Charles was the first to speak. “Emily what I am about to say may sound a bit strange, but I want you to hear both Sarah’s and my account of things before you comment. There have been some very weird things going on in this house and we wondered if you had witnessed or sensed anything strange.”
Together they told Emily of all the odd happenings that had been going on at Moorcroft. When they had finished they both looked at her. She sat quietly for a while looking into the fire. When she spoke, they were both alarmed to hear of her tale of the dancers after the birthday party and that several times she had felt someone or something pass her in the hall and on the stairs and that several pieces of jewellery had gone missing and turned up days later. Relief flooded through Sarah, she wasn’t seeing and hearing things, her mother had experienced the same sort of thing.
Richard stormed into the kitchen and sent the girls scurrying to the side of Mrs Shaw. He had never come into the kitchen before, so they knew something was wrong. Mrs Shaw calmly wiped her hands on her apron and smiling asked Richard if she could help in any way.
“Where’s Mr Howard I need to speak to him urgently?”
“I believe he may be in the dining room telling the village girls what their duties are for the day.”
Without another word Richard turned and high-tailed it out of the kitchen heading for the dining room and bumped into Charles.
“Richard, have you spoken to any of the staff yet about last night’s incident?”
Richard stared at his friend. “No I haven’t and don’t think you can change my mind, I’m going to get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do. I’m on my way to find Howard now.”
Charles gripped his arm and forced him to turn around. “Listen Richard, I know you’re upset, but I think you should talk to your mother and Sarah first before you make any rash decisions.”
He looked at Charles with a quizzical look on his face. “What do they know about this?”
“Just come with me, they are both in the drawing room.”
They found Emily and Sarah sat on the settee in front of the fire, both talking quietly. Striding across the room he faced Sarah. “Where’s Vicky. Is she alright?”
Sarah nodded. “She tossed and turned most of the night so after breakfast she went for a lie down.”
He looked from his mother to his sister. “Well, is someone going to explain to me how a new dress of Victoria’s ends up like a pile of rags and no-one knows anything about it?”
Emily patted the seat of the armchair. “Richard do calm down before you burst a blood vessel. Sit here and we will try to explain as best we can what we think has been going on in this house.”
Richard looked across at Charles and sat down. Sarah told of the strange happenings that had occurred in her room and around the house from being a small child. On several occasions Emily had to hold up her hand to stop Richard from butting in. Finally, he could stand it no longer, stood up and started to pace the floor.
“So what you are trying to tell me is that the house is haunted and this so called woman is doing all these things. I’ve never heard anything so stupid in my life. Why is she here and why pick on Vicky?”
Charles sat upright. “We don’t know, but you have to admit that odd things have been happening around here. What about the horses being spooked when there was only you around and the time your mother found your coat in the middle of the hall when you swore you had hung it up?”
“There can be umpteen reasons for that. I’m going to have it out with Howard.”
Emily stood up. “Richard I am not going to have the staff accused of these things. It’s just like the silver, there has to be another explanation.”
Richard turned, anger showing on his face. “So that’s it, nothing gets done. What do I say to Vicky, she will want an explanation?”
Emily shook her head from side to side. “I don’t know but I will have a word with her. Leave that to me. Now go and see to your father I haven’t seen him since breakfast, he spends more and more time alone in that study of his, and don’t go upsetting him again.”
When Richard had left Emily flopped back into the chair and looked up at Charles. “I think you had better follow him, in the mood he’s in he could start another fight with his father. I’m sorry to put all this on your shoulders Charles.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll sort out Richard.”
When Charles had left the room Sarah looked to her mother. “Mother what are we going to tell Vicky?”
“Heaven knows but I’ll think of something.”
Upstairs Vicky was thrashing around on the bed. She was having a terrible dream that she was floating further and further away from Richard. He was holding out his hands to her and calling her name but she couldn’t reach him and she could hear this horrid laughter in the background, she looked in its direction but she couldn’t see who was laughing. She could hear a voice asking if she was afraid. She jumped up in fright and looked around the room convinced she was not alone, her body wet with perspiration. The bed covers were now on the floor and the room was icy cold, she shivered. The room seemed to be filled with shadows, it felt hostile, unwelcoming and she was overcome with fear. She hastily left the bed and ran to the door but she couldn’t get it open, the shadows seemed to be closing in on her, she couldn’t breathe. She was about to scream in panic when the door opened and Emily and Sarah rushed in.
Victoria threw herself into Emily’s arms crying.
“What on earth is the matter, my dear? Come and sit down by the fire you are freezing cold.”
Victoria told of her nightmare, how real it all felt and how the covers had been thrown to the floor and the room was icy cold.
“It was just a dream my dear. Look around you the room is nice and bright and the fire is roaring away.” Sarah threw a blanket over her friend’s shoulders. “Now listen I think we know what happened to your dress. It seems one of the dogs followed young Jane upstairs when she came to make the beds. When she left, she closed the bedroom door, but she didn’t know that the dog was still in the room trapped. The poor thing must have taken it’s frustration out on your dress. When Jane came to light the fire in the afternoon, the dog scurried past her and she was unaware of the damage it had done. So you see there is nothing to worry about and I will personally take you into town to buy a new dress.”
