Ghostly Affairs

by K. E. O'Connor

  “I expect you have,” said Helen, ignoring the gun. “But most people probably don’t say it to your face.”

  I shot in front of Flipper and blocked Ranulph’s way. “You’d better back off right now!”

  “Or what?” sneered Ranulph. “I’m the one holding the gun. Perhaps you should be nicer to me.”

  “You need to point a gun at people for them to be nice to you?” asked Helen.

  Ranulph grunted. “Of course not. But it seems you two need some training.” He narrowed his eyes and raised his gun.

  “Hello! What’s going on here?” A tall, slender man, dressed in grey chinos and a matching jacket, strode along the driveway. “Having some trouble, Ranulph?”

  “You could say that.” Ranulph lowered the rifle a fraction, and his gaze shot towards the man. “These women claim they’re starting work here. But then they started hurling abuse at me. I should have them arrested for trespassing.”

  “Only because you threatened Flipper.” Helen jabbed a finger at Ranulph.

  “Ah, now, easy old boy.” The man reached up and pushed the gun barrel lower until it pointed at the ground. “Don’t want anybody getting hurt.”

  “They were being disrespectful,” said Ranulph, his sharp gaze on Helen. “It’s important to teach servants a lesson.”

  “Quite right, but maybe a gun on their first day is a bit much.” The newcomer looked over at me and Helen. “I’m Henry Danvers. I’m a regular visitor here.”

  “Nice to meet you, Henry.” I shook his outstretched hand, and so did Helen, but I made sure to keep my attention fixed on Ranulph as I did so, just in case he decided to raise his gun barrel again.

  “And you say you’re starting work here?” Henry gave us a lopsided smile and pushed his blond hair out of his eyes.

  “Lady Camilla has employed me as her personal assistant,” I said. “And Helen is going to be her seamstress.”

  “Jolly good,” said Henry. “It’s nice for the old girl to have some company. She tends to keep herself rather secluded in this big old pile of hers.”

  “It’s a lovely estate,” said Helen. “Do you live nearby?”

  “We’re neighbors,” said Henry. “I come here most days. I’m rather fond of the old girl and like to make sure she gets the chance for a chat. Since her husband died ten years ago, she’s been rather on her own.”

  “I’m always here,” said Ranulph. “I don’t know why you’d say that. Mommy is fine with my company.”

  “Of course you’re here,” said Henry, as he slapped Ranulph on the back. “And you do a wonderful job. But you have a life of your own. Can’t expect you to be looking after your mother the whole time. Plenty of lovely young ladies for you to entertain. You’re always fighting them off from what I can see.”

  I struggled not to laugh. I couldn’t see anyone believing Ranulph would be a catch.

  Ranulph dropped the gun over his arm and gave a shrug. “Well, yes, I do go out sometimes, and there are always lots of pretty girls to enjoy.”

  “And I live on my own, so the company is good for me as well,” said Henry.

  “You’re not married?” Helen’s blue eyes gleamed with interest.

  “Not yet,” said Henry. “Not met the right girl who shares the same passions as me. I’ll get around to it one day, though.” He grinned at Helen.

  “We should get inside,” I said, eager to get away from Ranulph and his gun. “Make sure Lady Camilla knows we’re here.”

  “She will,” said Ranulph. “If you rang the bell at the entrance gate, she’ll have been informed of your arrival. Our butler, Manfred, would have told her.”

  After giving Ranulph another sharp glare, and saying a quick goodbye to Henry, we headed to the front door.

  “Allow me to take you,” said Henry, as he caught up with us. “Camilla can be a little... frosty the first time she meets new people. But she’s always good to me, and I know good company when I see it, so I’m sure she’ll love the two of you.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” I said. I was happy for anything that would make our introduction to our new jobs easier.

  Henry pushed open the door and strode through without knocking.

  A moment later, a tall thin man, with slicked-back hair, dressed in a butler’s uniform, arrived. “Sir Henry. Are you expected?”

