The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight

by Christina Courtenay

  That couldn’t be Giles. He hadn’t spoken a word of Welsh and never called her ‘cariad’ – ‘darling’ was more his style. But who then? A former inhabitant of this part of Merrick Court, perhaps?

  ‘Who’s there?’ There was a faint shimmering over by the window, almost like a heat haze but more phosphorescent. Although she stared intently, she couldn’t make out a specific shape, but she definitely wasn’t alone and it would appear someone was trying to comfort her.

  Tess just sat there for a while, until the feeling of being watched subsided and she was sure the ghost or spirit had left. Then she lay down, falling instantly asleep, sure that whoever had been there meant her no harm. She was safe.

  Chapter Four

  Merrick Court, 22nd May 2016

  It was still very early when Josh Owens drove across the Severn Bridge. He was suffering from jet lag, but it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he’d escaped the London rush hour by leaving long before the city’s inhabitants started waking up. Looking up now, he felt as though he was entering the gates of Mordor in Lord of the Rings, or some other magical country, as the bridge’s pale green structure towered over him. And maybe he was – he’d heard a lot about Wales and now he was finally here it did seem a bit unreal.

  As he turned off the motorway and headed up towards Usk and Raglan, the countryside became green and undulating, with dark hills brooding in the distance. The Black Mountains, he assumed. The scent of hawthorn drifted in through his partially opened window and a strange sense of homecoming rippled through him. It was almost like he’d been here before even though he knew he hadn’t. But it was the homeland of his ancestors, so perhaps it was in his blood?

  The sensation intensified when he passed the ruins of Raglan Castle, silhouetted against the bright morning sky. There was something oddly familiar about the view and his gaze was drawn to the ragged contours of its towers, which must once have been magnificent. A strange mixture of emotions assailed him: longing, apprehension, anger, fear and … attraction? He had to force himself to concentrate on the road, rather than turn and look back.

  What was the matter with him? He must be more tired than he thought.

  Following the satnav lady’s instructions, he continued on towards Abergavenny and the further into Wales he travelled, the stronger the sense of belonging became. He decided it had to be his grandpa’s fault – his mother’s father had hailed from somewhere near here and he’d filled Josh’s head with stories of this magical place.

  ‘You’ve Welsh blood in your veins, boy, don’t forget,’ Grandpa used to say every time he told him about his homeland. Josh wondered why the old man had stayed in New Zealand if he loved the country of his birth so much, but he’d never dared to ask.

  Arriving at his destination at last, Josh climbed out of the rental car and stared up at the house he’d come to see. No, not house – mansion. Or castle even? Although he’d entered the stable yard and could only see the building side on, it was clear that it was a huge property. He’d have to follow the road round to the front to see the rest, but he was already impressed and not a little disconcerted.

  ‘Bloody hell!’ he muttered. This was not what he’d expected at all.

  ‘Good morning! Can I help you?’

  Josh turned to find a weather-beaten old man coming towards him from the direction of the gardens. He was still so dazed by the sight of Merrick Court – what he could see of it so far anyway – that he hadn’t heard the man’s footsteps. ‘Morning. Yes, I’ve come to look at the house,’ he said, closing his door and locking the car. It seemed easier to leave it here and walk round to the front.

  ‘I’m sorry, but it’s not open to the public. It’s private. The gardens too.’ The old man shrugged. ‘But I can offer you a cup of tea if you like, seeing as you’ve had a wasted journey? Least I can do.’

  Josh smiled. ‘That’s very kind, but I think you misunderstand. I’m not a tourist.’

  ‘Sure sound like one, if you don’t mind me saying.’ Deep-set blue eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Australian?’

  ‘Nah, Kiwi.’ Josh swallowed a sigh. Why couldn’t the Poms tell the difference?

  ‘Ah, right. Well, if you’d like to come this way, please? I’ve got a kettle in the potting shed.’

  ‘But I … oh, all right then. Cheers.’ Josh decided some tea would be nice after the long drive from London and he wasn’t in any particular hurry. In fact, it would be great to have a bit of a breather while he recovered from the shock of seeing the property for the first time.

