A Terrible Misunderstanding (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 6)

“What do we do if he is not with the Star Elite?” Clara had to ask. She felt sick at the thought that Niall might indeed be someone who was just passing through the village.

“Then he will leave quickly before his engagement lands him with a fiancé he didn’t expect to have.”

“I am not going to be engaged to him,” Clara snorted.

“Well, something made you come up with that story. Out of everything you could have said to Edith and Erasmus you decided to become engaged to Niall. I think you should ask yourself why. What on earth possessed you to tell anybody that he was your fiancé? Maybe Niall is the kind of man you would like to be engaged to?”

Clara was already shaking her head before her aunt had finished, but she didn’t get the opportunity to speak before Flo lifted her hands to stop her excuses.

“Just think about it. For now, keep your eyes and ears open, and whil

e you are at it lets close all the shutters tonight. I don’t want to sit here being watched even by the Star Elite.” Flo shivered and stared blankly into the fireplace.

Clara did the same but then realised that the fire hadn’t been lit. The dark void of the empty grate made her shiver. Now that she came to think about it, the room was rather cold. In fact, the entire house was. It had a damp air to it that was dank and uninviting.

“How about I go around and light the fires? If we put more candles on maybe this house won’t appear so foreboding?” Clara offered her aunt a smile and watched the elderly woman nod.

Clara spend the next several minutes moving from room to room, lighting the fires until they were roaring heartily away and quickly chasing away the lingering chill. Rather than snuff the candles before she left each room, she lit two more and then moved on. Eventually the house began to grow warm and, somewhat surprisingly, eased the worried tension neither Flo nor Clara had realised was there.

“I didn’t realise we were going to have a storm,” Flo whispered quietly.

Together, they listened to the wind rattling the windows and howling around the corners of the house.

“At least we are inside where it is warm and safe,” Clara murmured.

She turned her attention to her sewing not least to give herself something to do with her hands. Her mind wandered, though, to the thought of Niall standing outside, in the darkness, being buffeted by the wind and rain. For some reason, that bothered her more than the thought that Erasmus might still be sitting out front on his curricle.

“Go and see to that rattling shutter in the kitchen, would you, dear? I can hear it banging and it is annoying, don’t you think?”

Clara dutifully dropped her sewing into her basket and hurried through the house to the kitchen. Once there, she slammed the shutter back into place. She was about to reach up to slide the second shutter back into position when a furtive movement within the darkest shadows outside caught her attention. As she watched, about half-day down her garden a dark shape left the protection of the trees before darting back into the thicket.

“That’s too big for a rabbit or a fox,” she whispered.

She looked for the shadow again, but matter how much she tried, Clara couldn’t see anything but the swaying of the huge oak trees being tugged about by the strengthening wind. Her heart thundered as fear grew. Clara knew what she had seen. Someone was out there, in the garden, most probably watching the house. A part of her wished it was lighter outside so she could see if someone was lurking near to the house, or if her imagination was playing tricks on her.

Was that Niall? If not, was Erasmus spying on her, or was he trying to scare her? Who else could be lurking in her garden at eight o’clock on a stormy evening? If someone wanted to talk to her, why hadn’t they knocked on the front door like any normal person would?

“The only person I know who would want to lurk in the shadows and try to scare me is Erasmus,” she whispered with a shudder. “He probably wants me to go out there just so he can accost me again.”

With a loud thump, Clara slid the shutter closed and secured the catch before hurrying to the back door and sliding the bolt across.

“Now what?” she sighed when a rapid series of knocks sounded on the front door.

“Clara, dear? See who that is, would you? I wonder who has decided to call upon us at this time in the evening? Are you expecting anybody?” Flo called.

“No, Aunt, I am not,” Clara sighed as she hurried to do as she was told.

As she made her way to the door, Clara was very aware of who she wanted their unexpected caller to be, and it wasn’t Erasmus Boyle. While there was no logical reason why she should instinctively hope that Niall had chosen to call upon her to see if she was all right, Clara hoped he had anyway.

“He has probably left the village by now,” Clara muttered, well aware that she was going to drive herself out of her mind if she began to hope it was Niall every time there was a knock on the door. “I must stop doing this. I must stop doing this.”

“What’s that, dear?” Flo called.

“Nothing.”

With another sigh, Clara yanked the door open only to stare in disbelief at the small group of people standing on her doorstep. Before she could say anything, Clara was swamped with a barrage of questions and excited chatter which shattered her otherwise calm and uneventful evening.

“Ladies,” she said somewhat hesitantly, immediately stepping back to allow them into the house.