by Willa Blair
Ian’s gaze leapt to hers from wherever his thoughts had taken him. He shook his head. “Thanks, but no. I should check on Rollo while I’m here and then get back to my office. I’m working on a plan for the original great hall as a place to start the interior work.”
“That sounds…expensive.”
“Not that bad. A lot will depend on how you want to finish it. Oh, and in case I didn’t say this before now, I really don’t want the twins in there until Rollo and I have seen to the upper floors.”
His concern for her children warmed her in a place that had felt empty and cold since Angus died, and she settled back into her chair.
“I’m debating walling it off again from the main house to keep them out,” Ian continued.
Lara gasped. “Oh, they’ll be heartbroken.”
“Temporarily. I can’t have them running around in there, chasing ghosts.”
She straightened as a chill raced down her spine. “Ghosts? Who said anything about ghosts? I thought they were after a mouse.”
Ian snorted. “Is that what made you ask Rollo about mice earlier today?”
She nodded. “Friday, when the twins went running into the old wing…yes, against your orders and mine…I heard them yelling ‘there he is.’ I made them get out but forgot to ask them what they were after.” She gestured toward the hallway. “They came out covered in dust.”
“Hmmm. I didn’t see any sign of rodent droppings or damage.”
“They must have been chasing Scamp. You’ve seen the cat.”
“Maybe.” Ian set his mug aside and leaned back in his chair.
He wasn’t quite sprawled as he had been earlier, but Lara took it as a sign the change of topic had relaxed him.
“You’ve lived here for more than a year. And you haven’t heard any tales about a ghost?”
Was he kidding? “This house is haunted? You can’t be serious.” She gripped her mug, suddenly wondering if she’d get any sleep tonight. “No, I’ve never…”
“I don’t know about the newer part, but there are old tales of the ghost of the keep—which may refer to the old wing. They’re probably just that…tales meant to keep the curious away. But this is Scotland, and the north wing is the original structure on this estate.” He gave her an evil grin and waggled his eyebrows. “Hallowe’en is coming. You never know which spirits will walk about that night.”
Ian’s teasing tone failed to reassure her. Lara gulped, all concerns about the wedding forgotten. Ghost stories had scared her as a kid, and she still would not—could not—watch horror movies. “What should I do?”
Ian gave her a lazy shrug. “Nothing to do. If it wants to show itself, it will. If not, it won’t. I doubt it’ll come in here.”
Lara eyed the hallway leading to the opening Ian had cut. “You gave it a way in.”
“I don’t think any wall could stop a ghost. No ghost has bothered you yet. If the tale is real, I doubt it will.”
“Bother us…how?” A shiver ran down Lara’s spine.
“Well, the tales are not clear. I’ve heard, though, the ghost is a well-behaved sort who will do the laird’s bidding, so you’ve nothing to worry about.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that. Nothing to worry about? “Only there is no laird anymore.”
Ian stared off into space and didn’t answer.
Chapter Five
Ian knew this would be a good time to come clean with Lara about his connection to Cairn Dubh. She would find out soon enough, and he’d rather she heard it from him. But something held him back. Self-interest, surely. Curiosity, too. He hadn’t explored the wing’s upper floors yet, or found the hidden room he suspected would fill out the blank space in his floor plan. He wanted to see the rest before she found out who he was and fired him. And, truth be told, he wanted to be the one to preserve the old keep. No one else would do as good a job as he would. If it had any problems they’d yet to find, it could collapse to the ground in his lifetime. Wouldn’t that be a fine legacy?
Worse, what if Lara or the twins got hurt in there? He grimaced at the thought. No, he’d been given the second chance he thought would never come his way. He would keep his mouth shut for as long as he could and make the most of it.
He could feel Lara’s gaze on his face as surely as if her palm warmed his cheek. She tapped a finger nervously on the table. She had to be waiting for him to tell her more about the ghost. Too bad there wasn’t much more to tell. He didn’t know who it was supposed to have been or why it would hang around to haunt the old keep. No one did, not anymore. The origin of the legend was as lost as the ghost.
