Margo had shaken her head, reaching for Julie’s hand. “You’re braver than anyone I know, Julie. After all you’ve been through… Yeah, these guys put on an amazing show
, but you and I both know the difference between fact and fiction. They aren’t real. They can’t be. Is it Liam? Did he hurt you?”
Julie’s eyes had welled up with tears, but she’d chuckled, shaking her head. “Liam hasn’t touched me. I think he’s afraid if he shook my hand I’d shatter.” She’d lifted her chin. “I know you’ll think I’m crazy, Margo. But you’re wrong. These guys really are what they say they are. Vampires, cat shifters, even werewolves. They really exist. You’ll find out. I’ll talk to you when you get home. I can’t wait to hear about you and Thomas.”
Margo’s shocked expression had amused her. “I’m a writer, Margo. And I have eyes. Just be careful. Cats are notoriously finicky creatures. I don’t want you getting your heart broken.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Margo had watched Dugan help her into the bus before she turned to head toward the parlor. She gasped when she nearly bumped into Liam. “I’m sorry.”
“She’s been hurt.” It hadn’t been a question.
Margo nodded. “Badly. And I will personally geld the next man who makes her cry.”
Liam didn’t flinch. “Then we’re agreed.” He turned and hefted his camera on his shoulder, leading her back toward the others. Margo hadn’t been sure what they’d agreed to. But she had a feeling that though Julie was gone, she would be seeing Liam again.
The next day Joseph and Chi had joined Julie, Naomi and the others in leaving the castle before the week was up. Thomas had told her Chi left him a note apologizing for being derelict in her camera duties, but she needed to follow her heart. Thomas hadn’t seemed too upset. In fact, as soon as he’d told her, he’d led her into the dense wooded area beside the castle and taken her against a tree.
She heard a knock on her bathroom door, drawing her out of her musings. “Ma’am? I’m sorry to bother you, but Master Saint requested I personally invite the remaining guests to the game room for the online request party.”
“Esther, is that you? Hang on, I’ll be right out.” She’d been here for days, and she’d yet to see the housekeeper in person. She’d heard about her. Kasey Lynn and Bryan, even Stan had tales to tell, but for some reason, Margo hadn’t been able to catch a glimpse.
She took one last look. The dress had appeared on the edge of her bed this morning. Beside it was a wildflower, and she knew then it was a gift from Thomas. The dress was the color of rich chocolate, the style flirty and young and sensual. It was not something the responsible Margo would wear. But then, the responsible Margo wouldn’t be having a torrid affair with a man she was supposed to be convincing to sign a contract, in full view of an interested public, no less. A showmance, she rolled her eyes. How many times had she dropped her head into her hands while watching contestants on reality shows fall madly in love, or fall in love with being a couple on camera, only to separate once the credits began to roll?
Oh, they’d been creative. Thomas had ensured that they found places to go to escape the cameras scattered throughout the large Keep. But if her fellow contestant’s reactions were anything to go by, they weren’t fooling anyone. And she certainly hadn’t been doing her job. She couldn’t think about that right now, though. Not when Thomas was waiting for her.
Margo opened the door, her smile faltering at the vision that awaited her. Esther was garbed in a long gray dress, a white apron scalloped with lace tied around her waist. She was humming beneath her breath, waving her translucent hand and watching as Margo’s jeans and velvet sweater folded themselves.
“Sweet Lord.” That first night, Margo had explained away the ghost in the dining room. Or several days with Thomas had blocked it out. But here in her bedroom, there were no wires, no lights or special effects that Margo could see. The housekeeper was a ghost? She was really a ghost? “Esther?”
The smiling woman nodded. “Good evening, ma’am. I don’t mean to overstep, but I have been so looking forward to meeting the woman who has Master Thomas’s tail in a twist.” She chuckled. “Now if only we can find someone for Master Mac.”
“Mas-master… This can’t really be happening.”
Esther tsked, shaking her head. “I told Master Thomas it wasn’t fair leaving you in the dark for so long. You know we’ve been floating around on pins and needles, worried you’d turn a corner or enter a room while we were entertaining the others.”
Margo swallowed. “You’ve been hiding from me? Wait, you said we. There are more of you?”
The housekeeper nodded happily. “Master Thomas allowed me to invite some friends from town. Most have never been to the castle before, and I can imagine it will be a chore to get them out again once the show is done, but it is nice to have so much company.” She giggled. “Other than those two high strung ladies on the first day, we haven’t scared anyone away yet. That young couple are having a time of it, though. No one likes all their strange equipment. I’m afraid Master Mac will have to reimburse them before they go home.”
Margo was having a hard time taking it in. She was talking to a ghost. A ghost who was telling her that while she’d been romping around with the castle tomcat, the others had been having an entirely different experience. Tomcat.
She got to the bed before her knees buckled. “Esther? They’re real aren’t they? Thomas, Mac and Saint are really…real?”
Esther’s smile was filled with compassion and a little pity. “Why, of course they are, Ma’am. As real as you are. Just different.”
“I thought they were actors. That it was a show.”
“Didn’t you ever ask him, then? Master Thomas?”
She hadn’t. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to know. Maybe she thought if she talked about Shifting Reality, or thought about what he’d claimed to be, she’d have to talk to him about the contract. And that conversation would stop what was happening between them. Would make this what it was always supposed to have been. Just business.
The contract that was no longer an issue. He wasn’t an actor or a screenwriter. He was a different species. His website, his video journals had been exactly what they appeared to be. A paranormal being using the Internet to bare his soul, and reveal what he truly was. The fame was immaterial.
Julie had been right. They were the real deal. And because she hadn’t been careful, she’d lost her heart to a cat shifter. Good job, Margo. You’ve done it again. Gotten herself into an impossible situation, one that was destined to break her heart.
“Shall I tell them you’re coming, ma’am?”
Esther’s expression was worried, and Margo tried to smile. “In a minute. And Esther? Tell your friends no one has to hide from me anymore. Not after tonight.”