when we needed each other, we were there, no matter what that entailed.
‘I’ll go put Hannah to bed and see if that Tess girl will keep an ear out for her, then I’ll be back.’
7.
Lara, Jayne and I sat at the camping table, which we’d covered with a new white cloth. Under Lara’s direction, we spread our hands out and connected our little fingers to make a circle.
Lara took a deep breath before intoning, ‘Is anybody there?’
I glanced at Jayne, then immediately looked away. Both of us felt it was ridiculous and clichéd.
Lara breathed heavily again, but didn’t comment, yet I felt chastened, and knew Jayne felt the same way. I glanced up at Lara and smiled to encourage her to continue.
‘We only want to talk to you, we will not harm you. Will you talk to us?’
Silence.
‘Please talk to us or give us some kind of sign that you’re here. Can you knock on the wall or tap on the floor?’
Silence.
‘Knock once for no, twice for yes.’
Nothing.
‘Please,’ I said before Lara could continue. ‘We’d really like to talk to you, don’t you want to talk to us?’
Grasper barked when two sounds echoed through the near-empty room. He jumped off the camp bed and ran in circles around the table.
Jayne broke the circle to reassure her pet, and I snatched my hands away, shocked that we’d elicited a response.
Grasper calmed, but refused to budge from Jayne’s side. ‘Are you okay if we try again?’ Lara asked her.
Jayne glanced at me then said, ‘Maybe we should leave this.’
‘No,’ Lara said. ‘I need to know who this is and what they want with us.’
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, glancing at Grasper. Although quiet now, he was still alert, his eyes wide.
Lara nodded and I pursed my lips to indicate my agreement.
We placed our hands back on the table.
***
I shivered and blew out. My breath condensed and the mist of it dissipated within the circle. Lara and Jayne simultaneously blew a long breath and the same happened.
‘It’s so cold,’ Jayne said.
‘It’s an old house,’ I said. ‘The heating isn’t working yet.’ I wasn’t sure if I was defending my new home or trying to deny the sudden drop in temperature.
We gasped when two knocks reverberated around the room.
‘Lara,’ Jayne warned, ‘don’t push it.’
I realised our hands had split again and wordlessly splayed my fingers on the tabletop. I was not in the mood for banter now.
Lara took a moment to gather her thoughts, then asked, ‘Did you live here?’
One knock.
‘No. Did you work here?’
Two knocks. Yes.
‘Are you the Grey Lady?’
Nothing.
‘Are you a woman?’
Silence.
‘Are you a man?’
Two knocks.
I gasped and pulled my hands away.
‘Oh calm down, Verity, that’s hardly conclusive,’ Jayne said.
I couldn’t speak; an image of the man in my dream last night filled my head. I knew it was him; just knew it. The thought crossed my mind that this was the time to tell my friends about my dream, and how much it was affecting my thoughts, but I stayed silent. I wanted to keep him for myself; I was not yet ready to share him.
‘Jayne’s right,’ Lara said. ‘We need to be careful not to get carried away.’
Jayne raised her eyebrows at her and Lara smiled, then became serious once again.
‘Spirits can lie, just as people can. We need to keep in mind the Law of Three. Ask the same question in three different ways and only trust the answers if they concur.’
‘That makes sense,’ Jayne said, albeit reluctantly. ‘And those answers didn’t meet that criteria.’
‘No,’ said Lara.
‘But the temperature,’ I said slowly, ready now to face the truth of it. ‘I could see your breath – I know it’s winter, but it isn’t that cold in here, despite what I said about the heating not working. Anyway, we’ve had the new portable heater going.’
‘I didn’t say nobody was here,’ Lara said. ‘I just said we shouldn’t blindly trust what they’re saying.’
I shivered when I noticed she was picking the nail varnish off her nails, something she only did when very stressed or nervous. Grasper barked and chased his tail for a couple of circuits.
‘I think we’re done,’ Jayne said. ‘Grasper needs his night walk, we’re all spooked, and to be honest, I’m ready for my bed.’
Lara looked as if she would protest, then said, ‘Yes, time to call it a night.’ She stood. ‘Sorry, Verity, I feel I’ve given you more questions than answers.’
I hugged her. ‘Well, I’ll be here for quite a while – plenty of time to find those answers.’
‘Goodnight, Verity, hope you sleep well.’
I jumped. For all the world, it had felt like somebody had blown a breath on the nape of my neck. I put my hand there but felt nothing.