  “Good afternoon, Manfred. No, just wanted to drop in and see Camilla,” said Henry. “But I met these two lovely young ladies outside, and I believe her Ladyship is expecting them.”

  Manfred bowed before giving me and Helen a cursory inspection. “Indeed. Follow me.”

  “I’ll take them,” said Henry.

  “I must announce guests in the proper manner,” said Manfred.

  “You’ve known me for long enough,” said Henry, as he gave Manfred a warm smile. “Camilla won’t mind if I do your job for you. Just on this one occasion.”

  Manfred bowed low again, and took several steps back. “As you wish, sir.”

  “And less of the sir,” said Henry. “You know my name, and I’m happy for you to use it.”

  “Very good, sir.” Manfred stepped to one side and gestured along the wood-paneled hallway lined with paintings of stern-faced people.

  I looked at the paintings as we walked, and figured they were most likely ancestors of Lady Camilla’s. The frames were dark gold in color, and pale, cold blue eyes stared at us as we made our way towards our new employer. The floor in the hallway was covered in a thick, green carpet, and several pieces of antique, dark wooden furniture lined the wide hallway, giving it an oppressive atmosphere as if the walls were slowly sliding towards me.

  “Right this way,” said Henry, as he strode ahead. “Camilla usually sits in the sunroom on a lovely day like this. You get the sun for most of the day on the back of the house, and she does enjoy the gardens.”

  Helen raised her eyebrows at me and smiled as we continued to follow Henry. I noticed she’d barely taken her gaze off Henry since he’d arrived. And he was just her type, smartly dressed, with a posh voice, and clearly had money, if the expensive looking wristwatch he wore and designer loafers where anything to go by.

  Henry knocked on a closed door, and grinned at us. “Are you decent?”

  “You may enter,” said a crisp female voice.

  Henry smiled, before pushing the door open. Inside was an orangery with a tinted glass roof and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. There was a table in one corner, and sitting by one of the open doors, was a short, slender woman of about sixty, dressed head to toe in cream silk.

  “Your Ladyship.” Henry hurried over and kissed the back of the hand Lady Camilla presented him with.

  “What are you doing here, you rogue?” she asked him. “I did not expect a visit today.”

  “I was out for a walk, viewing my own gardens and thought, since it was so lovely, I’d keep on going. And I ended up here,” said Henry. “And, as luck would have it, I met some new people. Your new employees, I believe.”

  Lady Camilla’s pale blue gaze shifted to us and the skin around her eyes tightened. “Ah, yes. I expected you both an hour ago.”

  “Well, they’re here now,” said Henry. “And they look like ideal candidates to me.”

  Lady Camilla gave a curt nod. “Which one is which?”

  “I’m Lorna Shadow.” I stepped forward and then gestured to Helen. “And this is Helen Holiday.”

  “I’m more interested in you.” Lady Camilla pointed a bony finger at me. “Miss Holiday does not need to be visible. She will be working below stairs for the majority of the time.”

  I heard a tiny squeak escape from Helen’s mouth, but when I looked at her, her lips were pressed together.

  “As you wish,” said Helen, as she took a step back.

  “Tell me about your experience?” Lady Camilla asked me. “But keep it brief, I do not wish to know your hobbies or if you like reading romance novels.”

  I cleared my throat. “I’ve worked across Europe for
numerous families in the capacity of a personal assistant.”

  “Give me their names.”

  “The De’Veres, the Bellamys, the Asquiths—”

  “You know Hillard Asquith?” asked Lady Camilla.

  “I do,” I said. “I worked for him and his family for a year.”

  “I am friends with Hillard,” said Lady Camilla. “I shall speak to him about you.”

  “You’d be welcome to,” I said. “He was happy with my work.”

  “Let me be the judge of that,” said Lady Camilla. “So you have experience. Are you discreet? I do not expect you to go gossiping about your activities here in the village. People do not need to know about my private affairs.”

  “Of course.”