He met her gaze and smiled. “Maybe there’s time to do a little ghost hunting before the twins get home from school. Why don’t we go see if we can scare up the auld specter?”
Lara let go of her mug so suddenly, it tipped, then dropped back to the tabletop with a thump. “What? Oh, no you don’t.” She shuddered slightly. “You’ll leave me in the dark, jump out, and scare me half to death. I don’t think so.”
Ian didn’t think she was serious, so he grinned. “Really? You’re not the least bit curious about the rest of that wing?”
“Of course I am, but I’ll wait for you to string lights up there, thank you very much. We tried exploring by flashlight. That…draft…on the stairs was…God, I can’t believe I’m about to say this: spooky.”
Ian recalled wondering if she was afraid of the dark. Could the darkness, and not the idea of a ghost, as she seemed to want him to believe, be making her nervous? He reached for her hand, then thought better of it. He was trying to put her at ease. Teasing her, not seducing her. Or maybe seducing her by teasing her. Christ, he’d better not screw this up. “Where’s your sense of adventure, lass?”
She eyed him. The glance she gave his hand told him she’d noticed his aborted movement. “Safely stored away under lock and key. Just trying to live in Scotland turns out to have been more than enough adventure for me. I don’t need to annoy the resident ghost, too. If there is one.”
Ian shrugged, ashamed he’d inadvertently raised the specter of Angus, whose sudden passing had most certainly ruined the adventure of moving here. She’d had a tough go of it, no question. “It’s just a story,” he assured her. Maybe.
“One I was quite happy to remain ignorant of. If I’m jumping at shadows from now on, it’ll be thanks to you.” She crossed her arms and looked again toward the hallway. “It’s bad enough the twins are running around the place chasing—and I can’t believe I now hope for this—a mouse. I’ll be happy if it’s only a mouse.”
“Like as not.”
“You can say that. You’re not out here alone during the long dark nights…” Lara colored and trailed off.
Ian’s body responded, tightening enough he was glad the table separated them. Actually, he wasn’t glad at all. If he wanted to use the perfect opening she’d just given him, all he had to do was take her in his arms and let things go from there. She couldn’t mistake how he’d interpret her words any more than he could mistake her embarrassment when she realized what she’d implied. But nay, it was too soon. He took a breath and forced himself to pretend his mind hadn’t gone where hers obviously had. As much as he knew he’d enjoy spending the long dark nights here in her bed, he’d be wise to take his cue from her hesitation. Cairn Dubh was miles from the lights of town and much darker once the sun went down. The contrast with where she came from in California must be even more dramatic. With only the twins for company, and without a man for comfort and protection…ach, weren’t his thoughts heading in a very medieval direction? This place was getting to him, too.
He stood and stretched out a hand. “Come on. It’s time to shed some light in dark corners. All this talk has pushed my buttons. I’ve got lots of flashlights. Let’s explore. Then you won’t need to be nervous about what you’ve never seen. You’ll know what’s there.”
To his great surprise, she rose. “I’m not sure. Though, honestly, I’m curiou
s, too. If you think it’s safe.”
“We’ll be careful.”
****
A few minutes later, Rollo greeted them as they entered the old wing’s ground floor. He took one look at the flashlights in their hands and nodded. “Going to have another look around? She’s sound enough unless the roof has leaked onto the top floor. Watch where ye put your feet.”
Ian nodded. “We’ll do that.” He waved Lara to his side. “Let’s keep your light in reserve,” he said. “I want you to stick close to me.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Is that supposed to reassure me? Because it didn’t work.” She didn’t wait for him but started walking forward.
Ian chuckled at her droll comment, flicked on his flashlight, and followed. He had a flashlight app on his phone, too, but didn’t mention it. He wanted her close to him. He certainly didn’t want her to wander away from him into danger. He let her lead the way, but only a pace or two ahead of him. On the stairs, he stayed ready to catch her if she should stumble. They entered several first-floor rooms, all empty. When they got to the one Ian suspected fronted a hidden space, he started tapping on the adjacent wall.
