Starcross Manor: Feel-good summer 2020 romantic fiction from the bestselling author of Love Heart Lane (Love Heart Lane Series, Book 4)

by Christie Barlow

  Click. The phone cut off.

  With her heart in her mouth Julia stared at the blank screen and felt deflated. What was so important that Callie would miss her big birthday, and where the hell was she running to? It didn’t make any sense. They’d spoken a few weeks ago and Callie had been looking forward to coming to Heartcross. What could have changed so quickly? Julia was close to tears, and took a sip of her wine. The whole conversation felt bizarre.

  ‘It looks like it’s just you and me then, Woody,’ she said to the dog who’d curled up next to her on the sofa. She ruffled his tummy and he rolled onto his back without a care in the world. Julia was still staring at her phone feeling disappointed. She had no idea what the girls were planning but it wouldn’t be the same without Callie there. She’d been looking forward to catching up with her and finding out all the gossip and now she didn’t even know the next time she’d see her.

  Picking up her iPad she flicked onto social media and punched in Callie’s name. She scrolled through her latest posts on Facebook, but her last post was a couple of days ago and there was nothing about what she was up to right at this very minute. She gulped the wine from the glass and immediately filled it up again.

  Next, she thought about Anais. She wondered if she owed her old friend an apology for ringing her regarding Flynn, and searched for her profile, but was surprised to see her name no longer came up. How strange, thought Julia, scrolling through her friends list, but she’d completely disappeared. What the hell was going on? Why would Anais delete her account? Mystified, she placed her iPad down on the coffee table and sighed. Tonight was not going to plan at all.

  The sudden pinging of her phone caused her to jump. Julia was hoping it was Callie, but was surprised to see Flynn’s name appear on the screen. She swiped the message and smiled. He was searching for advice again. She studied the photo he’d sent through and replied, ‘Less pattern, more colour and texture, preferably bright colours, maybe pink!’

  His reply was almost instant. ‘I’m not sure about pink!’

  ‘Trust me!’ she replied, knowing that colour would look fabulous for that particular room at Starcross.

  As she leant back on the cushion, she couldn’t help but notice how quiet the house was – it was completely silent except for Woody, who was softly snoring. The whole ambience of the place felt a little different without the hustle and bustle of her guests. ‘You’ve got the right idea Woods,’ she said stroking his fur. ‘Maybe it’s time for an early night.’ Julia leant her head back on the settee and put her feet up on the coffee table. Woody opened an eye and snuggled in closer. ‘It’s a good job I have you,’ she said fondly, knowing that he always provided that comfort and was always by her side.

  She picked up her phone and pinged a text over to Eleni, ‘I’m beyond gutted, Callie can’t make my birthday.’

  Almost immediately she received a text back, ‘Oh no, don’t be sad, we will have the best time I promise! See you in the morning x’

  That was easier said than done. Julia had a hollow feeling in her chest and felt completely empty. It just wouldn’t be the same without Callie – what was so important that she couldn’t make her birthday?

  Her phone pinged again, this time it was a message from Jack. She swiped and read, ‘Good news! We’ve been working overtime at Starcross Manor and are slightly ahead of schedule. I’ve re-juggled some jobs which means we can begin work on your place in less than two weeks!’

  Julia blew out a breath, her day was full of highs and lows, and this was definitely a high. This was brilliant news, and with the deal struck with Flynn, she could offer her guests the whole range of amenities up at Starcross Manor.

  ‘I suppose we can’t have everything, Woods,’ Julia murmured, still thinking about Callie as she wrapped herself up in the grey woollen throw on the arm of the settee and munched her way through a family-size chocolate bar that she’d treated herself to earlier from Hamish’s store.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next few days flew by, and the B&B was thankfully full of guests and running smoothly again. Julia had been up with the larks and had spent the last hour walking Woody through the woodlands, and was now back with her first cup of tea of the morning.

  The back door swung open and in walked Eleni, armed with a handful of colourful wrapped presents and a bottle of prosecco, which she placed down on the table before throwing her arms around Julia and giving her a hug. ‘Happy birthday, boss!’ she sang.

