Always and Forever at Glendale Hall

by Victoria Walters

  I spotted Beth, who waved me over, so I walked through cocktail dresses and suits, taking a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. ‘You look gorgeous,’ I said, taking in Beth’s sparkling dress. ‘You too, Heather,’ I added as I saw her smart suit. Drew and Rory were in dark suits and hats, looking a little uncomfortable in them. ‘They’ve really gone all out.’

  ‘You look so stunning,’ Heather told me.

  ‘Gorgeous,’ Beth agreed. ‘I can’t wait for the murder. With how good we are at pub quizzes, we will definitely win,’ she added, her eyes twinkling with her competitive spirit. ‘Oh great, here are the others.’

  I turned to see Brodie and Emily enter hand in hand, followed by Izzy and Luke, who both looked nervous and so sweet, and then following them was Cameron. I took in his grey suit and hat and drank a long gulp of my champagne. He looked way too handsome for me to handle. I saw him find me in the room and I was pleased to see that he did a double take. They joined us, all finding drinks, Beth checking that both Izzy and Luke had the mocktails and nothing alcoholic. Izzy looked much older than fourteen in her sequin dress and Luke looked so awkward in his suit but he kept glancing at Izzy, somewhat dazzled. I caught Cameron looking at me in a similar way. I thought that I was probably doing the same when I snuck another glance at him.

  ‘I’ve got a notebook and pen,’ Izzy said, showing us her handbag. ‘So, we can take notes.’ Beth beamed at her. The apple didn’t fall at all far from the tree with that one.

  The piano fell silent then and two people stepped into the centre of the room, the man clinking his glass for quiet. We all turned to them expectantly. ‘Welcome to our home. For those who don’t know I’m Lord Devilton and this is my good lady wife,’ the grey-haired man in the black tuxedo greeted us, gesturing to the attractive blonde next to him who was wearing a floor length gown and a fur jacket, her lips the brightest red I had ever seen. She looked half his age. ‘We haven’t been married long and as we eloped we thought we needed to invite all of our dearest family and friends to our home for an evening of celebration,’ he said grandly, smiling at all of us. ‘I’d like to particularly welcome Reverend Snide, my son Charles and his wife Prudence, and my wife’s dearest godmother Miss M to this evening!’ There was an excited murmur among the guests at that introduction because she really looked like Miss Marple. We looked at the people he had introduced, obviously our actors for the evening, and I thought they all really looked the part. Izzy was bouncing on her feet beside me. ‘We will shortly be making our way into the dining room for dinner but I think, Charles, you wanted to say a few words?’

  Charles was at the other end of the room so we all turned to see him step forward. His wife was looking fed up next to him, sipping her drink, and looking at someone else in the room. A handsome man. She dropped him a wink when Charles couldn’t see. ‘Thank you, Father. Obviously it was rather a shock for Father to return from his trip to Paris married,’ he said with a nervous laugh. We tittered. ‘And to someone we had never met. But you know my father, he’s always been a man determined to have exactly what he wants in life. I have always admired that,’ he added, raising his glass towards his father. ‘So, I propose a toast – to going after what will make you happy in life, and be dammed what anyone else thinks!’ Everyone laughed as he raised his glass.

  And then came a piercing scream.

  I jumped along with everyone else, spinning around, my heart beating faster despite knowing this was all just a game.

  We turned around to see Prudence holding her hands over her face in horror, having evidently been the one who screamed, clinging to her new husband. Just by them on the floor was the Reverend, his dog collar askew, his eyes closed, his face deathly white as he lay on the floor, a knife sticking out of his chest.

  A man strode into the room wearing a dark brown suit. ‘I heard a scream, what the devil is going on?’

  ‘Inspector Keen-eye,’ Lord Devilton cried. ‘Thank God you’re here! There’s been a murder!’

  The Inspector crouched down to look at the body as we all watched in silence, transfixed. ‘Who on earth would want to kill the Reverend?’ He looked at us all. ‘I just came into the house. There was no one else around. It must have been someone in this room. None of you are to leave until I get to the bottom of this and find the killer. I will need to interview everyone who knew this man.’

