Parliament of Rooks

by Karen Perkins

  ‘All right now?’

  ‘Much better. I’m so glad there was a cancellation and my room was available a day early.’

  ‘And that it’s a twin,’ I added.

  ‘Definitely. You know we can share for the rest of my visit, too.’

  ‘What, and face a coffee-less Jayne every morning? I’d rather deal with the ghosts over the road!’

  Jayne scowled at me, then laughed. ‘Well, it’s up to you – the offer’s there.’

  ‘Thank you. I do mean that, Jayne. But The Rookery is my home, I need to claim it.’

  Jayne nodded. ‘That makes sense. But wasn’t it a relief not to dream? I’m also worried about that push – if whatever it is, is getting violent, you might not be safe.’

  ‘He’s not been violent to me – quite the opposite – and there’s never been any hint of threat from the Grey Lady either.’

  Jayne pursed her lips. I didn’t want to tell her my nightly visitor could find me here.

  ‘Anyway, this place is haunted too, you know.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Yes, a balloonist who died in the ’20s, Lily Cove. She fell to her death on the moors and apparently still haunts her old room at the White Lion.’

  ‘Which room?’ Jayne had gone very still.

  ‘Seven, I think.’

  She relaxed again. She was in Room Six. ‘Is there anywhere not haunted in Haworth?’

  ‘I doubt it. There’s a lot of history here, and much death over the centuries, much of it ... unpleasant.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, Lily for one. Then there’s a witch’s house up the road connected to Pendle. And don’t forget all the mills, the accidents and lung diseases there, plus horrendous living conditions: overcrowding, bad water, shared privies, TB, cholera and all sorts of other diseases.’

  Jayne shuddered. ‘But it’s such a pretty, picturesque village.’

  ‘Well yes, it is now. Wasn’t so great living here in the 1800s.’

  ‘So what do you think about that Sparkly woman yesterday?’

  I raised my eyebrows at Jayne’s abrupt change of subject, then shrugged.

  ‘She’s normally lovely, I don’t know why she’s been in such a bad mood the last couple of days. I guess she’s just under pressure with such an old and complicated building to rewire.’

  ‘Strange her tools keep going missing, though. You don’t think your ghosts are stepping up their game?’

  Ah, so it hadn’t really been a change of subject after all. ‘I doubt it, it’ll be the lads winding her up – they seem to really like her, but are constantly on her back.’

  ‘Or hope to be.’ Jayne sniggered and I laughed with her.

  ‘Probably, yes.’

  ‘Come on, let’s order some food.’

  ‘It was strange Vikram turning up like that last night,’ Jayne mused, as she refilled her cup.

  I shrugged. ‘It’s a small village – no real surprise we bumped into him in one of the main pubs.’

  ‘I suppose,’ Jayne said, smiled at me, then focused on the rest of her breakfast.

  ***

  ‘Lara’s just texted,’ Jayne said as we approached the door to The Rookery. ‘She’ll be here after lunch.’

  ‘Great,’ I said, then looked up as a flock of birds cawed above us. ‘I wonder what she’ll make of everything that’s been happening.’

  Jayne groaned. ‘I don’t even want to think about it. She’ll be in seventh heaven and having us do all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff. We’ll be like Ghost Adventures or Most Haunted!’

  ‘We might get some answers,’ I said as I pushed open the door to my guesthouse and stopped dead.

  Sparkly was in full flow, ranting about missing tools and cable, the lads shuffling awkwardly, trying to defend themselves, but only succeeding in angering Sparkly further. Even Vikram looked lost for what to do.

  ‘What’s going on?’ I asked, and was ignored.

  Jayne slammed the door and I asked again, this time at the top of my voice, and hush descended over the rabble of squabbling tradesmen and -woman.

  Sparkly took a deep breath, faced me, and opened her mouth, no doubt to begin her tirade afresh, but Vikram stepped in front of her.

  ‘The cameras have disappeared,’ he explained. ‘Expensive ones.’

  Sparkly shouted over him, ‘And I know you guys have done it for a joke, but it’s gone too far. I need to get them all up today. I’ve got everything else finished. There’s only the cameras left to fit, then I’ll be done – I want to finish today. Just tell me where they are, you buggers!’

