The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw (30 page)

'I don't understand.'

'Come on... you know me. I'm the world's biggest flirt... and he's kind of like the male version of me,' she laughed. 'We're still good pals though. It's cool,' she winked, glad to have made Emma think of something else.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

An elegantly dressed elderly lady with bright white hair and a kind smile approached them as they stood waiting for the ferry. Saleena helped her climb down onto the pier.

Holding out a gloved hand, she said 'You must be Emma and Lana. It's such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done. Is he here?' she asked looking around as Declan walked past them carrying her suitcase, as well as Lana's and Emma's hold-alls.

'We asked him not to show himself until we're on the ferry, we can find a more private spot on there,' Emma said with her eyes already glazing over.

The old lady nodded, 'Yes, yes of course.... so you live on Andilyse?'

Lana nodded, 'We grew up there. Our Dad is the Chief of Police and Mum's a nurse there.'

'That's lovely, that's lovely. It was such a beautiful island. I loved it the moment I stepped foot on it,' she sighed. 'I never stopped... if only things had been different.'

'Can I ask you a question, Emelia?' Emma asked nervously.

'Of course! Anything.'

'Is Emelia Doris your real name?'

The woman dropped her head backwards and let out a throaty laugh, dabbing at her eyes with a cotton handkerchief, 'No, but I needed a, erm, a modern name. My real name is Laomedeia. I always loved the name Emelia and my mother's name is Doris,' she explained.

'Laomedeia? Its pretty,' Emma replied. 'Why have you... aged? I thought someone like you would stay young forever?'

Again the woman chuckled to herself. 'It was my father's way of punishing me for what I did. My sisters are all still young and beautiful,' she said, shaking her head. 'It was silly of him because once he'd cast his spell, he couldn't take it back and the man he wanted me to marry didn't want someone who was going to age. He went on to marry Menippe,' she sighed.

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be sorry, my dear. My entire life I've wanted nothing more than to die so that I could be with Josiah. At least now I'm one step closer to getting my wish.'

As they'd been talking, the ferry had arrived and a few people had disembarked before Emelia, Emma, Lana and Declan had climbed aboard.

Saleena had hugged them tightly before she headed back to her own boat, but not before giving Declan a long kiss.

Emelia sighed as she watched them, 'How I miss that,' she said as they took a seat in a corner away from prying eyes, and she very carefully removed her gloves, revealing perfectly manicured fingernails beneath.

'Emelia?' said a quiet voice out of nowhere as Josiah finally revealed himself to her.

Gasping, her hands shot to her mouth and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

'Josiah? Is that you? Oh how I've longed for this day to come. I'm so sorry my darling...'

##

Several hours later, the girls stood on the front of the ferry watching a thick fog hang over the island with the sound of seagulls racing and squawking overhead.

Once they'd finally come to a halt, they hopped off of the ferry into the waiting arms of their mum and dad and brother and sister who squealed and jumped up and down at the sight of them.

'I hope they've not been too much trouble, Declan?' Patrick asked as he shook the hand of his good friend.

'They've been as good as gold. I'd be happy to look after them any time,' he said, 'And Sal just loved them both.'

'Oh thank you so much Declan. We are indebted to you, we really are. I'm so pleased that the girls finally got to experience some London culture and history. Now tell us a little more about this Academy...'

Lana yanked Emma away the moment she laid eyes on someone else who'd come to welcome them home.

'Scott!' she yelled as the two girls ran straight into him and hugged him, laughing. 'We missed you!' she squealed.

'So what did we miss? What have you been up to? What was it like working on the Nutter's farm? Are you and Lottie going out yet?' she asked, barely taking breath.

'Woah, woah... I should be asking you all the questions. You're the ones who've been out gallivanting in the big city, not me!' he laughed, his cheeks bright pink from happiness.

'We'll tell you about it later,' Emma said as she glanced across at her sister knowingly. 'But we've got something important we need to do first though. Can we meet up in the morning?'

'Sure,' he said, grinning, 'Just give me a buzz and I'll come round.'

After saying goodbye to Declan, Audrey and the younger kids headed home in her car while Patrick took Emelia, Emma and Lana up to the old Grimshaw house, after he'd been told that she was a long lost relative who had inherited the place.

'Thanks Dad,' said Emma, 'We'll take it from here. We'll walk home in a bit.'

Patrick had nodded, given Emelia his card and suggested she call him if she needed any assistance, and then he'd left them by the old wooden gate.

The moment he was gone, Josiah showed himself.

'I wish I could carry you over the threshold, my love,' he said as she gazed at him with such an abundance of love that the girls had to look away.

'Erm, shall we just come inside with you and see if there's anything we can do before we leave you to it?' asked Lana, breaking the silence.

'That would be lovely, my dear. Thank you so much.'

Emma picked up the lady's suitcase and pushed open the gate.

'I remember it like it was yesterday. This was the house you grew up in. You brought me a couple of times. I never forgot it...'

As they walked indoors, Lana cringed, expecting the disgusting mess they'd stumbled upon before but there was nothing of the sort. The house was absolutely spotless, gleaming in fact.

'Wow,' muttered Emma to her sister. 'Who?'

When they looked across at each other, realisation hit and they said in unison, 'Mum,' and smiled. The kitchen was even stocked with supplies for the newest resident of Andilyse.

'Oh, you've all been so kind. Here's a note from some of the islanders, with condolences and such like. Oh I'm almost speechless,' she smiled. 'I should have lived this life with my love on this island,' she sobbed.

