Aunt Bessie's Holiday

by Diana Xarissa

  “Harold?” a voice roared from the kitchen.

  “I’d better get back,” Harold said, looking around nervously. “I’m helping out in the kitchen as well as serving the wine.”

  He was gone before Bessie could ask why.

  It felt like a long time before Monique came back to take their order. Bessie was just about to suggest that they pay for the wine and leave when Monique swung back out from the kitchen. Everyone ordered from the specials menu, hoping that would be best, considering that Nathan seemed to be having another bad day.

  As Monique turned away, the hostess showed a party of eight into the dining room. Monique made a face at her before returning to the kitchen.

  The new group had clearly just arrived and seemed intent on having fun. They were all adults in their early to mid-twenties and Bessie immediately realised that they had already been drinking before dinner. When Monique reappeared to take their drinks order, they requested four bottles of wine between them. Bessie thought she looked relieved that Harold was going to have to deal with them.

  Although they had been seated on the opposite side of the room from Bessie and her friends, the new group was so noisy that conversation proved almost impossible for Bessie’s table. Instead, Bessie sipped her wine and let her mind wander. It was hard to believe that it was less than week since the first time she’d sat in this restaurant, having just met Doona’s not-quite-ex-husband.

  She looked around the room, wondering if something that had happened that evening had been the catalyst to Charles’s murder. A momentary lull in the conversation on the other side of the room let Bessie and others hear yet another crash from the kitchen.

  “What is he doing in there?” Bessie asked.

  “Banging pots for effect,” Doona suggested.

  Monique brought out their meals not long after Harold delivered the other table’s wines. The room felt strangely quiet as Bessie and her friends began to eat and the other group began to work their way through their bottles.

  “This isn’t bad,” Bessie said after a few bites.

  “Neither is mine,” Doona said. “Still not as good as the first night, but not bad.”

  “I’m enjoying mine, but I didn’t get much lunch,” John said.

  “I’m enjoying the company and the wine more than the food,” Andrew said. “But I’ve had worse food.”

  “That’s hardly a compliment to my husband,” Monique said angrily from behind Bessie.

  “It wasn’t meant to be,” Andrew said calmly.

  “He’s working ever so hard,” Monique told him, tears forming in her eyes. “It isn’t easy, with all the things going on around us. First Charles was murdered and now Lawrence has been arrested. I don’t know how Nathan can work at all under the circumstances.”

  “He’s doing fine,” Bessie assured the girl. “Everything is good.”

  “Hey, waitress,” a man from the other table shouted. “Where’s our food, then?”

  Monique rolled her eyes and then hurried over to the other table. Bessie watched her go.

  “She’s very quick to defend her husband,” she remarked to the others.

  “I still want to meet Nathan,” John said.

  The foursome watched as Monique spoke to the other group for several minutes before heading back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, Nathan himself stormed out.

  “I understand you have a problem,” he said loudly to one of the men in the large group.

  The man looked at the powerfully built chef and shook his head. “No, we’re good,” he said quickly. “Just hungry.”

  “Your food will be out when it’s ready,” Nathan replied. “I can’t rush proper preparation.” He turned and glanced over at Bessie’s table. After a brief hesitation, he walked over to them.

  “I hope you’re enjoying your meal,” he said stiffly.

  “It’s fine,” Bessie said. “Quite good, actually.”

  “Great,” Nathan muttered, turning to leave.

  “You should meet our friend, John,” Bessie said loudly.

  Nathan turned and smiled vaguely. “I didn’t know you had a friend joining you,” he said.

  John held out a hand. “John Rockwell,” he said. “I’m good friends with both Bessie and Doona.”

  “Welcome to Lakeview Holiday Park and L’Expérience Anglaise,” Nathan said. “I hope you enjoy your holiday.”

  They all watched silently as the man walked away.

  “He’s seems off tonight,” Bessie murmured. “Like he’s drunk or something.”

  “Drugs?” John said, looking at Andrew.

