He looked on the verge of a faint. But his chin—his father’s chin—went up and he gave her an excellent sneer. “Certainly not!”
“Do you remember me talking about the Virgin Bride—she is the ghost that lives at Northcliffe Hall?”
“Yes, but I didn’t believe you.”
“Well, you should. She is there, truly. However—” Sinjun drew a very deep breath. “However, she isn’t here at Vere Castle. As far as I know she’s never traveled, though I imagine she’d find Scotland charming.”
Philip made a grab for the dueling pistol, but Sinjun jerked his arm away. “No, Philip, she isn’t here. Come with me, I have something to show you.”
He followed her, wariness stiffening every line of his body.
“This is my papa’s bedchamber.”
“I know. Come in.”
Sinjun dismissed Emma, who was dusting the heavy armoire. She waited until Emma had left the room, then she opened the armoire doors and burrowed in one of the corners and opened a small bandbox.
“Here, Philip.”
She brought out the long wig and the white gown.
She thought he was going to collapse, but he just turned paler and backed away.
“No, it’s just a costume. I made the wig out of raw wool and goat hair. You and Dahling tried to frighten me with your Pearlin’ Jane performance, which, I must tell you, was quite excellent. You scared me half to death that first time. I decided to have a bit of revenge. I visited you during the night, after your last ghostly visit to me.”
He stared at her. “You were the ghost who patted me on the neck and told me to leave Sinjun alone?”
“Yes.” She wanted to tell him she was very sorry for having frightened him so desperately, but she could just imagine how a proud boy would take that.
“Why does Papa call you Joan?”
That made her blink, then chuckle. “He thinks Sinjun sounds too much like a man’s nickname, which it is, but it is also my name and I quite like it and am quite used to it. Would you like to call me Sinjun?”
“Yes, it doesn’t sound like a silly girl or an—”
“An evil stepmother?”
He nodded, his eyes still riveted on the wig and white gown.
“How did you know that it was Dahling and me and not Pearlin’ Jane?”
“The swamp ooze. By itself, it would have been quite terrifying, but with the chains and the moaning and the scurrying behind the wainscoting, it was overdone, if you know what I mean. Also, that next morning, just to be sure, I asked Dulcie and she told me that you’d gone out with Crocker and your direction was the Cowal Swamp.”
“Oh.”
“You don’t need that dueling pistol, Philip.”
“If I did, I could use it, and I could beat you at any competition.”
Little boys, she thought, marveling at him, were indeed splendid. Little boys became men who didn’t seem to change at all in this regard. “Do you fence?”
That took him aback. “No, Papa hasn’t yet taught me.”
“Well, there is something both of us could learn together, then. MacDuff said that he would be coming back soon for a visit. If your papa isn’t yet returned, perhaps he could give us a lesson.”
“You can really shoot a crossbow?”
“Yes.”