by Nell Dixon
Izzy wished her sister would drop the idea of making a film at the castle. The portrait in the gallery had unnerved her more than she wanted to admit. The woman’s features were creepily similar to hers, enough to send a shiver along her spine. Not that she gave any credence to Fae’s wild imaginings about a ghost.
Rhodri, the castle’s owner, was really nice. Dishy, in a kind of wild man of the mountain way, and he’d been much kinder to them than they’d deserved after turning up so unexpectedly. There had been something about the way he’d looked at her that sent her knees to jelly and made her pulse quicken.
Fae was the limit though. It was typical of her to land them all in this awkward situation. One day her sister would have to learn she couldn’t get everything she wanted just by charming people with her smile, pretty face, and persuasive tongue.
****
“We’re here now, so I guess we’ll see what happens.”
As Fae spoke a clock somewhere in the castle chimed out the hour in deep sonorous tones, and a loud howling reverberated around the ancient stonework of the building.
Fae sat up, her heart racing. “What do you think that was?”
Izzy’s face paled, but she shrugged her shoulders. “It was probably Fang howling for his supper. Speaking of which, we’d better get our bags from the car. Rhodri said he’d give us some supper, didn’t he?”
Fae followed Izzy to the door. She didn’t care what her sister said. She was convinced the eerie howling was more than just the sound of Rhodri’s dog. If only she could smuggle her camera inside the castle, then she would be able to prove it.
Flash met them on the stairwell. He was on his way up with their bags as they were coming down.
“Did you hear the howling?” Fae asked as he handed her a bag.
“I was by the car when it started. I couldn’t tell you where it came from.” He squeezed back against the wall to allow Izzy to pass through the narrow gap. Once she was out of earshot, Flash whispered to Fae, “The camera is hidden at the bottom of my bag. I couldn’t do much about the lighting. I managed to sneak one micro in and that was all.” His eyes gleamed with excitement.
Without thinking, she kissed him jubilantly on the lips. It was the first time she’d kissed him, and the heady thrill of their connection took her by surprise. She broke away and tried to gather wits. “Lets get the stuff up to your room, then we’ll go and see if we can dig up some background from Rhodri.”
She hurried after him, still buzzing from their kiss, and wished her previously dormant conscience would stop needling her. She still had time to work on Rhodri to get him to change his mind and allow them to film. The mysterious howling had been a good start. Something told her this Halloween would be one to remember.
Flash’s room was much smaller than the room she and Izzy shared. His had a set of wooden stairs leading up to a trapdoor in the ceiling.
“That must be the way up to the roof of the tower.” Fae longed to climb up and explore, but she didn’t want to arouse Izzy’s suspicions by spending too long upstairs.
Flash quickly unloaded the equipment into a small wooden chest at the end of the bed.
“We’ll have to meet up when Izzy’s asleep.”
A cold shiver went down Fae’s spine as he spoke. She could have sworn someone whispered Izzy’s name in her ear. The atmosphere in the castle must be getting to her, giving her auditory hallucinations.
“Rhodri might give us some information on where the most active places are likely to be,” she suggested.
Flash frowned. “I doubt it. He doesn’t seem happy with us being here. I take it you lied about never getting his message not to come?”
“So, shoot me. What harm can it do? We’re here now. Perhaps he’ll change his mind when we show him the finished film.”
The electric light in the room flickered. She clutched at Flash’s arm.
“Hey, my luck must be changing. A kiss earlier and now this!” A brief glimpse of what lay in his heart showed in his eyes.
Fae snatched her hand away at his quip. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Flash, although she knew his feelings for her. It wasn’t that he was unattractive, far from it.
She liked the way his muscles worked under his sweater, his deep blue eyes when they twinkled at her, and the way he always looked about for her, making her feel protected and cherished. It was simply that she’d been working so hard to achieve her dream she’d pushed all thoughts of romance to one side. Now though, after the kiss they’d shared, her feelings were a jumble of confusion.
“Let’s go downstairs. This place is beginning to freak me out a little.”
Flash laughed. “I thought you were the one who wanted that job doing the spooky stuff? It’s not like you to be chicken.”
He was right. She wasn’t usually the kind of girl who got the jitters. She’d met Flash at a sports show when a local TV station had been filming there. The host of the show had filmed her talking about the equipment her company had supplied for the event.
Once she’d appeared in front of the cameras, the showbiz bug had bitten hard, and since then she’d been trying everything she could think of to get a presenting job. Ghost UK would be perfect for her. She loved the show and, despite Izzy’s scoffing, never missed an episode.
Flash had taught her a lot. Her present job as a research assistant for a TV station gave her the chance to gain more experience. The pay was awful and her hours horrendous, but she intended to do all she could to make her dream come true. Then she intended to help Izzy achieve her dream too.
“Let’s get downstairs before Izzy smells a rat about how long we’ve been up here.”
