“And anyway, the Blue Lady showed me where to find her, so she actually spent most of the night in five-star luxury while I had my sleep disrupted every thirty-seven seconds by Rani’s snoring. I know because I timed her.”
“The Blue Lady?” Forrest half smiles and half frowns, which is more beguiling than it has any right to be.
“A ghost!” Artie says, eyes wide. Now that I know she is actively keen on the idea, I nod.
“Yes, her portrait is in my room,” I tell Artie. “She is very pretty, and very sad. She’s always looking for her little girl.”
“Eliza!” Artie cries. “And Eliza is always looking for her too, but they never find each other.”
“That’s right. Has LadyB given you a tour of the castle too?” I ask her.
“Is LadyB actually a bee?” Artie asks, with a very serious frown. “That would be a good name for a bee, unless it was a boy bee. But okay if it’s a they bee. Lada Gaga isn’t a bee, is she?”
“No, she’s a Gaga,” I tell her, and she laughs with much more gusto than my joke has any right to demand. I like this child. “Anyway, when I got back from dinner last night, there she was, pointing out the window right at Megan.”
“Oh, that’s right. You and Rani went on a double date.” Forrest’s fond smile for his daughter seems to wane a little. “How did it go? You two make quite the tech power couple.”
“Power couple!” I snort. “I am not power anything, and we are not a couple. We’re just getting to know one another.” Briefly, I wonder why I’m diminishing what Hal and I are, or might be to Forrest. Because it’s new, I rationalise. Because we haven’t even found out ourselves yet. Yes, that’s the reason. “But we had a really nice time, thanks for asking.”
“If you marry Hal, can I be a bridesmaid?” Artie asks. “I haveneverbeen a bridesmaid, and I am the only onein the whole world. Only I want to wear trousers and an eye patch. Is that okay?”
“Best idea ever,” I assure her.
“Yay!” she says. “Come on, Daddy, let’s go on an adventure!”
“Thank you for taking care of Megan,” Forrest says as Artie drags him out of his chair.
“Oh well, anyone would have done the same thing,” I say, ridiculously pleased.
“Done the same thing about what?” LadyB arrives. Forrest and I exchange looks.
“Artie, run upstairs and wake your aunt, okay? I just need to chat to LadyB for a minute.”
Artie peers at LadyB.
“You are not a bee,” she says, a little disappointed. “Oh well, later, losers.”
“I think you better tell me what all this is about,” LadyB says, taking a seat next to me.
“It started with the Blue Lady...” I begin.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“So, your father has agreed that you may stay with us until his return,” LadyB tells Megan as she hangs up the telephone. “We often host young people at the castle and so have all the safeguarding requirements in place.”
“Thank you,” Megan says. “I’m really sorry for all the trouble.”
“Your father was terribly worried, Megan,” LadyB says, stern but kind. “We are all just very grateful that you came to no harm.”
“It was my fault,” Megan said. “I thought it would be slay, but it was not.”
“Well, we all make mistakes,” LadyB says, smiling a little. “I understand the idea of adventure. We do ghost hunts at the castle, you know, but you have to be sixteen to attend. And there you were wandering about all night. You could have bumped into any of our phantoms.”
“Funny,” Megan says, full of bravado in the daylight. “Like ghosts are real.”
“It was the Blue Lady that told me where Megan was,” I tell LadyB.
“You said there were no ghosts!” Megan gasps.