  ‘Thanks, so much! Even though I don’t feel any different to yesterday. And all this?’ Julia nodded to the presents on the table. ‘That’s way too many presents.’

  ‘These are what you call relevant presents, things you will need for tonight.’ Eleni looked like the cat that got the cream as she reached for two champagne flutes from the cupboard before popping the cork.

  ‘Relevant?’ queried Julia, picking up one and giving it a quick feel. She couldn’t guess what was inside. ‘And isn’t it too early to be drinking?’

  ‘Nonsense, it’s your fortieth. I thought we should start as we mean to go on.’

  Julia smiled at Eleni’s enthusiasm. Since Eleni had heard that Callie couldn’t make her birthday, she’d made it her mission to keep Julia’s spirits high. She watched as Eleni poured two glasses of fizz and clinked her glass against Julia’s.

  ‘Now open your presents before we get those breakfasts underway.’ Eleni ushered Julia to the table and pulled out a chair.

  ‘I feel like a child,’ said Julia excitedly, picking up the first present. ‘It’s quite light,’ she ripped open the package to discover a flashlight. She looked at Eleni confused. ‘Okay, that’s a little different. And that is for?’

  ‘My lips are sealed! Wait and see,’ came the reply.

  A little puzzled, Julia put it to one side and tore open the next present, which contained a pen and notebook, and a two-way radio.

  ‘Okay, now I’m even more confused. The last time I saw one of these… Callie and I used to run around the woods playing hide and seek, and used these to give each other clues.’

  ‘I can confirm we will not be playing hide and seek… well, actually that might not be strictly true.’ Eleni gave a small chuckle. ‘Come on, open the next one.’

  Julia continued to tear open the presents, which revealed numerous gadgets and gizmos. She had no clue what they were for. Mystified, she stared at the presents. ‘Whatever happened to chocolates and champagne? Not that I’m meaning to sound ungrateful.’

  ‘I’ve brought chocolates; in fact, homemade chocolates from the teashop,’ Felicity was smiling in the doorway. ‘Happy birthday! Mum and I just thought we’d send these over ahead of tonight.’ Felicity took a swift glance over the table and grinned. ‘Fully prepared, I see.’

  ‘Fully prepared for what?’ Julia narrowed her eyes hoping to squeeze any little bit of information out of Felicity, but she wasn’t for sharing.

  ‘My lips are sealed! Enjoy your day!’ Felicity waved her hand above her head. ‘Catch you later, alligators!’ And with that she disappeared as quickly as she’d arrived.

  Taking a sip of her fizz, Julia saw her phone screen was full of notifications, people wishing her happy birthday by text or on Facebook. She was just about to put her phone down when it began to vibrate in her hand.

  ‘It’s Callie,’ she said excitedly, quickly swiping the screen – but as soon as the call connected there were three pips and the screen went blank.

  Immediately Julia tried to call her back, but the call wouldn’t connect. She tried again, but still nothing.

  ‘Don’t worry, she’ll ring you back,’ reassured Eleni.

  ‘I’m beginning to feel like she’s not even bothered.’ With that empty feeling in her stomach again, Julia sighed and laid her phone down on the table. ‘Or avoiding me for some reason.’

  ‘Maybe she’s got stuff going on in her life we don’t know about.’

  ‘I’m Callie’s family, I would know, surely.’
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br />   The phone vibrated again, and Julia pressed her lips together in a secret smile. She was chuffed to see a text from Flynn, wishing her a happy birthday.

  ‘Is that Callie again?’ asked Eleni.

  Julia shook her head and noticed the kisses at the end of the text.

  ‘Don’t dwell on Callie, she will have a perfectly good explanation, I’m sure. This is your special day and the sooner we get on with the chores, the quicker we can properly start celebrating.’ Eleni threw her an apron.

  ‘Bring it on,’ replied Julia.

  The day flew by and before Julia knew it, it was ten o’clock at night. After consuming a couple of glasses of champagne, Julia was standing outside the B&B quizzing Eleni about the night ahead.

  ‘And why are we waiting here?’ Julia tried one last time to squeeze any little bit of information out of Eleni, who’d not once slipped up about tonight’s plans, even though she’d witnessed Eleni whispering on the phone on numerous occasions – she still hadn’t been able to work out exactly where they were going this evening.

