‘It’s these shoes,’ I said. ‘I really don’t feel comfortable in them. I’ll just nip upstairs and change.’
‘Okay, well I’ll come with you.’
‘No need,’ I said brightly. ‘Go and start the car and I’ll be with you in a jiffy.’
He nodded. ‘Okay, if you’re sure.’
I gave him a peck on the cheek and hurried back into the inn, taking the stairs two at a time and muttering under my breath as Brooke galloped up behind me.
‘This had better be good,’ I said as we finally entered the room and I carefully shut and locked the door behind me, just in case. ‘What was so important that it couldn’t wait until tonight?’
She sat down on the squashy sofa and it crossed my mind again: how could she walk through walls but sit on a sofa? Baffling.
‘Danny’s here.’
I dropped onto the sofa beside her, my mouth open. ‘What did you say?’
‘I said, Danny’s here.’ She tilted her head, watching me. ‘You okay?’
‘But – but you said…’
‘I know. I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know how to tellhim. But the thing is that for various reasons you’re going to find out sooner or later. And more importantly, he’s going to bump into you. When he does, I need him to be prepared – and since I couldn’t speak directly to Rory I need you to do it for me.’
I shook my head, dazed. ‘What does Rory have to do with this? What are you talking about?’
She crossed her legs, revealing bare legs above the black Doc Marten boots. ‘I’m guessing he still hasn’t told you then.’
‘Who hasn’t told me what?’ I said. ‘Brooke, what the heck are you going on about?’
‘Rory. He’s met up with Danny. Twice. They’ve had a long chat.’
Of everything she could possibly have said to me, that would have been the last thing I’d have guessed.
‘What?’
‘Rory and Danny. They bumped into each other. Well, not literally because – ghosts and stuff. But they could see each other. And hear each other. And they talked.’
‘When?’ I asked weakly. ‘When did this happen?’
‘Wednesday night,’ Brooke explained. ‘And then Danny said they arranged to meet again the following afternoon in the churchyard. When you and I were having our little chat in our flat yesterday, Danny was with his brother. Your husband.’
I swallowed feeling nauseated with fear. ‘And you knew?’ Hell, what had Danny told him? Was that why Rory didn’t want to touch me any longer? Was that why there was this sudden emotional distance between us? If Danny had told Rory the truth our marriage was dead in the water.
‘No. I only found out last night. Seems like we’ve all been keeping secrets.’
Ourflat? As I suddenly realised what she’d said I frowned. ‘Wait, so Danny’s your flatmate?’
She shifted nervously on the sofa. ‘Er, yeah. Sorry about that.’
‘What did Rory tell him?’ I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Not as much as I wanted to know what Danny had told Rory anyway.
‘That’s the thing,’ she said, sounding cross. ‘He told him he was married. Told him he was here as a break for work. Told him his wife wasn’t with him. That she had to work. What hedidn’ttell him was who his wife was.’
So Danny didn’t know I was in the village? I straightened as everything started to make sense. That’s why Rory had wanted us to get out of Rowan Vale! He must have been terrified that Danny would see me and realise who it was that his brother had married.
‘Now you understand?’ Brooke asked. ‘I don’t think it’s fair that Danny might see you with Rory and put two and two together like that. He should be told the truth. And Rory should be the one to tell him. Unless…’
‘Unless?’ I asked hopefully.
