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“I had a moment just now where I froze. It all felt like it was too much. I don’t know what I’m doing here. And I don’t know how I’m supposed to navigate this. I’ve been given virtually no information, I’m in a country I don’t know a lot about aside from random mythology and stories that Arthur used to tell me, and I feel like I’m not welcome here.”
“I don’t know about that. Hilda seemed absolutely delighted to see you,” Matthew said, taking a sip of his wine. “It’s that grumpy Scotsman that’s gotten in your head, hasn’t it?”
“Well, you can’t say he was particularly enthused about my arrival.” I tried to ignore my reaction to Lachlan, knowing full well that my current emotions couldn’t be trusted. It was obvious that I was fatigued, on edge, and stressed out. Which was why when my eyes had locked on his, and my heart seemed to sit up and take notice, along with other parts of my body, I refused to think too deeply about it. Lachlan had shown us what kind of person he was, and I certainly didn’t need that energy in my life.
“On the contrary, I think he wasveryinterested in your arrival,” Matthew said, a smirk hovering on his lips. “I think he doesn’t likewhatyour arrival signals. But I don’t think that has anything to do with you as a person. For some reason, it seems like you being here means change, and he kind of reminded me of a territorial dog protecting his turf. And you certainly didn’t help matters by coming in and announcing that you were the new owner of his home.”
“No.” I sighed. “I suppose that probably wasn’t the best approach, was it? However, I was feeling so awkward because I’d just set off the alarm and stumbled into somebody else’s house. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there. And then he was all this grumpy, massive muscular man up in my face, so I just wanted to prove that I had the rights to be doing what I was doing.”
“And unintentionally threatened his ego and his home and his livelihood.”
“Do we even know if he lives here? For all we know, he’s just a worker or maybe he’s Hilda’s son,” I pointed out.Please don’t be Hilda’s son. I already liked the woman and didn’t want to dock her points for having an abrasive son.
“I guess we will learn more on our adventure tomorrow,” Matthew sing-songed.
“Mooooooo.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I had been looking at the electric fireplace, which I had to admit was still very soothing even if it wasn’t the same as a real fire.
“That wasn’t me,” Matthew said, holding a hand to his chest, an affronted look on his face. The sound came again, and we both stared at the door.
“Is that…” Matthew tilted his head.
“Come on,” I said, shocked to find a giggle working its way up my throat. We scrambled from the couch and raced to the door, easing it open quietly. Holding our breath, we both poked our heads out to look down the long dimly lit corridor that led from our apartment. Like the rest of the castle, the walls were stone, the hall narrow, and rugs had been thrown over the uneven floor. I did a double take at what I saw in the murky light at the far end of the hall.
“Um…” I whispered. Matthew grabbed me, pulling me tight against him, and I held on as we stared at the apparition.
A semi-transparent Highland cow raised its head at us at the end of the hallway, stamping its hoof once into the rug.
“A ghost coo,” Matthew hissed. He pulled me back inside, slamming the door and locking it behind him. Something about him locking the door against a ghost allowed my laughter, or more likely my hysteria, to escape, and I doubled over, clutching his arm.
“I can’t…I just can’t…” Tears streamed down my face, and I fought to breathe. “That…it can’t…no way was that real. That has to be, like, a thing they do for tourists.”
“What? Like we’re at Disney? Like this is some 3D hologram show? No way. That’s an honest to God ghost. A ghost coo. In our hallway,” Matthew exclaimed, pointing at the door, his expression torn between awe and fear.
“If you say so,” I said, wiping my eyes, refusing to accept that a ghost coo wandered the hallways of this castle. Like, sure, I could see maybe a little girl who had died of sickness years ago haunting the hallways—also, on a side note, why are child ghosts always the creepiest ones? There was something about the thought of a toddler ghost clutching her doll that was innately horrifying. Nope, I’d take a ghost coo any day if that was the way of things here. Not that it was, because ghosts weren’t real, but I’d still choose that option if someone came to me and asked me which haunting I would prefer that evening.
“I do say so,” Matthew said, and I saw the moment where fear gave way to interest. “Fascinating. I’m going to have to get my hands on some books about the area as I’m suspecting this room doesn’t come with Wi-Fi. This makes sense, though. It’s not uncommon for buildings of this age to have records of hauntings, though it’s hard to say if those sightings are exaggerated or not. Often, those stories weave their way into local lore, and add to the appeal of historical places such as this one seems to be. I suspect, since your man said he ran tours here, that this castle benefits from the addition of a ghost story.”
“He’s not my man,” I protested, moving past the ghost coo and narrowing in on Matthew’s assumption. “I want no man. I just had a man, remember? I got rid of him.”
“Darling, that Chad of yours was a child. His mirror was an echo chamber of validation that he enjoyed preening in front of more than spending time with you. He was after your money. Even if it’s an ugly thing to say,” Matthew said, glancing once more at the locked door, before tugging me back to curl up on the couch.
“Itisan ugly thing to say,” I said, stung by the truth of it. “And I hate that you’re right. Not because I really loved him. I know that I didn’t. But I liked being in a relationship. I liked the certainty of it. The continuity. The…”
“Routine? The security?” Matthew asked. He hooked an arm around my shoulders, and I curled into him. “You need that, Soph. I get that. Your parents, worthless twats that they are, never gave you any semblance of a normal childhood. You lucked out in Arthur and Lottie, but let’s be honest here. They certainly weren’t normal either. It makes sense that you would crave the stability of a partner. Just not Chad. Please don’t serve me up another Chad. I think my tongue is damn well bloody from biting it all these months.”
“Seriously?” I grimaced. Had everyone else been able to see what I had missed? “I didn’t think he wasthatbad.”
“He got regular facials and asked not only Lottie, but me, how much you were worth,” Matthew said, and I reared up at that, turning to him in surprise.
“He asked you how much I was worth, and you didn’t tell me?”
“I told him, in no uncertain terms, that if he ever again gave a hint of wanting you for something other than your delightful personality, that I would ruin him. He backtracked quickly. He said it was out of curiosity, but not anything he needed and that he was happy with his job.”
“He had seemed happy with his work, I’ll admit. And, I don’t have any money, well, I didn’t, aside from what I’d built of my own savings.” I sighed. Chad had only wanted me for my money. There. I said it. If even only to myself. Not a fun thing to admit, no it was not.
“Please tell me, at the very least, he was good in bed?” Matthew pleaded with me.
