Little Eden Read online

  “You put your window dressing to good use, and I will tell you what you want to know!” Collins said, smiling.

  “I think I will just wait for Robbie, and he can tell me himself!” Shilty replied, with a smirk. She turned away from him, ever so slightly, so that he could see her figure to its best advantage in the fire light.

  Collins sat down and leaned back in his chair. Undeterred, he continued, “I have a proposition for you, Miss Shilty Cunningham. One which I doubt you can refuse!” Shilty turned back to face him with a look of curiosity on her beautiful face. “If you can make Robert do what I need him to do, you could be a very rich woman indeed,” Collins laughed. “And I know how much you like money!”

  “I have plenty of my own money. Thank you very much!” Shilty replied, finishing her second martini and going to help herself to another one from the drinks cabinet.

  “Oh, I am not talking millions, old girl. I am talking billions!”

  Shilty was suddenly very interested indeed! She smiled, and walking towards him, she slowly took down the straps of her dress one by one. She let it slip to the floor saying, “Tell me what use you want me to put them to, and then you can tell me all about it!”

  Collins put down his drink and swiftly pulled her towards him. He couldn’t believe his luck, but knew how to take full advantage!

  After Shilty had given him what he wanted, he made them both another martini and told her what had happened that morning, “…So you see…if you can persuade Robert to play along with Mama, Lucas and me, you could have the billionaire husband you always wanted!”

  “The husband I want is Clive, thank you very much!” Shilty retorted, pretending to pout over her drink.

  Collins shook his head. “The husband you have always wanted is Robert, but with money! Think of it Shilty, old girl. Billions to spend on anything you want!”

  Shilty sighed as she lay on the soft, deep, shag pile hearth rug. “I see one - no - two problems with your proposal,” she suggested, kicking her legs up behind her in an absent kind of way. “One: Robert may not listen to my advice, and two: he is the one who called it a day with me, remember. He may not want me back!”

  Collins smiled and handed her a warmed brandy. “Oh, Shilty, Shilty, Shilty! My dear!” he said, kissing the soft curve of her back. “With assets and talents like yours, any man would beg you to be with him; and my brother is no different! If he finished it with you, it was because he knew you wanted a style of living he couldn’t give you. He’s always sacrificing himself for someone or another.” Collins turned over onto his back. “If I wasn’t married already, I may even consider taking you on myself, but as it is…”

  Collins suddenly stopped talking. He put his finger to his lips to indicate for Shilty to stay quiet. They listened for a moment. They could hear a key turning in the front door. “He’s back!” Collins exclaimed. In a shot, he was on his feet. He grabbed his clothes from the chair and whispered, “I’ll go out through the library and up the back stairs, you stay here!”

  Collins headed out the other end of the snug, whilst Shilty grabbed a tissue or two, rescued her knickers from the fire iron, rearranged her dress and quickly poured herself a martini from the cocktail shaker. She was just in time to greet Robert as he entered the hall.

  ~ * ~

  The next day, Jack, Lancelot and the Little Eden Head of Security, Johnathon Grail, were to be found working out in the gym. The familiar smell of rubber mats and sweat, combined with the rhythmic sound of the machines, relaxed them all. ‘I’m Every Woman’* was playing in the background just as Miss Huggins arrived. She had come to join her and Joshua as members.

  Jack introduced her to Johnathon and Lancelot. One look at her slim figure, long legs, blond hair and full lips, was enough to make them both enamoured of her within seconds.

  “She’s fair game!” Jack laughed, as they watched her walk away.

  “May the best man win!” Johnathon winked.

  “I find it offensive the way you talk about women!” Lancelot grimaced, as he pulled down the shoulder press. “Miss Adela Huggins is a woman, not a piece of meat to be hunted down and eaten.”

  Jack laughed. “I’d like to ea…” but he didn’t get time to finish his sentence before Lancelot interrupted him.

  “Don’t even go there!” Lancelot rebuked him.

  “When did you get so sanctimonious?” Johnathon replied, with a smile. “Or, is it that you want her for yourself?”