  ‘Let us all go into the dining room. We need to sit down from the shock,’ Lord Devilton suggested. ‘Everyone follow us!’

  There was an exodus into the dining room, everyone chatting eagerly about what had happened, staring at the body as we passed, the Inspector eyeing us all suspiciously.

  ‘Why did they have to kill the vicar?’ Brodie hissed to us as we walked, making us chuckle.

  ‘Miss M,’ Prudence said loudly to her godmother. ‘We need your help. There is no way any of us could have done such a dreadful thing,’ she said. ‘You need to find out who really did this!’

  ‘Rest assured, my dear, I will get to the bottom of it.’

  I followed the others into the dining room, conscious of Cameron beside me. As we walked through the door, he rested a hand on the small of my back and I shivered involuntarily.

  ‘You’re not scared are you?’ he asked in a low voice.

  I swallowed the urge to say I was, but not of the murder. I was nervous of the way his touch was making me feel. I wondered if he could tell or not. ‘Just determined to find out the killer.’

  ‘I’m disappointed there is no butler. It’s always the butler.’

  I took in the grand dining room as we walked inside, chandeliers sparkling down on the crystal glasses and crisp white tablecloths. ‘I could get used to this. It’s a shame it’s all make-believe.’

  ‘Like something out of a film,’ he agreed with a smile. He had removed his hand and my back felt so much colder without it. We found our table – our group were spilt between two tables mixed in with other guests – but we were next to one another. I was now definitely convinced that Beth had put us down as a couple. As Cameron pulled out my chair for me and poured us both a glass of wine from the bottle on the table, I realised that even though I shouldn’t be, I was perfectly fine with that.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  We were also sitting with Beth, Drew and Izzy and they threw themselves enthusiastically into trying to solve the crime. I was having more fun than I thought I would. As the starters were served, the Inspector told us that he had narrowed down the suspects to Lord and Lady Devilton, Charles and his wife. And then Miss M mentioned that there was another suspect – the butler who had answered the door to everyone – Harold.

  Cameron leaned in to me. ‘It’s so the butler!’

  ‘Too obvious,’ I replied. ‘I think it’s the new wife – she’s hiding something. She’s way too young for him.’

  ‘I didn’t think you’d be judgey about that sort of thing,’ he said with a laugh. He had poured us both another glass of wine and I’d never seen him so relaxed before. I liked it.

  ‘Definitely a gold-digger. And I’m not judging, just stating the facts. I mean I’d be very willing to be wooed by an older man with lots of money…’ I grinned as he pretended to look shocked. ‘Beth, help me out here,’ I said to her. ‘Lady Devilton is so not who she’s pretending to be.’

  ‘You know, I wasn’t too keen on Prudence when we talked to her. She’s definitely having an affair behind Charles’ back,’ Beth said, checking Izzy’s notebook. Each of the suspects were coming around to the tables so we could interview them and the Inspector and Miss M would occasionally let us in on a clue or a musing of theirs as they wandered around the room too.

  ‘We still don’t have a motive,’ Izzy reminded us. ‘I think the Reverend knew something that the killer wanted kept secret.’

  ‘An affair,’ Beth said.

  ‘Or a shady past,’ I suggested.

  ‘Or the butler did it,’ Cameron added.

  I nudged him. ‘You need a motive
and you don’t have one.’ He scowled as I laughed. A second scream interrupted us, and I jumped yet again. This time, Cameron put his hand on mine as we all craned our necks to see where it had come from. I felt myself threading my fingers through his. He turned to me and we locked eyes as we held hands. Why was this friend plan suddenly feeling so hard to stick to?

  ‘Look!’ Prudence cried after she had screamed. She pointed in horror to a second body on the floor.

  ‘Oh my god,’ I said, bursting out laughing. ‘You’re the worst at this,’ I told Cameron as he registered the fact that it was the butler who had now been murdered.

  He shook his head. ‘It’s usually the butler,’ he muttered but he squeezed my hand, smiling, his eyes looking brighter than I’d ever seen them.

  ‘He definitely saw the murderer. They had to silence him,’ Izzy cried out.

  ‘You know, the person who was closest to the door when the Reverend was killed was actually Lord Devilton,’ I said, remembering. ‘Maybe his new wife was so interested in his money she missed the fact he was a killer.’