  Vikram held up a placating hand. ‘I’m not denying we don’t wind you up for a laugh – but none of us want to hold the job up. The sooner we get done, the sooner we get off for the Christmas break. Nobody’s taken the blasted cameras. They must be here somewhere.’

  ‘I’ve looked top to bottom, and in every damned cranny in the place!’ Sparkly stamped her foot and Vikram’s face reddened.

  ‘I suggest you look again, start at the top.’

  She opened her mouth to argue, then shut it again. Vikram had turned away from me so I couldn’t see his new expression. Judging by Sparkly’s about turn, followed by the rest of the gang, it was probably just as well.

  He turned back to me. ‘Sorry about that. Things are just a bit fraught for her around Christmas – family stuff, you know.’

  I nodded, I was feeling a bit fraught myself to be facing my first Christmas as a divorcée – but at least I had good friends around me.

  ‘How is everything else coming on?’ I asked.

  ‘Pretty good, actually,’ Vikram said. ‘We’re a little behind, but not much. Sparkly’s got all the sockets and lights working, and the plumbers are well on with the new pipes for the en-suites. I was hoping to have all that done before Christmas, but we’re not quite there I’m afraid. Nothing to worry about though,’ he added hastily. ‘It’s to be expected in an old building. We’ll have you ready to open on time. It’s just these blasted cameras ...’ he tailed off.

  ‘I’ll help you look,’ I said. ‘Sorry, not much fun for you.’ I glanced at Jayne.

  ‘Don’t worry, I need to take Grasper for a long walk, get rid of most of his energy before Lara and Hannah arrive.’

  I nodded. ‘That sounds like a good idea – he’ll likely tear the place up again if you don’t. Joke,’ I added, seeing the look on Vikram’s face. ‘He’ll be fine.’

  ‘He’d have to face that lot if he isn’t,’ Vikram said, jerking his thumb at the stairs, still flooded by the sound of animosity.

  I grimaced.

  ‘He’ll behave,’ Jayne said. ‘Verity’s just having you on.’

  ‘I’d like to get some mince pies and mulled wine in as well, just as a thank you for everyone working so close to Christmas.’

  ‘They’d like that, although would probably prefer cans of Stella and Black Sheep to mulled wine,’ Vikram said. ‘Have a word with them at the Black Bull, they’ll sort you out. Assuming we find those damned cameras, we’ll be done by two.’

  ‘Great, I’ll sort it for then. Would you split this between everyone too?’ I passed him an envelope.

  He laughed. ‘They’ll appreciate that even more! Thank you.’

  ‘One way to make sure they’ll come back in the new year,’ Jayne said.

  ‘Oh, go and walk your dog. And have another coffee.’ I smiled to take the sting out of my words, realising the atmosphere of the constant arguing was getting to me. ‘Sorry,’ I added. ‘I’m feeling a bit on edge with all this going on.’

  Jayne nodded and gave me a hug, then called to Grasper who, we just noticed, was once more doing his crazy dance – presumably chasing more invisible balls of light.

  23.

  ‘Everyone seems much happier,’ I remarked to Vikram, watching the build team tuck in. The Black Bull had been more than happy to cater the beer and wine, and one
of the local cafés had done us proud with sandwiches and nibbles. Everything looked ... festive, despite The Rookery being more building site than guesthouse.

  ‘Yes the cameras turned up, and we all pitched in. Sparkly’s relaxed, and that makes all the difference.’ He swigged from his can and I wasn’t quite sure how light-hearted his comment truly was. I decided to ignore it and mentally apologised to Sparkly for my lack of female solidarity.

  ‘Where were they in the end?’

  ‘Well, that’s the strange thing,’ Vikram said. ‘They were on the top stairs – that’s what all the shouting was about earlier. One camera on each tread. Cables neatly coiled, all very carefully. Sparkly went ape.’

  ‘So had one of the guys done it to wind her up?’

  ‘I don’t see how. She’d searched the place top to bottom, there’s nowhere they could have hidden them – then they were set out in plain view. No one’s been on their own, and everybody swears it wasn’t them. I believe them.’

  ‘Sounds like your ghost is playing tricks.’