  “Could be,” Andrew replied.

  By the time Monique came back with the sweets menu, the group had decided to get ice cream at the little stand outside, which was right next to where the bus to Torver Castle was collecting them.

  “Dinner is on Nathan,” she told them when Andrew asked for the bill. “He feels as if he isn’t doing his best right now and he doesn’t want Lakeview’s guests to pay for that.”

  “That’s going to get expensive,” Bessie commented as she looked at the large group whose food had just been delivered by the hostess.

  “Oh, they’ll pay,” Monique said with a shrug. “They’re too drunk to know if the food was good or not.”

  Bessie decided she couldn’t argue with that, so she and her friends headed out. Andrew and John fell into step together, chatting in low voices while Doona and Bessie followed at a slower pace, talking about nothing much as they enjoyed the night air.

  They were only a short distance from the ice cream stand, and from there they were only a few steps away from the sign for the castle tours. With fifteen minutes to fill before the bus was due, Bessie and Doona started to discuss the books for the next day’s book club. Doona hadn’t had much time to read and Bessie was happy to give her a quick summary of each book.

  The bus arrived a few minutes early, and when the doors opened, Bessie was surprised to see Andrea climb out of it.

  “Hello again,” she greeted Bessie. “And before you ask, this is meant to be one of Mai’s jobs as well, but she’s still not around. I used to do this, before Mai arrived and started taking all of my favourite jobs away from me, so don’t worry about me not knowing what I’m doing.”

  “But what’s happened to Mai?” Bessie asked.

  Andrea shrugged. “No idea, but I suspect it has something to do with Lawrence. Maybe she thinks with both Charles and Lawrence gone she’ll get fired anyway. Harold isn’t her biggest fan, after all.”

  Before Bessie could ask any more questions, Jack and Nancy Strong came rushing up.

  “Oh, thank goodness we didn’t miss the bus,” Nancy said. “I’m so excited about this tour.”

  “Because we’ve only been around Torver Castle twice before,” Jack muttered from behind her.

  “Last time I felt something,” Nancy said in a confiding tone. “I’m sure it was one of the ghosts.”

  “I’m sure it was something you ate,” Jack said.

  “Oh, hush,” Nancy admonished him. “Just because you don’t believe in ghosts doesn’t mean they aren’t real.”

  “If it did, I’d try not believing in your sister,” Jack whispered just loudly enough for Bessie to hear. She quickly turned her head so that Nancy wouldn’t see her laughing at the man’s words.

  “If you’d all like to board the bus, I’ll check you off my list as you do so,” Andrea said.

  Bessie and her friends climbed on board, with Andrea making a note that John Rockwell had joined the party. They took seats near the front of the bus and watched as a dozen or so other people joined them. Nancy and Jack were the last to board and they took the seat right behind the driver.

  “We’re just waiting for two more people,” Andrea announced from the doorway. “If they aren’t here in a few minutes, we’ll go without them.”

  “We should go now,” a loud voice called from the back. “We’re already late and I’d hate to miss any of the show.�
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  “It’s a tour, sir, not a show,” Andrea said, coming up the steps into the bus. “You’ll have plenty of time to tour the castle. It isn’t a long drive.”

  “Yeah, but the spooky ghost noises and flashing lights and all that are pre-arranged, right? I don’t want to miss that stuff,” he said.

  “I can assure you that nothing is pre-arranged,” Andrea replied. “Whether the ghosts are active or not is entirely up to them.”

  “Ooooh, scary,” the man said mockingly.

  “Ted, stop it,” the woman next to him said. “You don’t want to upset the ghosts.”

  The man laughed and then glanced at his watch. “If we don’t get moving, they’ll have all gone to bed when we get there.”

  Andrea smiled tightly and then climbed down out of the bus. From her seat, Bessie watched the girl look around anxiously. After a moment, she shook her head and turned back towards the bus.

  “We’re here,” a voice called out loudly. “We’re here. Don’t go without us.”

