“A sentient ghost?” I asked, bemused as I sniffed the drink. This was expensive stuff.
“Oh yes. Don’t mock her, ignore her, or be rude. Cat will take it out of your hide. She married young, as they did in those days, and had twin boys. Her husband died in a battle far away and left her in charge of the estate and children. The twins were hellions by all accounts and needed a firm hand.
“Many men thought to marry her and claim the Norton estate, but she held firm. It was hers by right and her sons by birth. She was a distant cousin of the main line and, therefore, was a Norton by birth too. Despite machinations, Cat held onto the estate until her eldest son could inherit, and then she retired here. That caused even more scandal as a woman running a bar was not the done thing. Women shouldn’t have owned property then, but Cat did. She was the first to expand this inn. A woman with her own mind and bugger any man who told her no.”
To my surprise, Benedict appeared fond of his ghost. Was I really having a sane conversation about a ghost?
“You’re proud of her?” I asked, lacking anything else to say.
“Hell, yeah. Any woman who bucks what society thinks and stands alone against a tide of disapproval and strong, opinionated men has my respect. My sister CeeCee runs her own life as she sees fit, and still does. Society tried to keep Cee demure and in her place as a mere woman, so CeeCee spat intheir eye and went her own way. She’s married to a man who can appreciate that in her,” Benedict said.
“Sometimes, you speak strangely,” I stated, and Benedict laughed.
“Must be the noble blood in me. I can trace my lineage back to the beginning of time itself.” Benedict chuckled and shook his head.
“That must be a real heavy burden,” I said.
“You’ve no idea. My family have a legacy and one we all believe in living up to. It is something we willingly do, but to outsiders, we can imagine how it looks…” Benedict broke off as if he’d said too much. “Forgive me, sometimes I speak without thinking.”
I nodded. This whole place seemed more and more whacked as time marched on, and it was only our first day. Who the hell knew what the next four weeks would bring?
Two days later
“Zoie keeps saying the lady is watching her,” Rina said to me with concern in her voice.
I looked up sharply.
“What?”
“Zoie says some woman is staring at her when she’s asleep.”
“Babe, how can Zoie know if anyone is watching if she’s asleep?”
“Adam, seriously, Zoie is scared.” Rina slapped my arm.
“Want me to have a word with her?”
“Why do you think I’m bringing this to you? Zoie needs her daddy to chase the monster away,” Rina retorted sharply.
“Okay. No different from chasing monsters from under the kid’s beds,” I replied with a grin.
Rina shook her head. “That’s something you’ve not done for eighteen months.”
“It’s not something I’ve forgotten either, Rina. Why don’t you go paint?” I suggested ignoring her bad mood.
It was a relief seeing her temper again. For the last year and a half, Rina had tiptoed around me. Apparently, Rina had decided that I no longer needed mollycoddling. The gloves had come off, and Rina was acting more like her old self.
“Paint?”
“Rina, no offence, babe, but get lost. Go spend some time sketching or doing something for yourself. I’ve arranged to take the kids out on a sleigh ride.”
Rina stared at me as if I’d grown another head. “What?”
“That farmer, Terry, has organised some sleigh rides for the locals, and Mariah booked us in on one. He’s coming here first and then picking up some others.”
“You’ll be okay with the kids?” Rina asked, concern clear in her voice.
“They’re my kids.”
