‘Perhaps we were just having a bad night.’ He ventured.
‘Bad night? Is that what you call it? I was terrified!’ She exclaimed.
‘But Sis, there’s no sign of anything being moved or damaged. We must have been dreaming.’ Sebastian insisted.
There was a pause before Caroline continued,
‘Seb, listen to me very carefully, I don’t know exactly what happened, but it did happen. I wasn’t dreaming when that man tore my clothes, I was wide awake.’
Sebastian sighed,
‘Okay, Sis, I accept that you thought it was real. Don’t suppose you want to come back?’
Caroline almost jumped down the phone and let loose,
‘Come back? You must be out of your tiny sodding mind! I’ll never set foot in that place again!’
Sebastian had moved the receiver away from his ear to protect his hearing.
‘So, I suppose you are staying with James? Will I be able to phone you there?’
‘Use my mobile; I’m not sure what I’ll be doing.’ She replied tersely.
Sebastian didn’t think that sounded too confident and couldn’t help feeling a little relieved.
‘Things okay with James?’ He asked as delicately as he could.
‘I’ll talk to you later.’ She said and broke the connection.
He stood with the phone in his hand looking at it as if it could answer his question.
‘Perhaps not,’ He said to the empty room.
On the other end of the line, Caroline dropped the receiver back on its cradle and turned to face James, not hearing him approaching but knowing he was there out of a sixth sense. As she turned, he switched on his smile, just a fraction too late, because for a second she caught the dark expression on his face. It was not a nice look, not the look of a man who might be in love with her.
The previous night had begun wonderfully. They had shared a sumptuous dinner at the pub with a particularly good red, moving on to liqueurs and coffee to finish. It was only a short drive to his home on the outskirts of the village where she oohed and aahed at the tastefully decorated interior. The furniture was all antique and very elegant pieces at that. James didn’t stand on ceremony but led the way upstairs to his bedroom and began kissing her. She was a little tipsy and enjoyed his gentle ministrations allowing him to undress her. She climbed into his generously sized bed and lay watching as he undressed. The only other time they had made love was in the back of his office. That had been a little hurried, and although enjoyable she was looking forward to a long night of uninterrupted passion.
That may have been what she desired, but it was not what happened. James joined her on the bed and without any of the expected foreplay proceeded to make love to her. Except that it was very far from making love in her view. He had dominated her completely, seemingly uncaring about her pleasure and intent only on satisfying himself. She lay beneath him while he laboured over her displaying almost animal lust until he finished and lay beside her breathing hard. To her acute displeasure, he then turned away from her and went to sleep. She lay on her back wondering what had just happened. Surely this was not to be her future, could not be her future.
Caroline had been woken up in the early morning by the sensation 0f James crashing down on top of her. She had hardly become fully awake when he rolled off and lay by her side.
‘I need coffee.’ He said, and she guessed he meant her to get out of bed and prepare it. Not her idea of the perfect romance at all.
Now he stood before her with that smile firmly in place. She recognised it for what it was, false. Like everything else about him she decided. Sebastian had been right, this was not someone to be trusted. Why was she so gullible when it came to men she wondered? She seemed to attract all the bad ones like a magnet.
‘I have to go into the office,’ He said, ‘Want to come or would you rather do a little shopping?’
‘Shopping, I think.’ She replied, trying to sound as light and cheerful as she could. ‘You go to the office, and I'll call in later.’
He walked past her to the door, slapping her hard on the behind.
‘Don’t forget your car; it’s still parked outside the pub. Better bring it here, you won’t need it much anyway, I’ll be doing the driving now.’
She didn’t answer, and he turned to face her.
‘Yes, okay, I’ll do that.’ She said hurriedly.
‘Good girl.’ He replied, cupping her face in his hand and reaching forward to kiss her on the lips.
Caroline watched him drive out of the yard and up the street towards his office. As soon as he was out of sight, she left the cottage at a brisk walk. There was a laneway running adjacent to the main street to service the rear of the properties, and she chose that route to avoid walking past James’ office. At the rear entrance to the pub, she turned and walked through without stopping until she was in her car. She couldn’t believe how much she was shaking, starting the engine and making a very poor three-point turn in the street to head back in the direction of the bakery.
Sebastian was on his third or fourth coffee when Caroline arrived in the yard with her customary cloud of dust and screech of brakes.
He didn’t get up knowing by the nature of the arrival it was his sister. He wondered at the sudden change of mind, only minutes ago she was never going to set foot in this house again, and now here she was large as life. He suspected he was about to be overwhelmed by a barrage of tears liberally mixed with anger. Yet another failed romance and this possibly the briefest of them all.
Caroline walked into the kitchen, she wasn’t crying and didn’t even appear to be angry which surprised Sebastian.
‘Hi, Sis.’ He said, lightly.
‘Hello, I’m back.’ Came her reply.
‘So, what happened?’
‘The usual, he began alright, like they all do, then turned into a real bastard.’ She said, sitting at the table.
‘Coffee?’ He said.
‘Any scotch to put in it?’ She asked.