“What are you doing?”
Lara’s question deserved an answer. He just didn’t have a good one yet. “This is where the interior measurements don’t line up with the outside dimensions,” he told her. “I think there might be something hidden behind this wall.”
“Really?”
“Or it might be nothing—just a very thick section of outer wall where it makes a corner with the main house. I’m not hearing anything to suggest a void, but, honestly, I didn’t think I would. This is stone, not plaster. Rollo and I will have to drill through the mortar to see if there’s a void back there.”
“Wow, that’s mysterious. Why would they hide a room?”
“For a very good reason, or no reason at all,” Ian answered with a distracted smile as he studied the stonework. “Sometimes things get closed off in additional construction—like when they built the newer part of the estate. Restorers have found stairways going nowhere, empty voids in corners, you name it. But in some of Scotland’s history, having a hidden space was useful, even crucial to survival. Say, if you happened to be a priest during the Reformation.”
“I had no idea.”
“Let’s go up one level and see if there’s a wall in the same place.”
“If you think it’s safe.”
“New territory from here on,” he intoned, unable to resist playing to the mood of the place. His flashlight beam did a decent job of exposing the empty space around them as they made their way to the next set of stairs.
Lara’s shoulders lifted when they reached it as she sucked in a breath. She flicked on her flashlight, exhaled and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
“Remember, the stone isn’t level. Take your time and watch where you put your feet.” He wouldn’t mind holding her in his arms again, but he’d rather not risk a fall up here in the dark. “In fact, I’ll go first. You can hold onto my shoulder.”
“No, I can do it.” She scowled at the steps, and her chin jutted stubbornly toward them, then she started up.
“Brave lass.” Ian followed on her heels. She kept her light focused on the stone steps at her feet. He used a steady rhythm to sweep the bright beam of his flashlight in a narrow side-to-side arc, illuminating the next several steps, and checking their joints at the walls while he was at it. No gaps. So far, so good.
They reached the landing for the next level without incident, and Lara surprised Ian when she killed her light without him asking her to. He played his light around as they explored, seeing what he expected to find—another empty level—then swept the flashlight beam across the floor, estimating measurements with an expert eye. “This wall runs just above the one I want to drill into downstairs,” he muttered, more to himself than to Lara. “Wait here a second, lass.” He paused while she flicked on her light before he walked back to the stairs then down a few steps and hollered, “Rollo, can ye hear me?”
“Aye.” The answer came from the level below, nearby.
“I need a drill with a mortar bit and the snake camera.”
“Aye. Give me a minute.”
Ian went back down the hall to Lara, who waited calmly enough, playing her light over the ceiling and into nearby rooms. He let his tread get louder on the bare wooden floor so he wouldn’t startle her. “Empty?” he asked as he approached.
“As far as I can see. I didn’t want to move around too much without you.”
“Good lass. Rollo will be up in a minute with some equipment…”
“I heard you. Why do you want to drill up here instead of downstairs?”
“The wall may be thinner here than below. Faster to punch through, if we’re lucky.”
“Here I am,” Rollo interjected from the top of the stairs, flashlight beam preceding him. “Let’s see what’s caught your eye.” He handed the snake cam to Ian before stepping up to the wall.
Ian indicated a seam in the mortar about chest high, a convenient level to stand and steady the drill, and pointed his light toward it. If there was a void back there, the camera could get a good view toward the floor, where odds and ends tended to collect. Lara moved to Rollo’s other side and added her flashlight beam to Ian’s. Rollo placed the bit and pulled the trigger. No one tried to speak over the noise while the drill chewed through the mortar. Before long, Rollo reversed the spin and pulled the drill bit free. Ian turned on the camera and threaded its cable through the hole, then grabbed his mobile out of his back pocket and opened the camera’s app. What he saw took his breath away.
