by Dilys Xavier
Anna strained her eyes in the dimly lit hall to take another good look at her ancestor’s face. She moved up a couple of steps, and then looked at the portrait from the other side of the balustrade. The face was impressive; dignified but haughty, lightly bearded and, yes, undeniably handsome. The eyes were the most intense blue she had ever seen. And piercing.
She stood back, but whatever position she took, the Colonel’s eyes seemed to look straight at her. It was a penetrating gaze and quite unnervingly real. Whoever the artist had been, he was clever to create this illusion. It was uncanny.
Satisfied she now knew what the Colonel looked like, it was time to go into the library and sit in the comfortable leather chair to eat her sandwich; it was ten thirty and she felt peckish. Once she had satisfied her hunger, she would go through the contents of the bureau drawers at her leisure.
She stepped off the staircase intending to move away, but once again the face in the portrait held her attention, and she found it difficult to pull her eyes from the Colonel’s hypnotic gaze. Slowly, she reversed until she was finally far enough away from the portrait to release herself from the gripping stare.
Just then, she was distracted by a noise that seemed to come from upstairs. Knowing there should be no one else in the house, her heart began to race. She swallowed hard and listened; even the tick of the old grandfather clock seemed excessively loud. Then she heard the noise again, this time directly above her, just where the minstrel gallery was positioned over the hall. It sounded as though someone was closing a door, but then it went quiet.
‘Who’s there?’ she called, a little scared by the sound of her own voice in the stillness of the old house. There was no answer. The thought crossed her mind that maybe someone had entered the empty house to pilfer – or even settle in as a squatter – but so far, there was no evidence of this.
Whatever the cause of the noise, she was too nervous to investigate. Her tongue was dry and tiny beads of nervous sweat stood proud on her forehead. She stood motionless, listening, watching, and waiting, but heard no more than the sound of her own breath.
Then she realised her mother’s reaction to the old house must have influenced the way she was feeling right now. ‘Damn,’ she exploded, ‘what’s the matter with me? It could have been my imagination.’
Minutes passed, but the noise did not occur again and gradually she began to relax. She walked slowly towards the library door, her eyes darting all over the place in case an intruder would suddenly appear, but if one did, what would she do? By now, she was wondering if the noise had been caused by a draft from one of the upstairs windows. She had opened them to air the place. That’s probably what it was, she thought, satisfied with her reasoning as she continued to the library.
Today seemed a good time to investigate more thoroughly, and a careful examination of the desk could probably tell her a lot. She felt so excited about the possibility of finding something interesting, that the incident of the noise and the thought of being alone in the old house ceased to worry her.
On tiptoe, Anna slipped inside the door and closed it quietly behind her, as though she didn’t want to wake someone asleep. She tiptoed over and sat at the mahogany writing table. She looked around, feeling strange to be sitting where her ancestors must have sat so many times.
She hoped her friends would appear soon, and listened intently for the sound of a car. Instead of occupying her mind by sorting out the contents of a drawer, Anna continued to sit staring into space at the desk, daydreaming about her future, and all the while breathing in the smothering odour of old books.
She jumped off the chair with a cry as a sudden noise reverberated through the ancient hall. ‘What was that?’ she squeaked in a thin voice laced with fear, but quickly realised with relief that someone had knocked on the front door. She hurried out, fumbling with the doorknob, and gripped it as though her life depended on turning it. As she yanked open the door, her two friends tumbled into the hall, shrieking with laughter.
‘Shee-it,’ she squealed, ‘I thought you were never coming. Been on my own here for ages, and not too happy the whole time.’
‘You knew we were coming,’ Liz said. ‘Don’t say you’d forgotten you’ve invited us out to lunch.’
‘Sorry girls. Being on my own in this place got to me a bit; I felt nervous being so far away from everything and everybody. My Mum’s fault; her nervousness seems to have spilled over to me. Anyway, I’m glad the two of you could come.’
Even though her fears had been very real, she was annoyed at the silly thoughts she had entertained, and now she had company, they could investigate the whole house together and make sure no squatters had tried to move in. In a short while, they had inspected every nook and cranny of the old house, and began discussing what could be done with the rooms, even down to colour schemes.
Liz suggested each of the bedrooms could be done out to a theme, all different. For the first one she suggested The Safari Room, decorated with tiger stripes or leopard spots with soft furnishings to match. Dot thought one should be named The Chinese Room, decorated with lanterns and parasols, and a large Eastern mural. Anna liked the idea of The Blue Room with a sandcastle scene and a sunny seascape scheme, and of course, she insisted there would be a bridal suite.
Each of the three girls came up with different ideas until every one of the bedrooms was given a focal point, a name, and a suitable colour scheme. As they went around, they made notes for each one, and then started on the ground floor rooms.
Eventually exhausted and hungry for lunch, they all trouped out and left for The Rising Sun. Laughing and talking, but still discussing their ideas, it was more than three hours later that they parted company, but with plans to meet up again to further the ideas they had helped Anna plan.
Now, all she had to do was convince her mother that what she intended to do at Hope House was positive, and that with the help of David, Liz and Dot, the place would soon be up and running at a profit.