****
Rhodri was in the kitchen when Izzy went downstairs. She wasn’t too surprised to find her sister missing. No doubt she was with Flash, cooking up mischief somewhere. Izzy couldn’t help wishing Fae would take more notice of John. She never took him seriously, always using the nickname he’d earned when he’d been an apprentice technician, famous for managing to explode lights with a flash and a bang.
He really seemed to like Fae. He was always looking out for her sister, helping her with her projects, and never complaining when, inevitably, something went awry. He deserved far better. Maybe this time spent together at November Castle would do the trick and Fae would wake up and appreciate what was right under her nose.
“I’m sorry my sister landed us all on you like this.” Izzy’s heart fluttered when Rhodri smiled at her.
“It’s okay. It’s given me the chance to meet you.” His smile broadened and Izzy’s knees went weak.
“I love your home. It’s amazing.”
“I’m working on restoring it, but it’s a long and expensive battle.”
She was surprised at how at home she felt sitting in the warm kitchen chatting to Rod, as he insisted she call him, about his life. He made a pot of tea and excused himself to go outside to collect some firewood, leaving her to dream by the fire about what it might be like to live in a castle with a delicious-looking Welshman.
****
Her sister was seated at the big pine table in the centre of Rhodri’s kitchen as if she belonged there. Fang raised his head from where he lay on the rug in front of the range to emit a low warning growl at Fae and Flash’s entrance.
“You were gone for a while.” Izzy took a sip from a large blue pottery mug. “Rod’s made us a cup of tea. Your drinks are over there.” She nodded towards the dresser.
Flash picked up the mugs and carried them across to the table while Fae took a seat next to her sister.
“Where is he?” Fae couldn’t help noticing Izzy’s casual use of their host’s nickname. They had clearly been getting to know one another whilst she and Flash had been upstairs.
“He went to bring more wood in for the fire.”
“Did you find out anything else about the Green Lady?” Flash sat down next to Fae.
Izzy frowned. “You know I don’t approve of the way you two conned your way in here.”<
br />
“I was just curious. It’s Halloween, after all. There has already been some spooky stuff happening around here.” He stretched out his long legs under the table and surveyed Izzy over the brim of his mug. “Don’t tell me you aren’t the tiniest bit curious yourself after seeing that picture in the gallery?”
Colour crept into Izzy’s face. “Okay, I am a little bit curious. But all this talk of spooks and ghosts is rubbish. There is a perfectly rational explanation for everything that’s happened here tonight.”
Fae nudged Flash’s leg under the table with her knee. She knew that when her sister got a bee in her bonnet it was no use pushing her. From the way Rhodri seemed to have taken a shine to Izzy, they needed her onside, not with her back up.
The door to the kitchen opened and Rhodri came in from the hall with his arms full of wood. He kicked the door shut behind him with his heel. A couple of logs crashed from his arms onto the stone floor.
Izzy was out of her chair in an instant to help him pick them up.
“I’m sorry we’ve put you to so much trouble.” Fae attempted an apology. She was truly sorry. The situation wasn’t turning out at all like she’d imagined. Either with the film or the situation between herself and Flash and Rhodri and Izzy.
Rhodri fed a couple of logs into the flames. “What’s done is done. You’re here now. I expect you’re all hungry, but I’m afraid I can only offer you sandwiches.”
Fae noticed he addressed the last part to her sister, his dark eyes fixed on Izzy’s rosy face.
“Would you like some help?” Izzy offered.
The lights in the kitchen flickered a few minutes later as the plates were passed around the table.
“I’d better get the lanterns.” Rhodri cast a worried glance at the lights.
“Do you think we’ll lose the power?” Flash asked.
“It happens sometimes when the weather is bad like this. It’s better to be prepared.” Rhodri rose from the table, but before he reached the door, the room plunged into darkness.
Izzy gave a little scream and Fae groped around the blackness trying to find either of her companions. Footsteps sounded on the stone flags of the kitchen floor and she fervently hoped it was Rhodri getting the lanterns.
“Fae? Iz? Are you two okay?” Flash’s voice sounded close to her ear. His hand closed over hers and she took comfort from the warmth of the contact.
“I’m fine.” Fae assured him.
“Me too.” Her sister’s voice sounded less certain, and Fae blew out a sigh of relief at the unmistakeable sound of a match being struck close by.
“It looks as if we’re in for a rough night.” Rhodri set a lamp down in the middle of the table, illuminating all their faces with a soft yellow glow.
“I suppose it’s appropriate for tonight,” Fae ventured.
Izzy glared at her. “How long have you lived her, Rod?” she asked.
His eyes appeared almost coal black in the lamplight as he considered the question. “I inherited the castle ten months ago from my uncle. When I was a child I used to spend every holiday here.”
“Don’t you get lonely all by yourself?” Fae couldn’t imagine staying in the castle night after night on her own. It might be fun to visit and be good for filming, but living in it was something else altogether.
