Murder in the Haunted Castle
Missed the story so far? Catch up here: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Chapter Twenty-six Chapter Twenty-seven Chapter Twenty-eight Chapter Twenty-nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-one Chapter Thirty-two Chapter Thirty-three Chapter Thirty-four Chapter Thirty-five Chapter Thirty-six Chapter Thirty-seven
A couple of hours later and Kim and James had decided to explore the grounds a little whilst they waited for the Austrian rescue services to dig their way to them. Of course what Kim had imagined being a romantic stroll had turned into a battle through banks of deep snow. But still, it was nice to be alone with James and not worrying about ghosts, or missing people, or murder.
They turned and looked up at the castle against the blue of the sky which had finally cleared of clouds heavy with snow.
“I wonder what Doris will do now?” Kim said.
“I should imagine she will continue with the sale,” James replied. “I can’t imagine she would want to continue living here, even though all the stolen valuables in the dungeon mean that she probably won’t have to.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Kim said. “It’s all so sad.”
“And what about you?” James said, slipping his hand into Kim’s. “What are your plans when you get back home to England?”
Kim lifted her head, smiled and groaned. “The very first thing I have planned is a nice, deep hot bath, followed by a good night’s sleep.”
“Right,” James said.
Noticing the note of disappointment in his voice, Kim turned so that she was facing James and took his other hand in hers.
“You weren’t talking about my immediate plans, were you?” she said.
James furrowed his brow. “Well…”
“What I was thinking was, I could get to know a certain novelist a little better, maybe visit a few coffee shops and bars with him, perhaps a gallery or two, some National Trust sites.”
“But no castles.”
“Oh, definitely not,” Kim said. “In fact, I quite fancy taking another holiday soon, but somewhere warm and sunny, without suits of armour or dungeons, somewhere that Barbara Stanford might like to visit. Do you think she would like that kind of holiday?”
“I’ll have to ask her,” James said.
Kim snuggled up to James. “And what do you think she will say?”
“That she needs a new bikini and she’ll have to shave her legs, not forgetting her chest too.”
Kim laughed and wrapped her arms around James, snuggling up closer.
“Tell Barbara she can forget the bikini.”
James wrapped his arms around Kim and hugged her close.
“I’ll make sure to let her know,” he said.
“Hey, you two! I can see you hugging, you know!”
Kim and James broke apart and looked up at the drawbridge where Maddie was standing and waving at them.
They waved back.
“I suppose we should get back inside, the cavalry should be here any moment,” James said.
Kim and James walked hand in hand back towards the castle, towards Maddie running to meet them.
And Kim knew she had no need to worry about the future, and what might happen to her once Maddie left home.
Kim was not going to be left on her own, she knew that now.
She would have James with her, by her side forever.
That's it, all finished! I hope you enjoyed that story.
Okay, so Writing in the Shadows will be taking a week or two off, but we'll be back soon, with a triptych of horror stories, all connected by the mysterious Mr Thursday.
Remember him?
Cheers,
Ken
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