‘What’s wrong, Verity?’
‘Nothing. Goodnight, sleep tight.’
8.
I put the rubbish out before the whole Rookery took on the smell of fish and chips, then climbed back upstairs to my bathroom, below my kitchen. It didn’t feel quite right down there, as if I hadn’t moved in on that floor yet, and I was glad to get back upstairs and climb into my sleeping bag and camp bed, despite the dog hairs Grasper had so kindly left both on and somehow inside the sleeping bag.
As I thought this, he made a chuffing sound and I stroked his head; he’d stretched out alongside the camp bed, putting himself between me and the rest of the room.
I wondered briefly if Jayne would mind leaving him here when she went home. Somehow he just fitted in here at The Rookery, and I felt safer for his presence. I knew there was no way she’d go without him though.
***
Antony rolled away from me and I reached out to him, imploring him to stay in bed just a little while longer, even though I knew he was on the breakfast shift.
I let him go, reluctantly, and he walked naked to the bathroom to shower.
I stretched out in the bed, luxuriating in Egyptian cotton sheets, wondering if he’d have time to bring me a coffee before he had to leave for the hotel and its hungry guests.
A flashing light caught my eye and I realised Antony had left his phone on silent. I rolled over, grabbed it and dropped it in shock as my eyes focused on an intimate picture of a stranger that had just been sent to my husband via WhatsApp.
I scrolled through, and saw picture after picture, some of her, some of him.
The images sliced though my brain, preventing coherent thought, and dropping a depth charge straight into my heart.
I knew I could not hide from the truth any longer; no matter what I wanted the truth to be, it was time to face the reality of my life and my marriage.
I scrolled to the main menu, and saw a list of names I didn’t know. Gina, Isa, Patsy, Sindi. I tapped on one and dropped the phone when I read the words written there amidst naked pictures of another woman. I love you so much, I can’t wait to marry you.
‘What?’ I whispered, amazed at how calm I was as I struggled to grasp what was happening. I guessed I was in shock; my voice hadn’t caught up with the emotions racing through my body. Whoever these women were, I wanted to leap through the phone, shove my arm down their throats, rip out their hearts and drive a stiletto heel through them. Then spit on them, chuck them on a fire, and feed them to the pigs. Then do something else that I wasn’t yet capable of thinking of at that moment.
I dropped the phone, then belatedly realised I hadn’t cleared the screen and could still see the evidence of Antony’s betrayal, but I
could not – would not – bend to his mistress, no, mistresses. Had he really proposed to someone? How many women was he swapping intimate pictures with? When and how had he met her – them? He was a chef in a five-star hotel and when he wasn’t working, he was with me. And even when he was working, I was at the reception desk; most of the time, anyway.
When had he found the time and opportunity for one affair, never mind multiple betrayals? It certainly wasn’t at work. Yes, okay, hotels were notoriously incestuous, but I had my ear very definitely plugged into the gossip grapevine. He was not doing the dirty at work, I was sure of that. Anyway, everybody there knew we were husband and wife.
Antony walked back into the bedroom, mostly dry and still naked after his shower. I glared at him, stared at his groin. I’d trusted him. Had he really stuck that elsewhere? Did I need to get tested? I looked away in disgust.
My practical side crumbled, the emotion overtook me, and I scowled at him, pouring my hatred through my eyes until I found my voice.
‘Babes, what’s wrong?’ Antony rushed over, full of concern, and took me in his arms.
‘Get off me!’ I screamed. ‘Don’t touch me! You bastard, you cheating scum bastard!’ Too late, I thought about playing it cool, then dismissed my own recrimination. There was no way I could handle this coolly – my heart had just broken. If I didn’t take my anger out on him, I would take it out on myself.
‘What? What the hell’s wrong with you?’
In silence, I pointed at the phone on the floor, still displaying his proposal to another woman.
‘Babes, babes, I’m so sorry. I can explain. I love you, I do, honestly. I’ve never even met her—’ he picked up and brandished the phone at me ‘—not in person, just playing online.’
His words stabbed me and I lost the tenuous control I had over my temper. I grabbed his phone, opened the window and got ready to throw it on to the patio below.
I was too slow. He caught me; grabbed hold of my arm – hard enough to make me scream in pain – but I did not care. I flicked the phone up, caught it with my left hand and launched it through the window. Not as hard as I’d have managed to do with my right arm, but it was still somewhat satisfying.
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