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and went travelling. How do I know you won’t do that again?’
    ‘Because my travels had a purpose and now I’m home to put what I’ve learned into practice.’
    ‘That’s good,’ he agreed, ‘but if I take this on there will be nothing but hard work ahead, and a lot of difficult decisions to be made. I need to be sure that whoever I employ asestate manager has both the staying power and the backbone for what needs to be done.’
    ‘What are you implying, Heath?’
    He lifted the latch on the wooden gate that led through to her parents’ garden. ‘I’m saying I don’t know you, Bronte. I only know what you’re telling me. It’s been a long time.’
    ‘For both of us,’ she reminded him tensely.
    He propped her rucksack against the front door.
    ‘Hey,’ she said when he turned to leave. ‘Where are you going? We’re in the middle of a conversation.’
    ‘We’ll continue it another time. I have to get back now.’
    ‘Can’t we talk first? What’s the hurry?’
    Strangely, it pleased him that she wanted to keep him back. ‘I have appointments I can’t break. My work is in London, remember? It’s where I make the money that might just keep this place alive.’ He stopped at the gate and turned to face her. ‘Just promise me one thing before I go.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Parts of Hebers Ghyll aren’t safe, Bronte, so please stay away.’
    ‘The Great Hall’s safe,’ she insisted stubbornly. ‘Uncle Harry was living there up to a few months ago.’
    ‘And I’m telling you not to go near it until I get back.’
    ‘So you are coming back?’
    As her eyes fired he propped a hip against the garden wall. ‘You’ll be telling me how much you’ll miss me next.’
    ‘Ha! Don’t hold your breath.’
    ‘If you need me you’ve got my number.’
    ‘What use is that when your PA won’t put me through?’
    ‘You give up too easily, Bronte.’ Raising his hand in a farewell salute, he thought himself lucky to be out of range of any missiles she might have to hand.

CHAPTER FOUR
    W HEN Heath left her Bronte was still high on adrenalin hours later. She needed action. Lots of it. She went back to Hebers Ghyll and broke in. Maybe this was the craziest idea she’d had yet, but she wasn’t prepared to be run off a property she had always thought of as her second home. The moment Heath’s car roared away she made some calls to girls in the village—girls who’d been friends for life. The chance to do a little exploring was right up their street.
    How dangerous could the Great Hall be? It had only stood empty for a couple of months. She wouldn’t take any chances, Bronte determined as she led her troops beneath a moody sky down the long overgrown drive. Everyone knew the castle was ready to fall down, but the hall where her mother had been housekeeper, and the rooms where Uncle Harry had used to live, they were safe. Heath wasoverreacting—or, more likely, trying to keep her away. She had explained to her friends, Maisie and Colleen, that there were no-go areas and that they mustn’t go off exploring on their own.
    ‘This is spooky,’ Colleen said, echoing Bronte’s thoughts as they all flashed an anxious glance into the impenetrable undergrowth.
    They could speed-walk to international standards by the time they reached the open space where a dried-up moat circled the ruined castle. The castle was a heap of blackened stone, lowering and forbidding beneath boiling storm clouds, and the ugly gash around it was full of brambles and leaves. ‘Nice,’ Colleen murmured.
    It needed clearing—needed filling—needed ducks, Bronte thought. She wouldn’t have trusted the drawbridge—most of the planks were missing, and a glance at the rusty portcullis hanging over it confirmed that Heath was right to warn her to stay away. But even the old castle could be transformed like one she’d seen in France. The fortress of Carcassonne had been faithfully restored and was now a World Heritage site. But that was