Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay

by Ali McNamara

  ‘Now I’ve heard everything,’ I say as Charlie stares at me, unnerved by my laughter. ‘A sexist ghost. Wonderful!’

  ‘Ruby, what are you doing here?’ Charlie asks suddenly, looking to his left side. ‘Yeah, he did say that.’

  ‘What’s going on?’ I ask Charlie. This whole scene is getting stranger by the minute. Not only am I standing in the middle of a building site listening to my son talking to some invisible being, now he’s talking to two. If you’d told me a few months ago that this is what I’d be doing in my short-term future – or at any stage in my future, actually – I’d have thought you were high on some illegal substance or other.

  ‘Ruby is saying that Jasper shouldn’t be so rude to you, and that she likes that word sexist – she hasn’t heard it used before. She wants to know if it means to be rude to women.’

  ‘It means to be derogatory about women,’ I tell the empty space next to Charlie. ‘To say or think that men are better than women. Because they’re not.’ I turn and talk to the place where Jasper is supposed to be. ‘Woman can do everything men can, and sometimes they do it even better.’

  ‘Jasper is over here now, Mum,’ Charlie says, pointing to the right of him. ‘He’s moved.

  ‘Hello,’ Charlie says now to another empty space. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘There’s three of them now?’ I ask, my head spinning.

  Charlie appears to be listening to the latest ghost to join the party, then he laughs.

  ‘This is Percy,’ he says, holding out his hand in front of him. ‘He rarely leaves the Blue Bedroom, apparently, but he wanted to come along and join the fun.’

  ‘Yep, this is certainly fun,’ I say sarcastically. ‘Welcome, Percy.’

  ‘Percy says he’s delighted to meet you at last, and is impressed by your bedroom attire.’

  I pull my dressing gown around me a little tighter.

  ‘Thank you, Percy. I do know your story, you know,’ I warn him.

  ‘He says he’s glad to hear it – he likes to be infamous! Is that like mega famous?’ Charlie asks me.

  ‘Sort of. Why are they all here?’

  ‘Why are you all here together?’ Charlie asks. He listens and then says, ‘They want to back up Jasper’s story. Percy says that even though Jasper is a stuck-up fool, and that he’s known for telling lies, on this particular occasion he’s telling the truth.’

  Charlie looks at the place Jasper is, and then back at Percy, and then back at Jasper again. ‘They’re arguing now,’ he tells me.

  ‘Arguing about what?’

  ‘About what Percy said about Jasper being a liar.’ He listens again. ‘Apparently Jasper insists he died on the battlefield, and Percy is saying he didn’t – the truth is he died of pneumonia here at the castle on his way to the Battle of Culloden. What’s pneumonia, Mum?’

  ‘Er . . . it’s a problem with your lungs. It’s like a really bad cold where you can’t breathe properly.’

  ‘Ah, right, and now Percy is laughing again at what you just said. He’s teasing Jasper that he simply died of a common cold.’

  ‘Okay, okay,’ I say to the assembled ghosts. ‘You can have your arguments in private. Actually, I do have one question for you. Have all the ghosts that haunt the castle died here too?’

  Charlie looks at Ruby.

  ‘Yes,’ he says. ‘To be allowed to haunt somewhere as historically important as this, you have to have died here.’

  ‘What did you die of, Ruby, if you don’t mind me asking?’ I knew Ruby was a child so it would have to have been something bad for her to have died so young.

  Charlie listens, and then he looks sad.

  ‘She died of Spanish influenza,’ he says.

  ‘I’ve heard of that,’ I tell Ruby. ‘It was an epidemic that spread through Britain during the early part of the twentieth century, I think.’

  ‘Ruby died in 1918,’ Charlie says sadly. ‘Her father died in battle in the First World War, and then her mother died of the same thing as Ruby, only a few weeks before Ruby passed away.’

  ‘I’m truly sorry to hear that, Ruby.’

  ‘Ruby says thank you.’

  ‘Now then, the rest of you,’ I say to our invisible guests, ‘perhaps you’d stop bickering for a few moments and tell me what’s really going on here. Is this building dangerous?’

