by Bella Benz
“Are you asking me on a date?” I couldn’t stop the smile playing about my lips. It had been a long time since anyone asked me out, let alone someone as attractive as Matthew.
“Let’s just call it a welcome to the town,” came the enigmatic reply.
***
I took one final look at myself in the mirror, checking I was happy with my outfit. It had taken me an age to decide what to wear to my date that maybe wasn’t a date. In the end, I settled on that old faithful, the little black dress. It perfectly hugged my curves without being too revealing. I’d pinned my auburn hair up in a messy bun that hit just the right note of effortless, even though it had taken me a couple hours and three YouTube tutorials to get it right. I’d kept my makeup light and subtle, with just enough eyeliner to emphasize my green eyes.
Yep. I was pretty certain I’d got it right.
Shelley mewed and wove between my legs, hassling me to feed him again.
“You’re always hungry, aren’t you, cat?” I said. “Well, I’m not picking you up. I’m not going to get fur all over my dress. But we can go and see if Rose has left any treats in the fridge for you.”
When she heard I was going out to dinner with Matthew, the housekeeper had positively squealed with delight.
“My boy’s a true gentleman, Ms. Fortune – Libby. He’ll treat you right or he’ll have me to answer to. I guess I’ll save the pork for tomorrow then. It’ll really bring out the flavour to marinate it overnight. Now, I suppose you haven’t had a chance to explore the house properly yet, so you won’t know if you want to switch rooms?”
“I haven’t, but I really love where I am,” I said. “I can’t imagine I’ll like another room more than that one.”
“Wait until you see your uncle’s room,” Rose advised. “You might change your mind.”
Something told me I wouldn’t. There was something creepy about the thought of sleeping in my uncle’s bedroom. Much as I’d enjoyed Matthew’s company, one of the reasons why I’d agreed to go on the tour of Lashire Bluff was it gave me a good excuse to put off having a proper look round the mansion. With all the talk of ghosts, as well as Shelley’s weird behaviour and the strange noises I’d heard last night, I wasn’t in any hurry to spend more time in the place.
Satisfied with my appearance, I touched up my lip gloss one last time before going to give my permanently hungry cat something to eat.
Shelley followed close at my heels, almost tripping me up as I headed down the stairs to the kitchen. But as I pushed open the doors, he suddenly hung back, hissing.
“Oh, Shelley,” I sighed. “Not this again. “There’s nothing there. Look.”
I walked into the kitchen...
...and straight into someone who looked strangely familiar.
No. It couldn’t be.
“D-Dad..?”
The apparition opened its mouth as if about to say something, then faded away.
It was all too much. I fainted.
***
“Libby. Come on, Libby. Wake up.”
Someone was shaking me awake. My eyelids fluttered open and I saw Matthew leaning over me, a concerned look on his face.
“Wh-what happened?” I sat up, dazed.
“I don’t know,” Matthew said. “You didn’t answer when I knocked on the door, so I came round the back and used Ma’s key. That’s when I found you lying here. Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I think I just might have,” I confessed.
“You can’t be serious,” said Matthew. “This is all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I made up all that stuff about ghosts haunting the town, I didn’t think you’d take it seriously. You must have hallucinated.”
“So none of what you said earlier was true?” I felt like slapping him.
“No.” Matthew had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. People keep telling me I’ve got a strange sense of humour.”
“You’ve got that right,” I muttered, as Matthew helped me up to my feet.
“Look, we don’t have to go out if you don’t want to,” Matthew said. “You look like death warmed up.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said. “But I think dinner’s the least you owe me after winding me up like that. Just let me go and freshen up.”
I gazed at myself in the mirror; there was a haunted look in my eyes. There was no way I’d hallucinated, no matter how many stories Matthew told me.
I’d seen a ghost.
I had a quick drink of water to calm my nerves, gave my makeup a final onceover, took a deep breath and went out to meet Matthew.
“You okay?” he asked. “I meant what I said – it’s no trouble to rearrange.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “And I meant what I said. You owe me dinner. You’re not going to get out of it that easily.”
“In that case, milady, your chariot awaits.” Matthew offered me his arm and led me out to his car, where he opened the door for me and made sure I was sitting comfortably before going round to the driver’s side. It had to be said that Rose had brought her son up to have manners.
We drove in awkward silence, both of us lost in thought. It had been a long time since I’d been on a date, so my dating skills were a little rusty. And I was still shaken by what I’d seen in the kitchen. It couldn’t have been my dad... could it?
Maybe it was a hallucination brought on by the stress of the move and Matthew’s silly stories. Yes, that had to be it. There’s no way I’d really seen a ghost.
Before I knew it, we were pulling into the car park at Caravaggio’s. Once again, Matthew came round and opened the door for me.
“I hope you’ve got an appetite,” he said. “The food here is divine.”
“Glad to hear it,” I replied, “because I’m starving.”
Matthew led the way into the restaurant where a smiling maître d’ welcomed us.
“Is everything ready?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, boss. I’ve got your favourite table all set up and ready.”
“Boss?”
Matthew smiled at me. “Didn’t I tell you? I own this place.”
