The Silent Touch of Shadows (29 page)

After a sleepless night Jake had gone to the surgery to check on his little hedgehog patient, among others, and to find something to occupy himself with. The silence in the cottage was oppressive and he couldn’t stand it for another second.

Hubert made a small noise and looked at him out of eyes that were definitely as bright as they should be. The antibiotics had cured him and Jake noticed the little animal had eaten all the food left for him. He opened the cage door and fetched fresh water.

‘I really don’t know what happened last night. Do you think I’m possessed by a ghost? Could I have said something without noticing?’ As if tired by the conversation, Hubert turned his back on Jake. ‘No, it sounds too crazy, doesn’t it?’ Jake sighed deeply and ran tired fingers over the stubble on his chin, which he hadn’t had the patience to remove before he left home. ‘But I guess I should have mentioned those weird dreams I’ve been having, huh? They seem to be connected to the whole ghost business somehow. I don’t really want to tell Melissa, though. If it’s all in her imagination I don’t want to make things worse. Heck, I don’t even know if I imagined it all myself!’

He sighed again. ‘But I can’t just let her walk away either, Hubert. I’ve got to change her mind somehow.’ It was Hubert’s turn to sigh, or at least that’s what his snuffling noise sounded like, and Jake smiled to himself. ‘You’re right, patience is probably the answer. I’ll have to be patient like you, little guy. If she feels anything like I do, she won’t let this silly ghost business come between us. Otherwise I’ll just have to convince her, won’t I?’

That settled, he went to check on his other patients.

Chapter Twenty-Two

‘Mum, come quickly!’ Jolie burst into the sitting room a few days later and skidded to a halt inside the door.

‘What? What’s wrong?’ Melissa had just sat down with a mug of tea and made herself comfortable. She scanned her daughter to check for cuts or bruises, but couldn’t see anything. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘No, it’s Russ. He’s dying!’

Melissa took in Jolie’s pale face and amber eyes wide with distress. ‘Surely not?’ She shot out of her chair. ‘Has he had an accident?’ She knew Jolie had a tendency to over-dramatise things, but this time she sounded serious.

‘No, but he’s in the kitchen and he’s throwing up all over the place, and
 
…’

‘All right, all right. Calm down.’ They headed for the kitchen at a run. ‘He’s probably just eaten too much, he can be such a little pig, you know. Perhaps he stole tonight’s dinner? Dorothy left it on the counter.’

Upon entering the kitchen, however, she was filled with remorse at her words and had to admit Jolie had been right to be concerned this time. The dinner was still intact while Russ was lying next to the Aga, shivering and looking extremely sorry for himself. He barely managed a small thump of his tail in greeting and let out the occasional whimper. As Melissa knelt in front of him, he looked at her out of sad, slightly glazed eyes, his nose resting on his front paws. All around him were the former contents of his stomach.

Jolie held her nose with two fingers. ‘See, I told you.’

‘Yes, well, he certainly doesn’t look very well, poor thing, but I hardly think he’s dying.’ Melissa stroked the silky head and felt his nose, which was warm and dry to touch. ‘Oh, dear, it’s not cold and wet. I’ve heard that’s not a good sign,’ she muttered.

‘We’ll have to take him to the vet, won’t we?’ Jolie said. ‘Auntie Dorothy isn’t coming back for hours and we can’t leave him like this.’

‘No, we can’t. You’re right.’ Melissa sighed. There was only one veterinary practice within easy reach and that was where Jake was a partner. She had successfully avoided him ever since their disastrous date, and she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to meet him again until she had solved the mystery of Roger. Jake had called and asked to speak to her, but she’d told Dorothy to say she was busy.

Melissa caressed the little dog’s head. There was no help for it, they had to go, and perhaps if she was lucky Jake’s partner would be on duty. ‘Stay with him while I ring and ask if we can bring Russ straight away.’ Jolie nodded.

Fifteen minutes later they were ushered into the small surgery.

