Mistletoe Mystery Read Online Free Page A

Matt
frowned, looking puzzled. “Sorry,” said Philly. “When I found the painting, it
was inside a trunk. The label on the trunk said Dominique DuPont. I knew I’d
heard it somewhere before. When Bedlington Hall was a school, a young student 
… a French girl … disappeared. Completely disappeared. There were rumours that
she haunted the school and the surrounding area for years afterwards. It was
her trunk I found! I suppose the school must have put it in the attic when she
left, hoping someone would come for it.”
    “Wow… now that is worth a visit. When can I come to see
you?”
    “Hmm,” said Philly. “Now I’m not so sure if it’s me you’re
interested in, or my ghost.”
    “Can I be interested in both?”
    “I suppose so.”
    “Not to mention the Roman ruins. Midchester sounds like a
crazy sort of place.”
    “Really?” Philly giggled. “Then you obviously don’t get out
much! It’s pretty boring most of the time.”
    “I find that hard to believe,” said Matt, looking into her
eyes.
    “We’re doing another murder mystery weekend at Christmas,”
said Philly. “Mistletoe and Mystery. Perhaps you could come up for that.”
    “That’s weeks away. Do I have to wait that long?”
    “I suppose you could come up this weekend…”
    “Great. Are there any hotels in the area?”
    “Oh, don’t worry about that. There are loads of bedrooms in
the Hall. I mean, if you wanted to stay there.”
    “I thought you’d never ask.” Matt smiled.
    Philly was shocked at her own forwardness. It would never
have occurred to her to ask any other man to sleep in her home after such a
short acquaintance. But with twenty bedrooms set aside for guests, it was not
as if she was asking him to share her room. Not that the thought had not
crossed her mind. She knew she needed to put the brakes on a bit. Things were
moving way too fast. Yet there was something inevitable about Matt and her
feelings for him. As if they had always been there, but she had not known it.
How did that song go? About knowing you loved someone before you met them? She
hastily pushed that thought aside. She could not possibly love him. She barely
knew him. It was simply an overwhelming and rather exciting attraction. He was
charming, handsome, and seemingly interested in her. Maybe all she really felt
was gratitude.
    It had started to rain when Matt walked her to her car. “Can
I give you a lift anywhere?” she asked him, unlocking her door.
    “No, I’m good thanks. So I’ll come up to see you on Friday?”
    “Yes. I’ll look forward to it. You’ve got my number if
anything comes up.”
    “I have. And you have mine, in case you decide to withdraw
the invitation because you’ve decided I’m a raging psychopath.”
    “Oh I still haven’t made up my mind on that,” said Philly.
    In reply, Matt pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She
clung to him, not wanting to let him go and lose this moment. Her natural
pessimism knew that it could not last. He would break the heart that she had
protected for so long. But the sense of inevitability remained, and his kiss
convinced her that she had embarked on a journey that she would not stop until
it reached the ultimate destination, no matter what it cost her.
    When she walked through the door of Bedlington Hall late in
the evening, Meg and Puck came running from the kitchen.
    “I’ve had an idea what we can do for the Mistletoe and
Mystery weekend,” said Meg.
    “I’ve got an idea to get the punters in,” said Puck.
    “I’ve met someone drop-dead gorgeous,” said Philly.
    Before Puck could open his mouth to speak, Meg clamped her
hand across it. “Philly goes first.”

 
    Chapter Three
     
    “You mean you actually invited him to stay the weekend,”
said Meg. They were sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee.
    “Yes, you don’t mind, do you?”
    “Of course we don’t mind,” said Puck. “This is your house
after all. It’s just that you’ve never … I