  Bessie frowned when she recognised Jessica Howe as the woman stumbled towards the bus. Herbert wasn’t far behind her. Jessica stopped just outside the bus and took a deep breath. She straightened her very tight and short dress and then ran a hand through her hair.

  “We were having a nap,” Jessica said to everyone from the bus doorway. She shimmied down the aisle, winking at John Rockwell on her way. Herbert followed, clearly out of breath. Bessie looked at his red face and wondered how strong his heart was. He fell heavily into the seat behind Bessie and Doona, shaking the entire bus as he did so.

  “Right, that’s everyone then,” Andrea said from the doorway. “Here we go.” She perched on the stairs as the driver pulled away from the village centre. Everyone fell silent as they made their way out of the holiday park and into the countryside.

  “Do you think we’ll see any ghosts?” Doona asked Bessie in a quiet voice.

  “I doubt it. I do believe we can’t explain everything in our world,” Bessie answered. “But whether that includes people’s spirits coming back to haunt the living or not, I don’t know. I know when Matthew died I felt as if I could feel his presence for a long time afterwards. It made me feel better, so I don’t see any harm in it.”

  Doona patted Bessie’s arm. “I’d much rather believe in benevolent ghosts than the scary sort.”

  “Me, too,” Bessie agreed. “But from what I’ve read, if there are ghosts at Torver Castle, they aren’t the friendly kind.”

  “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy, but I keep worrying that we’ll bump into Charles’s ghost,” Doona whispered.

  “He won’t be at Torver Castle,” Bessie said firmly. “If he’s haunting anywhere it will be his office at Lakeview, because that’s where he was killed.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Doona said. “But I’m still not sure about this tour.”

  “We can wait on the bus while the others take the tour, if you want,” Bessie offered.

  Doona shook her head. “I don’t want you to miss out on the fun just because I’m sort of skittish at the moment.”

  Bessie took her friend’s hand. “I can tour a haunted castle anytime I want back at home,” she said. “Actually, both Castle Rushen and Peel Castle are haunted, so I even have a choice. Your mental health is more important than seeing another old stone building.”

  Doona laughed and then sighed. “I’m being silly,” she said. “I’ll take the tour. I can always head back to the bus if I start to feel spooked.”

  A strange noise from the seat behind them interrupted their conversation. Bessie glanced back and shook her head. Herbert Howe had fallen asleep and was now snoring loudly. A moment later Jessica’s heels clicked back down the aisle. She glanced at her husband and then dropped into the seat next to Bessie and Doona, where John and Andrew were sitting. She nearly landed on John’s lap, and he quickly slid over to make room for her.

  “Oops,” she said, giggling. “Sorry, handsome stranger. I didn’t mean to land on you.”

  “I’m John Rockwell, Doona’s friend,” John replied. “We met earlier.”

  “I can’t believe I don’t remember meeting you,” Jessica cooed. “I didn’t have that much to drink.”

  Bessie glanced over at Doona and found her friend staring intently at the exchange across the aisle.

  “Is your husband okay?” Bessie asked the woman pointedly.

  “Oh, I’m sure he’s fine,” Jessica replied, waving a hand. “He’ll probably just sleep on the bus while we do the tour.” She turned her attention back to John. “Maybe you could hold my hand as we go around, in case I get scared,” she suggested, licking her lips.

  “I don’t think so,” John replied stiffly.

  Jessica giggled. “You can’t blame a girl for trying,” she said, pouting slightly.

  “Surely your husband will want to go around the castle,” Bessie said.

  Jessica shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. She glanced over at Doona and smiled nastily. “I’m surprised the police let you go,” she said. “It seems like you had the best motive for murdering poor Charles.”

  “I didn’t have any motive,” Doona countered in a cool voice. “He was no longer part of my life.”

  “But it looks like he left you a fortune,” Jessica said.

  “I highly doubt that,” Doona replied.

  “He really did care about you, you know,” Jessica told Doona. “He was actually going to break up with me right after your wedding. I had to work hard to make sure that didn’t happen.”