  Lancelot would have blushed, if he was the blushing kind, but instead he calmly replied: “I’ve grown up and you two are still eighteen years old, that’s all. Women like Adela are looking for a man to support them; an equal, who can stand with them. Besides, she’s a single mother - she needs someone reliable in her life.”

  Jack laughed again. “You’ve been reading Cosmo again, haven’t you, old boy?”

  “No! It’s India’s influence on him!” Johnathon smiled. “Strong, independent women - isn’t that what they all want to be these days?”

  “And what’s wrong with that?” Lancelot replied. “I like my women to be women; not silly girls who think a six-pack and money are all that matter.”

  Johnathon winked. He lifted his t-shirt, admired his torso and laughed. “I was hoping they only wanted the six-pack, seeing as I have no money!”

  Lancelot shook his head, and they continued to spot each other, until Robert arrived.

  “You’re late!” Jack told him, as he changed places with Johnathon. Robert shrugged. “Come on, old chap!” Jack encouraged him. “Nothing like lifting the old weights to shake off the doom and gloom. You coming to do laps after? I’ve already played squash but we can have a game of tennis later?”

  Robert just shrugged again. He shook hands with Lancelot. “Can you do something for me?” Robert asked him.

  “Anything,” Lancelot replied.

  “Can you research the old family legal files and see if there was ever a Melanie Humphreys married into the family. It’s a bit of a mystery, but we think Bobby BH might have had another wife after Charlotte Montgomery.”

  Rather surprised, Lancelot replied, “I thought you were going to ask me how we can stop Jennifer, Collins and Lucas.”

  Robert looked the other way and pretended to change the setting on one of the machines.

  “Don’t you want to stop them?” Lancelot said, rather alarmed.

  “Of course I do!” Robert replied.

  Lancelot and Jack looked at him as if they were not sure that they believed him.

  Robert looked sheepish and repeated half-heartedly, “Of course I do.”

  “What’s going on?” Johnathon asked.

  The other three looked at each other as they remembered that the possible sale of Little Eden was supposed to be a secret.

  “Nothing,” Robert replied. “Just some spooky stuff that Sophie wants to know about. Past lives and such. In fact, I can’t play tennis, I have to go and see Silvi Swan later, for some past life regression, and I need to pay a visit to Dr G.”

  “Past life, what now?” Johnathon asked.

  “Regression,” Robert replied, as if it were perfectly normal.

  “What’s that when it’s at home?” Johnathon enquired.

  “Hypnotherapy or some such,” Robert replied. Although, he was not entirely sure himself what it really was.

  “Ah!” Johnathon smiled. “Did me no end of good that hypnotherapy. Almost cured my insomnia, and for pain relief, it’s a godsend! I swear by it. But, not heard of past life regression. Interested to find out about it. Let me know how it goes.”

  Jack looked at Johnathon in surprise. “I didn’t take you for a mumbo jumbo type, old chap!” he said.

  “A lot of athletes use hypnotherapy,” Johnathon replied. “I’m quite into all that ‘mind over matter’ stuff.”

  Just then, Miss Huggins
appeared again. She was being shown around by not one, not two, but three male gym instructors. She made her way over to say hello to Robert.

  Robert apologised for his missing her lunch and they chatted politely for a while, but he was distracted, and he found it difficult to concentrate on what she was saying. Lancelot had to prompt him a couple of times and fill in answers where Robert was a little slow. After a few minutes, the gym instructors seemed quite insistent that she continue her tour with them.

  When she was out of sight, Lancelot laughed. “You need some kind of therapy! Was it her figure that distracted you, or what’s happening with Little Eden?”

  Robert smiled. “I can’t think straight today, and no, it wasn’t her ‘figure’, as you put it; fine as it is. She’s family anyway; I could never think of her like that!”

  “I would say that takes you out the running as well, old boy,” Jack said, to Lancelot. “Seeing as she’s family.”

