by Amy M. Reade
Brenda and I worked well together. I asked her to make a list of everything that had to be done before the guests began to arrive, then we divided the tasks and conquered them one-by-one. Maisie was in frequent contact from the hospital, letting us know that Sian was still hours away from giving birth. As this was her first child, it would likely be a long labor.
The morning sped along in a rush of activity and as Brenda put the finishing touches on the buffet in the dining room, Hugh, Cadi, and Rhisiart returned from the funeral. Brenda and I hurried to change into clothes more appropriate for the luncheon and we returned to the dining room to survey our work just as the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the first guest.
After that, mourners arrived in droves to pay their respects to the family Annabel had left behind. Ladies from Annabel’s social clubs came with husbands in tow, long-time friends of Annabel’s sons came to offer their condolences, and people from Annabel’s church and from the village stopped by. Sylvie was there, too. My Aunt Margot had been unable to attend the funeral because she was battling bronchitis.
Griff was there, too, looking uncomfortable in a suit and tie. He stayed in a corner of the dining room, talking to one of the stable hands. I caught his eye once, but he quickly looked away, a frown turning down the corners of his mouth. I longed to go talk to him, to explain why I had been out with Rhisiart the previous evening, but I was so busy helping Brenda and talking to people who had come to express their sorrow at Annabel’s passing that I didn’t have time to talk to Griff in private.
During the luncheon Maisie phoned several times to let us know of Sian’s progress. The doctor thought the baby might come a bit earlier than expected and Maisie wanted to know who else might be coming to spell her and to offer support to Sian. Apparently Sian was weepy and upset that Andreas couldn’t be there with her, and as sorry as Maisie was that Sian was bringing a baby without a father into the world, she didn’t feel she was the right person to offer the comfort and support that Sian needed at such a critical time.
But who was the right person? The natural answer was Annabel, of course, but she wasn’t there to offer support, either. It would fall to another member of the family to be at the birth of Andreas’s baby.
In the end Hugh and Cadi were in the room with Sian when the baby arrived in the middle of the night, long after the guests had left the castle.
Sian had a baby boy, whom she named André. Through her exhausted tears the next morning, when the rest of the household went to visit her and the baby, she explained that it was too painful to name the baby Andreas, which was the name she and Andreas had decided on if the baby was a boy, so she chose a similar name—one that would suggest Andreas, but might not bring up such painful thoughts every time Sian spoke it aloud. She was sure her late husband would approve.
She let all of us hold the baby. When it was my turn I gazed at his tiny eyes and his wispy dark hair and thought of how Annabel had longed for a grandchild. My eyes filled with tears that spilled slowly down my cheeks when I thought of how Annabel would never get to hold her grandson, how she would never have a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of her sons as a caring, attentive grandmother who would do anything to protect her grandchild. If only she had lived a few more days.
I was the last one to hold André. After I handed him back to Sian it was time for her to rest. Hugh, Cadi, Rhisiart, Maisie, Brenda, and I all left the room quietly and went our separate ways. Hugh, Cadi, and Rhisiart said they were going into the village for breakfast. Maisie and Brenda were going to their home outside the village, and I headed back to the empty castle by myself.
As soon as I got back I rang up Sylvie. “Want to come over for breakfast? We’ll be the only ones here,” I added, knowing she wouldn’t want to come over if Rhisiart were around. She came over just a few moments later and we rummaged for leftovers from the funeral luncheon and ate around the cozy table in the kitchen.
“What happens now?” Sylvie asked.
I sat back in my chair. “I don’t know. No one has said anything. I don’t know if Sian will stay here with the baby or if she’ll go back to London. I wouldn’t be surprised by either. If Annabel were still alive, I think she would stay here because of the connection to Andreas. But with Annabel gone…”
“Do you think you’ll stay here?”
“I doubt it, but I don’t know where I’ll go. I really haven’t given it much thought. I suppose I should have been planning since Annabel died, but I just haven’t been able to.”
“Planning for what?”
“For the future. For whatever comes next,” I answered. “I’ll have to find a new job.”
“They haven’t asked you to stay on here?”
“No. And even if they do ask, I don’t think I want to,” I said. “They want to make lots of changes to the property and I frankly don’t know that I can work with any of them.”
“I think you’re right to want to get out of here,” Sylvie remarked. “That Rhisiart is no picnic to be around.” I nodded, absently popping a strawberry into my mouth and wondering what the castle would look like in a year’s time with the changes the family were talking about implementing.
“Heard from Griff?” she asked.
I emerged from my own thoughts and answered. “No. I saw him at the luncheon yesterday and he looked away like I was a sea hag.”
“I think he’ll come around. If he knows you at all he’ll figure out there had to be some good reason you were at the pub with Rhisiart.”
“He doesn’t know me very well—that’s the problem,” I said.
“I think you’re giving him too little credit,” Sylvie said. “Remember we talked about all the things you know about him without even realizing it? Well, all he has to do is give it a wee think and he’ll realize he knows more about you than he thought he did. And it’s all good stuff.”
I smiled at Sylvie, marveling at her ability to turn a dim outlook into a rosy one. “What do you want to do today?” I asked.