Victoria laughed. “That’s all it was? I was thinking someone must really hate me to do such a rotten thing. Poor dog, I suppose he got a good telling off.”
Sarah saw the relief on her friends face and smiled at her mother.
Charles followed Richard to the study. “Richard stay calm I don’t think your father is well and he doesn’t need another row with you.”
They found John slumped in his chair his head leaning to one side.
Richard knelt down beside him. He stroked his father’s hand. “Dad, are you alright?”
John lifted his head and looked into his son’s face. “Hmm. What? I must have dosed off, is everything okay?”
Richard sat in the seat opposite and looked at his father. Charles could see the concern on his face. He looked up at Charles and back at his father.
“We thought something had happened to you. Are you sure you’re okay, you don’t need a doctor?”
John brushed invisible dust from his trouser leg. “I’m fine stop your fussing. Did you want something?”
Charles gently shook his head and gave Richard a cautionary glance.
“No Dad we just wanted to check on you. Mum said she hadn’t seen you all morning so Charles and I thought we would search you out.”
“I’m fine boys; you just go along with your business and tell your mother, if you see her, that I would like a word with her. Will you do that?”
Richard nodded and together he and Charles left the room.
The three women were coming down the stairs and to Richard’s relief Victoria was smiling.
She ran to his side. “Have you hear
d the news? It was one of the dogs that tore my dress, he sneaked in when no-one was looking and caused all this upheaval.”
Richard looked at his Mother and holding Vicky in his arms mouthed a thank you to her. He wasn’t happy with the situation but at least Vicky seemed content with the reasoning and that was all that mattered at this moment.
On the landing Charlotte looked down on the happy scene. Anger engulfed her. Somehow she would have to get rid of that girl, Richard was getting too involved with her. She would have to show herself and sort her out once and for all.
####
CHAPTER 6
It had been a cold miserable day with a constant light drizzle, the sort of rain that doesn’t seem much but slowly soaks through your clothing and chills the bones. Both Emily and John were feeling their age and sat contented by the fireside reading and dozing for much of the day. Richard and Charles had gone off to the market and the girls were away working. The house seemed quiet and restful.
In the kitchen Mrs Shaw and her daughter Mary were busy preparing the evening meal. Things had been going well for them since the Gardeners had taken them on and Mary was a quick learner and was more than capable of running the kitchen on her own now. Emily Gardener was a pleasant woman to work for and more or less left the kitchen and its running to her. Mr Gardener left the household in the steady hands of Mr Howard who ran it with an iron rod. Mrs Shaw thought he was more stuck up than his master, everything was inspected day and night and he gave what for if it didn’t come up to his standards. It was a happy house most of the time, but the young girls who came in from the village to clean the house thought it was spooky and said that strange things happened in the upstairs rooms and they always went in twos if they had to go in the attic. The house could be lovely and warm with all the fires blazing away, but the attic rooms were always icy cold. The butler had cautioned the girls not to mention any strange events outside the house on fear of being dismissed. Only Mr Howard and the stable hand stayed on at the house, the rest of the staff lived out in the village, so it was nice in the late afternoon just before dinner, for the three of them to sit around the kitchen table with a cup of tea and one of Mrs Shaw’s fruit cakes and have a natter and catch up on local gossip. Soon the young masters would be home, the girls back from their workplaces and all bedlam would be let loose. Miss Victoria was such a pleasant young woman and spent most of her time here at Moorcroft. Mary had mentioned on more than one occasion how she had seen her and Richard Gardener canoodling when they thought no one was looking. Hearing car doors banging and the steady flow of chatter, Mrs Shaw stood, cleared the table and urged Mary to check on the dinner. The peace and quiet had ended.
In Victoria’s room Charlotte was busy looking through the wardrobes and drawers, pulling out clothes and tossing them on the bed. She sat at the dressing table and brushed her hair, turning her head from side to side admiring herself. How could Richard prefer that silly girl to the handsome woman looking back at her? She heard the car on the gravel and dashed to the window. Looking down she saw Charles and Richard vacate their Land Rover, laughing and patting each other on the back. Richard looked up at the window and waved. He had seen her. She quickly stepped back from the window her heart a flutter, was now the moment to show herself? She could hear heavy foot falls on the stairs, he was coming. As he opened the door he was calling for Victoria, she melted into the shadows. He looked around the room, it was empty, and again he called Victoria and saw the mess of clothes on her bed. Was someone playing tricks here? He checked that none of Vicky’s clothes were damaged. Had she left them there or was someone playing a spiteful game? He looked around the room; he could feel its chill. He picked up the garments, dresses, skirts, blouses, there were so many things thrown around, piled on the bed. He quickly put them back where he thought they belonged as best he could. If Vicky had left them out she would only think that the staff had put them away, he didn’t want her upset again. He ran back downstairs calling her name. Emily napping in the drawing room gently eased herself from the chair and went to see what the commotion was all about. Richard was coming down the stairs.