  Lancelot threw a glance at Jack and replied with a smile, “She’s a distant cousin and removed enough to not make it matter. Besides, she is closer related to you than me. She’s the American branch of the family and you are one of them, remember?”

  Jack frowned.

  Johnathon laughed at them all. “Seems like that just leaves me in the running then!” he said and admired his six pack again.

  Chapter 11

  ~ * ~

  After the gym, Robert made his way to No.1 Daisy Place for lunch, and found Sophie awake, but Lucy in bed asleep instead.

  “Shh!” Sophie said, as she let him in. “Lucy is having a nana nap. I think it’s all getting to her today.”

  “I need some advice,” Robert admitted. “Would you come to the chateau with me? I thought Dr G’s wisdom might be of help.”

  Sophie nodded, got her coat and put her winter boots on.

  “It’s still freezing out there, but it’s stopped snowing at least,” Robert told her. “Don’t forget your gloves.”

  Robert and Sophie walked through the wrought iron gates at the corner entrance to The Peace Park. Blades of green grass were poking through in patches where children had rolled away the snow to make snowmen, and by the side of the open air theatre they could hear shouts and screams of delight, as kids raced down the slopes on sledges. Although the lake was no longer frozen solid, irregular pieces of silver ice floated gently upon the waters, crashing into each other from time to time. Robert took Sophie’s arm to make sure she didn’t slip as they crossed the wooden bridge, which was treacherous with compacted snow. As they approached the walled gardens, the lack of bird song was slightly eerie. Sophie suddenly shivered, as if someone had walked over her grave.

  They were glad to get into the warmth and welcome of the chateau; a beautiful yellow stone edifice in the French style, and former residence of the Bartlett-Harts. Robert opened one of the dark blue double doors, and the scent of delicate incense surrounded them immediately. Sophie felt calm again.

  They took off their shoes and made their way into the Altar Room to wait for Dr G. Sophie walked around on the warm, soft-pile carpet and gazed at the gruesome looking and outrageously colourful buddhas, mounted in glass cases on both walls. She was always fascinated by them. The soft sound of OM chanting drifted in and out from an IPlayer in the corner - the room seemed almost otherworldly.

  Dr G did not keep them waiting long. He entered from his private meditation room where, from a rotund bay window, he had a view of the lake and a sunny aspect. He greeted them with a smile that lit his eyes up from within and offered them some hot butter tea. Sophie took it gladly - if only to warm her hands around the bowl - she did not really like the taste, but Robert didn’t seem to mind.

  “We have come to ask your advice,” Robert began to say as they all sat down on large floor cushions.

  Robert explained the situation about the sale of Little Eden and waited for Dr G to speak.

  Dr G sucked air through his teeth, but he did not reply. He simply smiled and sipped his tea.

  Robert looked at Sophie and frowned. He wasn’t sure whether to say anything more or not. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, then, finally, Dr G spoke. He shook his head slowly. Then, very softly, he said, “This is not what you have come to ask me. You wish to know what lies beneath the Abbey.”

  Sophie looked at Robert, who raised an eyebrow.

  “We have had an extraordinary experience, Dr G,” Sophie admitted. “The thing is…the thing is…it turns out that Aunt Lilly is a reincarnation of Robert’s ancestor, Alienor, and they have both come to speak to us from the other side. It’s rather odd. They are separate and yet they are the same. Anyway, they are telling us that Little Eden is in danger and that Robert must do something about it; and I don’t think Robert knows what to do about it exactly.”

  Dr G sipped his tea again and did not reply.

  Robert looked at Sophie.

  Sophie shook her head and shrugged.

  Do you remember, dear readers, that at the beginning of this story I mentioned that 2012 would not be a good year for the rest of mankind either? Well, here goes…

  “Okay, Dr G,” Sophie said at last, “This is what I really want to know! What is a dragon portal exactly, and why is there one under the Abbey? And what has 2012 triggered? I keep seeing flashes of Armageddon that are somehow linked to Little Eden, but I don’t know how.”

  Dr G nodded and smiled. He was happy to reply when the question was the right question! “This year, for your Christian calendar, is 2012. But for the Earth calendar - this year is the end times.”