“Let’s go for a hike,” she suggested. “We could both use one, I think.”
I agreed quickly because I wanted to show her the place Griff had shown me—the fairy glen with its sparkly things and the clean, clear rushing water. “I know just the place,” I said. “We’ll have to leave now, because the last time I went I was on horseback and this time we’ll be walking, so it’s going to take longer to get there.”
Sylvie was eager to see the place I told her about. We packed lunches from the bounty in Maisie’s kitchen, then she went back to the coach house to grab her rucksack and I got mine from my bedroom. Just a few minutes later we were walking across the huge field in front of the castle, heading for the woods.
We talked the whole way. I shared Rhisiart’s tales of his visits to her house as a child and told her how much he enjoyed spending time with her family. She was happy to hear it. She could remember times when Annabel brought her sons to visit her family in Dumfries, Scotland, and she was pleased to learn that, as much as she didn’t care for Rhisiart, he had enjoyed his time with her family.
Then Sylvie said she had a surprise for me.
“What is it?”
“Seamus wants to come down to visit for a few days. I’ll go back to Cauld Loch when he goes.”
“I don’t believe it! When’s he coming?” I cried, already excited for his arrival.
“Well, since you’re obviously so anxious to see him, how about tonight?” she asked, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“You’re kidding!” I shrieked, breaking the silence in the air as we entered the woods.
Sylvie laughed, clearly pleased with herself for keeping the secret. “You’ve been so down and Seamus has been looking for an excuse to join our girls-only holiday, so I invited him and he’s on his way now. Do you suppose it’s okay with Rhisiart and the rest of them?”
“Who cares what
Rhisiart and the rest of them say? I’ll talk to them if they dare to say anything.”
Her face turned somber. “Unfortunately, he can only stay for a day or two, then he has to return to Cauld Loch, and I have to go with him. Our shop assistant, the one who took your place, is sick and I need to get back to help out.”
“I’m sorry you’ll be leaving, but it’ll be wonderful to see Seamus.” I put on a bright smile so Sylvie wouldn’t know how disappointed I was that she was going home.
Seamus, big and burly Seamus, was beloved by everyone who knew him. Well, almost everyone—he had gone to prison once for hurting someone badly in a bar fight, even though he was defending himself, so I suppose there were people in his past who weren’t fond of him. With his wicked sense of humor and his artistic talent and his teddy-bear ways, though, one would never guess he had been in prison. And it was easy to forget his past when confronted with the man in the present.
Already looking forward to the end of the hike when I would be closer to seeing one of my favorite people, I led the way through the woods and pointed out some of the interesting things Griff had shown me on my first trip. When we reached the fairy glen, I found it every bit as enchanting as I remembered. The water tumbled over rocks and whooshed around eddies, cold and refreshing. I showed Sylvie all the shiny objects people had left behind, including the coin Griff and I had placed in the log. She was fascinated. She must have taken a hundred photos. With her talent and penchant for getting the perfect shot, I couldn’t wait to see her prints from the glen.
“Shall we go back to the castle?” I asked after we had enjoyed a leisurely lunch.
We returned through the woods the way we had come. The rays of sunlight that penetrated the trees slanted lower to the ground on our way back, and we hadn’t gone far when we heard a whinnying from up ahead. There was a bend in the path so we couldn’t see what—or who—was up ahead, so we slowed our pace just a bit.
I was startled to see Griff come around the curve in the path, riding Caesar. He pulled up short when he saw us.
“Hi, Griff!” Sylvie called cheerfully. I was relieved she had recovered herself quickly enough to say something. My embarrassment was already beginning to burn my face. I felt like a bird caught in a cage—I wanted to get away as quickly as I could, but Griff and Caesar were blocking the way forward and Sylvie was standing behind me and would surely prevent me from running back to the wood if I suddenly made a run for it. I had no choice but to stand still and bear the shame of being out in the woods where Griff had taken me so recently.
“How’s everyone?” he asked, no trace of warmth in his voice. It had always held a rich timbre for me, but now it sounded cold and distant.
“We’re just fine. Eilidh wanted to show me the place you took her—the fairy glen, is it called?—and I thought it was just beautiful. Thanks for showing it to Eilidh.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome.” He guided Caesar into the brush along the trail. “I’ll get out of the way so you can get back,” he said. He clearly didn’t want to stand around chatting. I knew I had ruined his afternoon, just as Rhisiart had ruined ours when Griff and I had visited the fairy glen.
We skirted Griff and Caesar and continued walking, this time in silence. Sylvie knew better than to talk to me just then. I longed to turn around to see if Griff was watching us leave, but I was in front of Sylvie and I didn’t want her to see my disappointment if he wasn’t looking. I was quiet for the rest of the way back to the castle, the excitement at Seamus’s impending arrival fading in the raw hurt of Griff’s brush-off.
But as we neared the castle, I could feel the excitement building again. Seamus was a good friend of Callum, and he would be able to tell me how Callum was doing in prison and what life was like for him now. I had a soft spot for my ex-husband, even though I wasn’t in love with him anymore, and I was eager for news of his well-being.