“My, my. Aren’t you full of surprises?”
“I like to keep people on their toes,” he grinned.
So there was a lot more to the goat whisperer than met the eye.
“What other secrets are you keeping from me?” I asked.
“If I told you that, they wouldn’t be secrets, would they?” Matthew replied, tapping the side of his nose. “Anyway, tonight’s not about me. It’s all about you. I want to know everything about Lashire Bluff’s latest Fortune.”
“There’s not an awful lot to tell,” I shrugged. “Inheriting my uncle’s house is the first exciting thing to happen to me for years.”
“I don’t believe that,” said Matthew. “Eyes like yours are hiding plenty of stories, and I want to know all of them.”
“I think it’ll take a few bottles of wine before that happens,” I laughed.
“That can be arranged.” Matthew waved at a waiter and made a drinking gesture. A moment later, he was by our table, a bottle of red in one hand and white in the other.
“These are the best wines we serve here,” Matthew told me. “I hope you don’t mind my choosing on your behalf. I can always get the wine menu for you if you like?”
“No, no,” I said. “I’m happy to trust your judgement. It’s your restaurant, after all.”
“Great.” When Matthew smiled, I could finally see his mum in his features. They had the same bright smile which lit up their face. “Do you want me to order for us both as well? I have a feeling I’ll be able to pick the perfect meal for you.”
“Sure,” I nodded. Quite frankly, right now I didn’t feel up to poring over a menu and agonizing over my choices. I’d much rather let someone else do the thinking for me while I recovered from what had happened earlier. And maybe gaze into Matthew’s gorgeous eyes and listen to him talk...
Matthew gave the waiter our order, who poured out a glass of white for each of us before retreating.
Matthew picked up his glass and held it up in a toast. “To new beginnings and a new home,” he said.
“New beginnings and a new home,” I echoed before taking a sip. “Wow.” My eyebrows shot up. “That is good. Whoever orders your wine has good taste.”
“That’d be me,” Matthew grinned. “I oversee every little detail here. When you live in a place as small as Lashire Bluff, if you want to run a successful restaurant, the only way you can do it is by establishing a reputation for excellence that brings in out-of-towners to see what all the fuss is about. Luckily, I’ve got an amazing chef.”
“Let me guess – it’s your mum?”
Matthew blushed. “You’re right. That’s the real reason why she doesn’t work evenings at your house. She comes down here to cook for me.”
“She must be exhausted at the end of the day,” I said.
Matthew shook his head. “She absolutely loves it. When we all grew up, she didn’t know what to do with herself. She was born to look after people, so when I opened the restaurant, she wanted to do all the cooking so everyone could enjoy a decent home cooked meal. And then when Gregory mentioned he wanted someone to help about the house, she volunteered. I think she’d actually do the work for free. She always felt sorry for him, being all on his own in that huge place. And when she heard you were moving in...” His voice tailed off.
“She felt sorry for me as well?” I finished.
“Well, I wouldn’t quite put it like that.”
“But she did feel sorry for me.”
“She knew how much it hurt your uncle not to have any contact with you. He talked about you a lot, so she knew you were an orphan and didn’t have any other family to support you.”
I sat back, taking in what he’d just said. “But if Uncle Gregory knew I was an orphan, why didn’t he reach out to me after my dad died? Whatever it was that made them stop talking, it didn’t have to stop him contacting me.”
“I don’t know, Libby. Sorry.” Matthew shrugged. “It’s possible Ma knows more, so maybe you should ask her? She and Gregory were really close, so he might have told her things she hasn’t told me.”
“Okay. I’ll do that.”
At that moment, the waiter came over with our starters, ruining the moment. I wanted to ask Matthew more about my uncle and what he’d been like, but it seemed rude when Matthew was so clearly desperate to see me enjoy my food, so instead I started eating.
“Ooooh.” I couldn’t help the groan that escaped my lips when I took a bite of my starter. “That’s incredible! What is it?”
“It’s Ma’s famous baked figs with blue cheese and balsamic vinegar,” Matthew replied, unable to keep the pride out of his voice. “It is incredible, isn’t it?”
“Your mum is amazing. If this is the way I’m going to be eating while I’m here, I can definitely see myself staying in Lashire Bluff, at least for the next few years.”
“You mean you’re thinking about leaving us?” Matthew frowned.
“I haven’t decided anything yet,” I said. “I mean, the house is like something out of a fairy tale and Rose is lovely, but at the same time I always had dreams of travelling the world, you know, working in bars across Europe, getting a feel for the various cultures while I’m still young. I guess I didn’t see myself settling down just yet, you know? And it’s not like the town is filled with attractions. You said it yourself – there isn’t even a cinema here, let alone a night club. I don’t really feel like having to take a 50-mile round trip every time I fancy having some fun.”
“I see. So there’s nothing which would make it worth staying in a backwater like this.”
Matthew let his fork clatter to his plate and shook his head, leaning back in his chair. I felt awful for upsetting him.
