CHAPTER FIFTEEN
In the morning
I was woken by the sound of rain drumming on the windows, beating a frantic tattoo. When I opened my eyes, I had no idea where I was. I thought at first I must still be asleep and dreaming, then I turned my head towards the light and saw a sword propped up against the window like a crucifix and I remembered…
I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I avoided the sword and
looked round for Alec. He was still fast asleep on the sofa. I’d relinquished his dressing gown the night before and he’d wrapped himself in that and a tartan rug that had been covering the battered leather sofa. I suspected his night had been restless and uncomfortable, but he looked peaceful enough now. The worried frown was gone and his hands lay relaxed and long-fingered on the rough woollen blanket. One bare foot protruded at the other end, pale and elegant, like something on a statue.
I dragged my eyes away and
studied the objects on Alec’s bedside table. There was a photo of him with Coral, an informal shot taken outdoors, somewhere in the hills. They were dressed for walking, the sky was blue and they were both laughing. Alec’s arm curved round Coral’s shoulders and she leaned in towards him, resting her head on his chest. They looked young and happy and very much in love. I felt suddenly guilty occupying Alec’s bed, then remembered Coral had been dead for seven years.
I averted my eyes from the photo
and studied the spines of his bedside reading matter. There were a couple of historical tomes and one of my novels in hardback. It must have belonged to Coral. I reached out and lifted the book off the pile.
Alec had used the dust jacket as a bookmark and appeared to be about halfway through. I turned the book over and looked at the enigmatic, long-haired blonde my publisher had sold to readers as Imogen Ryan. She looked like my glamorous, younger sister. I struggled to remember details of the
novel’s plot – something to do with a childless woman and an abandoned baby – then, randomly, I recalled the dedication. Keeping Alec’s place, I removed the flap of the dust jacket and turned to the front of the book where I read,
For R. With love and thanks.
By the time the book was published, we were no longer a couple, but Rupert was pleased and proud to have had a book dedicated to him.
I set the novel
down and went back to staring at Alec. I wanted to recall what he’d said last night and our first kiss (and subsequent kisses), but I couldn’t think about any of it without recalling
why
he’d kissed me.
To prove
the ghost of Meredith MacNab was in the room and watching us.
Despite
the warm duvet, I shivered. Much as I’d enjoyed the luxury of looking at Alec unobserved, I found myself wishing he’d wake up. His discarded watch lay on the polished oak floorboards and I sat up, anxious to know the time. As I reached down, the bed creaked. Alec was awake, upright and grabbing his sword before I could speak. When his eyes finally settled on me, I watched him blink as memory returned.
‘I was
just trying to get your watch,’ I said sheepishly. ‘I wanted to know the time.’
He
bent down, picked up the watch and slid it over his wrist. ‘Just gone eight.’
‘Sorry I woke you.’
He shook his head and a tangle of curls fell forward on to his forehead. ‘No bother. The slightest thing wakes me. Did you manage to sleep?’
‘Oh, yes. I haven’t been awake long. Was the sofa very uncomfortable?’
He ignored the question and said, ‘Would you like me to accompany you back to your room? To check everything’s… in order?’
‘No, I’d
rather you sat on the bed and talked to me.’ His smile was hesitant but he obeyed without speaking. I sat up and threaded a finger through a corkscrew curl that hung above his brows. I tugged it gently and watched it spring back. ‘You look quite different with your hair tousled.’
‘So do you,’ he said, running
his fingers along my bare, outstretched arm.
‘
Last night… Did I dream all that?’
‘No, you did not. Cauldstane has a resident ghost – though as far as I know, I’m the only one who’s aware of the fact.’
‘Alec… do you really believe Meredith wants to kill you?’
‘I don’t know. It’s all mind games with
her. It always was.’
‘Last night you said she wanted revenge.’
‘Aye, I think she does.’
‘What for?’
‘In addition to rejecting her advances, I told Sholto what sort of a woman he was married to. And I told him he should throw her out.’
‘
Good grief! When did you tell him that?’
‘The week before my wedding. I was
to move out after our honeymoon. Coral and I were going to have one of the wee houses on the estate. Sholto had wanted us to live at Cauldstane. There was plenty of room and that would have been much more economical, but I wanted to move out.’
‘
Because of Meredith?’
He
nodded. ‘Sholto didn’t understand and I wasn’t telling him the whole story, so it probably didn’t make much sense. He kept pressing me to explain and asking what was wrong. I couldn’t tell him. I just couldn’t do that to him. In the end he saved me the trouble. He said, “Is it Meredith?” I was stunned that he knew. Or had guessed. He asked me what had been going on and I didn’t know what to say, whether I should tell him the truth… But he made it easy for me. He said, “If you don’t tell me the truth – the
whole
truth, Alexander – then, by God, I’ll knock you to the ground. I demand to know what sort of a woman I’m married to.” So I told him.’
‘Poor man.
He must have been terribly upset.’
‘I suppose so
. But his face showed nothing. The only time he seemed to be in danger of losing his self-control was when he asked me how long it had been going on. I told him it had started when I was a student... You’ve never seen Sholto when he’s angry, have you?’ Alec shook his head. ‘It’s not a pretty sight.’
‘But
he believed you?’
‘He
was under no illusions about her. She’d had an affair with a friend of his and he’d felt humiliated. And very hurt. I think he gave up on the marriage after that. Up till then I think he’d probably been faithful to her, but afterwards… Well, I gather he started seeing other women. And Meredith’s idea of poetic justice would have been seducing Sholto’s son.’
