“It’s very haunting,” I said. “At times you remind me of Kate Bush.”
Her face lit up. “Oh my god, I love her.”
“So do I.” I smiled.
“Are you from these parts?” Mirabel asked, accepting a glass of red wine from Justin, who was hovering close. He seemed to enjoy my company for some reason, and he was a big fan of Mirabel’s, which was understandable given her talent and down-to-earth vibe.
“I’ve only recently moved here,” I said.
“She works for the Lovechildes,” Justin added.
Mirabel nodded slowly and I noticed a slight curve of her lips. “At Merivale Hall?”
I nodded. “You’ve visited?”
“Like yeah. I grew up there on a farm. My family were in the dairy industry for two centuries.”
“So you’ve lived here all your life?” I asked.
“I have. I mean, I hang out in London when I can, and I’ve travelled throughout Europe, busking.”
“Do you have any recordings?” Relaxed and a little tipsy after a couple of shots, I liked being there, chatting to new people.
“I do. I sell them when I busk. That’s how I make a living.” She sipped her drink while studying me. “So, you’ve met the sons and daughter?”
I nodded. “Mainly Declan. I was cleaning for him at his home up to recently.”
“He’s the nicer of the three. But he’s got a nasty skeleton in the cupboard.”
My spine stiffened, and a queasy feeling settled in the pit of my gut, turning my cheery mood on its side.
“Oh, really? He doesn’t strike me as someone who’d go out of his way to be nasty.” I chewed on a nail. The natural pessimist in me always assumed the worst.
“He’s not that bad. Only he just broke many girls’ hearts. It’s hard to dislike him because he’s generous and has done a lot for the community. Not like his loudmouth dick of a brother.”
Was I the next one he would hurt?
My mouth was so dry from pounding anxiety I guzzled my drink. After all those years of keeping my emotions bottled up, how did I let myself become so vulnerable?
Justin, who’d been standing close, joined the conversation. “But you had a thing with Ethan when you were sixteen, didn’t you?”
Mirabel rolled her eyes. “We had a moment. Just a bit of kissing. Nothing more. I was only sixteen. That’s how I know he’s a tosser. That was my first song about him.”
I nodded absently. I wanted to hear more about Declan and that nasty skeleton and not so much about Ethan.