  I swung round at the familiar voice. ‘Lara! How wonderful to see you!’ We hugged, then I released her to hug Hannah while Jayne embraced Lara.

  ‘How long have you been standing there?’

  ‘Long enough to hear you’ve been having fun and games without me, and apparently not long enough for anyone to offer me a drink.’

  ‘Oh sorry! Mulled wine?’ I turned to pour her a glass without waiting for her nod. ‘What’s up with you anyway? It’s not like you to wait until you’re asked – you certainly know you don’t need to stand on ceremony here.’

  Lara shrugged. ‘You have company, I was trying to make a good impression.’

  ‘That ship sailed with your ghost comment,’ Jayne said, laughing. ‘Seriously though, it’s good to see you.’

  Lara raised her eyebrows. ‘Why do I get the feeling I don’t know even half of what’s been going on?’

  Jayne and I shrugged in unison, and Lara narrowed her eyes but checked her curiosity for the time being and turned to her daughter who was tapping her arm, trying to get her attention.

  ‘Can I take Grasper for a walk, Mummy? Can I? Can I?’

  ‘You’d best ask Aunt Jayne.’

  ‘Can I, Aunt Jayne, can I take him walkies? Pleeeaasse.’

  ‘Well, now you’ve said the magic word—’

  ‘What, walkies?’ I said, laughing as I indicated Grasper’s excited and downright manic circling.

  Jayne smiled. ‘Of course you can. Just watch out for that Main Street – I took him down there earlier and it was lovely. The only problem was getting back up it!’

  The adults laughed, but Hannah looked confused. ‘Why? It’s just a hill.’

  The laughter died and Jayne held out the Irish terrier’s lead with a resigned smile. ‘Now I feel old,’ she said. ‘From the mouths of babes ...’

  ‘I’m not a babe, I’m ten!’ Hannah said, full of indignation. She clipped on Grasper’s lead and marched out of The Rookery, head held unnaturally high.

  ‘You’ve got a right one there,’ Vikram said.

  ‘Oh, Lara’s more than a match for her,’ Jayne said. ‘She keeps us all on our toes, though – doesn’t let us get away with anything!’

  We all sipped our drinks, then Lara said, ‘Oh, I meant to tell you, Verity – you need to get some netting or spikes on the window ledges and gutters. You know, the ones town centres use to keep the pigeons from roosting and messing up the front of the buildings.’

  Vikram scowled. ‘We don’t really have much problem with pigeons here – the buzzards tend to scare them off.’

  ‘Well, whatever they are, there’s loads of birds perching outside. I dread to think what your window cleaning bill will be if you don’t sort it out.’

  Jayne and I looked at each other in confusion. ‘I haven’t noticed anything,’ I said.

  ‘No, nor me,’ Vikram added. ‘Let me go and have a look.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Jayne said, and we moved to the door.

  ‘Mistletoe!’ someone shouted from behind us – Omar or Gary, I’m not sure, and the build team filled the place with laughter as Vikram and Jayne looked up to see the offending greenery with white berries hanging over the doorway.

  ‘Bad luck not to give her a kiss, boss,’ Gary – definitely Gary this time – called.

  ‘They won’t stop,’ Vikram said to Jayne and she gave a slight nod to permit his peck on her cheek, then glanced at me in a mixture of apology and embarrassment.

  I smiled and we trooped outside – in single file.

  ‘Worse than Spin the Bloody Bottle,’ Lara muttered.

  Outside we looked up and I gasped. Every window ledge, door lintel, the edge of the roof – every available roost – was occupied. I had a brief flashback to Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds, then shook myself. They weren’t doing anything, they weren’t threatening, and they weren’t attacking.

  All the same, the sight of so many rooks, wing to wing, was unnerving.

  ‘I’ve never seen owt like it,’ Vikram said.

  ‘What made you call this place, The Rookery, Verity?’ Lara asked. ‘Where did the name come from?’

  I shrugged. ‘I don’t know really, I was playing around with more Brontë-like names, Wildfell, Thrushcross, that kind of thing, then The Rookery popped into my head and just kind of stuck.’

  We stayed staring at the façade of the building for a minute or two more, then the build team emerged – in single file again to avoid the mistletoe – to say their thanks and goodbyes.