  Eleni tapped her watch. ‘And here they are now. Right on time.’

  Julia followed Eleni’s gaze to see a white minibus driving up the lane towards the B&B.

  ‘A minibus? Why do we need a minibus?’ queried Julia, as it pulled up next to her on the kerb and the door was flung open.

  ‘After you,’ Eleni gestured with a grin.

  Julia stepped on board to wild applause and curtseyed in front of all her friends.

  ‘Surely someone can tell me where we are going?’ Julia looked hopefully towards Aggie, Rona and Martha who were looking mischievous on the back seat of the bus.

  ‘All I know is the last time I was up this late, I was giving birth,’ Rona gave a chuckle, and everyone laughed.

  ‘I’m assuming we aren’t going clubbing as everyone is dressed in combat pants and hoodies?’ Julia looked towards Polly hoping for some sort of clue.

  ‘I’m not sure, the only memo I received was, bring a backpack and a torch, but Alfie made me a pile of sandwiches in case we got stranded.’

  ‘Stranded? Why would we be stranded?’ Julia looked alarmed.

  ‘Alfie was a boy scout, always be prepared.’

  Isla was wielding a microphone, and blew into it as Julia and Eleni took the only two spare seats at the front of the bus. ‘Right, we should only be in this for ten minutes max, so let’s have a sing-song, any suggestions?’

  ‘I Will Survive!’ shouted out Julia.

  For the whole journey Julia had her eyes peeled towards the window. The bus headed down the gravel road at the bottom of Love Heart Lane and headed over the bridge towards Glensheil, but Julia noticed they weren’t heading into town. They took the winding, bumpy road at the edge of the river, and then the bus began to weave its way slowly up the side of the hilly, rocky terrain.

  ‘Why are we heading to old man Marley’s?’ Julia’s eyes were wide as she stared at Eleni, who was grinning in Isla’s direction. ‘Are we actually heading to Heartcross Castle?’ quizzed Julia, holding on to the side of the seat as they bounced their way along the rocky road.

  ‘Maybe,’ replied Eleni.

  ‘Why? Is old man Marley still alive? Please tell me I’m not having birthday tea with him?’ Julia felt alarmed. As far as she knew, Heartcross Castle had not been open to the public for years. Old man Marley was a recluse, no one had seen him for years, and as far as everyone knew he rattled around in the place all by himself.

  ‘It’s too late for tea, maybe supper,’ chuckled Felicity. ‘And this place has been open to the public for a couple of months.’

  ‘Girls, my heart is hammering so fast,’ Julia looked up at the giant stone gatehouse in front of her.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll look after you,’ offered Molly, showing solidarity but looking as pale as Julia felt right now.

  The minibus parked up and the driver turned towards Isla. ‘I’ll wait no more than an hour.’

  Isla saluted. ‘Understood.’ She took the microphone, looking like a professional tour guide. ‘Okay so we have arrived, and what an impressive place this is!’

  Alarmed, Julia was still looking up at the castle. She wasn’t one for even watching a scary movie, and that castle looked very much haunted to her.

  ‘Heartcross Castle was built around 1660 according to the history books, situated on the bend of the River Heart – and can you see those holes on the battlements? They are called murder holes, that’s where boiling tar and human waste were poured to kill invaders… pretty gruesome, eh?’

  Julia interrupted, ‘Forgive me, but am I able just to remind everyone this is my fortieth birthday, a time for celebrations, a time to drink wine and maybe enjoy each other’s company, and we are talking murder holes… just saying.’

  ‘This is going to be a birthday to remember! I promise,’ grinned Isla.

  ‘You aren’t wrong,’ replied Julia looking at Eleni in dismay as the penny dropped. Julia’s face paled. ‘We are going ghost-hunting? Aren’t we?’

  Isla squeezed her arm. ‘Yay, she’s got it! This is going to be so much fun!’

  ‘You never know who you might meet,’ said Eleni, zipping up her hoody.

  ‘Mainly dead people,’ answered Julia still feeling a little bewildered. ‘And which part of it is going to be fun?’ Julia was still staring up at the murder holes.

