Whispers (17 page)

The Master greeted Leonard and his wife personally in the hallway and then whilst Melody, Leonard’s wife, went to her room to freshen up after her journey, the two men closeted themselves in the Master’s study. The Master had made Martha prepare the best guest bedroom for them and when Martha showed Miss Melody to her room, the woman smiled at her kindly.

‘Eeh, she’s
so
beautiful,’ Martha sighed dreamily once back in the kitchen. ‘An’ kind – an’ yer should have seen the costume she were wearin’ . . . I reckon it was made o’ velvet an’ she had on a lovely little hat to match, all trimmed wi’ feathers.’

‘Aye, well, it appears that young Master Leonard stands to inherit this place when owt ’appens to the Master, seein’ as the Mistress never had no children, so it’s in his interests to help ’im out o’ the mire.’

‘We’ll see,’ Bertie replied grumpily, then rising from his seat on the wooden settle at the side of the fire, he wrapped a warm scarf about his neck and donned his heavy work coat before going about his chores.

The family had their first glimpse of Miss Melody later that morning when she swept into the kitchen like a breath of fresh air.

‘Ah,’ she smiled, holding out her hand and addressing Granny. ‘You must be Mrs Reid. Do forgive me for intruding in your kitchen but I so wanted to meet you all.’ Granny bobbed a curtsy as Melody turned to Grace. ‘And you must be Grace.’ Her eyes dropped to Grace’s protruding stomach. ‘And when is the baby due? You must be so excited.’

‘In January, ma’am,’ Grace said awkwardly.

‘Oh, please call me Miss Melody.’ Lastly the young woman turned to Martha and winked at her. ‘And you and I have already met, haven’t we, when you showed me to my room this morning.’

Martha was suddenly tonguetied as she looked into the eyes the colour of bluebells and nodded numbly.

‘Right, now that we have all been introduced, shall we get down to business?’ Melody turned back to Granny. ‘I believe from what I’ve been told that your supplies are running quite low, so if you could write me a list of all the things that you need, my groom will ride into town and get them ordered for you straight away.’

‘Thank you, Miss Melody.’

‘Excellent! Secondly, I wanted to congratulate you all on the way you keep the house running. It’s a credit to you. As my husband and I will be dividing our time between here and our country seat in Herefordshire for the foreseeable future, I thought it might be pleasant to carry out a little refurbishment here. I shall be going into Coventry tomorrow for samples of curtain material and wallpapers. I thought it might be good to do the drawing room and the dining room first. But there . . . Leonard is always scolding me for chattering on. I am sure I must be keeping you all from your work, so I shall leave you in peace now. Do let me have your list as soon as it is completed, Mrs Reid, and be sure to write down
everything
you need. Good morning.’

With that she lifted her skirt and left the room in a swish of silk, leaving a waft of perfume in her wake.

‘Well I’ll be.’ Granny scratched her head. ‘I understand what yer
mean
now, our Martha. She does seem to be a lovely young woman. Perhaps this is the start o’ better times?’

‘I don’t reckon the Master thinks so,’ Martha said with a wry smile. ‘I saw him go off to the mill a while back with young Master Leonard and he had a face on him like a slapped arse. Happen it’s goin’ against the grain fer his young nephew to bale him out o’ trouble.’

‘Happen it is,’ Granny replied with a stern glare. ‘But that don’t give you licence to go usin’ bad language so watch yer lip, me gel. An’ it don’t make things no better fer the Tolleys either, bless their hearts. Phoebe’s been packin’ all day, though God alone knows where they’re goin’ to go.’

Martha nodded in agreement. She had seen Phoebe and Hal loading their meagre possessions onto a handcart and it had almost broken her heart.

‘What time will they be leaving?’ she asked.

‘No doubt when the Master gets back from the mill and pays Hal his dues,’ Granny commented and they then both went about their business.

It was mid-afternoon when Miss Melody’s groom knocked at the kitchen door.

‘Just to inform you, ma’am, that I have placed all your orders and they will be delivered shortly,’ he said, addressing Granny Reid.

Her eyes gleamed as she nodded her thanks. ‘He must have settled the bills up,’ she said to Martha once he had tipped his cap respectfully and left. ‘It’ll be nice to ’ave some decent food to cook wi’ again after havin’ to make do.’