  Sophie looked a bit horrified.

  Dr G smiled. “Endings are beginnings. A global clean-up of old human karma begins. The dragon lines are clearing.”

  “What are dragon lines?” Robert asked.

  “Ley lines,” Sophie whispered to him.

  “Ah, okay!” Robert nodded.

  “Do you believe in all that New Age stuff about the end of the world?” Sophie asked. “I know there are a lot of books about it out there - some are quite outlandish!” She was a little surprised that Dr G would take notice of conspiracy theories and the like.

  “No, no, no, indeed!” Dr G replied gently. “But the dragon lines are emptying out their corrupted energy - like sewage flows into the Ganges. This energy is invisible to most humans. It is fear and spells.” He shook his head and repeated, “So much fear; so many spells.”

  “No wonder there are so many yucky energies on the airwaves!” Sophie said. “But, where is all the energy ‘sewage’ going to? Surely it isn’t all flowing under Little Eden. Is it?” She shuddered at the thought.

  “No, no, no. Not all of it.” Dr G stood up and went over to the windows. He looked out over the knot garden in a thoughtful manner, and then continued…“Imagine dragon lines are like old telephone wires laid inside the earth. We can send our thoughts along them. Dragon portals are like the telephone receiver. Through the portal you can access other parts of the world, other dimensions and other periods of time. From here, in Little Eden, you can travel to anywhere in the whole universe.”

  “What does he mean, ‘travel’?” Robert asked Sophie, under his breath.

  “Astral travel,” Sophie replied quietly. “You know - where you travel about in time and space with just your consciousness - in trance or in meditation. You leave your body behind in one place and go elsewhere with your mind. Like in past life regression - you’ll be doing that later with Silvi.”

  “Like Dr Who* but without the need for a Tardis?” Robert asked.

  “Like who?” Dr G replied, turning around to face them.

  “Dr Who!” Robert repeated.

  “Who is this Dr Who?” Dr G asked.

  “Oh! He is a character off the television,” Sophie laughed.

  Dr G smiled and nodded. “I sometimes think that I shall teach myself these television pr
ogrammes, but I have no time.”

  “Well,” Sophie continued, “Dr Who can travel through time and space inside a magic spaceship called the Tardis, which looks, from the outside, like an old fashioned telephone box.”

  “Ah!” Dr G smiled. “And he travels through portals?”

  “Yes.” Robert nodded. “But that’s just fiction.”

  Dr G smiled, took his seat again and poured them all some more tea. “It is in the stories that we find the great spiritual truths. Many people do not wish to believe the truth. It is easier to believe that we are one dimensional beings rather than bundles of multidimensional consciousness.”

  Robert nodded. “I am starting to wish I’d left well enough alone.”

  “Why do the ley lines - dragon lines I mean, need cleaning though?” Sophie asked.

  “You see,” Dr G paused and thought for a moment how to explain. He placed his fingertips together as if to gather his thoughts. “All human experience is recorded in the rocks and in the stones, in the sand and in the water. The whole planet is a library that needs clearing of fear and lies.”

  Sophie screwed up her nose and thought for a moment. “You mean, whatever happens in human history is recorded in the planet? All the wars, and the sadness?”

  Dr G smiled. “And all the joy, and all the laughter.”

  Sophie mused. “Just like human DNA, we register and store everything. Does the planet have DNA too?”

  “Indeed, it is the DNA from which we are all made,” Dr G replied. “Now is the time for new DNA.”

  “I think you’re saying that the planet is being defragmented and cleared of viruses just like a computer?” Robert pondered. “A bit like getting ready to upload a new operating system?”

  Dr G nodded. “This year, we must gather the guardians together, to protect the dragon portal here in Little Eden. Great and powerful light will be sent to Earth over the next few years. This light is billions of compassionate thoughts. These thoughts must be allowed to flow into the dragon lines. Each dragon portal needs to be guarded and protected. Why else do you suppose they brought you here?” he said, looking directly at Sophie.