by Olivia Swift
“The son born at the hotel had two children, and one of them was a girl. I guess we could trace her eventually, but she would not be a Duval.” Carly explained.
“We can follow up the next generation and see where that leads, but really we need to find Charley Rose, so at least we can tell Emily what happened,” Dex added and Carly smiled.
“You see, you have accepted that we can talk to thin air.”
“Sweetly scented thin air,” Jazz added.
“Anyway, we’ll take tomorrow and see if the house and the people there now can add anything,” Dex went on. “Mapplin is only an hour’s drive away.” He paused and looked at his brother. “Just to prove I can think about other things, I have mapped out in plans the main stud wall and ordered the wood we need. We can make a start as soon as it arrives.” They talked about the house plans for some time, and Dex decided to move some of the newly arrived furniture. Evan said that Jazz was not allowed to help and they went for a walk in the gardens. Jazz was still keeping a keen eye on things out there.
“If we move what is left of the old furniture to the door, we can put your things in place,” Carly suggested and went to help him. “It is true that you and I would choose the same sort of things.” She added and put her hands on her hips to catch her breath. “I love your desk.”
“Do you think we could get that into the other room that will be my office?” he asked. They heaved and dragged between them with the desk on its side until it was in place to work beside the window. “I draw plans,” he told her, “and I need the light.”
“We can come back in,” Evan called to Jazz. “I think most of the heavy stuff is done.” Dex threw a cushion at his brother.
“Some of those cookies and coffee might make up for the lack of muscle power,” he answered, and the four of them tried out the newly arrived sofas.
“Now that I have moved in permanently, I’ll get a kitchen fitted. We can put up the wall ourselves to make a separate part of the living room and the people who made your kitchen can come and do the clever stuff,” Dex said as he looked around.
“What sort of kitchen?” Jazz asked, and he told her he liked white.
“All white with a few splashes of color,” he finished. “Those people can do the bathroom and extra shower room as well.” The plans were laid out and looked at, and Carly realized that Dex was very good at drawing plans. He had calculated the wall and materials but also drawn up the whole house as an architect would do, and they looked very smart.
“I like these plans,” she said. “If you had some that were not used anymore, they would make lovely pictures in frames to sell.” He stared at her with disbelief.
“You cannot be serious?” He asked. “They are working plans.”
“She’s right,” Jazz added. “Carly has an eye for these things. I’ve seen maps cut into butterflies and hearts and put into frames. They look great.”
“Well, you live and learn,” he replied. “A skill I never knew I had,” Evan said he was off to bed and Jazz followed him out of the room.
“What time do we start?” Carly asked, and they decided nine would be as good a time as any and they would arrive in Mapplin at about ten. As they stood up, Dex pulled her close.
“Thank the Lord you are safe from that lunatic,” he murmured and brushed his lips against hers. She reached to put her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss into something more demanding. This time Carly waited for the effect. It had occurred to her to wonder if it would happen each time. There was no denying the effect. The sizzle of electricity that spread through every part of her body was not to be denied. She felt him close and the strength of his feeling that responded to her demand. The two of them were suspended in time and space, and the real world was a million miles away. Dexter Sutherland admitted in his mind that he had fallen in love. He had never expected it to happen and the panic that the feeling might not be returned was a sudden jolt. They pulled apart and she stroked his cheek.
“What a lovely way to end the day,” she said and closed the door as she went into Evan’s half of the house. Dex stood for several minutes and wondered how best to keep this girl close.
“Enjoy the trip and keep her safe from that Duval,” he thought. “First things first.”
After a cheerful breakfast, they collected their tablets and a few snacks that Evan had thoughtfully provided and set off for the journey to find Charley Rose. She snuggled into the passenger seat and stopped herself from making any remark about first dates. He looked across and smiled, and her heart did that skipping thing that set it beating faster.
The journey passed in no time as they talked about anything and everything and the GPS found the property that they were after. He parked outside the gates and saw that there was an intercom to ask for entrance. Dex pressed the button and spoke to someone who asked their business and then opened the gates.
“I am quite nervous,” Carly confessed as they drove up to a very impressive country house. A lady who seemed like a secretary met them and said she would ask Mr Callander if he would see them. They were shown seats in the impressive hallway.
“Please come through,” the lady invited them, and they stepped into a beautiful and elegant room that overlooked fabulous gardens. The French windows were open, and Mr Callander turned out to be a young man in jeans and a plaid shirt. He was in his late twenties and had a shock of curly ginger hair. He smiled and held out a hand.
“I am not what you expected,” he said. “My parents are away at the moment.” He screwed his eyes and looked at Dex. “Do I know you from somewhere?” Dex shook his head and said he didn’t think so. Carly had been admiring the wonderful framed photos on the walls. She waved a hand.
“Are you a climber?” she asked, and he told her he was a photographer who loved mountains. Dex laughed.
“Do you think I am Evan Sutherland?” And a look of enlightenment crossed Callander’s face. “My brother,” Dex added.