  ‘Mark my words, this is going to be the best birthday ever. Here, take a swig.’ Eleni pulled out a hip flask and handed it to Julia, who immediately took a swig of the single malt.

  ‘Here we go!’ Eleni tucked the hip flask away and linked her arm through Julia’s.

  Waiting outside the bus stood a lady Julia didn’t recognise. She was all trussed up in a bomber jacket, with a beanie hat pulled firmly down on her head, clutching a clipboard.

  ‘Gather round, gather round. I’m Dawn, your ghost-hunting guide, and I believe we have a birthday amongst us tonight.’

  Everyone pointed towards Julia.

  ‘Happy birthday! And a very special welcome to you. Hopefully tonight we are going to make contact with the laughing trickster, the sleeping maiden, and the jolly warden. They do like a good birthday.’

  There was an undercurrent of excited chatter from her friends. Julia looked around and brushed against Eleni’s arm, who jumped out of her skin and screamed. Then Julia screamed.

  ‘It’s only me, you idiot,’ exclaimed Julia blowing out a breath. ‘There’s no need to scream.’

  Eleni brought her hand up to her chest. ‘Don’t do that again, you frightened the life out of me.’

  ‘Give me the hip flask, I need another swig,’ demanded Julia, in an attempt to calm herself down.

  Dawn continued, ‘Heartcross Castle dominates the skyline of Heartcross. With 150 steps, it was built to have a panoramic view of the surrounding land. Doesn’t it look magnificent? For one night only we have use of the gatehouse here at Heartcross Castle. We will not be venturing into the main castle as Mr Marley is still in residence, however I can guarantee this will be the best experience ever.’

  Julia took an extra swig from the flask and handed it back to Eleni. ‘It’s definitely a birthday to remember.’

  ‘I told you so. This is going to be amazing,’ she whispered in Julia’s ear. ‘I promise.’

  Dawn clapped to get everyone’s attention. ‘Before we step inside, I’m going to talk a little about our spirit friends, please use your notebooks to write anything down… what you sense, hear and smell. Use your temperature gauges, and keep your wits about you.’

  Julia couldn’t help but notice that every single one of her friends were hanging on Dawn’s every word and had whipped out their notebooks from their rucksacks.

  ‘Okay, we are looking out for sulphuric scent…’

  Martha whispered to Rona, ‘That could be Aggie’s perfume.’ And Rona gave a little chuckle.

  ‘Listen out for growling, powerful energy, and knocks that come in threes.’ Dawn glanced aro
und at everyone standing in front of her.

  Felicity tapped three times on Isla’s shoulder who spun round and swiped Felicity. ‘Stop doing that!’

  ‘But first we say a little prayer for protection and guidance.’ Dawn handed out a laminate card to everyone.

  ‘Read with me…’

  * * *

  To the earth and those who lie beneath

  To the paths we are about to walk and to those who trod them before us

  To the homes we will enter and to whom they once housed

  To this city and its echoes

  Know we come in blessing and we wish you only peace

  * * *

  Julia was saying her own prayer – she hoped to see her next birthday.

  Once everyone had said their prayer Dawn took back the cards and continued. ‘If you encounter a real ghost, don’t be scared, simply send out positive thoughts. Don’t charge into each room, remember this is their house and you are simply the guests. Common courtesy is the key. Please do not start running around taking pictures left, right and centre. The spirits were once people too, always investigate calmly.’

  ‘There’s nothing calm about the way my heart is beating at the minute,’ Julia muttered under her breath.

  ‘The only spirit I want to talk to is gin,’ chipped in Aggie.

  ‘Let the spirits know you mean no harm, ask their permission to take photographs. Invite them to be in your photo. If they respond, talk to them, manners go a long way. And don’t forget, when you leave, thank them for having you and ask them not to follow.’

  ‘Ask them not to follow?’ repeated Julia looking alarmed.

  ‘Will the ghosts want to talk to us?’ asked Felicity, hanging on Dawn’s every word.

  ‘If it feels like they want to talk to you, tell them you are open to a conversation, but if you feel an overwhelming urge to leave, take that as a serious warning that you have invaded their space and say another prayer out loud. Always leave the location as you found it.’