  ‘Oh my god,’ Beth said. ‘What if he doesn’t have any money after all?’

  ‘I’ve got it this time,’ Cameron said after thinking for a minute. ‘He’s still married to Charles’ mother.’

  ‘Bigamy!’ I cried, thinking that I was pretty tipsy by this point. ‘Charles!’ I called as he walked by. ‘We need to ask you something.’ He came over. ‘Where is your mother?’

  He looked shifty. ‘What do you mean? My mother died when I was younger. She had mental health problems. She killed herself. I think it’s pretty frightful of you to bring that up.’

  ‘Oh my god they locked her in an asylum,’ I said when he hurried away quickly.

  ‘You have a dark mind,’ Cameron said, looking impressed. ‘I think we might have this, you know.’

  Beth was telling Izzy what to write down as Miss M appeared. ‘Have you heard any rumours about the former Lady Devilton?’ Beth asked Miss M eagerly.

  ‘Ah, that poor woman,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘She apparently had a lot of mental health problems. She took her own life, so the family said, but there were rumours that things weren’t all as they seemed to be. I did warn my god-daughter but she said it was just gossip. Although I’ve always found that gossip has a lot of truth in it, haven’t you?’

  Beth was grinning like a Cheshire cat. ‘We’ve solved it guys. We make a really good team,’ she said, jumping up to find the Inspector.

  ‘We really do,’ I said, lifting my wine glass up towards Cameron. He clinked it and we watched as Beth told the Inspector our theory that Lord Devilton was the murderer – silencing the Reverend from telling his new wife that their marriage was a fraud as his wife was still alive, and being kept in an asylum. The butler witnessed the murder and had been threatening to tell the Inspector so he had to kill him too.

  ‘Is this true, Lord Devilton?’ the Inspector cried out. The room fell silent, all eyes turning to Lord Devilton, who tried to make a run for it. ‘Grab him!’ the Inspector cried out.

  Cameron, who was the closest to the door, jumped up and grabbed the escaping murderer, who surrendered easily, probably to make sure no one actually got hurt, and the Inspector dashed over to handcuff him. The room erupted into cheers and Beth came back over and high-fived us all. I saw Heather shake her head when she realised Beth had won yet another game, and I found myself unable to stop smiling.

  * * *

  ‘There you are.’ I stepped out onto the terrace to see Cameron leaning on the rail looking out at the grounds, a clear indigo sky above him. We’d been in the lounge drinking merrily when I realised he had disappeared. Izzy and Luke had been sent to bed despite their protests, and the rest of us had found a corner table to toast our crime-solving triumph and enjoy the rest of the night. It was still strange to see us all in our 1930s costumes. I felt like we were in another time, another world, and it led me to slip out beside him and not worry that I shouldn’t.

  ‘Just needed a moment outside,’ he said, smiling as I leant next to him.

  ‘That’s how I’ll always think of you. Not in a crowded bar drinking but outside with nature, quiet and calm,’ I said, feeling rather tipsy by this point and, as a consequence, being more honest than usual. You would have thought I would have learned my lesson about that by this point but the cocktails just tasted too good frankly.

  Cameron turned to me, eyebrow raised. ‘Basically, an antisocial loner?’

  ‘If the shoe fits.’ I nudged him with my elbow and he chuckled, which made me smile. It was always good to hear him laugh. ‘And don’t forget crime-solver extraordinaire.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have got there without you. We made a good team back there,’ he said.

  ‘You’re right.’ I looked up at the twinkling stars. ‘Why does that scare me so much?’

  Cameron gently put his hand over mine on the rail. ‘It scares me too. Anna, I can’t stop thinking about you. But I can’t give you my heart. It’s not whole anymore.’

  I looked at him. ‘Mine isn’t either. I’ve never even been in love. At least you know you can love. What if I just can’t?’ I whispered the last words. Cameron made me say things out loud that I didn’t even want to think. But deep down, that was what worried me the most. That even if I found someone special, even if I found everything I wanted, I still wouldn’t be able to let go of the past and make a life with them? What if I’d never have what Brodie had with Emily? Worries flowed into my mind as Cameron looked at me but they were suddenly erased when he leaned in and kissed me. Gently, tentatively at first, but then deeper. The kiss was full of longing and yearning and I kissed him back exactly the same. I wrapped my arms around him and his slid to my waist, pulling me closer, kissing me like no man had ever kissed me before.