Margaret was poised, once again hands on hips, as she confronted Anna the moment she walked in through the door. ‘Got it all sorted have you?’
‘Matter of fact, yes, right down to the décor’.
‘Okay, so tell me all.’
Relaying it seemed to sap any strength Anna had left, so instead of going into more detail, she took off for a trip to another favourite, The Castle Inn, where she knew she could relax in the company of more friends. Maybe she’d even find David there.
Chapter Ten
Anna pulled into the expansive car park, locked the car and walked across to the country inn with her usual confidence, but she felt her knees weren’t carrying her at her usual stride. She thought over her day at the manor house and realised the whole experience had wiped her of all energy.
At last she reached the entrance, and as soon as she was inside she sank gratefully onto a comfortably padded bench seat in the window recess, from where she could look out onto the main road. She ordered a brandy and tried to calm her excitement. It was difficult to simulate normality; her whole life had changed dramatically and so suddenly, that every time she thought of it, she had to remind herself it was all for real.
Barely five minutes later, there was raucous laughter as a bunch of men burst in through the door of the lounge. She looked around at a crowd of strangers, but at the rear of them was a head of tousled hair that she recognised immediately.
Her heart gave a little jump. It was David Rees, the one person in whom she could confide what was on her mind, provided she could get him on his own. She wondered how best to attract his attention, when he spotted her, waved, and hurried over with his usual disarming smile.
‘Hi, how y’doing? You’re the last person I’d expect to find here – alone.’ With a broad grin, he bent down close, his quizzical brows almost touching her face. ‘Everything okay, Anna?’
‘Yes thanks,’ she said, trying to sound casual. ‘I’ve just popped out to relax with a quiet drink. Busy? Or can you join me?’<
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David glanced at his watch and then nodded in the direction of his companions. ‘Been doing a spot of business with those guys,’ he said. ‘We’ve finished now, so I’m free to do whatever I want. I’ll join you in a drink and a bite if that’s why you’re here.’ With his eyes twinkling wickedly, he smiled and leaned lower again, brushing his face against her hair. ‘Be back in a jiffy.’
Just seeing David made Anna feel so much better. She had breathed a deep sigh of relief when he approached her, and she hoped he hadn’t noticed.
‘Whatever you’re having order the same for me,’ he called over his shoulder, as he rejoined his companions for a final word.
She slipped over to the bar for some drinks and ordered two gammons with salad and fries, and then sat down to wait while David concluded his business. Those few minutes gave her a chance to recover her composure and formulate how she would tell him what plans had been suggested, but more importantly, what her worst fears were.
From the happy way that David wished his companions farewell, Anna concluded his business deal with them had been successful. Minutes later he slid into the seat alongside her, and lifted the beer she had bought for him just as the barmaid brought their meals. From the way he chatted and smiled at her, Anna knew he enjoyed her company, but what she felt right then, was more like downright relief.
‘So, come on, tell me what’s up with you,’ he said brightly. ‘Everything under control at the old manor house I trust?’
Anna related the plans in detail as well as what had happened to make her nervous of being alone in the huge building. She also told him about her fears of a possible distant relative who could surface at any time and make a claim, if she had to let her inheritance go.
‘Well, I reckon anyone could suffer a nervous reaction if they stayed alone in that old place for long; it’s dirty, dank and smelly, but nothing a good clean won’t put right.’ He took a sip of his drink. ‘You really shouldn’t go there on your own. You’re tired, stressed, and probably a bit rundown as well, so your nerves would be jangly anyway.’
He fell quiet for a minute. ‘As for another relative turning up, I reckon that shouldn’t affect your inheritance at all. No one can take that away from you, because you’re all legit and legal.’ David shrugged. ‘It only affects you if you decide to gift it to The National Trust.’ He chuckled again. ‘And if you do that, it would be because you don’t want to keep it yourself, so a relative may as well have it.’ He grinned, ‘That’s if there really is a distant relative out there somewhere, but it’s most unlikely.’ Personally, I see no problem.’
‘Maybe you don’t,’ Anna said, ‘but I’m a bit scared someone may turn up out of the blue. I want to know the truth just to put my mind at rest.’ Having shared her fears, by now she felt happier, and her stomach had settled down enough to accept her meal.
Time seemed to fly in David’s company and it was soon time to go. He heaved a sigh as he finished eating and gave her one of his special smiles, winking as he rapped his fingers on the table. ‘Tell you what, I got some time to spare right now, so why don’t I come there with you, and you can explain what your plans are in detail. There’s still plenty of daylight left. Okay?’
After a final coffee, they both left for the manor house in their respective vehicles. David took the lead at the front door and pushed past her, closing it behind them once she had stepped inside. ‘Now’, he said, confidently, rubbing his hands together in a business-like manner, ‘we’ll look at each room in turn, starting upstairs, and you start talking, right?’
As they went around, Anna began to feel more confident, and when she glanced at the portrait of the Colonel, even his stare seemed less commanding. After they had examined every room, and Anna had finished talking in detail about what she wanted to do with each one, David turned to her. ‘Well?’ he said, spreading his hands, ‘that sounds great; you’ve got it all worked out, so I’ll get on with my part as promised. But, like I said, you’ve been overdoing things lately, and I think you should take a few days off before coming here again.’
