I almost spluttered my tea again with the irony. I wanted to say, “It takes one to know one,” but seeing as I’d been caught in the garden at Merry Wood and Harley had damaged part of the fence, I didn’t think I was in a position to take the high ground on anything.

Looking at Lily now, however, and listening to her no-nonsense approach, I was sure she would give Athena a run for her money in the assertiveness department.

“Do you know what I think?” she asked at length.

“What?”

She pushed her back deeper against her chair. “Give it time with this niece of hers. She’s bound to trip over her own feet at some point and make a right cock-up of things.”

I nodded and cradled the warm mug between my grateful fingers. My attention shifted out of Lily’s kitchen window towards Merry Wood, where its roof was swallowing the sun and becoming a dark silhouette against the trees.

“You just work hard for this Athena woman and don’t take any of her old nonsense. She’s probably used to riding roughshod over folks, so if you show her you aren’t prepared to put up with it, you will gain her respect. You see if you don’t.”

Lily’s glance was stern. “I think if you want a ghost of a chance at success, you just have to buckle down and persuade yourself you can do it.” She might not like you for it, but she will respect you.”

I listened to her crisp, direct advice. It was funny Lily mentioning the word ghost. There was something spiritual and almost ethereal about those statues in the garden over at Merry Wood. I bet they would look amazing in photographs…

An idea pricked me. I pushed myself upwards in my chair. “Ghosts. That’s it. That might work.”

Lily frowned. “What?”

I thought of the Avanti make-up samples nestling in my desk drawer at work. They were promoting their new shades of eye colours in milk, silver, and gauze. My mind shot towards the statues in Merry Wood’s garden again and the captivating water fountain with the hummingbird.

It was shadowy, with the imposing trees and the wintery shades of white and cream of the flowers, not to mention the overgrown lawn. It would be perfect.

But I had one possible problem: Lily.

I leant forward on the table, my eyes pleading into hers. “Mrs Cruickshank,” I began, a desperate waver creeping into my voice.

She blinked at me.

I took a deep breath. “I need to ask you a favour. A big one. Your mention of ghosts has given me a wonderful idea.”

Chapter Fourteen

Lily slapped both hands on the edge of her kitchen table. “Are you joking, young lady? No. Perhaps you’re pissed. Or have you been smoking something? Absolutely not.”