“Well, that’s a small world. Sit down please and tell me why you’re here.” The two visitors explained between them about their search and Jules Callander listened thoughtfully. He went to the door and called out.
“Maggie, do you remember where that suitcase with the newspaper cuttings was stored?” Maggie came along the passage.
“I’ll go and hunt them out,” she said and disappeared again. He told them that when his parents bought the place, they had found some pictures and lots of newspaper cuttings from earlier inhabitants of the house.
“Thought they might be useful historical stuff at some stage and put them all in an old suitcase.”
“We should have chased up newspaper records before,” Carly said. “They might be just what we need.” Maggie reappeared lugging a large and obviously heavy brown suitcase. Both men jumped up to take the weight. When it was opened, it was chock full of all sorts of papers and photos.
“Good Lord,” Callander said. “Maybe I should help you go through this stuff. Maggie,” he called out again, “come and give us a hand with this, will you? This is Carly and Dex, and they are trying to help a ghost.” Carly laughed and explained briefly. She gave them the approximate dates for the disappearance of Charley Rose, and they tipped the whole lot out onto the floor.
“Anything with his name might help,” Dex said. “We can probably discard the rest.” There was silence as all of them looked at sheet after sheet and discarded them. They were almost halfway through when Maggie stopped and read again.
“Look,” she passed it to Carly. It was a newspaper cutting on the house and the staff. The gardeners were listed, and one of them was Charley Rose. There was a picture with a lot of tiny figures in their best suits and bowler hats, but it was very hard to distinguish anyone.
“What’s the date?” Dex asked, and they then looked for other things around the same date. It looked like that was all they would find when Carly gasped.
“Look, Dex. Look. It’s a report of an accident, and he was knocked over by a runaw
ay horse and died.” A tear welled up in her eyes. “He died. That’s why he never came to marry her. He never saw his son, and she never knew what happened.” Maggie passed her a tissue and felt a tear threatening herself.
“So, now you need to find death certificates and where he was buried,” Jules Callander pointed out. “At least we’ve been able to help a little bit.”
“Oh, you’ve helped loads and been so kind. It was more than we ever hoped for.” Carly told him. He smiled.
“How is Evan these days? I know he had a terrible time and dropped out of the climbing world.” As he spoke, he was flicking through a tablet and handed it to Dex. “Here he is in the Himalayas.”
“That is fantastic,” Carly said, “and he is well and marrying my best friend in two week’s time. I don’t suppose I could have a copy of that to give to her?”
“Give me your phone number,” he answered and sent the photo to her cell. Dex had used his own phone to call Evan and handed it to Jules Callander who went into a long and enthusiastic conversation with the man on the other end of the phone. “Apparently, I am now invited to the wedding,” he smiled. “I’m glad your search brought you to Mapplin.”
Carly and Maggie had piled all of the cuttings back into the suitcase, and Dex took a photo of the piece that gave them the story.
“Thanks so much,” he said and held out a hand.
“I’ll offer to be the wedding photographer,” Callander said as he shook hands. Carly reached up and pecked him on the cheek.
“This is wonderful.” she said, and Jules Callander walked to the door with them.
“See you in two weeks,” he said and watched as they drove away. The gates opened electronically and allowed them out of the grounds. A van followed at a safe distance. Jules saw it pass the main gates, but there was nothing unusual in a van on the road.
12
“I guess it’s no use just walking around the cemeteries,” Carly pondered out loud. “We should get in touch with the authorities and find out about locating a grave.” They stopped at an Italian restaurant and enjoyed a quiet meal as they sat outside under a pretty umbrella.
“This is the date part,” he grinned at her.
“I probably won’t get another day off for a very long time. I had better make the most of it,” Carly answered.
“Then you did promise to help with the building work as well,” he reminded her. She told him that doing anything practical was what she liked the most.
“What about you?” she queried. “What do you do in your spare time?”
“Have a long lazy time reading books or watching old films,” he told her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a van drive slowly past. She saw the change in his face.
“What? What is it?” He shook his head.
“I think I’m just imagining every van has Duval behind the wheel.” Carly did a complete circle of the surrounding area.
“Nothing to see now but I bet you were right,” she paused and thought. “You know he is making me really annoyed. He is butting in on our lovely ghost and hanging about at my house. He is appearing at the shop and now spoiling our date.” Dex covered her hand with his own.
“He cannot spoil our date because you are with me. Come on. Let’s go home.” That made her smile and she held his hand as they walked to the car. It felt the normal thing to do somehow, but she still knew he was scanning around as they went. There was no sign of a van as they drove back to Chestnut Hall and the house was warm and a pleasure to enter. Jazz had finished her garden work and was sitting surrounded by lists and magazines about weddings.
“Two weeks and nothing ready yet,” she said. “If you can leave Katarina for a couple of hours tomorrow, we can choose dresses.”
“You see,” Dex said. “More time off already.” They brought the others up-to-date with the latest on Emily and Charley.
