The Sisters of Castle Stone

#1: The Moët Millionaires

The mouthwatering smell of a Sunday dinner filled the dining room of number eight Smithy Close, Camshurst, Cambridgeshire.

The smell of the perfectly roasted chicken drifted up Charlotte Greyson's nose. Her stomach moaned and groaned. It had been a long day for Charlotte, and she looked forward to her Mum's Sunday dinners, which were a different meat every week. For now, however, as she waited for the food, her focus remained on the task at hand, as she quickly sent off another message to her friend.

Her mother walked through from the kitchen, her knee-length dress covered by a pretty floral apron as she carried the large roast chicken which she placed upon the dining table. Father Charles, and older sisters Bella and Bethany, sat around the small table that was covered by a pretty white tablecloth decorated with holly leaves and dark red berries.  Teenager Charlotte sat in silence, looking down at the smartphone in front of her, as her fingers tapped away at the screen.

The girls' Mum, Sally, piled each plate with vegetables, a few slices of meat and mashed potato. Gravy sat in a white pottery gravy boat for the family to add as much or as little as they liked.

Sunday dinner passed as it usually did, the girls chatted and laughed about school gossip and the usual who was dating whom. Dad spoke a little about work.

"Susan's up the duff again." He sighed, "I'll need to phone the temp agency tomorrow." He paused and looked around at his daughters, "unless any of you girls fancy helping your Dad for a few weeks?"

"Yeah right Dad, you still owe me from the last time I helped out in your office," Replied Bethany, "and Charlotte's always on her phone."

Charlotte sat at the table, her plate piled high with roast vegetables and a little gravy. It had been a long time since she'd tasted meat and that wasn't something she was likely to go back on. She'd spent the day, as she spent every other Sunday since she was three years old, helping out at Sunnycroft stables. She mucked out the horses, brushed their fur and combed their manes and tail. She'd feed them, make sure they had fresh, clean water and ride through the forests with her friends. Her legs ached like she'd run a marathon and her head still felt a little sore from wearing her riding hat. She began to think that she needed a new one. Knowing how much they cost, and that the family's finances weren't as healthy as they once were, she didn't think she'd be getting one any time soon.

She held her phone in her hand as she flicked through endless images of riding helmets on www.ridingstuff4u.com. If she didn't get a new one soon, she might have to stop riding and no way would she allow that to happen.

Her mother watched her every move. Mum lingered until she heard the phone ping, and then she struck like a cobra, grabbing the device in her hands and away from her daughter.

"Charlotte Olivia Greyson!" She snapped, "you know the rules about mobile phones at the dinner table."

"But muuuuum!"

"But nothing!" She pushed the phone into the front pocket of her slim red pencil skirt. "You can have this back later." Mum sighed and looked at the screen on her daughter's phone, "your current one will do for now."

Charlotte watched as Mum returned to her seat and took a bite of the chicken dinner she'd worked hard to cook. But instead of putting the food in her mouth, she rested the fork back on the plate. The girl, having never seen her Mum act like this before, couldn't help but think it was strange. No matter how long it took Mum to prepare the meal, she wasn't eating it. Maybe something played on her mind like a pianist tinkling the Ivory keys and playing a repetitive sound.

What's wrong? What's wrong?

What was it? That's what Charlotte wanted to know. What life-changing news was Sally Greyson going to dump on the poor unsuspecting family? How would she take it? So many questions flew around her mind. Was it bad news? Was anyone ill? Had someone died? She still struggled and hoped more than anything that it wasn't anything serious. With grandad's funeral only a few weeks ago, not another death in the family? Surely.