  ‘I’ll leave you to it as well, ladies. Happy Christmas,’ Vikram said.

  Lara, Jayne and I returned the greeting then went back inside and I topped up our glasses.

  ‘I think you two had better tell me exactly what’s been going on,’ said Lara.

  24.

  ‘There’s something you’re not telling me,’ Lara said, looking at Jayne after I’d told her about my dreams, the touch in the shower, and the sightings of the Grey Lady. ‘Jayne, you’re too quiet, and too accepting of everything. Why haven’t you made any jokes or suggested rational explanations?’

  Jayne shrugged, clearly uncomfortable, but said nothing.

  ‘Something happened to you too, didn’t it?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe. It was probably nothing.’

  ‘Jayne?’

  She sighed. ‘Verity, you tell her.’

  I wasn’t sure if she was scared, in denial, or just reluctant to admit what had happened after years of poking fun at Lara for believing just this kind of thing. Whatever was going on with her, I did not want to make things harder, and told Lara about the push.

  ‘Do you feel safe here?’

  I was surprised at Lara’s response, but nodded. I did feel safe. I was curious and confused, but I didn’t feel threatened.

  ‘No.’ Jayne’s reply was unequivocal. ‘And I worry about Verity staying here. I think she should sell up.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Something’s going on, Verity – something strange, something powerful, and even if you feel safe, I don’t. I could have been badly hurt. The builders don’t like it here either – one’s run off already and the others all keep falling out, and it’s centred around this place and you. You’ve only been here a couple of weeks and it’s escalating. I think you should go.’

  ‘Verity?’

  I was flabbergasted and needed Lara’s prompt to gather my thoughts. ‘I can’t go. Look at the place, I could never resell with it like this, and I’ve invested everything into it. Anyway, I don’t want to move.’ I sat back and folded my arms.

  ‘To be honest, it sounds like it may already be too late,’ Lara said.

  ‘What do you mean? How can it be too late?’ Jayne asked.

  ‘There are different types of hauntings,’ Lara began. ‘Take the Grey Lady – from the sound of it, she’s a residual impression of something that happened a hund
red and fifty years ago. It may be something that happened often and regularly, or maybe something else happened around the woman – whether she’s Emily Brontë or not – that has kept her stuck in that action. It’s almost recorded into the fabric of the building – a bit like the way sound used to be recorded on to iron oxide in the days of cassette tapes. There’s no interaction, no consciousness there, just a repetitive image.’

  ‘Okay,’ Jayne said, drawing the syllables out. ‘I guess that makes sense.’

  To her credit, Lara didn’t bat an eyelid at this apparent acceptance of her theory. ‘But the man – the man’s different. He’s communicating – at first just with Verity and through her dreams, but he’s getting stronger. The dreams are becoming more focused, he’s touched not only Verity, but you too, Jayne, and I think he’s connected to Verity rather than the building. He’s sentient, and if Verity leaves, I think there’s a good chance he’d go with her.’

  ‘But he didn’t last night,’ Jayne objected. ‘Verity didn’t dream about him last night when we stayed at the White Lion.’

  ‘He may have overexerted himself, weakened himself. Plus you were both relaxed, focused on each other, and I’m guessing had quite a bit to drink.’

  ‘Well ...’

  ‘That’s a yes then. Even if you did dream about him, Verity, your sleep could have been so deep that you just can’t remember it.’

  ‘Oh. Yeah, I guess.’ I wasn’t sure if the prospect of having to drink to silence him was more unsettling than the idea that if I did drink, I would miss him.

  ‘Talking of drink, I need a refill,’ Jayne said, rose and fetched a bottle of merlot. On her way back to our makeshift seats of sawhorses and trestles that Vikram and the team had left us, she stopped, visibly shook herself, then rushed over.

  ‘You’re freaking me out,’ she complained.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I just came over all cold.’

  Lara stood and moved around the same area that had frozen Jayne. ‘A cold spot. He’s here.’

  ‘Well, tell him to go!’

  Lara slowly shook her head at Jayne as she returned to her seat. ‘No. He’s here for a reason. We need to find out what that is, then maybe we can help him and he’ll leave us alone.’