“Have you seen Victoria Mother?”
“She’s not back from work yet.” She looked at her watch. “She shouldn’t be long now. Is something the matter?”
“I could have sworn I saw her at the bedroom window, I must have been mistaken.”
Just then the main door opened and in walked Victoria, followed by a noisy Sarah. Both girls were soaking wet from the rain. Richard moved forward and helped Victoria out of her wet coat and kissed her cheek. Sarah looked at the two of them. She stood there in her sopping coat, her umbrella dripping on the floor.
“Oh, don’t you two worry about me. I’ll just struggle on my own.”
Richard laughed and took hold of her umbrella and helped her with her coat. “Come here you little pip squeak.”
Over dinner the conversation turned to the management of the estate. Emily saw her husband slump further in his seat, his food hardly touched.
Emily tapped the side of her glass. “Right, I forbid any more talk about the farms, the horses or this house. Let’s talk about something more cheerful, surely someone must have something more pleasant to say.”
Emily looked around the table. Victoria smiled across to Richard and gave him a gentle nod.
He coughed lightly. “As a matter of fact, I have some cheery news for you all,” Again he looked at Victoria. “I have asked Vicky to marry me and she has accepted.”
Everyone started talking at once, Emily tapped her glass again and everyone looked in her direction.
She smiled at her son. “About time too, I want some grandchildren before I get too old to enjoy them.”
Everyone laughed, Victoria blushed. John stood up and placed his hand on Richard’s shoulder.
“I couldn’t be more pleased for you Son; she is a lovely young woman. I hope you both will be very happy.” He looked around the table at the smiling faces. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I have something to do in the study.”
Emily sat and looked at her four children, for that was how she still saw them, chatting happily about the forthcoming wedding. They talked for a while and then she left them to it and went in search of her husband. In the hall she met Mary.
“Tell your mother the meal was excellent.” She nodded towards the door. “I would leave the clearing up for a while, the children are still talking.”
Emily entered the study to find John asleep in his chair. The room was warm and cosy, conducive to slumber. The logs had burnt low and the grate was now full of ash and dying embers. She gently raked the ash and put another log on the fire. She sat in the chair opposite her husband and looked upon his sallow face. His health had been failing over the last few months. John thought she hadn’t noticed, but she had. A half bottle of whisky was on the table by his side, an empty glass beside it. He had been drinking a lot lately it wasn’t good for his blood pressure. She turned on the lamp by her side and crossed the room to close the curtains, the night was upon them. She looked out over her rose garden. The rain had stopped and the moon illuminated the grounds making weird shadows of the trees across the drive as they were rocked by the light breeze, she thought it quite magical. She sighed, closed the curtains and turned back to the room. John stirred and opened his eyes.
Seeing Emily he smiled. “I must have dozed off.” He reached for the glass and noticing it was empty returned it to the table.
“I’ll ask Mrs Shaw to bring us a pot of tea. How does that sound?”
John nodded.
In the drawing room the girls sat on the settee talking non stop about wedding arrangements. Charles poured them all a drink and handed round the glasses.
“A toast, I think. To Vicky and Richard, may they always be happy and their problems be little ones.”
Sarah raised her glass and hugged her friend. Richard stood in front of Victoria and from his pocket took out a small blue box and placed it in her hand.
“I meant to give you this later when we were alone, but now everyone knows, you may as well have it now.”
With shaking hands, she opened the box to reveal a large solitaire diamond ring.
Sarah took one look at it and exclaimed, “Wow, look at that.”
Richard sat beside her and took it from the box and placed it on her third finger. “Now it’s official.” He took her in his arms and kissed her. Sarah had never seen her big brother acting with such affection and realised just how much he loved her dearest friend.
At the back of the room Charlotte was brought to tears, how could Richard do this to her? There was no time to lose, she must get rid of this troublesome girl and quickly before it was too late. With a sweep of her hand she brushed the lamp from the side table and rushed from the room. Everyone turned and looked at the lamp. Charles picked it up off the floor and placed it back on the table and looked from Sarah to Richard, only Victoria looked confused.
Emily poured the tea and handed the cup and saucer to her husband. He took it in shaking hands. They sat quietly for a moment happy in each others company. John put down his cup and looked at Emily.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these last few days. I’ve listened to Richard and Charles and I’ve taken your advice on board and I’ve made a decision.”
He looked into the glowing embers of the fire and watched the sparks float up the chimney. With a heavy sigh he looked into the eyes of his wife.
“I’ve decided to hand over the running of the estate to Richard. From now on he can make all the decisions. Charles has explained to me how selling one of the farms makes sense, so Richard can go along with that, but I would still have control of the finances. I don’t want to be put out to pasture just yet.”
Moorcroft The Possession Page 8