“I like solitude.”
“Did you ever see anything odd when you came here as a child?” Flash asked. “I thought Fae’s book said the Green Lady was supposed to appear to the true heir of the castle and his intended bride?”
Fae leaned forward in her seat, eager to hear his response.
“The Green Lady is a myth.”
Her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Again, somewhere in the castle a clock began to chime the hour. A cool breeze whistled around the kitchen with every golden note. As the ninth chime died away, Fae could have sworn she heard laughter, soft and girlish, coming from the direction of the portrait gallery.
Chapter Three
Fae was on her feet in an instant. “Did anyone else hear that?”
“Hear what?” Izzy looked puzzled.
“I heard someone laugh outside in the gallery.” Fae looked at Flash.
“I thought I heard something, but I’m not sure what.” He pushed his chair back and joined her.
“I didn’t hear anything, but please go and look if it would satisfy your curiosity.” Rhodri crossed to the dresser, took a torch from the drawer, and tossed it to Flash.
Fae hesitated for a fraction of a second. Why was Rhodri so keen to allow her to investigate? Her eagerness to look in the gallery soon overcame her misgivings and she hurried to follow Flash.
As he opened the door leading to the gallery, she forced herself not to grab at the back of his jacket. If she intended becoming a presenter on a paranormal show, she needed to practise staying cool.
The feeble glow from the torch didn’t do much to penetrate the dark stillness of the room. All she could see around the walls where the beam of light played was the glittering painted eyes of Rhodri’s forebears.
“Well, Miss Marple?”
Izzy’s voice in her ear made her jump. She’d been so busy looking around she hadn’t realised her sister and their host had followed and were standing behind her.
“Nothing.” Fae couldn’t decide if she was relieved or disappointed.
“Come and finish your suppers. It’s chilly in here.” Rhodri led the way back into the kitchen.
Fang lifted his head enquiringly as they resumed their seats. Whatever Fae thought she heard obviously hadn’t been sensed by the dog. He hadn’t moved from his position near the fire.
Flash switched off the torch and stood it on the table. “Did your uncle tell you about the Green Lady when you used to stay here as a child?”
Rhodri sighed and ruffled his dark hair with his hands as if trying to dredge the story from his memory.
“Everyone in the village knows the story of the Green Lady. It’s one of a host of ghost stories around here.”
Fae wiggled with excitement. “Stories about the castle?”
Rhodri’s eyes met hers. “No. The only story connected with the castle is the one of the Green Lady, and there are several versions of that.”
“Fae’s book said the Green Lady was French.” Izzy shifted in her chair, moving a little closer to Rhodri.
Fae waited for him to reply, mesmerised by the blackness of his eyes in the lamplight.
“Ysabelle DeFrere was a Norman lady. The daughter of an elderly knight who was asked to build a keep here on the borders to protect the Marches from attack by the Welsh Princes.” Rhodri paused.
“But the castle is in Welsh hands?” Flash queried.
“When Ysabelle’s father died, she became mistress of the castle. One day, when some of her guards were out hunting deer in the forest, they injured and captured the younger son of one of the Welsh Princes. Ysabelle is said to have practised the green arts, the power of healing. She healed him and they fell in love.”
“Oh, that’s so romantic.” Izzy sighed.
The corners of Rhodri’s mouth curved in a rueful smile. “Sadly, their happiness didn’t last too long. My ancestor’s father, Prince Geraint, didn’t approve of his son’s marriage, and Ysabelle died in a suspicious fall from the top of the castle tower while her husband was away from home.
“You mean he had her killed?” Izzy’s eyes were wide in the glow from the lantern.
“The body of her pet wolf was discovered a few weeks after her death, hidden deep in the woods with an arrow in its side.”
Fae shivered. “What happened to your ancestor? I mean your family owns the castle, so how did they inherit it?”
“Morgan married again. He swore that he saw Ysabelle the night he laid eyes on Mari, and so he knew she’d given him her blessing.”
“That’s why the Green Lady is said to appear to the rightful heir and his bride?” Flash leaned back in his seat, his narrow face showing his tot
al immersion in the story.
“And she’s supposed to appear at midnight on Halloween to ensure all is well with the castle and Morgan’s heirs?” Fae added. Goosebumps had appeared on her arms whilst Rhodri was talking. She wished she could persuade him to allow her to film.
“It’s just a story.” Rhodri blinked and sat back. “I’ll put the kettle on the hob. Who’d like another cup of tea?”
Fae suspected he regretted having told them so much. Izzy collected their empty plates and took them across to the sink.
“Rhodri, do you have—” Izzy broke off with a yelp of surprise.
“What’s the matter?” Rhodri was at her side in a second. Flash, like Fae, jumped to his feet the moment Izzy screamed.
“Something was out there.” She pointed to the window.
Fae rushed across the room and peered out into the misty darkness of the courtyard. “I can’t see anything.”