  He followed the old guy into what looked more like a huge workshop than a shed. It was part of the stable block, next door to a greenhouse, and filled with tools of all kinds. The floor was made of old bricks laid in a herringbone pattern, swept clean, and the walls were whitewashed with implements hanging in orderly rows. Several workbenches lined the room and pieces of wood were stacked in one corner.

  ‘Take a seat, please. I’m Bryn Jones, gardener yere.’

  The old man’s melodic Welsh accent put Josh in mind of his grandfather again. Bryn looked to be in his mid- to late-seventies and age was beginning to take its toll, but there was still a twinkle in the man’s eyes and his complexion was a healthy colour. As it should be in a man who’d presumably worked outdoors for most of his life.

  ‘Josh Owens.’ He waited for Bryn’s reaction to his name, but nothing happened, so he added, ‘I’m the new owner of the estate.’

  ‘Eh?’ Bryn swivelled round so fast he almost dropped the mug he was holding. ‘You’re the new Lord Merrick?’

  ‘Seems like it.’

  ‘Well, I never! You should’ve said right off.’ Bryn was still standing with the mug in his hand, as if shocked into immobility.

  Josh smiled. ‘You didn’t really give me a chance. I did say I’d come to look at the house. I need to see what state it’s in before I sell it.’

  ‘S-sell it?’ Bryn scowled. ‘But … there’ve always been Merrick lords yere, ever since the Conquest, like!’

  Josh shrugged. He had no idea what conquest that might be and didn’t really care. ‘I wouldn’t know. I only just found out I was related to them. Came as a bit of a surprise, actually.’

  Bryn had recovered enough to continue with the tea making, but he was still frowning. ‘You had no idea you was the heir?’

  ‘No. My father never mentioned it so the letter from the solicitor arrived out of the blue. I didn’t even know what an entail was.’ He’d had to look it up – the whole concept of something being inherited only by males seemed outdated to him. Crazy. Only the Poms would cling to such an old-fashioned rule. Not that he should be complaining since he was profiting from it, but still … He’d bet there had to be a female somewhere who was seriously pissed off.

  ‘It was a bit of a shock to the people yere too, I can tell you,’ Bryn muttered. ‘And it took them lawyers ages to find you.’

  ‘Ah, yeah well, that was my fault. I’ve been travelling non-stop for the last six months. I wanted to see the world before I got too old. I hadn’t left a forwarding address so didn’t get the letters until I came back.’

  ‘Oh, right. So will you be going back to New Zealand then?’ Bryn handed Josh his tea and offered him a biscuit from a well-worn tin. They looked home-made so Josh didn’t hesitate to take one.

  ‘Cheers. As for going back, I wouldn’t have a clue. Nothing to go back to, really.’ Josh had lived there his whole life, but it didn’t feel like home any more. There were various, complicated, reasons for that which Bryn didn’t need to know. ‘I might travel some more first.’

  Bryn looked as though he wanted to ask further questions, but either didn’t dare or was too polite – probably the latter. For some reason that made Josh relent and tell the old man part of the story even though it was a painful subject.

  ‘I inherited a sheep station from my father when he died recently, but I didn’t want it because … well, we didn’t get on.’ That was the understatement
of the year – he’d hated his father with a vengeance.

  ‘A sheep station?’

  ‘Yeah, kind of like a big farm or ranch just for rearing sheep and cattle. Fifteen thousand square kilometres of grazing land south-west of Christchurch, on the South Island.’ It sounded like a lot, but there were bigger ones.

  Bryn stared at him. ‘Goodness! Not that I know how much a kilometre is, mind, but … you said no to that? Even though it was your da’s?’

  ‘Well, not exactly – I’m not that stupid.’ Josh smiled. ‘I accepted the inheritance but I didn’t want to keep anything that had belonged to him so I sold it to a cousin on my grandmother’s side – my father’s mother, that is. Made me feel slightly less guilty for letting the family down.’

  Not that there was anyone left to chastise him – they were all dead – but he’d sensed the disapproval of the spirits roaming the old farmstead and knew they weren’t happy about his decision. His family had owned the land for over a hundred years. Fields, hills, valleys and streams, with brooding snow-capped mountains in the distance – it was a beautiful place, typical of New Zealand. But he couldn’t keep it. Despite the blood ties, he didn’t belong there.