But Seamus texted Sylvie that he had been delayed, so we would have to wait a bit longer for him to arrive at the castle. He would stay in the coach house with Sylvie, obviously, but I knew he would love to take a look around Annabel’s home, too. I even looked forward to introducing him to Rhisiart and Hugh, just to see what he thought of them.
It was snowing by the time we arrived at the castle. Snowy days were my favorite days in Wales, and particularly at the castle, because the snow softened the military-style effect of the home’s architecture. Sylvie took out her camera and snapped a few photos as the snow began to fall more thickly, then asked if we could visit the gardens, where the fallen snow on the flowers and garden sculptures might provide interesting photo opportunities. Sylvie preferred sweeping landscape photography, but her interests were branching a bit as she was learning more about photographing small, close subjects.
We took our time walking through the gardens. Like me, Sylvie loved the snow. We wandered through the gardens, laughing as the snow fell and trying to catch the flakes. When she ventured near the wolfsbane I asked her not to take a photo of the plant that had become so hateful to me, and she readily consented.
She even climbed onto a wrought iron table to reach up and place her camera on top of a high stone fence that surrounded one of the gardens. She positioned the camera and used a remote control to shoot pictures from there. When she retrieved the camera and scrolled through the pictures, she gasped.
Chapter 16
“What is it?” I asked.
“Look at this,” Sylvie instructed in a whisper, holding the screen of her camera in front of her. My mouth fell open. Sylvie had shot a photo of Rhisiart. He was standing directly outside the garden where we were. He must not have realized Sylvie had placed her camera up high to take pictures from a different angle, so he probably didn’t know we were aware of his presence.
I motioned for her to lean in closer. “He wants to hear something good? Let’s give him something,” I whispered.
In a louder voice I said, “Sylvie, did I tell you what Annabel told me before she died?”
“No,” she answered, moving away so it didn’t sound like she was standing right next to me. “What did she say?”
“She said there’s another will hidden somewhere.”
Sylvie gasped loudly. “Did she say where it was?”
“No, only that it’s in the castle somewhere,” I answered.
“Why didn’t you tell the barrister?”
“Annabel didn’t want the boys to know about it,” I said, trying to keep from giggling.
“It must be different from the will everyone knows about,” Sylvie suggested, playing along.
“I’m sure it is. Otherwise she wouldn’t have told me about it.”
“Maybe she leaves her money to you!” she exclaimed. She was enjoying this.
“I seriously doubt it,” I replied.
“Have you looked for it?”
“No.”
“Why on earth not?”
“Because it doesn’t matter to me. What would I do with all Annabel’s money?” I asked with a grin. This was going better than I could have imagined.
“You could give it to me,” Sylvie suggested, laughing.
We started walking toward the garden entrance and kept up the pretext of Annabel’s mysterious missing will. By the time we reached the garden gate I peered around the corner and saw just the tails of Rhisiart’s overcoat flying as they disappeared around the front of the castle.
Sylvie laughed. “That’ll teach him to follow us and eavesdrop.”
I grinned, happy because we had put one over on Rhisiart, whose superior smugness infuriated me. Let him wonder whether another will existed, one that left me as the sole heiress of Annabel’s estate.
Sylvie bid me goodbye where the path to the coach house parted from the walkway to the front of the castle, but promised to let me know the minute Seamus arrived. I went inside the castle, still chuckling to myself over
our practical joke.
The sight that greeted my eyes upon entering the main hall of the castle was enough to make me laugh out loud. Hugh ran past me to where Rhisiart stood waiting by the sitting room door, his phone to his ear. I had a feeling he was talking to Sian, who was still in hospital. He had apparently wasted no time in warning his co-heirs about the possibility of another will being hidden somewhere in the castle.
I pretended to take no notice of them and went straight to my room, where I showered and changed out of my wet, snowy clothes and into jeans and a warm, dry sweater. I was still in a good mood and I sat in front of the fireplace, my feet toasty, reading a book and finally being able to concentrate on the words. I only stopped reading when I got hungry and went downstairs for something light to eat. Maisie was taking stock of the cupboard contents, something Hugh had asked her to do. I didn’t know where Brenda was.
I ate a sandwich and returned to my room. I saw that I had gotten a text in my absence. Seamus had arrived! I threw on a coat and dashed over to the coach house, and when he opened the door I flung myself into his arms, giving him a great bear hug. He laughed with his deep booming voice, and Sylvie came to watch the happy reunion, her face alit with a wide smile. She knew how much I had missed my old friend.
“So tell me about Callum,” I said as we all sat in the great room. I got all the news about my ex-husband; Seamus went to visit him regularly, at least once a week. He told me Callum was studying art history while he was incarcerated and wanted to get a job in Edinburgh when he got out, possibly in a museum or art gallery. I was happy to hear that he had plans to change careers and move to the city. He would miss the Highlands, but his opportunities would be better in Edinburgh, and maybe Seamus could even introduce him to people who might give him a job. I asked Seamus to pass on my wishes for his success. I hadn’t had much contact with Callum since our divorce, and it seemed better that we not communicate directly. Seamus had told me it hurt Callum the few times we had talked, so I tried to avoid anything that would cause him more heartache.