‘Hello, Melissa, Jolie.’ Jake smiled at them in welcome and Melissa tried to smile back while stifling a groan.

Just my luck.
But she couldn’t very well refuse to let Jake treat the dog. That would have seemed ridiculous.

He took Russ from her arms and lifted him onto the table. ‘And what’s the matter with you, little guy?’ He examined the quivering dog carefully. ‘He’s been sick, did you say?’ Melissa nodded.

‘Yes, very.’

‘Yep, nothing left inside him, definitely not,’ Jolie agreed and made a face.

When Jake looked up at her, Melissa realised hiding herself away hadn’t changed the fact that she still wanted him. And wanted him badly. Perhaps she had been a bit hasty and maybe he’d been right? How could a ghost possibly influence them? Then, with a shiver, she remembered the strange sensation that she had known exactly how it would feel to make love to Jake. Even if the voice inside her head could be ascribed to an overactive imagination, this eerie foreknowledge could not. No, Roger was up to his tricks, she had no doubt about it. She became aware Jake was saying something to her.

‘I’m sorry, what was that?’

‘I said, I think Russ has just eaten something he shouldn’t have done in the garden or while out walking. Perhaps he took a lick at a dead rabbit or something. It’s happened before. There’s no need to worry, I’ll just give him an injection and he should be okay soon. Don’t feed him today and only give him chicken and rice tomorrow.’

‘Well, that’s a relief. He looked awful and I was afraid I would have to give Dorothy some bad news when she came home.’

Jake smiled. ‘No, he’s just feeling very sorry for himself.’ He glanced behind him where Jolie was wandering around inspecting everything with curiosity. ‘Why don’t you go through that door,’ he said to her, ‘and say hello to Hubert. He’s in the third cage from the left. In fact, you’re lucky he’s still here. He was going to leave a couple of weeks ago, but the old lady who brought him in had a fall and won’t be out of hospital until next Saturday.’

‘Hubert? Who’s that?’

‘Go and see for yourself.’ Jolie didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as she was out of earshot, Jake turned back to Melissa. ‘I need to talk to you,’ he whispered. ‘Can’t we have dinner or something? Please? I know you’ve been avoiding me and I understand your reasons, but I really want to see you.’ Melissa felt herself weakening and he must have sensed it since he continued his persuasions. ‘How am I going to convince you I’m right if you won’t even talk to me? Come on, Melissa. What can it hurt to just eat together?’

Melissa wavered as he came to stand close to her. The look in his azure eyes almost made her give in, but she turned away and steeled herself.

‘No, not yet. Please, you must give me more time, Jake, I
 
…’ She couldn’t explain. Not even to herself. ‘I need to work this out on my own.’

‘Okay fine, but I won’t give up, you know. I can’t rationalise what happened, but I really think it has a logical explanation.’

‘Maybe
 
…’

‘Oh, Mum, come and look! Hubert is a baby hedgehog and he’s sooooo cute.’ Jolie came hurtling back into the room and interrupted their private conversation. Melissa dutifully admired Hubert, but although she had to admit he was sweet, her heart wasn’t in it. She returned to Ashleigh with Russ and her daughter, feeling torn, but determined.
Am I being silly?
She didn’t think so.

Melissa had just finished the dishes and was coming out of the kitchen later that evening when she heard a scream from upstairs. She rushed over to the stairs, taking them two at a time, and collided with Jolie, who threw herself into her mother’s arms and burst into tears.

‘Sweetheart, what on earth is the matter?’ Melissa looked at her daughter in dismay.

‘Oh, Mum, I’m so glad you’re all right,’ Jolie sobbed.

Melissa raised her eyebrows and hugged her child close. ‘But why shouldn’t I be? I’ve only been washing dishes. Not a dangerous occupation, you know.’

‘I
 
… I thought Jake was going to k-kill you,’ Jolie wailed. ‘H-he had a huge sword and he went into your bedroom just now. At least I think it was him. Only, now he’s g-gone
 
…’

‘What on earth are you talking about?’ Melissa frowned. ‘Come on, let’s sit down on the stairs for a minute. Now tell me exactly what happened, from the beginning, please.’

