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“It’s not a debt,” Remington said. “It was a gift. Giving us a voice again has meant just as much to us.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, my voice thick with emotion, “and thank you.”
“Now, on to your plans,” Remington said, clapping his hands.
“He wants to know about our plans,” I reminded them around my laughter. Their enthusiasm was contagious.
Lincoln started the conversation, looking in the direction I had, even if he couldn’t see them. “Well, we don’t know if Elizabeth will be receptive to our proposal, but we would love to make this into something new. Allow people to come in and experience the spooky attraction.”
“Brea also had an idea to give you guys some recognition and let the guests know who is haunting the castle,” Ethan tacked on.
Remington gasped, turning to me.
“I thought it would be kind of cool to do a museum of sorts. Have you guys give us your histories so other people can learn about the ghosts that reside here. And you guys would be free to tease the guests in subtle ways, keep the haunting alive, if you will.”
“Oh, we would love that,” Claire said, letting out an excited laugh. Theo shook his head, but he didn’t look any less amused.
“Won’t you be giving up a life to be here? A home most likely?” Theo asked. They were so sweet. Even though they were stuck here and without us, would be silenced, they still wanted us to be happy.
“We wouldn’t be giving up anything,” I promised. “We love the home that we have, but this could be a second home. We would split our time between the two, though I feel like we’d be here a lot more during that initial year so we can get things up and running.”
“You could involve that young man in town who does the ghost tours,” Remington suggested.
“He’s not so young anymore,” Claire said with a giggle. “He’s a silver fox now.” I translated for the guys, leaving out the silver fox comment.
“He might,” Lincoln agreed.
“I bet Victor would love to join the association, too,” Ben added.
“Would you be changing much about the castle?” Claire asked, forging ahead. This felt like a bit of an inquisition but I indulged them.
“Only what we have to,” I promised. “We would have to change the foyer and add in a check-in desk of some kind. The rooms would change but I think we’d leave some of the castle off limits to guests so it could be the same.”
“I want a space for us,” Claire said. “Somewhere we can claim as ours. Maybe add a TV, a window with a nice view…” she trailed off as she likely thought over more demands.
“We could arrange that,” I agreed.
“And what about the staff?” Remington demanded.
“If they wanted to, they would have a job here. I would never just displace any of them. If given the opportunity, I think that Logan could help run an amazing kitchen, and Margaret could be the same caretaker she always has been. Maybe Elizabeth will still want to be involved. This could be an adventure that she’d be excited for. A way to reclaim her home.”
“You truly want us to be involved?” Remington asked. There was a hint of vulnerability and worry in his tone. After years of being in these halls, roaming and seeing the living interact but never being able to talk to them, it had to be hard.
I would never do that to them. If we were here, they would always have a voice. They were part of Bellmore Castle, and I think they’d be surprised by how often the guests would want them around, too. Just like the ghost tours… people loved to be scared.
“This is your home. We won’t take it away, not if we have any say in it.”
There was a possibility that Elizabeth would say no, that she would thank us for our duty here and send us on our way.
I guess we’d find out tomorrow.
“I’m sending word to Elizabeth now,” Ben said. “I told her that there was some damage, that we had plenty of footage to give her, and that we had gotten rid of the spirit that was causing the haunting. I didn’t tell her about all of them, but I figured that was something we could do in person. We’ll explain that they don’t mean any harm.”
“We certainly don’t,” Remington said. “This is simply our home, and we’re not willing to leave it. Not yet.”
“If ever,” Theo agreed.
“We understand,” I promised. “We’ll make sure to tell her anything you want her to know.”
