“You’re crazy,” I scoffed.
Matthew shrugged. “Suit yourself. You can think what you like, but I know I wouldn’t want to spend the night there.”
“Well, I slept like a baby,” I said.
“What – you mean you woke up screaming every couple hours?” Matthew joked.
“Ha ha. Very funny.”
“Anyway, that concludes the tour of Lashire Bluff,” said Matthew as we bumped back over the bridge and headed up the road towards the mansion. “Any questions?”
“Why have you stayed here? Surely someone like you would be better off in a big city somewhere?”
“What – and deprive the town of my goat whispering skills? They’d be overrun in no time!”
“Come on, Matthew,” I said. “There’s got to be a reason why you haven’t left. Is there maybe a girl keeping you here?”
I bit my lip, cringing as I hoped Matthew didn’t see through my thinly veiled attempt at finding out if he was single.
“No, there’s no girl,” Matthew laughed. “Not unless you count Ma. I wouldn’t want to abandon her.”
“I thought you had four brothers?”
“I do,” said Matthew. “But three of them did exactly what you said and moved out of town, and Jake’s not exactly reliable. I like knowing for myself that Ma’s doing okay. Anyway, why would I want to leave this paradise? It’s where I grew up. I’m sure for a fancy city type like you it must seem boring, but I’ve always preferred a simpler life. There’s a lot to be said for long walks in the country, hanging out with the goats, listening to them bleating about how tough life is...”
I laughed despite myself. “I suppose it does sound nice. I just don’t know if I could spend the rest of my life with goats. They are rather smelly.”
“You get used to it after a while,” shrugged Matthew. “Anyway, this concludes the tour of Lashire Bluff. But if you want to see more of the town, I can get us a reservation at Caravaggio’s for this evening. I happen to know the manager personally.”
“Are you asking me on a date?” I couldn’t stop the smile playing about my lips. It had been a long time since anyone asked me out, let alone someone as attractive as Matthew.
“Let’s just call it a welcome to the town,” came the enigmatic reply.
***
I took one final look at myself in the mirror, checking I was happy with my outfit. It had taken me an age to decide what to wear to my date that maybe wasn’t a date. In the end, I settled on that old faithful, the little black dress. It perfectly hugged my curves without being too revealing. I’d pinned my auburn hair up in a messy bun that hit just the right note of effortless, even though it had taken me a couple hours and three YouTube tutorials to get it right. I’d kept my makeup light and subtle, with just enough eyeliner to emphasize my green eyes.
Yep. I was pretty certain I’d got it right.
Shelley mewed and wove between my legs, hassling me to feed him again.
“You’re always hungry, aren’t you, cat?” I said. “Well, I’m not picking you up. I’m not going to get fur all over my dress. But we can go and see if Rose has left any treats in the fridge for you.”
When she heard I was going out to dinner with Matthew, the housekeeper had positively squealed with delight.
“My boy’s a true gentleman, Ms. Fortune – Libby. He’ll treat you right or he’ll have me to answer to. I guess I’ll save the pork for tomorrow then. It’ll really bring out the flavour to marinate it overnight. Now, I suppose you haven’t had a chance to explore the house properly yet, so you won’t know if you want to switch rooms?”
“I haven’t, but I really love where I am,” I said. “I can’t imagine I’ll like another room more than that one.”
“Wait until you see your uncle’s room,” Rose advised. “You might change your mind.”
Something told me I wouldn’t. There was something creepy about the thought of sleeping in my uncle’s bedroom. Much as I’d enjoyed Matthew’s company, one of the reasons why I’d agreed to go on the tour of Lashire Bluff was it gave me a good excuse to put off having a proper look round the mansion. With all the talk of ghosts, as well as Shelley’s weird behaviour and the strange noises I’d heard last night, I wasn’t in any hurry to spend more time in the place.
Satisfied with my appearance, I touched up my lip gloss one last time before going to give my permanently hungry cat something to eat.
Shelley followed close at my heels, almost tripping me up as I headed down the stairs to the kitchen. But as I pushed open the doors, he suddenly hung back, hissing.
“Oh, Shelley,” I sighed. “Not this again. “There’s nothing there. Look.”
I walked into the kitchen...
...and straight into someone who looked strangely familiar.
No. It couldn’t be.
“D-Dad..?”
The apparition opened its mouth as if about to say something, then faded away.
It was all too much. I fainted.
***
“Libby. Come on, Libby. Wake up.”
Someone was shaking me awake. My eyelids fluttered open and I saw Matthew leaning over me, a concerned look on his face.
“Wh-what happened?” I sat up, dazed.
“I don’t know,” Matthew said. “You didn’t answer when I knocked on the door, so I came round the back and used Ma’s key. That’s when I found you lying here. Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I think I just might have,” I confessed.
“You can’t be serious,” said Matthew. “This is all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I made up all that stuff about ghosts haunting the town, I didn’t think you’d take it seriously. You must have hallucinated.”
“So none of what you said earlier was true?” I felt like slapping him.
“No.” Matthew had the good grace to look