  Bessie squeezed Doona’s hand, hoping the woman’s nasty words weren’t upsetting her friend too much.

  “You sent me the photos, didn’t you?” Doona demanded.

  “What photos?” Jessica asked, giving Doona what Bessie assumed was meant to be an innocent look.

  Doona opened her mouth to reply and then snapped it shut again. She turned her head and looked out the bus window.

  “He cared for you, but he would never have stayed faithful,” Jessica said loudly. “He wasn’t faithful to me, even when we were together. He always had to have at least two or three women at his beck and call.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I put up with him for so long.”

  Doona didn’t reply, but Bessie could feel that she was taking long and slow breaths, trying to control herself.

  “I think that’s quite enough,” Bessie said to Jessica. “Why don’t you head back to your seat and leave us alone?”

  “Ah, but I’d miss my handsome new friend if I went back there again,” Jessica said, patting John’s knee and then running her hand slowly up his thigh. The hand didn’t get far before John pushed it firmly away.

  “I think you need to move,” he said tightly.

  Jessica laughed lightly. “You know, it’s a big castle with lots of tiny, dark rooms. I’m sure we could find a place to slip away and get better acquainted. Do think about that,” she said before she got back to her feet and wandered back down the aisle.

  “Hello, gorgeous man,” Bessie heard her saying to someone further back in the bus.

  “He’s very married,” an angry voice replied. “And I’ll thank you to stay well away from him.”

  Bessie heard Jessica laugh again and then Andrea’s voice came over the tannoy.

  “We’re just about to arrive at the castle. We will be the only guests here tonight. When we arrive, a tour guide from the castle will be coming on board to share the history of the site, and then you are welcome to either take a guided tour or simply explore the castle on your own. We will meet back at the bus at exactly half nine. Please don’t be late, as the site will be shutting down at that time.”

  “I thought we were meant to finish at nine,” Bessie murmured to Doona.

  “Maybe they extended it because we got such a late start,” Doona replied.

  A moment later they passed through the castle’s gates and pulled up in front of the building itself. A woman in her mid-thirties, dressed in El
izabethan garb, climbed on board the bus as soon as it stopped.

  “Welcome to Torver Castle,” she began. “The first settlement on this site has been dated to the Iron Age, with the earliest fortified buildings being started in the Roman era. We’re quite close to the Scottish border, of course, and we suspect….”

  Bessie tuned her out. She’d read the history of the site in a guidebook when she knew she’d be coming, so now she turned her thoughts to the things Jessica had said. If Jessica was right and Charles was always involved with more than one woman, whom had he been seeing when he died?

  There were many attractive young women on the staff at the park, and Bessie could only assume that they’d all been questioned. As far as she knew, no one had admitted to being involved with the boss. She still wondered about the exact nature of Charles’s relationship with Monique Beck, but now she started thinking about Mai and Andrea as well. She was startled when everyone around her began to stand up. The costumed tour guide was leaving the bus and everyone was getting ready to follow her.

  “The history is fascinating,” Doona said. “But I’m still not sure I want to go in there.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Bessie said confidently. “We’ll take a proper tour and stick together. Ghosts hate that sort of thing.”

  Doona laughed, but it sounded forced. There were several guides available for tours and Bessie selected an older woman who looked kindly. She pointed out a few things in the courtyard area and then led the foursome into the castle itself.

  As they walked through the castle, their guide kept up a steady stream of information. It felt to Bessie as if nearly every room was said to be haunted by some spirit or other. It took them an hour and a half to tour the entire building, and when they got back to the courtyard, there was no one else around.

  “That was interesting,” Bessie said.

  “And not at all creepy,” Doona added happily. “I didn’t see or hear or feel any ghosts.”

  There were several benches spread out around the space, so they sat down and waited for the rest of the group.

  “Tomorrow is meant to be our last full day,” Doona said. “We’re supposed to go home on Sunday, but I’m not sure that Margaret will let us.”