Sure enough, within the hour, the deliveries began to arrive: meat from the butcher’s, wine for the cellar, and all manner of foodstuff that had Granny smiling as she put it all neatly away in the enormous walk-in pantry. The Master and young Master Leonard had arrived back home by then and were closeted in the study when Hal tapped on the kitchen door and entered.

Granny Reid was suddenly stuck for words. What could she possibly say that would make things any better for their poor friend?

Nodding towards the green baize door she informed him, ‘He’s in the study, lad. Go on through an’ I’ll mek yer a nice cup o’ tea fer when you come back.’ She swung the kettle into the heart of the fire to boil as Hal made his way to the study with his head bent.

Minutes later he was back, but instead of being upset he had a broad smile on his face.

‘God bless that young Master Leonard,’ he grinned. ‘Me an’ the family are goin’ to be allowed to stay on, after all.’

‘Eeh – never!’ Granny’s jaw dropped so low that it almost rested on her chest.

‘It’s true,’ he nodded. ‘The Master was about to pay me off when his nephew asked why me an’ the family had to leave. The Master explained that now he’s sold off yet more o’ the land, there ain’t enough to keep me in work here, so then young Master Leonard suggested that I could work in the mill. The Master didn’t seem none too pleased wi’ the idea, I don’t mind tellin’ yer. But I reckon he’s afraid of upsettin’ the young ’un so he had no choice but to agree. Eeh, I can ’ardly believe me luck!’

‘Why, that’s wonderful, Hal,’ Granny beamed as she poured boiling water into the large teapot. ‘Now get off an’ tell Phoebe the good news an’ then come back fer a sup o’ tea, eh? Happen things are lookin’ up around here, after all.’

Martha chopped the vegetables for the evening meal with a light heart. At least that was one crisis that had been averted. Long may it last.

The sound of the bedroom door opening brought Jess springing awake and she realised with a little start that she had fallen asleep reading Martha’s journal.

‘Simon, what time is it?’ she asked as she hastily shoved the book into the bedside drawer.

‘It’s about one o’clock,’ he muttered sulkily as he undressed and tossed his clothes into an untidy heap on the bedside chair. He then climbed into bed beside her and the smell of the alcohol on his breath made her recoil from him.

‘I hope you didn’t drive home,’ she said accusingly then instantly wished she hadn’t. There had been enough bad feeling for one night and she wanted them to make their peace before she fell asleep again.

‘Now I know who the term “the nagging wife” was invented for,’ he said drily as he snapped the bedside light off. He then turned his back on her as she blinked into the darkness.

‘Where have you been?’

‘Can we save the twenty questions until the morning?’ he snarled. ‘Or is a working man not even allowed to get a decent night’s sleep now?’

‘Sorry.’ I certainly handled that well, Jess thought to herself and then, as the sound of his snores echoed around the room, she too tried to lose herself in sleep.

Simon had already left for work the next morning when the shrill ringing of the alarm clock brought Jess from a disturbed sleep. She hated to upset Simon, promising herself that she would make it up to him that evening, but even so she went straight from dropping the girls off to the post office where she got the passport applications before heading back to the house. She was still determined to take the girls to Paris in the next school break and if Simon didn’t like it, he would just have to lump it.

Karen called in just before lunch-time, and as she and Jess sat
drinking
coffee she asked, ‘So what’s up with you then? You look like a wet weekend.’

That was one of the things Jess had always loved about her friend; she always said what she thought, offend or please. Karen was totally opposite to Jess in every way, which Jess supposed was part of her charm. It was a known fact that opposites attract. Karen was well built, with lovely long thick fair hair which had a tendency to curl. She was forever complaining about it and trying to straighten it whilst Jess kept telling her that she herself would have died for it. Karen was a jolly sort of person who let nothing worry her, and sometimes Jess cringed when she saw the state of her house. Karen would never be a slave to housework as she herself was, and yet for all that she lived very happily with her husband who was a fireman, and their three sons.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Jess sighed. ‘It just feels like everything is going wrong again, that’s all.’

‘I’m not surprised, living here in the back of beyond.’ Karen glanced about apprehensively. ‘I don’t mind telling you, this place gives me the creeps.’