  ‘Percy says yes,’ Charlie answers for him. ‘You should speak to your head builder and have him check it out.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll do that; and what about this key?’

  ‘He says you should probably talk to Clara about that.’

  ‘Clara? You mean the former Countess? Is she a ghost here too?’

  Charlie listens again – this time to Ruby.

  ‘Ruby says Clara doesn’t come out very often as she’s very shy. But she’s also very beautiful and kind-hearted. She’s been very caring to Ruby since she got stuck here.’

  ‘That’s good to know, Ruby. I’m pleased someone is looking out for you. So how do I get in touch with this Clara?’

  ‘Percy says he’ll have a word.’

  ‘Thanks, Percy.’ I’m aware of some movement outside, so I quickly hurry the conversation along. ‘Right, now we’ve had this little chat and I’ve agreed to get the building checked out and look for this key, can I ask that for now anyway you cease from haunting this building? I’m looking at you in particular, Jasper.’

  Well, I hope I am, I think as I glare sternly at an empty space.

  But Charlie is silent.

  ‘What’s he saying?’ I ask.

  ‘He’s not saying anything, but the others are trying to persuade him. Okay, he’s nodding now. He says yes.’

  ‘Good, thank you, Jasper, and thank you, everyone else, for all your . . . help.’ I look at Charlie. ‘And thank you for speaking with Charlie like you do. It’s most appreciated. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to see and speak with you all too.’

  ‘Is everything all right?’ We hear Benji outside the door. ‘Only you’ve been in there a long time.’

  I look at Charlie.

  ‘They’ve all left now,’ he says, looking around.

  I nod. ‘Yes, we’re fine,’ I call. ‘We’re coming out now, Benji.’

  But before Charlie and I leave the stables, I stop him.

  ‘Charlie, I must thank you, too,’ I tell him. ‘I may not have believed you to begin with when you started talking about Ruby, but I certainly do now.’

  Charlie just nods matter-of-factly. ‘I knew you’d come round in the end, Mum.’

  We have ghosts at Chesterford Castle, I think as I emerge with Charlie back out into the daylight. It’s a prospect I should find extremely worrying, but instead I find to my surprise that it’s enormously comforting.

  Twenty-seven

  ‘So, I hear you had a bit of a time of it this morning?’ Tom says later that day. He’s popped over to the tower to see how I’m getting on.

  ‘You could say that. It’s not a situation I’d usually choose to deal with when I’m nursing a hangover, but we seemed to get it sorted out to everyone’s satisfaction in the end.’ I pour Tom some iced orange juice from the jug I have next to me on the table. It’s still about the only thing I’ve been able to stomach since I returned to the tower for some necessary peace and quiet.

  Tom smiles.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s just you and your turns of phrase. You’re very businesslike when you’re dealing with people.’

  ‘What’s wrong with that?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Tom says, wisely choosing not to pursue this. ‘I hear it wasn’t just people you were dealing with this morning, though. I gather there might have been some uninvited visitors as well.’

  ‘They weren’t uninvited. This is their castle, too – in fact, they’ve lived here a lot longer than either you or I have.’

  ‘Easy,’ Tom says, holding his hands up in defence. ‘I was only having a joke – feeling a bit below par today, are you?’

  ‘Sorry. Y
es, I am a bit. As you witnessed, I had a lot to drink last night – which I’m really not used to.’

  ‘Yes, I gathered that. Don’t worry about it, we’ve all been there. So, you really saw these ghosts that Benji told me about, then?’

  I should have known it would be Benji spilling the beans. I hadn’t exactly asked him to be quiet about what had happened in the stables, I’d just assumed it wasn’t something he’d be telling everyone about.

  ‘I didn’t see them, exactly, but Charlie did.’

  ‘But you heard them?’

  ‘Well, no, Charlie did most of the . . . translating, I guess you’d call it.’

  ‘Ah, I see; so it was only Charlie who saw and heard them as always. I thought it was actually you this time.’

  ‘No, but I knew they were there.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘By what he was saying. There was no way he could have made up all that stuff.’

  ‘I didn’t say he was making it up.’

  ‘No, but I can tell that’s what you’re thinking.’ I take a gulp from my glass. Why was I so agitated today?