“I don’t mean it like that,” I said. “Your mum is a sweetheart and I’m enjoying getting to know you. But you’ve got to see it from my perspective. I didn’t even know I had an uncle until a few days ago and now all of a sudden I’ve got more money than I can ever possibly spend, a huge mansion, a ton of expensive cars and all I have to do is live in a town which is a world apart from anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s a lot to take in. You must see that, surely?”
Matthew thought for a moment, then sighed. “You’re right.” He leaned forward and took one of my hands in his. “I’m sorry. Of course you should make the decision which is right for you. You don’t owe this town anything. All I can say is that I hope as you get to know the place, you’ll realize that just because this town seems sleepy on the surface, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot going on underneath. Could you at least say you’ll stay for a couple of months, give us a chance?”
The look he gave me was full of pleading and made me wonder whether the ‘us’ he was talking about was more me and him than the town in general.
“Okay,” I said at last. “I’ll stay for a couple of months. Although if I see any more ghosts, then I’m out of here. Deal?”
“Deal,” grinned Matthew.
***
The next day was Rose’s day off, but she’d left food in the fridge for me with a note on how to prepare it so I still didn’t have to worry about feeding myself.
I could certainly get used to having someone look after me. It was a real novelty after all those years fending for myself.
But now Rose wasn’t around, I didn’t have any more excuses. I was going to have to be brave and explore the house. Who knew? Maybe I’d find a colony of mice which would explain all the strange noises I’d been hearing. Large mice, big enough to scare Shelley.
Yeah, right, Libby. Large mice. That would be a huge step up from having a haunted house. Not.
Rose had given me a whirlwind tour of the downstairs when I first arrived, but my head was in such a mess I barely remembered a thing, so I decided to start from the beginning.
Heading out to the reception room, I opened the door to the left of the entrance. An enormous sitting room greeted me. Clustered around an open fireplace surrounded by a beautifully carved mantel were a number of sofas. I wasn’t sure why Uncle Gregory would want a room so obviously set up for entertaining when everything I’d heard about him suggested he was a recluse, but it would be perfect for a housewarming party. I could just imagine curling up with a nice glass of wine, my friends all gathered round to hear about my eccentric uncle. Over on the other side of the room, a large grand piano stood in front of windows with beautiful views over the grounds. Walking over, I tapped at a few of the keys, picking out a simple melody.
As the notes faded away, I could have sworn I heard someone whistling the same tune back at me.
Either I was going crazy or there really was someone in the house with me.
“That’s it.” I stormed out into the reception room and yelled into the mansion. “Who’s here? Show yourself!”
Someone laughed, the sound right by my ear. I whirled round, but there was no one there.
My blood ran ice cold, but I wasn’t going to let whoever it was know they were getting to me. Clearly this was some elaborate hoax and as soon as I figured out who was behind it, they were going to be sorry they ever messed with me.
“That’s it,” I warned. “I’m coming to find you, and I’m armed!”
Grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the front door, I started racing from room to room, opening doors at random and jumping in, umbrella overhead to hit whoever it was who had broken into my home.
I found a library, a dining room, another reception room, three bathrooms, a games room, Uncle Gregory’s famous home cinema, but no sign of whoever it was who was mocking me.
But then I came across a locked door. I rattled the handle, but the door didn’t budge.
“Libby...”
Pressing my ear against the door, I could have sworn someone whispered my name from inside the locked room.
“I’
m coming to get you!” I threatened, kicking at the door before I went to find the key.
I was sure I’d spotted some bunches of keys hanging up in a cupboard under the stairs. When I opened the door to the tiny cupboard, the good news was I was right. There were plenty of keys there.
But that was the problem. There were hundreds of keys! And none of them was labelled, so I didn’t have a clue what each of them unlocked.
There was only one thing I could do: try each of them individually and hope that whoever was hiding in the locked room didn’t sneak out by whatever way they’d crept in.
Which of course didn’t answer the question of how they got in in the first place, but I guess we’d figure that out together. Just as soon as I’d found the right key...
First, I detoured to the kitchen to get a better weapon than an umbrella. Looking at the knife block, I was tempted to take one, but I knew in my heart I was way too squeamish to use a knife on anyone. By the time I worked up the courage to try and stab someone, they’d have had plenty of time to run away.
In the end, I grabbed a rolling pin before going back to the locked door. It wasn’t quite a baseball bat, but it was the next best thing and I felt slightly braver for having it. It seemed pretty solid as I hefted it in my hands. Yes, I reckoned I’d do some damage to my intruder if I hit them with it.
My hands trembled as I fitted one key after another into the lock, but I couldn’t tell whether it was from fear or anger. At last, there was a satisfying click and the door was open.
Heart pounding, I lifted the rolling pin high before suddenly pushing the door open and jumping into the room.
“Got you!”
No, I hadn’t. The room was deserted. What’s more, there wasn’t even a window for someone to escape through.
Instead, I was in what looked like a study. There was a very large desk to one side of the room with what looked like a stuffed bear head hanging on the wall above it. There were cabinets lining the walls with glass doors to show off the titles of the countless books along the shelves.
I crept along the side of one wall and suddenly leapt out behind the desk, sure that whoever was taunting would be hiding behind it.