‘It’s hardly the back of beyond,’ Jess objected. ‘Caldecote is only a stone’s throw away.’

‘It may well be, but you still feel shut off when you start up that bloody drive. But come on, spill the beans . . . is Simon up to his old tricks again?’

Jess felt herself flushing. She always got the feeling that Karen could read her like a book, so she shrugged. ‘I’m not sure to be honest, although he is starting to stay out again. But it’s Mel too. She ran away the other night and the police brought her back in the early hours of the next morning. She won’t tell me why she went and she just seems so down all the time. It can’t be natural for a girl her age. She should be out and about enjoying herself, instead of spending half her life locked away in her room. She and Simon seem to be at each other’s throats for the majority of the time. He barely gives her an inch of space and it gets you down after a while.’

‘Well, I can understand why it would do,’ Karen agreed. ‘Although I’m shocked to hear it. Simon has his faults, God knows, but he’s always been good to the girls. Perhaps he’s just being over-protective because he’s afraid of her growing up and moving away from him? I mean, let’s face it, you and the girls are the first bit of stability he’s had in his life, aren’t you? He didn’t have much of a start, what
with
being shunted from place to place like a parcel when he was a kid.’

‘I suppose there could be something in that, but he can’t keep her locked away for ever, can he?’

‘Look . . .’ Karen said hesitantly. ‘I reckon we’ve known each other long enough for me to say this without you being offended. I reckon Simon is feeling somewhat put out at the minute. Ever since you got married he’s been the breadwinner, and now suddenly you have money of your own and you’re not reliant on him any more. Not financially, at least. I mean, look at this place for a start.’ She spread her hands to add emphasis to what she was saying. ‘You could never have afforded somewhere like this if your gran hadn’t left you all that dosh. And you have your own car now too, so you don’t have to rely on him to get you out and about. You’ve come out of your shell, kiddo – not that I think it’s a bad thing,’ she added hastily, ‘but Simon’s had his nose put out of joint good and proper. That could explain why he’s being so hard on Mel. He can’t control you any more, so he’s taking his frustration out on her.’

‘Hmm, I suppose you could be right,’ Jess admitted musingly. It did make a lot of sense.

‘Are you quite sure that’s all that’s bothering you?’ Karen went on. ‘You’re jumping at your own shadow lately.’

Jess chewed on her lip for a moment, and then it all came tumbling out. ‘Actually, there is something else, and before I even tell you, I know you’re going to think I’ve gone off my rocker. The thing is . . .’ She looked slightly embarrassed before rushing on, ‘Soon after I moved here, my neighbour, Laura, from Blue Brick Cottage at the end of the drive, told me that she could sense a presence here.’

When Karen raised an eyebrow she hurried on, ‘Laura is sort of spiritual. You know – she senses things. Now the first time she told me about this presence I scoffed at her, but lately . . . Well, I sometimes get the feeling that I’m not alone when there’s no one else but me in the house.’

‘Now you really are letting your imagination run away with you,’ Karen scoffed, as predicted. ‘You’re not telling me that there’s a resident ghost here, are you?’

‘Call it what you will – a ghost, an angel, a presence – but yes, I
do
hear things.’

‘Such as what?’

‘Well, sometimes I hear someone crying. Other times I’ve sensed
someone
standing behind me and I’ve smelled roses, even when there are no roses in the house. Other times I’ve thought I heard someone whispering. And that’s not all. I think I might know who it is. I found this old journal, you see; it was up in the attic, and it was written by a young maid who used to live here, long ago. Laura told me that she’s here for a reason and that reason has something to do with me. And don’t look at me like that. Jo and Mel have seen things too. Jo insists that sometimes she sees the shape of a young woman in a long dress standing at the side of her bed.’

‘I reckon it’s all in the mind,’ Karen said stoically. ‘If the girls know that you’re nervous, they will be – and then they’ll start to imagine things too.’

‘But I haven’t said anything to them,’ Jess objected hotly. ‘In fact, I haven’t even admitted to Laura that I think there might be something in what she said. I’ve never believed in things like this, but now I’m beginning to wonder. You just said yourself that this place gives you the creeps.’

‘That’s only because it’s isolated, but if it’s bothering you, why don’t you do something about it? Get the place exorcised or whatever it is they do to haunted places.’