Colton Manor by Francene Carroll Page A

nothing to calm her fears.
    The sun was shining brightly for the first time since she’d arrived as she pulled up in the main street, but she barely even noticed it as she got out of the car and walked to the real estate agency. Yvette was on the phone, but she put it down when Ursula pushed open the door.
    “Oh hi, I was just about to call you to give you Bonnie’s number. I hope everything is alright out there.”
    “Yes, I decided to drive over and see her instead. I’ve just locked one of the doors upstairs and lost the key. Bonnie said you have a spare set here.” She decided against saying anything about Damien for the moment until they had a better idea of what was going on.
    Yvette studied her face shrewdly, clearly suspecting there was more to it than Ursula was telling her.
    “You know, Ursula, Bonnie came in here the other day and gave me a bit of a talking to about letting you stay at Colton Manor on your own. I hope she hasn’t been telling you any silly stories about the house.”
    “She’s mentioned a few things.”
    “Oh, that woman is unbelievable.” Yvette shook her head as she retrieved some keys from her desk and handed them across the counter. “There’s absolutely no truth to anything she says. The rumours started a couple of years ago when a family rented the house and they kept being disturbed by noises at night. They moved out and told everyone the house was haunted, but turns out it was just a family of possums living in the roof.” She laughed shrilly, reminding Ursula of the first time she’d set foot inside the office to inquire about Colton Manor. “That’s all there was to it, but you know how people love a ghost story, and it just took off from there. They began rehashing stories from over a hundred year ago and now there’s no stopping them. It’s disgraceful of Bonnie to scare you like that.”
    “So it’s not true that the house has changed hands many times?”
    “Well, yes, that is correct.  There have been quite a few owners, but one of the main reasons is the weather. A lot of people don’t realise just how much rain we get in these parts, and they are very disappointed when they can’t spend as much time on the beach as they’d hoped.”
    “Is that really all there is to it?”
    “Of course, and I can assure you the current owner is very happy with the house.” Now it was Ursula’s turn to scrutinize her face to determine if she was telling the truth. Bonnie seemed much more trustworthy than Yvette, but what if she was just gullible and naïve like Damien had said and there was nothing to the rumours? But that would mean Damien was possibly having some kind of mental breakdown and her intuitions about him were all wrong. Doubt about her own judgements began to creep in, and Ursula felt more confused than ever.
    “Well, thanks for these,” she said, holding up the keys and turning to leave.
    “I was quite surprised when you rang yesterday and said that Damien Knight is staying with you out there now. It must be nice to have some company,” replied Yvette, forcing her to turn back around.
    “Yes, it is.”
    “He’s a nice man, but I’m sure you know he’s been through a bad divorce.”
    “I heard the divorce was amicable.”
    “No divorce is amicable, dear. I can take years to recover from something like that.” She gave Ursula a meaningful look.
    “We’re just temporary housemates. His divorce has nothing to do with me.”
    “Of course, but be careful, men on the rebound can sometimes act rashly.” Ursula didn’t even bother to say goodbye as she walked out of the office. She was fuming that Yvette had dared to imply that she was interested in becoming involved with Damien when it was none of her business. Her cryptic comment about men on the rebound also made her wonder if she knew more about him than she was saying.
    As she was about to get ba ck into the car, Ursula spotted the public library across the street. She decided it was a good