'You're here now, that's what matters,' reassured Josiah. 'I shall never leave your side.'

With that, the girls tiptoed out of the house and began their walk back home.

'So, how you feeling Sis?' asked Lana as they ambled down the lane together.

'Okay. It's nice to be home, I guess. But I am looking forward to going back,' she smiled.

'Really?'

'Of course. I miss Diarmuid already,' she said as she looked down at her shoes and kicked a stone in the road.

'I can't wait to get back to London. I can't believe we're actually going to live there!' Lana squealed.

'But there's some pretty scary stuff over there, isn't there? Aren't you worried about it, just a little bit?'

Lana pulled her cardigan tightly across her body and pondered the question for a couple of minutes before answering, 'A little, I guess. Those Skulls scare the hell out of me, of course, but I hope not to have to run in to them any time soon.'

'What do you think will happen to the dread-lock girl?' asked Emma as she remembered her glowing yellow eyes compared to the posh English girl they’d bumped into in the museum.

Lana shrugged her shoulders, 'I don't care. I just hope Bryn managed to find her and lock her up. If he did, he should throw away the key.'

Emma laughed, 'I'm with you on that one. Do you ever think about that attack on the night of our initiation?'

Glancing across at her sister, Lana nodded, 'All the time. Why?'

'It's just that we never found out who helped us out, you know. It's been kind of bugging me, I guess.'

'I wouldn't worry about it, Em. At least whoever it was, was helping us and not the other way around. I'm sure Eleanor will get to the bottom of it.'

##

Twelve days later as the sun seemed to shine much brighter than usual for a September day on Andilyse Island, a coffin was carried from the church to a freshly dug grave in a beautiful setting overlooking the North Sea. Just as it was gently lowered into the earth, the sea crashed onto the shoreline below. Lana and Emma watched as the hand-like waves seemed to desperately paw at the sand before pulling backwards, back into the darkness of the sea.

'Twelve days, ' sighed local baker Betty Miller. 'I still can't believe she died so soon after arriving,' she re-iterated to no-one in particular as she, along with a small group of local residents, turned away from the grave, and headed back towards their cars parked up on the hill next to the church.

Lana turned and smiled at her sister, who, rather oddly for a funeral, beamed back as they watched two familiar ghosts walk hand in hand off into the distance until eventually, they vanished from sight.

CHAPTER FORTY

Several large suitcases sat open on the two single beds. One was half filled with strewn clothes, make-up and magazines while Lana stood beside it, continuously pulling out brightly coloured items of clothing and replacing them with others.

On the opposite side of the room, Emma sat carefully folding her three favourite pairs of black jeans and placed them gently beside a number of dark coloured t-shirts and Converse. Several books had already been neatly arranged down the sides of the case.

When her mobile vibrated on the bedside table, she grinned, leaning forward to read the message.

'Tell him to stop texting already, you're going to see him in a couple of days,' sighed Lana with a wink.

Swooning, Emma quickly sent a message back before zipping up her case and turning her attention to Lana's belongings.

'Here, let me do it,' she offered, nudging her sister out of the way with her hip. Pulling out various items that were totally unsuitable for the Academy, Emma shook her head and laughed.

'Really?' she said, holding up a zebra print bikini.

Lana shrugged, 'You never know... we might go swimming one day?'

'In an animal print bikini? If we do go swimming, you'll need a swimming costume. You know, an all-in-one?' she laughed, putting it back in the drawer behind her and taking out a slightly more sensible bright pink one piece and putting it at the bottom of the case.

One by one, Emma pulled out clothes that would be far more suitable for nights out clubbing than college classrooms, replacing them with slightly more apt versions. But Lana just sat back and watched Emma do her magic. She'd always been better at packing than Lana had so she just left her to it, keeping an eye on a couple of pieces that she would shove back in later on.

A creaky sound alerted them to the fact that someone was climbing the stairs. Opening the door, a whiff of freshly baked pies entered the room and Audrey appeared with cups of tea for her two girls. She'd been crying.

'Oh Mum, what's up?' asked Lana with genuine concern.

'I... I... I'm just going to miss you, that's all...' she said as the tears began to flow again.

Lana chuckled while Emma rushed forward to take the cups from her mother's hands, placing them on the chest of drawers before turning back and hugging her tightly.

'I...I... I can't believe how fast you've grown up and now you're off to... to.... c....college.... in.... L....London,' she wept.

'You'll see us every holiday, and parents open day is only a month away. Plus, you're going to come to London to see us every now and again, aren't you, Mum?' Lana asked as she gently stroked her back.

Audrey nodded with a smile, wiping her eyes with the apron she'd been wearing all morning as she tried to take her mind off the girls imminent departure.

'See, you'll probably see more of us there than you do now!' she laughed.

'Yes, I suppose you're right,' Audrey chuckled sadly. 'Well, drink up your tea and then come downstairs. I've made your favourite pies for dinner,' she said as she walked out, stopping and taking a long look at them before wiping at her eyes again.

Something banged on their bedroom window, making them jump. And then again, they noticed a little stone tap against it.

Pushing it open, Lana leaned out. Looking down she saw Scott straddling his bicycle with a grin.

'We'll be right down,' she yelled as she shut it again and the two rushed downstairs, through the hallway and out through the back door.

'Hey!' he said as they walked up to him, all grinning like children.

He let his bike drop to the ground as they turned away from the house and walked slowly to the bottom of the garden, where they sat with their feet dangling over the edge, looking out across the sea.