  I pulled back to look at him. ‘Maybe we are broken, Cameron.’

  ‘Maybe we can fix each other.’

  ‘I don’t think it works like that.’

  ‘I don’t want to let you go,’ he said urgently. He leaned in again and I kissed him back because I was unable not to, even though I knew it wasn’t a good idea.

  ‘One of us is going to get hurt,’ I said when I could let go of him again.

  ‘Right now, I don’t care. Come to my room with me. Please,’ he said, reaching out to touch my hair.

  ‘It’s a bad idea,’ I whispered but every part of me wanted to go with him.

  ‘Is it? Maybe there’s a reason we met this summer. I had a good time tonight. Probably the first time I’ve let myself enjoy something for so long. And when I kiss you, I feel… happy.’

  ‘Me too,’ I admitted. I put my hand in his. ‘But you said it yourself, our hearts aren’t whole.’ I wanted to go with him though, so much. ‘And we only have the summer.’

  He picked up our entwined hands and kissed mine gently. ‘Then we should be together tonight.’ And even though I was sure one of us was going to get hurt, even though there were a million reasons why we shouldn’t, I nodded.

  We walked around the side of the hotel and upstairs together, avoiding the others in the lounge, disappearing into our world of two inside Cameron’s room.

  We closed the door behind us as we walked through, and I knew that we both wished that we never had to come back out again.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  ‘Tell me how you fell in love with Kirsty,’ I said to Cameron in a low voice. We were under the covers in his bed, facing one another, naked but with the sheets pulled up. The night was fast fading into the early hours of morning but neither of us seemed to want to fall asleep. It was like we were under the spell of the night and if we fell asleep, we knew the spell would be broken when we woke up. I wasn’t sure I had ever wanted a night not to end before but tonight that was how I felt. I wanted to get to know every inch of him – body and mind – and I’d never felt like that with someone before.

  Cameron traced his fingertips across my shoulder. ‘Kirsty was my first… everythi
ng.’

  I lifted my head. ‘Your first?’ I raised an eyebrow.

  He nodded. ‘I grew up in the middle of nowhere remember. There was no one at school that I really liked. I wanted to wait until I found someone that I loved. And Kirsty was the woman. Is that crazy?’

  I shook my head, still reeling from what he had said. ‘I think it’s really sweet. I’ve never met anyone that I wanted to be with for long. I was hurt by my first. He didn’t want me after we slept together. Maybe that made me wary to trust again, I don’t know. But then I’m always moving around so I’ve never wanted a tie, never wanted someone that would keep me in a place. So, I suppose I don’t let anyone get close to me.’

  ‘Do you want to let someone in?’

  ‘Sometimes,’ I admitted. ‘Especially here, surrounded by all these happy couples. But it scares me so much.’

  He nodded. ‘Love is scary. I was scared when I fell for Kirsty. You feel so happy but also vulnerable because you don’t know if they really feel the same way about you or how long it will last. I was destroyed when I saw her with someone else, and then to lose her completely. I don’t know… It’s made me scared too. Scared to love anyone else again.’

  ‘So, you don’t let anyone close either,’ I said. I pushed back a strand of his hair. ‘Has there been anyone else since Kirsty?’

  Cameron’s eyes met mine. ‘Only you.’

  The two words I wanted desperately to hear but the two words that completely freaked me out too. When I had said one of us was going to get hurt, I had really been unsure who I meant and now I wondered if it would be both of us. ‘What are we going to do?’ I asked him then, hoping he had an answer for me.

  ‘What do you want to do?’ he asked.

  ‘Stay here with you,’ I answered truthfully. My stomach fluttered with nerves and excitement. I had never felt so content and so uncertain all at once.

  ‘I want you to stay too.’

  I was both relieved and nervous as Cameron leaned in to kiss me again. When we pulled apart, I moved closer to him. ‘What do you see yourself doing in five years?’ I asked.