****
Lara held her breath when Ian’s eyes went wide. “What is it?” she demanded, curiosity fully piqued. Ian passed her his phone, and she frowned at the image. The camera’s high intensity light revealed a staircase, and propped against the adjoining walls, boxes or chests and other things she couldn’t immediately identify. She gave Ian a puzzled glance and handed the phone to Rollo.
“Well, it appears we have more demolition to do,” Rollo remarked. “Very carefully.”
“Here and on the floors above and below, as well, or I miss my guess,” Ian responded. “They walled off around that staircase for a reason.”
“What do you think those things are? Besides the stairs, I mean,” Lara asked.
Ian shrugged. “We won’t know until we get inside this wall.” He put a hand flat on the stonework. “Not a priest’s hole, I think. Not here. This level looks like storage—it’s pretty big as hidden rooms go. Rollo, see if you can move the camera around.”
Rollo handed the phone back to Ian and slowly twisted the thin cable protruding from the wall. Ian held the phone where they all could see it.
Glimpses of what lay beyond the landing left Lara stunned. Ian didn’t say a word while Rollo kept the arc of light moving ever higher, then down and to the side. If there was an opening for stairs leading down, it wasn’t visible behind what appeared to be beautiful, if somewhat dusty, wooden and upholstered furniture, paintings and tapestries hanging on whitewashed walls, sconces, candelabra, knickknacks on small tables tucked wherever they’d fit. She couldn’t take it all in, but what she could see must have been worth a fortune, once upon a time. Whoever hid all this away had to have been prominent and wealthy. Even Ian seemed overwhelmed, his eyes wide and his breathing more rapid than she’d ever noted before.
“We need a sledgehammer,” Ian muttered. “A hammer and chisel at least, to start taking down these stones.”
Rollo nodded. “I’ll bring both. Do ye want some men to help with this?”
Ian surprised her by shaking his head. “Nay. Let’s keep this among we three until we know what we’re dealing with.”
Rollo nodded, grabbed his flashlight out of his back pocket, and headed down the hallway to the stairs.
“How are you going to get this wall down?”
“Carefully. We won’t take all of it. Just enough to let us
get in there. I don’t want it to collapse and destroy whatever has been preserved behind it all these years. I do want to know if the stairs have been blocked off, or if we can use them to get to the ground floor and above this level without breaking through the walls on those levels.”
“Can we see anything else with the camera?”
Ian watched the display on his phone while he twisted the cable. “Not much. But it shouldn’t take long to get a few of these stones out of the way, and then we’ll have a much better view.”
Lara was impressed by how quickly Ian and Rollo made a hole in the wall while taking obvious care not to allow any debris to fall into the hidden space. Removing the first stone was hardest. Once they had a few more out of the way, the work went faster. They didn’t pause to study what they revealed. They only stopped to discuss whether the upper part of the wall would stay put above what they cleared. They seemed determined to make the space big enough to enable them to actually enter the hidden room. Finally, when they stopped altogether, Lara could step right in. Ian would have to duck. Rollo, too. “Is there room for all of us?”
“Let’s get a closer look,” Ian suggested and moved deliberately forward, playing a beam of light over the floor ahead of him. He stepped over the low barrier they’d left in place and ducked through.
Lara flicked on her flashlight and followed. Here and there silver gleamed and crystal flashed, reflecting the first light directed at it in years. From the look of these furnishings, a hundred years, maybe two, she thought. “Why would someone leave behind so many beautiful and probably, even in their time, valuable things? And seal them away?” She waved both hands in a wide arc, encompassing the room. She guessed it was easily fifteen feet long, if only six or seven feet wide. The far corners were lost in gloom, outside the flashlight’s glow unless she pointed the beam that way.
Ian’s expression, just visible in the reflected flashlight gleam, looked grim, his lips compressed into a thin line. “Perhaps they meant to come back. Something happened to prevent them, and the new owners never knew this was here.”