Laughing, Sebastian made her coffee with a liberal amount of whisky and sat down at the table with her. He waited for her to begin and after a few comforting sips, she told him about the previous night, leaving nothing out. The sad story confirmed his dislike of James, and he wondered if he would pursue her here to his door. Let him, thought Sebastian, it will be my pleasure to tell him to go to hell.
‘So, what now, Sis?’ He asked.
‘I’ll go back to London in the morning, I’m off men Seb, and this time I mean it. My life is so much better without them. I have lived all these years believing that I need a man in my life, but it’s rubbish! I don’t need anyone, well anyone except you, dear brother.’
Sebastian wasn’t sure about the former but was damn sure about the latter. His sister would always need him, and of that, he was quite certain.
Caroline followed her brother upstairs as he carried her bags up and into the same bedroom she had occupied before, but she stopped him.
‘No, Seb, I can’t sleep in this bedroom, we can share your bed, or if you like you can sleep in here, but I couldn’t bear to be by myself in this room again.’
Sebastian smiled and said they could share, it would be like old times when they were kids. Caroline relaxed, at least she wouldn’t be alone if things went bump in the night.
He made dinner that evening, and they shared a bottle of wine finishing with a healthy measure of scotch in their coffee as a nightcap. It was a happy couple who ascended the stairs, giggling. They were like a pair of naughty children and pinched each other as they used to so many years ago.
The cheerfulness stopped suddenly as the pair reached Caroline's old bedroom. The door was as before, shattered by heavy blows from the bloodied axe which now lay on the floor just inside the bedroom. Caroline let out a piercing scream and ran back down the stairs, not bothering with her luggage she grabbed her car keys from the table and ran out into the night. Sebastian was only a little way behind her but was too late to
stop her slamming the car into gear and tearing out of the yard. She turned left, heading away from both the Marston villages at high speed. He shook his head and hoped she would be alright, they had consumed a fair amount of alcohol between them, and it would be no use in calling her on her mobile, he doubted she would answer.
He turned and climbed the stairs again to look at the damage, except there was no damage! No broken door, no axe, nothing. He wasn’t surprised, had been half expecting it. For some reason the house didn’t want Caroline there, he had begun to think of the house as a living entity, capable of making its own decisions. It seemed to be happy with him, though. He went to bed and slept soundly, at one stage he thought he might be dreaming feeling a warm body lying beside him but upon waking in the morning, he was clutching a pillow. He smiled to himself, there was his warm body then, not a fair maiden but a bloody pillow.
Sebastian settled himself with a cup of coffee and called Caroline’s mobile. She answered, but her tone indicated that this was not a happy sister. However, he began with a lighthearted greeting,
‘Hi Sis, where are you?’
The answer was terse and to the point,
‘If you must know I’m walking along the bloody road, no bloody car and no bloody luggage.’
‘What happened?’ He asked, his happy greeting now becoming more serious.
‘I don’t know; I was driving along and suddenly out of nowhere this bloody truck appeared, no warning or anything. I came round in what was left of the Beamer and legged it. I know I was pissed so didn’t hang around for the cops to breathalyse me.’ She was obviously furious.
‘Oh.’ Sebastian’s one word answer.
She had more to say, however,
‘You and your bloody house have almost given me a nervous breakdown, introduced me to a potential sex maniac and now this!’
Sebastian was still lost for words but managed to tell her he would, of course, take care of any fine if she were pulled up by the police over the accident. He could hardly blame her for driving under the influence after what she had experienced.
That seemed to pacify her a little, and the conversation dwindled into nothing, she said she would return to London, and he could stay in his cursed house as she now referred to it. She broke the connection and Sebastian was left standing with a quizzical look on his face thinking that it was odd that for once in her life she hadn’t demanded he go to her rescue immediately as her knight in shining armour.
James never put in an appearance. Sebastian had half expected he would, his sister was too good a prize to be given up so readily and he was not looking forward to the next time he met James in the village. It would be a little awkward, to say the least.
The morning went by quickly as he finalised the decorating of the newly shelved pantry. He painted over the old rings deciding to leave them there, they almost disappeared under the layers of paint, blending into the wall. In the dim light at the back of the pantry, no one would even notice them.
He made lunch and afterwards sat pondering on which job to tackle next. A knock at the door startled him, and for a moment he sat looking at it, he wasn’t expecting anyone. James, he thought! The knock came again breaking the spell, and he got up to answer it.
He opened the door to the smiling face of Briony, and he felt his mood lift immediately. Her smile was like sunshine to him, and he bathed in its glow until she cocked her head to one side and spoke,
‘Well, are you going to invite me in or do we stand here looking at each other?’ She asked, her smile changing into a laugh. He stepped back inside, and she followed him in.
‘Welcome.’ He said, not knowing what else to say, suddenly lost for words. Just being able to look at her was enough for him at the moment. He had missed her far more than he realised and breathed in the surrounding air as if he might inhale her to capture her presence for ever.
She smiled at his awkwardness and walked around the room taking everything in. He watched her, content to follow her movements. She paused at the pantry.