‘Can’t,’ she said. ‘My leave doesn’t go on forever, and what isn’t done will have to wait until I’ve worked out my notice and left my job to take this on full time.’ Just then she pointed to the portrait. ‘That’s Colonel Thomas Williams, the one who built this place. Come and take a good look at him,’ she said, pulling on David’s arm.
He stared at it silently, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.
‘Nothing really. Just … er … for a split second I thought I knew the man… or someone very much like him.’
‘You’re imagining things,’ Anna said, laughing as she turned to go into the library. ‘Come on, help me look through this old bureau while you’re here.’ She opened the top drawer and began spreading out the contents on the leather top of the desk front. Within seconds, items were overflowing and slipping onto the floor.
‘That’s not the best idea,’ David said, reaching for one of the drawers. ‘Let me take it right out and put it on that big table over there where we can spread out the contents.’ It seemed to stick, so he jiggled it vigorously to release whatever was holding it fast. As he worked his hand into the aperture and fiddled about, Anna saw a smile cross his face.
‘Got it.’ There was a sharp click and the drawer slid out easily. He bent down and peered inside, then pushed his hand in again and drew out a black leather-covered notebook. ‘Aha, goodies. Look, there’s a secret shelf over this drawer. It’s a simple idea, but cleverly effective. I’d say what’s hidden in there is not meant for just any old eyes.’
Within seconds, David had pulled out several similar slim notebooks. ‘This shelf runs the whole width of the writing desk, and there’s a gap in the centre just wide enough for me to slip my hand inside.’ He felt around again. ‘There’s a whole lot more stuff in here; I can feel all sorts of things,’ he said, bringing them out one by one and adding them to the pile.
Anna took the notebooks and carefully wiped off the dust of decades that had filtered in. She flicked quickly through one or two of the hand-penned notes. ‘Let’s sit over there and take a peep at what’s written in them,’ she said, handing some to David. She settled herself comfortably in one of the deep armchairs, opened the book, and gasped as she read what was written boldly across the first page:
‘The Personal and Private Journal of Thomas Williams, 1745.’
She could scarcely contain her excitement, but by now David was too engrossed in the one he was reading to do more than grunt in reply. Silence seemed to settle around her like a thick blanket, and Anna closed her eyes for a moment, trying to visualise the circumstances under which the Colonel had written this journal. In her mind’s eye she saw him clearly, sat at the very same desk as a young man, but far away in Jamaica. She calculated he must have been young in 1745.
She opened her eyes and continued reading, but David was still totally engrossed in the journal he held, and quite obviously in a world of his own as he read.
‘Okay?’ he queried calmly, after a while, and pointed to the journal in her hand. ‘Find anything interesting?’ He stood up. ‘Hang on, I think we both need a coffee before you tell me. Come with me; we can make it on the little gas stove.’
Still clutching the journal tightly, she glanced around the vast kitchen and shuddered. ‘No, let’s go now; daylight is fading, and I feel as though I’m living the life I’m reading about,’ she said. ‘David, it’s time we left; I’m tired and I’ve had it up to here with this place for today.’
Chapter Eleven
‘Got the keys to your van?’ Anna asked, as she got into her car and pushed in her ignition key. ‘Let’s find somewhere cheerful to brighten us up. It’s late, but I don’t feel like going home yet.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘Shall we go back to the inn?’
‘Yeah, I was about to suggest that myself.’
Anna pulled her car door shut and drove off with David
close behind, and it wasn’t long before they were seated with a drink, both laughing and chatting as though there wasn’t a care in the world. But David’s curiosity broke in with, ‘It looks like you’ll have to do a serious search. So what d’you already know about your family history, your distant aunts and uncles and so on?’
‘Nothing. As for the uncle who left me Hope House, I had no contact with him at all; I never even got to know him.’ She looked pleadingly at David. ‘Don’t ask me to question Mum about him. She’s on about the place enough as it is, so I don’t want to harp on about it. She doesn’t want me to keep it, but she is a bit more tolerant of it lately.’
David nodded, then looked across to the doorway and nudged her. ‘Hey, so what about that then? Dot’s just walked in.’
‘Say nothing to her about the family issue yet,’ Anna said. ‘Dot will remember we talked about doing some investigation, but the less said the better in front of her companion – I don’t want others to know my worries.’
But Dot had seen them, and was already making her way across the lounge to where they sat.
‘Aha, a little tete a tete, is it?’ she said, with a naughty wink.
‘Not exactly,’ Anna quickly put in. ‘David’s helping me up at the house. You know there’s a lot to do, and we’re taking a break, that’s all.’
Dot dismissed the reply, and linked her arm through her companion’s. ‘Anyway, my favourite aunt and I have been shopping today, and we’ve popped in to meet some friends for a late drink before going home.’ Dot looked proud. ‘Betty’s an interior designer, so if you need help in that field you know where to come.’ She turned to her aunt, an attractive brunette not much older than she was. ‘I’ve told her about you and Hope House and what you’re doing with it.’