  ‘I just find it hard to believe, that’s all,’ Tom says calmly. ‘I know people say ghosts exist, and they’ve seen them and everything, but I haven’t, and until I do you’ll bear with me if I appear a little doubtful of their existence.’

  ‘You’re entitled to your opinion, of course,’ I reply, knowing I probably sound haughty. I don’t mean to be off with Tom, but I really couldn’t cope with any more confrontation today. ‘But what you don’t realise is that by saying those things, you’re also saying my son is a liar.’

  ‘No, I’m not,’ Tom says, shaking his head in dismay. ‘I think the world of Charlie, you know that.’

  ‘But you’re saying he’s making all this up?’

  ‘Not making it up; perhaps imagining it is a better word. Charlie is a bright kid, he knows his stuff, but he’s also an only child, and only children are renowned for having great and wild imaginations.’

  ‘I’m an only child, and I wouldn’t say my imagination is all that great. Far from it, actually; that’s why, as you so rightly pointed out, I was good at practical subjects at school.’

  ‘When did I say that?’

  ‘Not long after you arrived here. Up on the field when Arthur had got you chopping wood with an axe. You said I was practical and probably didn’t get artistic people.’

  ‘Oh yes, so I did. Perhaps I judged you a little strongly then.’

  ‘Yes, perhaps you did.’

  There’s an awkward silence in the tower.

  ‘Look, Amelia, I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,’ Tom says eventually. ‘I really didn’t mean to. I just came here to check you were okay after last night.’

  ‘You haven’t upset me; I’m still feeling a little delicate, that’s all.’

  Tom smiles. ‘You were certainly the life and soul last night, that’s for sure. I never did ask you how you learned to play pool like that.’

  ‘I worked in a pub for a while. There was a pool table – so when it was particularly quiet – usually weekday lunch-times – the landlord and I would have a game or two. He was in the pub’s team, so he was pretty good. He taught me how to play.’

  ‘Did you play in the team, too?’

  I shake my head. ‘No, they played at night. I had Charlie to look after then. It was after my husband left.’

  Tom nods. ‘Ah yes, of course. You said last night you’d tell me more about what happened.’

  ‘I did?’

  ‘Yeah, you said there was more to your story than Benji knew.’

  ‘Oh . . . I don’t remember saying that. But then I don’t really remember a lot after we left the pub.’

  This was a bit of a lie; I did remember, but I didn’t feel like sharing intimate details about my life with Tom right now.

  ‘Ah, I see.’ Tom looks thoughtful for a moment. ‘Perhaps I should go?’ he says, suddenly standing up. ‘You’d obviously rather be on your own right now.’

  ‘It might be for the best,’ I reply stiffly. ‘Thanks for coming up, though. I appreciate it.’

  ‘Sure.’ Tom heads towards the stairs. ‘Any time you want to pop down to the pub again you just let me know.’

  ‘I’ll probably give it a miss for a while, if that’s all right with you. I think I’ve downed enough alcohol to last me a few weeks.’

  Tom simply nods, then he turns and lifts his hand briefly, before heading quickly down the stairs.

  I put my glass down on the table and sigh. Looks like I’ve scared another one off. Why does this always happen? I meet a perfectly nice guy and then when they start to show an interest I pull on my protective armour and they’re forced to leave.

  It doesn’t matter what they do, I always find a reason to pick a fight, and this time Charlie had been the excuse I needed to push Tom away.

  Tom wasn’t really having a go at Charlie, I knew that deep down, but made to choose between my son and anyone else, there was no contest. Charlie will always come first in my life. That’s something that will never change, whatever we’re doing and wherever we’re living.

  Twenty-eight

  The rest of the weekend is a quiet one – well, I choose to make it quiet so I can recover from my hangover.

  ‘How are you feeling this morning?’ Benji asks me on Monday, when I’ve spent most of Sunday in the tower, only venturing out for a walk with Charlie and Chester along the long sandy beach. The walk had certainly blown away a few cobwebs – the weather on Sunday had been gusty and filled with heavy showers, so to get out into the bracing sea air had been a welcome escape for a few minutes, before we’d had to run back home as yet another downpour had dispensed from the dark clouds above us.