  Lady Camilla gestured to a pile of papers on the table next to her. “As you can see, I have allowed my paperwork to become disordered. There is plenty more in my study as well. I blame the previous girl for the mess. She was forever running from the room in floods of tears. I was concerned she was with child because her hormones were so unstable. I had to dismiss her in the end.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.

  “You shouldn’t be, it means you now have a job. And, I trust I don’t have to worry about you suddenly getting yourself pregnant, do I?” Lady Camilla stared at my flat stomach as if expecting it to inflate with a baby.

  I blinked at Lady Camilla. “No.”

  “And there are to be no men,” said Lady Camilla.

  “What do you mean?” asked Helen.

  Lady Camilla shot her a cold stare, as if angry that she’d dared to speak. “I mean, you are not entertaining gentlemen on these premises. This is a place of work, not fornication.”

  My mouth opened and closed several times. “We can’t have any visitors?”

  “You can have visitors in the daytime,” said Lady Camilla. “But only when you aren’t working. I do not want you to have any distractions from your duties. And there are to be absolutely no visitors staying overnight. Male or female. We are not a guesthouse, we do not accommodate the homeless.”

  I glanced at Helen. “Understood.” I would have to figure out a way of sneaking off to see Zach, though. I wasn’t giving up on our date nights just because of Lady Camilla’s old-fashioned rules when it came to men.

  “Your duties are straightforward enough,” said Lady Camilla. “I will expect you to begin work at seven in the morning. You have one day a week off, usually a Sunday, when I’m at church. But I expect you to be flexible as to when I need you. You are to take your meals in the downstairs kitchen, which will be shown to you, and, as I’m sure you have been told, you can use the grounds, but not when I am on them. And there are areas you are not permitted to go into. I like to have some private space of my own.”

  I nodded. “We were told about the gardens before we took the jobs,” I said. “There looks like there’s plenty to go around. I’m sure we won’t get in each other’s way.”

  “The estate has fifty acres,” said Lady Camilla. “But I still don’t expect to see you on them when I’m there.”

  I pinched my lips together. Lady Camilla was not just frosty, she was a solid icicle. “Very well.”

  Lady Camilla’s gaze went down to Flipper, who sat obediently by my right leg. “And this is your... helper dog the agency told me about?”

  “This is Flipper,” I said. “I’ll keep him out of your way, but he’s never any trouble.”

  “I’m sure he won’t be,” said Lady Camilla. “I have dogs myself. I like to hunt and take them out during the season. They live in kennels off-site.”

  I raised my eyebrows. I didn’t know what season she was talking about; hunting had been outlawed in this country for years.

  “Your dog can stay outside. He can share the kennels with my own pack,” said Lady Camilla.

  I pulled back my shoulders and shook my head. There was no way Flipper was going to be confined to a dog kennel with a pack of dogs reared for hunting. “That won’t work. He assists me with my... condition. I need to have him with me at all times.”

  “He could be a problem,” said Lady Camilla. “If he barks it will bring on one of my headaches.”

  “He won’t be a problem,” I said. “And Lord Asquith allowed me to have Flipper by my side when I worked for him, and he found him invaluable. In fact, they became good friends and he always asks after Flipper whenever we speak.”

  Lady Camilla sniffed and tapped her nails on the arm of her chair. “Well, for now, your dog can stay. But I will speak to Hillard directly, and if he tells me anything unpleasant about your animal, he will have to go in the kennels.”

  I let out a relieved sigh. Lord Asquith adored Flipper, and would often tempt him over with a treat of sausages whenever my back was turned. He would rain praise on Flipper’s head.

  A heap of papers slid to the ground from the table in the corner of the room, and Lady Camilla let out an exasperated sigh. “For goodness sake, why does it keep doing that?”

  “Perhaps the first thing I can start with is some filing?” I said as I walked towards the pile of papers. “I can get rid of some of these papers and help you to get everything in order.”

  “Before you put anything away, you must create an effective filing system. Nothing complicated. I must be able to lay my hands on everything I need at a moment’s notice, even when you are not available.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” I said, as I gathered the fallen papers and placed them back on the table. “You tell me what you need, and I’ll make sure it’s done.”

