Angus got close and whispered, “Cass?”
“What’s happening?” Joy asked, her tone concerned.
“Cassandra,” Belle called when Cassandra still didn’t focus. She got closer, her hand squeezing and Cassandra’s hand squeezed back, so hard it caused pain. “Cassandra!” Belle called again, sharply. Now she was worried. “Are you okay?”
“Cass!” Angus bellowed, putting a meaty hand on Cassandra’s shoulder and shaking her.
All of a sudden Cassandra’s eyes widened and she yanked her hand from Belle’s like Belle’s hand burned.
Then she stared at Belle, her eyes full of something Belle couldn’t read but whatever it was, it made Belle’s worry intensify.
Significantly.
“Bloody hell, mate,” Cassandra whispered.
“What?” Belle asked in a breathy voice.
Cassandra opened her mouth, her eyes dropped to Belle’s stomach then she closed it. Her gaze swung to Angus and Belle could tell she was trying to communicate something but Belle didn’t know what.
“Is something wrong?” Lila was now close and watching Cassandra.
“Nothing, just that, I think there’s a complication,” Cassandra answered, backing up and away from Belle.
Angus, however, stayed close.
“What complication?” Yasmin asked. She, as well as Belle’s Mom and Joy had also closed ranks.
“I can’t say for certain, right now. I need to…” she stopped abruptly, her head jerked then her face went pale.
Belle felt the blood run from her own face and she glanced at her Mom when Rachel snapped, “What is it now?”
Cassandra came back into the room swiftly and announced, “I need to stay here. In the castle. So does Angus.”
Belle felt Angus grow still beside her but it was Joy who spoke. “Why? Is something –?”
Cassandra cut her off, “I need to do some readings.”
“What kind of readings?” Joy asked hesitantly.
Cassandra started moving toward the door. “I’ll explain later. I need to get set up now.” She stopped at the door, turned and asked suddenly and bizarrely, “Do you have a cat?”
Joy shook her head but said, “We have dogs. German Shepherds, two of them.”
Cassandra wrinkled her nose in disgust and dropped her eyes to the floor mumbling, “Dogs. Bloody useless.” Her gaze went to The McPherson and she declared, “Angus, we need to chat.”
Angus ambled to the door saying, “You got it, lass.”
Lila followed them determinedly insisting, “Wait just one damned minute.”
Both Cassandra and Angus halted their exit and looked at Belle’s grandmother.
“What, exactly, is going on?” Lila demanded to know.
As Belle, with her mother on one side, Jack’s mother on her other side and Yasmin close, stared at the three at the door, Cassandra’s gaze levelled on Gram.
“I can’t be certain and I don’t want to alarm you but I think there aren’t two ghosts in this house.”
“There are,” Joy blurted. “I’ve been seeing them for forty years!”
“I saw them too!” Rachel added. “And so did Belle.”
Cassandra shook her head but stated, “There aren’t two ghosts.” Her gaze took in everyone in the room. “I think there might be three.”
Joy gasped.
Lila’s head whipped around to look at Belle.
“Bloody hell,” Yasmin whispered.
“Oh lordy,” Rachel breathed.
Belle talked around her heart which was lodged squarely in her throat.
“Three?” she asked.
Cassandra’s eyes settled on Belle. “I don’t know, mate. I’m sensing something.” She turned her gaze to Lila. “Let me do some readings. I’ll let you know the minute I know.”
“How long will that take?” Lila enquired.
“I don’t know. It could take an hour. It could take five days. He might not want to be sensed, might go into hiding,” Cassandra answered.
“He?” Joy asked.
“He,” Cassandra replied and then took in a breath. On her exhale, she tried to calm them all. “There’s nothing to panic about, not yet anyway. Just let me get to work.”
“Go! Work!” Rachel demanded sharply.
Cassandra gave Angus a look, Angus nodded and they both left the room.
Everyone in the room was silent.
Then Joy’s body jerked and she rushed forward, muttering, “I need to get some rooms ready.” Then she left the room.
At her words, Belle’s terror intensified and she looked at her mother.
“Mom –”
Rachel took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Nothing to worry about, honeypot. We’ve got the Ghost Helpers on the case. Everything will be fine.”
Belle turned to her mother. “That’s what I’m worried about. They’re going to be staying here.”
“I think that’s good,” Yasmin put in. “A timesaver. They don’t have to drive to work. They can just get up, have breakfast and then,” she clapped her hands, “get right to it.”
Belle looked at Yasmin and asked, “Did you see them?”
“Sure,” Yasmin replied casually.
“Did you get a good look at them?” Belle went on.
“Sure,” Yasmin repeated. “Seriously, Belle, they’re cool. Before you got home, we told them the whole Myrtle and Lewis story and they sounded like they knew exactly –”
“Yasmin,” Belle interrupted her, being uncharacteristically rude but she thought the situation warranted it, “you’ve known Jack longer than all of us. What do you think he’ll do when he sees those two and finds out they’re staying under his roof doing readings and going into weird trances and, I don’t know,” she paused as her hysteria escalated and finished with, “being outrageously Scottish!”
Light dawned and Yasmin whispered, “I see what you mean.”
“I think –” Belle started but her grandmother interrupted her.
“I think that we should let the witch do her work. I think, if Belle has a word, Jack will come around. And I think we all need to be vigilant. Whatever that was wasn’t good and the best thing we can do is let the experts go about their business.”
“Gram –” Belle began but was interrupted again.
“You’ll have a word,” Gram demanded.