by Anya Wylde
"He will have to take me with him," she told the kittens in the basket.
They mewed sceptically.
A soft sob to her right made her turn her head.
She could see no one and yet the pathetic crying continued.
"Who is it?"
"It is I," Aunt Sedley howled.
Lucy squinted harder and finally saw a brief outline of a translucent ghost. "Aunt Sedley?"
"I am not your aunt," Aunt Sedley wept.
"I am sorry, I had gotten used to thinking … Oh, you are so sweet."
"Eh?"
"You are crying because I am leaving. You are going to miss me," Lucy said touched.
"No, you daft fool. The wedding," Aunt Sedley yowled, "is off."
"Why the devil?"
"Mr Brown had a Mrs Brown hidden away. The spirits in charge of the wedding found out all about it." The ghost sobbed and blew her nose. "Mr Brown thought that after death all familial ties were over, but the spirits in charge said no such luck. He continues to be married to Mrs Brown, whether he likes it or not, for the next seven generations."
"Who are the spirits in charge?"
"Who the bloody hell cares," Aunt Sedley bewailed. "I am not getting married, that is the point. I no longer want to live anywhere near Blackwell village. I never want to haunt the streets that I haunted with him. I want to go far, far away."
"You can leave the mansion?"
"Don't ask foolish questions," Aunt Sedley hiccuped.
"What are you going to do?"
"Wibble wibble gibbble."
"What?"
"Wiggle riggble akh."
"Please stop blubbering for a moment," Lucy begged. "I cannot understand a word."
"Will you," Aunt Sedley sniffed, "take me with you?"
"I don't know where I am going."
"I thought you were going with Lord Adair."
"I have to convince him yet."
"But he is leaving any moment now," the spirit exclaimed.
"I know. I am going to try one last time, and if not, then I will have to go to an inn, take a room for a few days and hunt around for employment."
Aunt Sedley stopped crying. "You don't have references."
"No, and if I tell them who my previous employers were, they will hear of the murder and theft—"
"And assume you had a hand in it," Aunt Sedley finished.
"Besides, Lord Adair knows everyone in England. No one will question him if he decides to employ me or asks someone else to give me work."
"He has to take you along."
"I hope he does," Lucy sighed.
"You know," Aunt Sedley said thoughtfully, "he will always be the hero."
"And I the heroine," she replied dreamily.
"You, my dear, are a side character."
"Hmmph."
"I have always wanted to see Lockwood," Aunt Sedley said perking up after a moment. "Lord Adair had a number of handsome and powerful ancestors. Some may still be floating around in the halls."
"I don't doubt it."
"I may meet someone new," Aunt Sedley said hopefully. "I will—"
The door opened cutting Aunt Sedley short, and with a gust of wind, Lord Adair strode out. His long black travelling cloak swirled around him, and his shiny boots silently descended the steps.
"My lord," Lucy said coming to stand before him. "It is time to honour our wager. You promised to give me some sort of employment if I won. "
"I had solved the crime before you even began to make sense of it," he replied dismissively. He searched the clear blue sky and turned to the valet. "It is a good day for travelling. Don't forget the balloon—"
"You managed to catch Peter," she cut in, "but you had to use me to get to him. You might need me again."
"I doubt it."
"I am willing to learn."
"I have nothing to teach."
"You cannot abandon me, I have nowhere to go."
"You can return to the orphanage."
"They won't have me."
"I can offer you coins to survive until you find yourself some suitable employment."
"I am no beggar."
He shrugged and gracefully entered the carriage.
She caught hold of the door. "You found a home for Palmer, the chickens, the frogs, the rats and even that horrid evil Egyptian bird. Surely you can find something for me."
"You are not a helpless little pug, Miss Trotter, that I can hand over to a bunch of greedy children," he said and rapped the carriage walls, "or a remarkable specimen for some old medical professor to mull over."
"But I am a girl of gentle disposition. I am educated. I can play the piano, the harpsichord, the flute. I can write exquisite letters, speak French and argue like a Greek philosopher. I can knit, sew, paint and dance. I can bake divine little cakes light as air, my breads can satisfy even the king. I can mop, dust and frighten away wrinkles," she cried as the carriage started to roll away.
“I know how to prise a bullet out of a man and make a salve for a nasty cut," she continued, running alongside the moving carriage. "I know how to use the Hunga Munga, the lethal African fighting tool. I can brawl like an experienced street urchin and keep the fawning women away from you, Lord Adair. "
The carriage quickened its pace and she could no longer keep up.
"I am immune to your charms, my lord," she screamed in one last desperate attempt.
The carriage jerked to a reluctant halt and Lord Adair's head poked out. He said resignedly, "Come along then, Miss Trotter."
Lucy grinned in triumph. She pulled the handles of a small cloth bag over her shoulder, grasped the basket of mewing kittens and with Spinoza the raven securely perched upon her bonnet hurtled towards the carriage.
The ghost of Aunt Sedley whooped in delight and whizzed after her.
They both leaped in, ghost and human, and settled opposite the handsomest man on earth, Lord William Ellsworth Hartell Adair, the Marquis of Lockwood.
Aunt Sedley produced a glass of champagne and sipped the ghostly bubbles. "To a new beginning and yet another spirited adventure," she toasted.
"Amen to that," Lucy sighed happily and settled down for the long ride ahead.
The End
If you enjoyed this book then please check out Anya Wylde's previous releases on Amazon.
To be notified of any new releases by Anya Wylde please click here. Or alternatively email Anya at anyawylde@gmail.com