‘Well, I was doing my homework, listening to some music and then suddenly I felt someone touch my cheek. I thought it was you and kind of shook it off because I was in a hurry to finish my essay so I can go riding with Amy tomorrow. When it happened again, I got annoyed and turned around to tell you not to sneak up on me like that, but there was no one there.’

‘I see.’ A cold knot was forming in Melissa’s stomach, and she waited anxiously for the rest of the story.

‘So then I went over to the door and looked into the hallway. At the end, just turning right into the older part of the house, I thought I saw Amy’s dad going towards your bedroom. It happened so quickly, like he was there one minute and gone the next, but I decided to run after him because I definitely saw a sword and that scared me.’

‘A sword? You’re sure about that?’

‘Mm-hmm. It was sort of gleaming when he turned the corner. It
 
… it looked very dangerous.’ Jolie paused to take a deep breath and Melissa could feel her daughter’s shoulders still shaking. ‘I called out to him to wait, but he’d disappeared. The only room he could have gone into was your bedroom, so I panicked. I thought he’d gone mad!’

‘So then what did you do?’

‘I ran into your room, but there was no one there and the windows were all shut. It smelled funny in there, kind of like Amy’s horse’s stables and it was freezing cold. I thought I heard someone laughing. That’s when I got really scared
 
…’

Melissa gritted her teeth. ‘You must have seen Roger.’

‘Who’s Roger? And why is he sneaking around the house with a sword? You can’t let him do that, Mum.’

Melissa was silent for a long time, then said quietly, ‘He’s a ghost, dear, and I’ve seen him, too.’

‘A ghost?’ Jolie began to shake even more and Melissa gathered her close for another hug.

‘Don’t worry, sweetheart, I don’t think he’ll hurt you. It’s not you he’s looking for.’ She patted Jolie’s cheek soothingly. ‘I think he’s searching for his lost love, Sibell. I was hoping you wouldn’t find out, but I think I’d better tell you the whole story.’ She told Jolie everything she had found out so far.

‘But, Mum, he touched me. He patted my cheek, just like you do sometimes. Only it felt cold.’ Jolie shivered again and lifted her gaze to her mother’s. ‘What does it mean? What does he want?’

‘I’m not sure, but I’m definitely going to find out.’ Jolie seemed slightly reassured by the grim determination in Melissa’s voice. ‘As for why he came to see you, it was probably because he had a daughter, too. Perhaps he thought you were Meriel? At least, I hope that was the reason
 
…’ She decided not to tell Jolie that Roger apparently haunted a red-haired girl of every generation. Had he lost faith in Melissa and was now trying his luck with Jolie instead? That didn’t bear thinking about. ‘Anyway,’ she continued brightly, ‘you’d better finish your homework now. There’s nothing to be frightened of, ghosts can’t hurt you, but come and sit at the kitchen table and I’ll keep you company.’

‘Okay. And can I sleep in your room tonight, please? I don’t want him sneaking up on me again.’

Melissa nodded, relieved Jolie had suggested it herself. She hadn’t wanted to seem too panicky, but it would be good to have Jolie nearby during the night. ‘Good idea.’

While Jolie went to fetch her homework, Melissa stayed on the stairs, deep in thought.

‘Ghosts can’t hurt you
 
…’
Brave words to soothe a child, but were they true? She wished she knew. The air around her was chilly and Melissa looked up, half-expecting to see Roger materialise in front of her, but the hall remained empty.

‘I’m trying to help you, Roger, really I am, but don’t mess with my child. Do you hear me? Don’t ever touch my daughter again!’ She waited for a reply of some sort, a signal that he had understood, but nothing stirred except a slight draught that brushed her cheek.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ she whispered. She found that she was shaking, too, and leaned her head on her knees with a deep sigh, adding, ‘Damn you.’