  True, he was the only son and heir, it was his responsibility to continue the line, but he didn’t care. That was just old-school bollocks. He’d tried to settle there, he really had, but the memories of a childhood filled with violence and rows wouldn’t leave him. And the hatred for his father, the man he’d inherited the property from, obliterated any feelings he might have had for the land.

  ‘I see,’ Bryn said, and Josh had the feeling the old gardener really did understand. His keen eyes saw more than most people’s. He didn’t voice the obvious – that it was ironic Josh had now inherited something even bigger because of his father. But Josh much preferred to think of this as coming from other ancestors further back.

  He changed the subject. ‘So do you have the keys to the house? The solicitor said they’d be here.’

  ‘Er, no. Lady Merrick keeps them but I should think she’s still asleep.’

  It was Josh’s turn to stare. ‘Come again? The … what do you call her? Dowager? She’s still here? The lawyer didn’t say anything about that. Only told me she’d inherited the contents of the house and I get the rest.’ He hadn’t been bothered about that as he wasn’t planning on living here anyway and it seemed only fair the poor woman should have something.

  Bryn shook his head. ‘No, she’s living at the Court. Hasn’t been asked to move out, so far as I know.’

  ‘Bugger.’ This was a complication he could do without. And why hadn’t the lawyer told him? Although to be fair, Josh had been in a bit of a hurry and hadn’t given the man much chance to speak. He’d more or less just signed the documents and left with the directions on how to find Merrick Court.

  ‘Uhm, I should perhaps tell you …’ Bryn looked away. ‘The thing is, her ladyship is a bit fragile at the moment. She took it hard, you know, losing her husband so suddenly, like. Maybe you could … go easy on her?’

  ‘She’s still grieving, eh? Of course, I understand. But she can’t stay here forever.’ Josh wasn’t unfeeling, but he needed to sell the house. Surely the woman would appreciate that? He had no idea how old she was, but maybe she could go into a home for the elderly or something, unless she owned property elsewhere. Either way, it wasn’t his problem.

  ‘No, no, but if you could give her a little more time? And I’ll need to find somewhere else to live too. My cottage comes with the job and I don’t suppose any new owner would want to take on an old relic like myself.’

  ‘Oh. Yeah. Right.’ Josh was taken aback. He hadn’t thought about the fact that he’d be doing the old man out of a job and a home. Not that Bryn ought to be working at his age … Something else occurred to him. ‘Is there anyone else employed here?’ Was he turfing out a whole load of staff by selling up? It was becoming clear he hadn’t thought this through.

  ‘No, just me.’

  ‘You look after this whole garden all by yourself?’ From what Josh had seen, it was massive.

  ‘I do what I can. There’s no money for extra help. Hasn’t been for years.’ Bryn gave a small smile. ‘And there’s a fair bit to do, as you can imagine. In fact, I’d best be getting on with it.’

  ‘So you reckon I should wait a while before going to see the house?’

  Bryn checked his watch. ‘Like I said, Lady M has been a bit delicate and I hardly ever see her until after lunch, but she’s got visitors at the moment so she may be up earlier …’

  The thought of disturbing a grieving widow and a bunch of strangers dampened Josh’s desire to see his inheritance. Besides, it was a beautiful spring day and here was an old man who very obviously needed some help. He made up his mind. ‘Maybe I can lend a hand for a bit then? It’ll be good to do some work for a change. I’ve been travelling for so long I’ve forgotten what that’s like. I could do with some fresh air and a workout.’

  ‘I can’t let you do that!’ Confusion flitted across Bryn’s face. ‘Although …’

  Josh grinned. ‘Yeah – I can do what I want in my own garden and right now I feel like a bit of digging. Give me a spade and point me in the right direction.’ He guessed tasks like that were getting to be too much for the old gardener.

  An answering smile lit up Bryn’s features. ‘Well, if you insist. This way, my lord.’

  ‘Josh, please! We don’t do titles where I come from.’