I hesitated before asking my next question, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer. ‘She didn’t
succeed, did she?’
‘No, she didn’t, though I had to put up a physical fight a couple of times. I woke up one night and found her in my bed.’
‘No!’
‘I threw her out
and put a bolt on the bedroom door the next day. God knows what Wilma thought when she was turning out the room. I suppose she put it down to poor Mr Alec’s neuroses.’
‘But Sholto believed you’d given
Meredith no encouragement?’
‘He
knows I’m a lousy liar and he knew how I felt about Coral. We were a very happy couple. I was determined to keep it that way by moving out of Cauldstane. Sholto said he understood and thought it best for all concerned.’
‘
So he told Meredith he knew what had been going on?’
‘No. I did.’
‘When?’
‘On my wedding day. She got drunk and started her usual antics
, so I assumed Sholto had said nothing. Meredith told me she’d be paying regular visits to our new home and that she was looking forward to telling Coral how
close
she and I had become over the years.’ Alec’s expression was thunderous. ‘I told her to get lost. Then she came out with it. Her pathetic attempt at blackmail. She said she would tell Sholto we’d had an affair, that it had been going on for years. She said she’d also tell Coral. Unless I… met her conditions.’
‘Which were?’
He gave a derisive snort. ‘You can guess.’
‘
What did you say?’
‘Well, I’d had a fair amount of champagne too, so it was with great pleasure I
informed Meredith that my father already knew what had been going on, that I’d told him a week ago and explained my reasons for wanting to move out. I told her she’d no power over me. She could tell Coral what the hell she liked. My wife would never believe I’d slept with such a shabby whore.’
‘What did Meredith
say?’
‘She was speechless
– understandably, I suppose – so she hurled her champagne glass at me. But I saw it coming and dodged. So then she gave me an earful and said I would pay for what I’d done and so would Coral. Then she swept out of Cauldstane, got into her car and drove off. Dead drunk. And then… well, then she was just dead.’
As he
exhaled, his body sagged, then he started to tremble. I leaned forward, throwing my arms around his neck. ‘It’s going to be all right, Alec! You don’t have to go through this alone. Not any more.’
I felt his lips moving against my
bare shoulder, then he lifted his head, so his mouth was close to my ear. ‘You don’t know what a relief it is… to be able to
talk
about it. After all this time… But when I think Coral might have known too. Known before me. But she never
said
anything!’
He was still shaking and I held him tight.
‘How could she, Alec? Who would have believed her? I wouldn’t have believed you if I hadn’t seen what Meredith can do. And I would never have told you about my laptop messages. I wouldn’t have told
anyone
.’
‘Why not?’
‘For the same reason Coral didn’t tell you. You’d have thought I was mad! You already had good reason to believe I was mentally fragile. If you hadn’t found me cowering outside my room last night, I don’t know what I would have done. But I wouldn’t have dared tell anyone.’
‘Meredith
would have found a way to make you leave. That’s what her game is.’ He extracted himself from my arms and took both my hands in his. ‘And that’s why you have to go, Jenny. If Meredith wants you out, she’ll keep bullying you till you go.’
‘
Well, that’s just tough, because now you’ve told me what sort of woman she is – I mean,
was
– I’m even more determined not to desert my post. And let her win? Over my dead body!’
He
squeezed my hand. ‘
That’s
what I’m afraid of.’
‘Oh, don’t be
daft! How on earth can she harm me? She’s just a
ghost
! I may be a bit unstable, but I’m hardly likely to die of fright. Now don’t go smiling at me like that, Alec MacNab, or I shall haul you into bed. And that would
really
piss Meredith off.’
‘Aye, b
ut it would make
my
day,’ Alec said, still smiling.
‘S
top that right now. Today’s a big work day for me. In just over an hour, I shall be interviewing your father in the library. Can I also point out, if you
do
want me to leave, going to bed with me probably isn’t the best way to go about it.’
His
smile vanished. ‘I don’t want you to leave, Jenny.’
‘Good.’
‘But I think you should. For your own safety.’
‘No way.
’ He scowled, an expression only slightly less endearing than his smile. ‘You know, you look just like Sholto when you do that. And I don’t want
him
pulling that face at me, so I need to get a move on or I’ll be late.’ Clambering out of bed, I said, ‘I want a bath and some breakfast. A bowl of Wilma’s porridge will be just the job this morning. Who would have thought ghost-hunting would give you such an appetite?’ I summoned up a cheerful smile, but Alec didn’t respond. He looked miserable and I regretted my flippant remark. Picking up his dressing gown, I said, ‘Can I borrow this to get back to my room? Just in case anyone’s about.’
‘
Of course. Would you like me to go with you?’
‘No, I’ll be fine, thanks,’ I replied
, with more conviction than I felt. ‘But you could tell me what to do about the breakages. I have two smashed spaniels to account for. Wilma might accept one was an accident, but two?’
‘Leave me to deal with that
. I’ll clean up when you’re with Sholto. Wilma won’t mention their disappearance to you and if she says anything to me, I’ll tell her I put them in the attic because you needed more space. Maybe you could spread your writing stuff around a bit more to make it look like it’s true.’
‘Were the dogs
valuable?’
‘Who knows? Cauldstane’s full of junk, much of it loved, some of it detested. I dare say some of it’
s valuable. But those hounds will not be missed.’
‘You’ll need to sweep up thoroughly
. If Wilma finds bits when she hoovers, she’ll think I broke them.’