“At least we can tell Emily what happened to him,” Carly said. “But I would like to find out where he is buried. It is so sad that she is still waiting after a hundred years.” The others agreed, but Carly said she thought that with the shop, the wedding, and the house alterations, she would not have a lot of time.
“I think that I saw Duval in a van as we sat in the restaurant. We should still be very careful,” Dex told the others, and although Carly still felt annoyed about the way he was affecting her life, she agreed to not be alone if at all possible.
“Maybe we should try and find time to tell his mom what we found out,” she said.
“Anyway,” Jazz decided, “tomorrow, Kim and I will pick you up from the shop at eleven.” Carly nodded and wondered how Ben had managed with selling jewelry. Evan suggested that he and Dex take the old furniture outside ready for collection in the morning.
“What a coincidence to find Jules,” he said as he stood up. “His parents are weird, but he’s a great guy.”
“He says he will be the wedding photographer for you,” Carly told them.
“That’s great. Another detail dealt with,” Jazz said. Carly plugged her phone into the computer and switched on the printer.
“He sent you a gift,” she said as she pressed the buttons and Jazz looked mystified. The photo slid out onto the tray, and Carly handed it to her friend. “Evan in the Himalayas,” she finished.
“Wow, thanks,” Jazz was so pleased as Evan came and looked.
“Ye gods, that was a few years ago.” Jazz went and filed it away in her photo album, and the men tugged the old sofas, chairs, and table out to the yard where they were due to be collected the next day.
“Looks better without the junk,” Carly added as they looked around. “Where will the wall go for the kitchen?” Dex paced it out and said he would make a start the next day.
“But I’ll still collect you from the shop. No driving back alone---okay? I drive you down and bring you back.” Carly agreed. To tell the truth, she was still worried about Jed Duval. Jazz and Evan went back to planning for the big day, and Dex pulled Carly onto the sofa.
“I enjoyed the unusual date,” he told her and draped an arm around her shoulders. It felt good to lean against him and go over the events of the day. They spent some lazy winding down time watching television and then Carly kissed the top of his head as she set off for her room in the other half of the house. He smiled and watched her go.
“See you in the morning,” he called softly, and she blew him another kiss.
The morning was bright and sunny, and Jazz pointed out where the tent would go. The caterer was booked and Kim would provide planters of flowers everywhere.
“I’ll see a florist today or tomorrow,” Jazz said. “Tomorrow, Evan and I are seeing the minister who will perform the ceremony.”
“It is so wonderful,” Carly answered. “It will be a great day.” Dex appeared to be her chauffeur. “See you at eleven.”
The shop still gave her a little flip in her tummy, and she saw that Martin had fixed the sign above the door. It looked fantastic. He had taken the pink color of the paintwork and added the jewel colors and elegant, scrolled writing. Carly gazed at it entranced. Dex dropped a hand on her shoulder.
“Thanks for taking my suggestion. Martin has done a great job.” They opened up and smelled the gentle hint of lavender. The blinds were lifted, light flooded in, and Carly looked around. Katarina had left the place immaculate, and a note said that the cash was with her father. As she read that, the door tinkled, and Martin came in with the box of receipts.
“I love the sign,” she told him. “It is just right. Thanks. Let me know how much it cost.” He gave her a figure that was way too low and she protested. Martin waved it away.
“An opening gift from Katarina,” he said. “She will be in later.” He left for his own place.
“I’ll stay until she gets here,” Dex told her and started making coffee. Carly pulled out the pieces she needed to finish and started work but stopped again when the lavender scent surrounded her. She accepted the drink and sat in the rear room.
“Poor Charley was knocked down and killed by a runaway horse,” Dex told the air around him. “We are glad we found out but so sorry you never knew.”
“He was working as a gardener, and we found the newspaper report of the accident. We need to find where he is buried,” Carly finished. There was no response from the air around them and Carly looked at Dex.
“Do you think she heard us?” A feather floated out of nowhere and landed on the table between them. Carly answered her own question. “Yes, she did hear. Thank you, Emily.” The doorbell tinkled and two ladies came inside to browse. Carly went back to her jewelry making and Dex sold a bracelet, but trade was not as busy as usual. When Katarina arrived, he was not needed and told Carly he would pick her up at closing time.
Carly told Katarina about the trip to Mapplin, and the lavender perfume filled the whole shop as she related the story of Charley Rose.
“How tragic,” Katarina said as she heard the tale of the runaway horse. “But how lovely to find an old friend of Evan.”
“If I go out for an hour or so to choose a bridesmaid dress, will you manage?”
“Of course, I will,” she said. “I love being in the shop.” Carly’s phone rang and she saw that it was Ben.
“Hi, Ben. Thanks for yesterday. I did appreciate it,” she told him. He asked if he was needed today because he had no garden work to go to.
“Jazz is finalizing a plan and I start next week,” he told her. She covered the phone and asked Katarina if she would like Ben around while she was away, and the girl nodded enthusiastically. Carly tucked that little gem away at the back of her mind and accepted his offer.