  ‘You might have to get used to it,’ Bryn murmured.

  ‘No way.’ But Josh was starting to realise there were quite a few things he hadn’t reckoned with and being called a lord was only one of them.

  Raglan Castle, 22nd May 1646

  ‘My lord, I regret to inform you that apart from Oxford there are only a handful of strongholds still loyal to the king at this time – Pendennis Castle down in Cornwall, Harlech up in north-west Wales and your own domain here at Raglan, plus Goodrich Castle. Unless help arrives from foreign shores, the king’s cause seems rather hopeless right now.’ Rhys tried not to sound too downhearted at the news he brought, but it was difficult to desist. As far as he was concerned, things weren’t just hopeless – all was lost. It was only a matter of time.

  It was just after midnight and he had finally been granted a meeting with Lord Worcester, after kicking his heels all evening in the Long Gallery. Beautiful though this chamber was, with its huge windows and intricately carved fireplace supported by sculptures at either end, he would have preferred to get the interview over with. The information he had was definitely not what the marquis would want to hear. Everyone was despondent and the best course for any Royalist would be to gather what riches he could and flee the country while it was still possible. Somehow he doubted Lord Worcester would agree though. From what he’d heard, the old man was as stubborn as they came and stuck to his family’s motto – ‘Mutare vel timere sperno’ meaning ‘I scorn to change or to fear’.

  As he’d gazed out the windows at the back of the Gallery while waiting, Rhys had seen the Black Mountains looming in the distance, a mere shadowy outline in the hazy light of the evening. A longing for his own home, in a valley on the other side of those hills, tore through him at the familiar sight but he suppressed it. He was never going back. His brother owned everything now and he’d made it clear Rhys wasn’t welcome.

  ‘Anyone who goes off to fight for that useless king is a fool,’ Gwilum had shouted four years ago. ‘What’s he ever done for us Welshmen? He’s never been interested in this part of the country. No, anyone with any sense will stay put yere.’

  ‘That’s not what Father would have said,’ Rhys had pointed out. Their father had been an ardent Royalist and had brought up his sons to honour their sovereign.

  ‘The old man was misguided, as are you,’ was Gwilum’s reply. ‘So go if you want to, but don’t expect to be given houseroom here when you return with your tail between your legs.’

  Rhys had ignored his bro
ther and followed a path his father would have approved of, though much good it had done him so far. All he had to show for it was a knighthood. There were no lands to go with it, no riches. Hell, he could barely feed himself and his horse. Suppressing a sigh, he steered his thoughts back to the matter at hand now.

  ‘Hopeless, you say? Nothing is ever hopeless until the end,’ Lord Worcester was saying as he winced and moved one foot slightly. Rhys had been told the old man suffered from gout, which wasn’t to be wondered at. He was nearly three score and ten apparently, a great age. And if age wasn’t the cause, then it was probably good living – his lordship was definitely a bit too stout for his own good.

  Rhys bowed to acknowledge that the marquis was entitled to his opinion and he wasn’t going to argue with him. ‘You don’t think perhaps the ladies of the castle ought to be sent away at this time? For their safety, I mean.’ For some reason a particular lady’s face came into his mind, as it had done at regular intervals ever since he’d first met her that afternoon.

  Mistress Dauncey – Arabella – was a rare beauty, with big blue eyes and long brown lashes under fine brows, rich honey-coloured hair and a tempting figure. It wasn’t just her outward attributes that had attracted him though, but the intelligence he’d seen lurking in those forget-me-not eyes. He’d enjoyed conversing with her; she caught on quickly and didn’t simper or flirt. Very refreshing. Although he’d felt she was holding something back, a secret concerning her background perhaps, but this only intrigued him further. He wanted to find out what it was. Wanted to know everything about her … He became aware that the marquis was speaking to him again and tried to concentrate.

  ‘… and where would I send them? I can’t spare any men for escort duty, they’re all needed here. No, the ladies will be safe with us. I’ll make sure of it.’

  Again Rhys didn’t protest. What could he say? It wasn’t for him to point out that he doubted the marquis would have much choice in the matter if the Parliamentarians had their way, which seemed all too likely.