  Lady Camilla gave a curt nod. “That will be acceptable. The paperwork does need to be organized. The last girl really was quite hopeless. All those tears, and for no reason whatsoever. It was most exasperating to be around such a feeble-minded individual.”

  “Didn’t I tell you, they seem like ideal candidates?” Henry leaned against the wall, his arms folded over his chest as he studied the view into the garden.

  “They seem suitable,” said Lady Camilla.

  “Perhaps we can have some tea together?” suggested Henry. “And you can all get to know each other better.”

  “That would be nice,” said Helen.

  “Not here,” said Lady Camilla abruptly. “You can both take your tea downstairs. Don’t get ideas above your station when it comes to your roles in this house. The rooms on this level are out of bounds for your personal use. You can be in them when you are required to do your jobs, but other than that, you remain downstairs and out of the way.”

  “Surely you can make an exception on this one occasion,” said Henry. “It would be a nice way to welcome Helen and Lorna into the household.”

  “They have their own refreshments downstairs,” said Lady Camilla. “Their kitchen is fully stocked. But we can have tea together.”

  Henry gave a small shrug and jutted his bottom lip out. “As you wish.”

  “You can go.” Lady Camilla waved a hand in my direction. “I will see you first thing in the morning to begin our work together.”

  I resisted the sarcastic urge to curtsy, and gave a nod instead, before turning and following Helen and Flipper out of the room.

  “What have we gotten ourselves into?” said Helen, as we walked back along the hallway to the front door.

  “That recruitment consultant told me she was frosty,” I said.

  “Frosty! She’d make an iceberg look toasty warm. And she’s confining us to the downstairs quarters. It’s like we’ve stepped back a hundred years. Perhaps we should just leave now before she shackles us and turns us into actual slaves,” said Helen.

  “I wish we could,” I said. “But we haven’t worked in over a month. And the pay is amazing. If we can just stick it out here for six months, we’ll have enough to live on for the rest of the year.”

  “I’m not sure I can manage six more minutes,” said Helen.

  “You’ll feel better after some tea,” I said.

  “Tea would be good.” Helen gr
abbed her case from the trunk of the car, and I did the same, before locating the stairs to the downstairs servants’ area.

  “And there’s always the bonus of Henry being around,” I said, as we descended the wooden staircase.

  Helen paused and grinned at me. “He is rather lovely.”

  “I knew you liked him.”

  “I think he’s charming,” said Helen. “And handsome too.”

  “And rich,” I said.

  “That helps,” said Helen. “And he’s single.”

  “I noticed you were quick to find that one out.” I reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. “Guess it’s up to us to find our own way about, down here.”

  “You find our rooms, I’ll get the kettle on, and we can talk more about how lovely Henry is, said Helen.

  I grinned at her as she hurried away. This job might not be the greatest, but I had Helen and Flipper by my side, and so far no interfering ghosts getting in the way. I could handle a cold employer if it meant I got an easy time of it on the ghost hunting business.

  I patted Flipper on the head. “Come on, let’s go and figure out where we’re supposed to be sleeping.”

  Chapter 3

  I stretched and turned over, groaning as I did so. I’d had a lousy night’s sleep. My mattress was too hard for my liking, and the room was full of more oppressive dark wooden furniture that made the room shrink towards me whenever I squinted my eyes. But what had made my sleep so bad, were the dreams I’d had. Every time my eyes shut and I drifted off, the same dream would return. I was driving through thick, relentless fog that prevented me from seeing where I was going. I’d woken several times, kicking off my covers in a heart-juddering panic, thinking I was about to crash.

  The sense of panic still hadn’t left me after I’d showered, dressed and walked to the kitchen with Flipper in search of breakfast.

  Helen was already in the kitchen, setting out bowls and mugs for us on a worn looking wooden table.

  “How did you sleep?” she asked.

  “I’d have slept better on a bed of nails.” I sat at the table and yawned loudly. “How about you?”