  ‘Much better, thanks,’ I tell him as I pause on my way to the stables. ‘Why does it take so long these days to recover from alcohol? I’m sure it never took this long in my twenties.’

  ‘Ah, that would be one of the joys of ageing,’ Benji tells me, smiling. ‘That and wrinkles, piles and dodgy knees!’

  I laugh. ‘Enough! I’m not that bad yet.’

  ‘Where are you off to this morning?’ Benji asks. ‘You look like you mean business wherever you’re going. You were marching across this courtyard with quite the look of determination on your face.’

  ‘The stables. I’m meeting Bill there. Apparently he’s found out what the problem might be.’

  ‘You mean the problem that Jasper warned you about?’

  I love the fact Benji didn’t question anything that Charlie and I had told him about the ghosts – unlike Tom.

  I hadn’t seen Tom since we’d parted on slightly awkward terms on Saturday afternoon. Apparently he’d gone off to visit someone, Dorothy told me when questioned, and he’d be back today.

  ‘Yes, that problem.’

  ‘So he was right, then?’

  I shrug. ‘I guess I’ll find out in a moment.’

  ‘Well, good luck,’ Benji says, patting me on the shoulder. ‘I get the feeling you might need it.’

  ‘Bill,’ I say as I find Bill standing in the new tea room looking up at the ceiling. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘Ah, morning, Miss Amelia,’ Bill says, turning around to greet me. ‘And how are you today?’

  I’m sure he’s heard all about my exploits at the pub, but I pretend to be unaware the precursor of my recent hangover is likely what he’s referring to.

  ‘Wonderful, thank you, Bill. So what’s the problem here, then?’ I ask, cutting to the chase. ‘I’m assuming you’ve found a problem?’

  ‘First, I can only apologise, miss,’ Bill says, looking ashamed, and I assume he’s talking about the problem he’s found. ‘Ed should never have mixed you up in his nonsense on Saturday morning.’

  ‘It’s fine, Bill, really,’ I begin, but Bill continues.

  ‘No, miss; he’s always been a bit of a loose cannon that one. I don’t know how he did it, but he got all the others believing in his gibber
ish too.’

  ‘But—’ I try again, keen for Ed not to take the blame for this.

  ‘However,’ Bill continues, ‘it’s just as well you phoned me and asked me to come and check on the building; it turns out we do have something of a problem.’

  ‘We do?’ I ask in surprise. Even though I’d been expecting this, it still comes as quite a shock that the ghosts might be right. ‘What is it?’

  Bill points up at some of the original rafters that I’d insisted we keep in the renovations. ‘You see these timbers?’ he says. ‘Riddled with woodworm.’

  ‘Are they?’ I ask, looking up at the timbers. ‘I can’t see anything. Aren’t there usually lots of little holes with woodworm?’

  ‘Not if they’ve not hatched yet. These beams here have only eggs and larvae in them; there’s just a few tiny holes beginning to appear, which mean the worms are just starting to hatch. It’s possible when we originally checked this there were no holes at all. It’s easily missed.’

  ‘So what would have happened if we hadn’t found it?’ I ask, still staring up at the ceiling.

  ‘Not much to begin with, but eventually the beams would have weakened and then subsequently collapsed.’

  ‘Collapsed? What, with no warning?’

  ‘Again, it’s possible – but I’m sure someone would have noticed the holes before it got to that stage.’

  ‘But what if they hadn’t? What if one of those beams had collapsed when we had people in here? What if the whole ceiling had come down?’

  I stare at Bill, my eyes wide.

  ‘I think it’s best we’re just grateful we found it before it got to that stage,’ Bill says, glancing up at the beams again.

  ‘Indeed,’ I say, thinking about Jasper. ‘So how long will it take to fix? I’m assuming you can remove the woodworm?’

  ‘We’ll definitely need to get some specialists in. This isn’t something I can deal with on my own.’

  I sigh. ‘How much is it going to cost, Bill, and almost more importantly, how long is it going to take?’

  Bill makes his customary deliberating noises.

  ‘Difficult to say, I’d need to get a quote, and then we’d need to book them in. If we’re lucky it might only put us back a week or so.’