Page 105 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem

At seven fifteen, we left the house. I had to collect Charlotte and the others. I stopped in my tracks on the driveway. What could I tell Raven? Did he even know about the existence of ghosts?

Perhaps I shouldn’t go to pick them up. It might complicate things. But how could I avoid it after promising Charlotte? I’d be ghosting the ghosts. She mightn’t forgive me.

No, I had to stick with the agreement and take them along.

Raven opened the car door and turned to see why I was dawdling. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘No. I remembered I need to go to Chirtlewood first, that’s all.’

‘Whatever for?’

‘Um... to pick up a few things.’ Now I was calling them ‘things’. Lucky they were not here to hear that.

‘Okay, sure. Let’s go.’

We got into the car, and I drove off. The evening traffic had died down. The Thames was peaceful. Early evening sunlight reflected off it as dazzling flashes between the shadows cast by dark clouds whizzing overhead.

‘Um... do you have an opinion on ghosts?’ I blurted out.

Raven turned to face me, his forehead creasing in puzzlement. ‘An opinion on them? What do you mean? Are you asking if I’m scared of ghosts? No, of course not.’

‘Right.’ Wrong question. Try again. ‘Do you think ghosts exist, Raven?’

He chortled. ‘Of course. I can’t see or hear them myself, but I’ve known of their existence for a long time. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of Chirtlewood being haunted. Have you seen any of the ghostly residents, by any chance?’

I took my gaze off the road to glance at him and grin. ‘I sure have. In fact, they want to come with us tonight.’

‘Oh, so they are the reason we’re making this detour. Well, this will be a first for me, I think, sharing a car with a bunch of ghosts. How many are there?’

‘Three, probably. And a dog.’

‘A ghost dog?’

‘Yes, truly. You might even hear him bark. Some people do.’

I pulled up right in front of the entrance to Chirtlewood and didn’t bother switching off the engine. Charlotte, the earl, Maisey and Scruffles were waiting on the house steps. They smiled and cheered and approached the car.

‘Are they here?’ Raven asked.

‘Yes, they’re coming.’ Maisey and Scruffles had bounded over and were already inside. Charlotte took one look at Raven sitting in the front passenger seat and frowned before getting into the back.

There was a problem. There wasn’t room for everyone.

After a short while, Raven asked, ‘What’s going on?’

‘Just waiting for the last one.’

The earl was still hobbling over. He was almost there, his cane tapping silently on the cobblestones.

Raven raised his eyebrow. ‘Will you introduce them to me? Or is that a ridiculous question, seeing as I can’t interact with them?’

‘They can see and hear you. I can pass messages if you want to talk. I’ll introduce you to everyone on the way.’

The earl was trying to squeeze in, but there wasn’t much room. Scruffles leaped up onto Charlotte’s lap. Finally, the earl slid in, sandwiching his wife between himself and Maisey.

Raven shivered. ‘It’s freezing. Did you open a window?’

‘That’s the ghost chill. The temperature drops with ghosts around.’

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