‘Careful, the paint may not be entirely dry.’ He cautioned.
She acknowledged his warning with a slight tilt of her head and opened the door wide. The naked light bulb lit the interior reflecting off the white walls and shelving as she wandered inside. Sebastian followed her explaining how he had recently removed an old wall to increase the size of the room, missing out the part about the body imprisoned there. He wasn’t keen on spreading that piece of knowledge, it would kill any chance of a future sale should he wish to move on, and didn’t want to frighten her, she might never return, and that was the one thing he feared above all else.
Briony walked all the way in and to his amazement put her hands on two of the freshly painted iron rings. He began to remind her about the wet paint, but the words died on his lips as she placed her palms on the rings and leaned her head against the wall. Sebastian could see her shoulders moving slightly and put his arms around her waist, leaning his head against her shoulder. Whatever she was feeling transmitted through to him and he remained silent, holding her gently in his embrace. He could feel her sobs even though she made no sound.
Briony suddenly turned around remaining in his embrace and put her arms around his neck. He kissed her gently on the lips, and she responded. The kiss seemed to last for an eternity, and he had a deep feeling that he never wanted it to stop.
In the end, she pulled away slightly and rested her head on his shoulder, but when he made to move away and exit the pantry, she held him tightly as if she wanted them to stay exactly where they were. He could smell her hair and her skin and thought he had never before experienced such a feeling. At that moment he knew he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. Nothing else mattered, she was his destiny.
They began to sway gently as if in a dance played out to an unheard piece of music. As they moved in unison he began to hum softly, it was a Leonard Cohen song, one of his favourites, ‘Dance me to the end of love’. The lyrics held new meaning now, and he began to sing the words softly as they swayed in time. He sensed her pull closer to him as if she were seeking safety and he held her a little more tightly as if to reinforce her security in his arms.
As he completed the last verse of the song, she looked up into his eyes, and he could see the mist of tears covering her own. He kissed her forehead then her eyelids as he moved down to her lips, connecting as if they had years of sharing together.
When they broke apart, he whispered,
‘Will you stay?’
‘Yes.’ She said, reaching up for his mouth once again.
Briony shared his bed, and they made tender love. For Sebastian, it was the most exquisitely perfect union he had ever experienced. He seriously doubted whether he would ever find such love again. His life was now perfect, he needed nothing else and hoped with all his heart that Briony felt the same way.
They snuggled together and shared a dreamless sleep, both were relaxed and totally satisfied. Neither was aware of the shadow standing in the bedroom doorway. It moved silently downstairs and occupied the wingbacked chair. Soon thin tendrils of tobacco smoke were spiralling up to the ceiling where they remained trapped, releasing a fragrant aroma. The couple upstairs were too exhausted to notice and slept on blissfully ignorant that their every move had been witnessed.
The following morning the lovers walked downstairs and into the kitchen, still wrapped up in each other to the extent that at first neither took any notice of the pipe tobacco aroma still present.
Sebastian began the breakfast starting with the essential coffee maker and scurried about like a groom caring for his bride after the first night of their honeymoon. Briony sat at the table happy to be waited upon until she noticed the smell of the tobacco. She immediately became edgy and began to fidget. Sebastian saw the change in her demeanour and sat down at the table facing her.
‘What’s wrong, you look pale, are you feeling ill?’ he asked with a worried look covering his hitherto smiling face.
‘No, I’m fine, really.’ She replied but at the same time casting a nervous glance over her shoulder in the direction of the old range.
They ate breakfast in relative silence, Sebastian doing all the talking. Briony ate sparingly, and more than once paused to look over her shoulder, always in the same direction.
‘What’s the matter?’ Asked Sebastian, convinced that something had happened in the last few minutes to change the atmosphere in the kitchen. Briony had become distant, and he couldn’t understand why.
‘I might go after we’ve eaten, if that’s okay?’ She said, completely ignoring his original question.
‘Fine.’ He replied feeling a little hurt.
She sensed his disappointment and reached over to touch his hand.
‘Last night was beautiful, really it was. I never want to stop being with you, but please trust me when I say that we must continue to be discrete.’
He held her hand lightly in his own, not understanding why he shouldn’t shout his feelings to the world and announce to all and sundry that here was the woman he had been looking for all his life. He suspected that James might be part of the problem and using any ammunition he could, spelt out exactly what had happened between James and his sister, leaving nothing out including the fact that the two had slept together.
Briony gripped his hand a little tighter and smiled.
‘James is never very discrete. To him, every woman is fair game. Married,young or old, to him they are merely women and as such only exist to satisfy his needs.’
Sebastian looked shocked,
‘Then, why in heaven’s name do you see him? If he really is that bad why do you sit in his office and talk to him? What ties you to him?’
She laughed then, and her voice sounded to him like the happy sounds of a soft babbling brook.
‘So many questions, Sebastian. You’ll just have to trust me I’m afraid. But know this, you are the one I love and will always love, unconditionally.’
Sebastian relaxed. He didn’t begin to understand what was going on but trusted her implicitly. Somehow he knew this was his future.
The Haunting Page 17
