Lord Melvedere's Ghost by Rebecca King Page A

need. Take a bath, get
some rest and try some of Mrs Nantwich’s honey cake, it is
delicious.”
    He
turned to leave, but was stopped by Cecily’s next
question.
    “ Have you heard from Archie and Portia yet?”
    Jamie
slowly shook his head, flicking Doreen with a cautious glance
before turning a hard stare on Cecily. “Not yet, I am sure
everything is all right though. For now, concentrate on
yourself.”
    “ Wait!” Cecily shouted as Jamie moved into the corridor. “What
are you going to be doing?” She knew it was impolite to ask the
master of the house what his plans for the day were. It was, after
all, none of her business, but seeing as he had brought her here,
he couldn’t seriously expect to simply abandon her and go about his
business. Could he?
    Jamie
sighed. He could hardly tell her that he was going to despatch one
of his most trusted men with messages for the Star Elite before
settling down with Jonathan, and discussing what they knew about
the case so far.
    “ I have some business matters to attend to,” he replied
briskly. “If you need anything, ring for Doreen.” He didn’t wait
for her to respond and stalked down the corridor toward his own
room.
    “ I have just been incredibly rude, haven’t I?” Cecily sighed,
staring at the open doorway.
    “ I wouldn’t worry about it miss. This isn’t a conventional
household. Never has been and never will be. We all have our jobs
you understand? But we all muck in and help each other out, even
the master. I don’t know why it is the way it is, but we are just
all one big happy family.”
    “ Sounds wonderful to me,” Cecily whispered, staring down at her
toes morosely. She missed her sister more than ever and wondered
where she was.
    “ Get yourself in the bath. I will see what I can do about
brushing off the worst of the muck from your clothes before you put
them back on. Mrs Nantwich is on her way to town as we speak, so
your new clothes should be here soon. If you soak for a bit longer,
she will probably be back before you get out.”
    With
that, Cecily found herself alone again to contemplate just how
luxurious her new, if temporary, life was going to be.

CHAPTER FIVE

    The rest
of what was left of the morning passed in a blur for Cecily, who
spent far longer in the bath than was wise. Her fingers had turned
to prunes by the time she stepped out of the bath, dripping water
all over the floor as she wrapped herself in a huge towel. She was
just about to reach toward the bed for her clothing when she heard
the quiet click of the door. Expecting to see Doreen returning with
yet another tray of food or chocolate, she frowned at the closed
doorway.
    Frozen
in place, her mind raced as she considered the events of the
morning, and last night, carefully. Moving toward the doorway, she
stared down at the floor beneath the table she had dragged across
the doorway last night. The dull scraping sounds still resonated in
her ears, so she knew she hadn’t imagined it.
    So how
had Doreen gotten into the room this morning?
    When
Cecily had opened her eyes, Doreen had been busy moving around the
room with the table and chair well away from the doorway. So, how
had Doreen moved them from outside of the room?
    Her
blood turned to ice and her fingers began to tremble as she
remembered the strange scenario with the door. Quickly dragging on
her clothing, she ignored the clinging of the wet material and
moved to study the doorway carefully. Opening it and closing it
several times confirmed that the knob turned effortlessly, and
clicked the catch into place adequately enough to close the door
properly and secure it. Frowning deeply, she tried to come up with
an explanation for the strange events, but was at a loss. She
opened the door once more and almost screamed at the sight of
Doreen standing on the other side of the threshold.
    Closing
her eyes, she heaved a sigh and stood back to allow the curious
maid into the room.
    “ What is it? Are you alright,