yes, other than scaring off thieves, she only appears to the Lord of the castle.’
‘Or wives,’ Gladys interjected and they all nodded at each other knowingly.
‘I’m not getting married to him,’ Milly said. ‘I was just with him at the time when she appeared. Cameron needs practical help now; money for repairs and the ongoing upkeep, which will hopefully involve hiring the villagers back again. He can’t pin his hopes on a chest of treasure that probably doesn’t even exist.’
‘He needs to get the villagers onside again, he needs their support going forward,’ Gladys said, seriously. ‘It can’t just be down to his wife to come down here occasionally and be nice to us.’
‘I’m not his wife. And I really need to get to my car.’
‘We need him in this Summer Solstice play. We need both of you to be in it. If you get him to agree to take part, we’ll get you your car back,’ Gladys said.
Milly sighed.
‘He won’t have to do a lot, he doesn’t even have to say anything. He only comes on in the last five minutes of the play, grabs you and fights off the evil Oogie monster. Then we all cheer and head off to the pub for beer and spiced wine. There’ll be snacks and drinks to enjoy before the play, there’s fireworks after midnight, it’s quite a spectacle. And I promise everyone will stop chanting “Oogie” at you if you join in,’ Lavender urged.
‘Fine, I’ll get him to do it. We’ll both do it.’
The old ladies giggled and clapped their hands excitedly and Milly wondered just what she had let herself in for.
Chapter Eight
M illy dragged her bags up the drive, thankful that she’d had the foresight to buy luggage with wheels on. Her equipment was really heavy and there was a lot of it.
Gladys had allowed her access to her equipment but poor Dick had been clamped and apparently he would only be released once Cameron and Milly had acted in the Summer Solstice play. It was laughable. She had never been blackmailed or coerced to do anything she didn’t want to do before but Gladys was clearly the sort of person who always got exactly what she wanted.
She walked through the kitchen door. Cameron was leaning against the side with a mug of tea in his hand. His face lit up in a huge smile when he saw her and it warmed her to see it.
‘I’ve met a few of the villagers,’ Milly said, kicking her shoes off and moving to the kettle on the stove.
‘Weirdos?’
‘Oh yes. One of them chanted “Oogie” at me and refused to say anything else.’
‘Yes, there’s lots that do that.’
‘I also chatted to three old ladies and although they were also weird, they were very nice.’
‘Let me guess, Gladys, Constance and Lavender?’
She laughed. ‘How did you know?’
‘I had the misfortune of meeting them as well. Lavender told me I’d be married by the end of the year. She’d seen it in her tea leaves apparently.’
Milly put the kettle carefully back on the stove, giving this task all of her attention. She didn’t dare tell him that Lavender had said the same thing about her marrying Cameron.
‘And how do you feel about that?’
‘I’ve been married before, I’m not in any rush to do that again. It depends, though. If it was the right person, I wouldn’t be completely opposed to it, but I think it would take a bit longer than six months to know and trust someone enough to walk down the aisle with them.’
‘I think so, too.’
He was still smiling as he watched her and it made her smile too. ‘What’s cheered you up all of a sudden?’
It took him a while to answer and when he did she was still none the wiser. ‘Fate surprises you sometimes. I just think you can have a plan in life, a good one, but that plan isn’t necessarily what fate has in store for you. Sometimes what fate thinks you need is so much better than what you had planned.’
She stared at him, knowing that somewhere amongst that nonsense was a reference to her.
She had to say something to
‘Or wives,’ Gladys interjected and they all nodded at each other knowingly.
‘I’m not getting married to him,’ Milly said. ‘I was just with him at the time when she appeared. Cameron needs practical help now; money for repairs and the ongoing upkeep, which will hopefully involve hiring the villagers back again. He can’t pin his hopes on a chest of treasure that probably doesn’t even exist.’
‘He needs to get the villagers onside again, he needs their support going forward,’ Gladys said, seriously. ‘It can’t just be down to his wife to come down here occasionally and be nice to us.’
‘I’m not his wife. And I really need to get to my car.’
‘We need him in this Summer Solstice play. We need both of you to be in it. If you get him to agree to take part, we’ll get you your car back,’ Gladys said.
Milly sighed.
‘He won’t have to do a lot, he doesn’t even have to say anything. He only comes on in the last five minutes of the play, grabs you and fights off the evil Oogie monster. Then we all cheer and head off to the pub for beer and spiced wine. There’ll be snacks and drinks to enjoy before the play, there’s fireworks after midnight, it’s quite a spectacle. And I promise everyone will stop chanting “Oogie” at you if you join in,’ Lavender urged.
‘Fine, I’ll get him to do it. We’ll both do it.’
The old ladies giggled and clapped their hands excitedly and Milly wondered just what she had let herself in for.
Chapter Eight
M illy dragged her bags up the drive, thankful that she’d had the foresight to buy luggage with wheels on. Her equipment was really heavy and there was a lot of it.
Gladys had allowed her access to her equipment but poor Dick had been clamped and apparently he would only be released once Cameron and Milly had acted in the Summer Solstice play. It was laughable. She had never been blackmailed or coerced to do anything she didn’t want to do before but Gladys was clearly the sort of person who always got exactly what she wanted.
She walked through the kitchen door. Cameron was leaning against the side with a mug of tea in his hand. His face lit up in a huge smile when he saw her and it warmed her to see it.
‘I’ve met a few of the villagers,’ Milly said, kicking her shoes off and moving to the kettle on the stove.
‘Weirdos?’
‘Oh yes. One of them chanted “Oogie” at me and refused to say anything else.’
‘Yes, there’s lots that do that.’
‘I also chatted to three old ladies and although they were also weird, they were very nice.’
‘Let me guess, Gladys, Constance and Lavender?’
She laughed. ‘How did you know?’
‘I had the misfortune of meeting them as well. Lavender told me I’d be married by the end of the year. She’d seen it in her tea leaves apparently.’
Milly put the kettle carefully back on the stove, giving this task all of her attention. She didn’t dare tell him that Lavender had said the same thing about her marrying Cameron.
‘And how do you feel about that?’
‘I’ve been married before, I’m not in any rush to do that again. It depends, though. If it was the right person, I wouldn’t be completely opposed to it, but I think it would take a bit longer than six months to know and trust someone enough to walk down the aisle with them.’
‘I think so, too.’
He was still smiling as he watched her and it made her smile too. ‘What’s cheered you up all of a sudden?’
It took him a while to answer and when he did she was still none the wiser. ‘Fate surprises you sometimes. I just think you can have a plan in life, a good one, but that plan isn’t necessarily what fate has in store for you. Sometimes what fate thinks you need is so much better than what you had planned.’
She stared at him, knowing that somewhere amongst that nonsense was a reference to her.
She had to say something to
Similar Books
