Chapter 1

"Four more days. Four more blasted days." Lamia mumbled to herself, dragging several large dress-bags over her head towards the Ford Escape just down the street.

From deep within her jean pocket, Lamia both heard and felt her cell phone vibrating. Unfortunately with full hands, and the car not close enough just yet, she couldn't answer it… Finally the ringer stopped, and another followed shortly after. Of course… A bitchy voice mail undoubtedly waited for her.

Once Lamia reached the Escape, and hung the dress-bags on the built in hangers, she pulled out her Smartphone and dialed her voice mail. Yep there it was!

"Lamia, where the hell are you?" The voice was female. "You were supposed to pick up the bridesmaid dresses, make sure the flowers are the way I want them, and you were supposed to come back here! If you want to stay in my wedding, you'd better call me back – now!"

Lamia sighed, hanging her head. She loved her best friend Maggie, she really did… But half the stuff she was running around doing was her job. She wasn't the Maid of Honour, not even the Matron of Honour… But she was the one doing the entire running around, because the MoH had more important things to do.

"Fuck my life," Lamia sighed, hanging her head as she hit the call back button. A moment later Maggie's voice came from the other end.

"Where the hell where you?"

"Picking up the dresses," Lamia answered.

"Why didn't you answer?" Maggie snapped.

"My hands were full." Lamia replied, "Did you want the dresses to touch the ground as I dug for my phone?" Yes, Lamia knew that smart-ass comment would have repercussions, but it needed to be said.

"Why do you have to be so mean?" Maggie asked, tears already choking her voice. Ah yes, there it was… the repercussion! Maggie was crying!

Yes, Lamia was the big-bag bridesmaid that had to be so difficult, so naturally, she had to apologize. "I'm sorry Mags. Look, I'll be back there in a couple of minutes. I've got pictures of the flowers and the dresses are perfect!"

There was a small sniffle coming from Maggie's end before she managed to answer. "Okay, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes."

Lamia would've answered, but Maggie had hung up the phone before she could even manage a syllable. "Well, okay then." Climbing back into the Escape, Lamia tried to make her way back to where Maggie and the others were waiting for her.

Maggie was getting married. Maggie was stressed beyond belief. Maggie had to have a destination wedding. Edinburgh, Scotland was her destination of choice. Lamia didn't mind this of course, having always wanted to come to this country and learn about her heritage being a McKnight… but with the entire running around she'd been doing, and she hadn't even been able to enjoy her time there. Edinburgh was a beautiful place to be, and while she couldn't wait to have free time and explore New Town and do some proper shopping, her bride was being very demanding. Maybe she should bring Maggie to the Stockbridge and Canomills and take her to the Royal Botanic Garden. It was said to be the most relaxing spot in the city, and did Maggie need some time to relax!

Just hopefully this ended up being the only hiccup with this wedding process. Maggie had wanted to get married at Edinburgh Castle, but the place had been booked… So naturally, Lamia needed to find a place near Edinburgh… What she found was Dalhousie Castle. It was eight miles from Edinburgh, and fifty-four miles from Glasgow. The Bride was appeased.

Dalhousie Castle seemed like the better choice anyway… The countryside surrounding the castle was breath taking, and there was a forest not far from the castle, which would be perfect for taking pictures, or an outdoor wedding. The accommodations were wonderful; the rooms had plenty of space! Lamia saw nothing wrong with Dalhousie Castle, other than the fact that it wasn't Edinburgh Castle.

Twenty minutes later, Lamia pulled up to Dalhousie Castle, parked the Escape out of the way and with dresses hiked over her head, headed for the front door… Thank the Gods that one of the workers inside saw that she needed a luggage cart! With the dresses hanging from the gold-looking bar, Lamia started to wheel the cart towards Maggie's room.

Along the way, Lamia had the oddest encounter of her life. Passing one of the remolded rooms came the voice of a man. His voice was muffled behind the heavy doors, but when the squeak of the wheels finally quieted, a single name was heard: King Robert the Bruce.

Stepping forward, Lamia pushed the door open, and found the room empty. Goosebumps spread across her skin and her heart stopped, before slamming against her rib cage.

The castle was steeped in history, but haunted? Couldn't be, could it? Lamia didn't want to find out! Returning back to the luggage cart, Lamia ran the rest of the way to Maggie's room.

That night Lamia lounged in bed, with one of the books she'd brought with her. Her current obsession was Jackie Ivie, who wrote some wonderful Scottish historical romance fiction and recently was trying her hand at paranormal. It was the historical stuff that Lamia loved.

Maggie, had loved the dresses, was more than happy with the flowers and that meant Lamia could sleep – assuming that was going to even be possible; the book was a page turner!

"Gravenhurst, where are you going?"

Once again, Lamia's heart stopped, before it started to pound. That was the same voice she heard earlier!

Bang!

Lamia jumped, her book flying to the other side of the bed. It had sounded like the door to her room had slammed shut. But the thing was heavy and oak; there was no way that someone could just slam it like that!

Climbing from the bed, Lamia walked to her door and opened it and looked into the hall. It was possible other people were staying here; it was a hotel and spa after all. It didn't stop her heart from pounding just the same.

"Hey Mia, everything alright?"

Lamia jumped out of her skin as she heard Robin's, Maggie's fiancé, voice.

"Whoa, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He said.

Lamia shook her head, as she turned towards him. "It's alright. I just thought I heard someone yelling, and I thought… I dunno what I thought."

"I didn't hear anyone," Robin answered, shrugging.

"Really? You didn't hear anyone shout Gravenhurst?"

"Nope." Robin shrugged again. "Maybe you're hearing things."

"Maybe," Lamia answered, then thought 'Doubt it.'

"Anyway, Mags's is wanting a midnight snack. Headed for the machine, see if there's anything there. Want anything?"

"Naw, but thanks." Lamia answered. "I've got water, and I don't eat after seven if I can help it. I'm gonna go back to my book."

Robin laughed a little and nodded. "You need to get you're nose out of those romance novels and find a man you can physically hold."

"Fine, you set me up and we'll see where it goes." Lamia answered, and before Robin could reply, she'd shut herself back into her room.

It wasn't that Lamia wasn't actively looking for a relationship; it was just guys never really seemed interested in her.

Settling back onto the bed, and flipping back to her page, Lamia tried to relax… but every bump, noise and footstep stalled her heart. "Bloody hell!" she cried out, dropping the book onto the bedside table and made a beeline for the on bathroom suit. "Bed time."

Grabbing her hairbrush, Lamia looked at herself in the mirror and paused. Her grey eyes looked bloodshot. Well, getting up at five in the morning and going until… clock check… eleven in the evening would probably do that to a person. Her dark brown-red hair a mess; again… having been going over twelve hours… Could she last the next couple days? Oh hell, she hoped so!

With her hair and teeth brushed, Lamia stripped down from her day clothes to her nightclothes; a simple white tank and blue booty shorts. Flopping down on the bed, Lamia felt her body jiggle. That was one thing she hated… Lamia had hoped to drop at least ten pounds for this wedding and probably only dropped about five. She wasn't fat by any means, but she still was considered a plus person. Lamia was confident her body, loved her skin… she just wished it was more toned.

Truthfully Lamia wished for a lot of things she never got.