A Haunting at Hensley Hall (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Mystery)

by Merabeth James

  “Your place or mine?” Charlie asked.

  “Mine and quickly!” Meg managed to squeak, as she scooped Freddie off the floor.

  But seeing Meg’s fear, made Charlie mad all the way to her toes. “This is our house and I’m not going to let you frighten us. Do you understand?”

  Meg’s face turned ashen. “Charlie, please. For God’s sake, get inside.”

  “I know who you are. I know that you like to beat little boys with your cane. How would you like to try that on me?”

  Writhing and twisting faster and faster, the black mass began to take on the shape of a man. A very large man! Two red eyes glared, malevolently, at them from the blackness, which was altogether too much…even for Charlie.

  Flinging open her door, Meg pulled an unresisting Charlie in after her. Turning the key, they leaned against the door, as they waited for their heartbeats to return to something close to normal. Meg was the first to regain her voice. “You are an idiot, Charlie! Trying to provoke him is not only stupid it’s insane. That thing out there is dripping evil. And strong! Strong enough to do us real harm.”

  Charlie smiled, shakily, still more rattled than she wanted to admit. “Only if we let it. I’ll admit I was rather scared.”

  “Out of your freakin’ wits scared, you mean! Or I should say ‘questionable ’ wits. What were you thinking?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. I just didn’t like how he frightened you and I kind of lost it. But the ‘red eye’ thing was too much. Maybe Sage can ‘spot clean’ instead of doing a whole house cleansing. I wouldn’t mind seeing the last of him.”

  Ears pressed against the door, they waited to see what would happen next and, when nothing did, Meg dug out an old Monopoly game she’d found in the library. Since neither wanted to be alone just then, they played Monopoly until they couldn’t keep their eyes open another minute.

  “Time to check the hall,” Charlie said around a yawn. Opening the door, she checked the length of the hall. All was quiet…the lights brightly lit. “I think I’ll sleep better in my own bed. Unless you want me to stay?”

  Meg hugged her hard and shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I think we may have over reacted. If we’re going to live here, we’ll have to find a way to deal with everything, including him.”

  “Sounds like something you said before or maybe it was me,” Charlie replied around another yawn. “But I’m way too tired to worry about anything else tonight. Good night and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

  “That should be the least of our problems,” Meg told her with a weary smile, as she saw her out the door and waited till she was safely inside her room.

  It was close to dawn when Meg woke. The room was completely dark and she knew she’d left a light on in the bathroom and the door open. Or thought she had. Suddenly, Freddie ‘woofed’ and stood up. His tail wagged excitedly, as he stared at a patch of light on the bed next to them.

  The temperature plummeted and Meg watched in fascination as a shape began to form. Brighter and brighter…bit by bit…Breanna Hensley materialized on the bed.

  She appeared to be sleeping, her black hair spread across the pillow, dark lashes fanning ivory cheeks. She looked sort of like a long-haired Snow White without the chubby cheeks, Meg thought with a touch of irritation. No one should look that beautiful when they slept. Charlie had complained more than once that she snored and slept with her mouth open. Or did she say her mouth was never closed even when she slept? Same difference.

  Then she noticed something else. The thick overpowering scent of roses, which, thankfully, she wasn’t allergic to or she’d be dead by now, she thought, as she poked an exploratory finger at the sleeping Breanna. Surprisingly, it was sort of like sticking her finger in a marshmallow. She had expected her finger to go right through, but Breanna had real substance!

  And there she was sleeping like the dead…poor choice of words…while she hadn’t had a decent sleep in two nights! Maybe she’d just see about that! She poked her again, harder, but without effect. She was just about to give her a third poke, when she remembered; it was Breanna’s bed after all. Well, if she stayed on her side, maybe they could share. She sighed and was about to slide back down under the covers, when she heard Freddie whine nervously. And then there it was…thump…thump…thump coming down the hall.

  Breanna heard it, too. Her eyes fluttered open and her mouth rounded in a long wail of despair. Dissolving into a mist, she spiraled up and disappeared through the ceiling. “She does come and go rather quickly,” Meg whispered to Freddie with more than a touch of wonder, but he had lost all interest and was repositioning himself for sleep. Meg listened for another ‘thump’, but all was quiet in the hall. Settling back, she thought about what she’s just witnessed and considered waking Charlie, but relented. The morning was a better time to scare the bejabbers out of each other.

  Meanwhile, her sister’s sleep was not as undisturbed, as Meg had hoped. She had been dreaming about Devon. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, stroking her hair and saying, “It feels like moonlight against my skin”.

  He was just leaning closer, his warm breath fanning her cheek, when something landed on the bed next to her and she woke with a start. “Meg. I knew you’d change your mind,” she mumbled drowsily, “ I was just having a nightmare about….”

  Her groping hand found the bedside light and she flipped it on, then looked around. Meg was not there, but something else was. She could see the imprint of something moving across the bed. Four small invisible feet left their prints in the soft velour blanket. Tentatively she stretched out her hand and was rewarded with what could only be a cat ‘kiss’. “Kitty,” she called softly. “I was beginning to feel like Meg was getting all the nightly attention!” Another cat kiss and it settled against her with a rumbling purr. She stroked along its silky length. “You’re a big one, aren’t you? You can’t be for real, can you? Or should I say ‘fur’ real? Though why I even bother to ask, I don’t know, considering everything that’s happened here so far. But at least you’re a nice surprise. You’re more than welcome to spend what’s left of the night.”

  A muffled “Meow!” answered her and she smiled. She had a cat…something she’d always wanted, but she had moved around too much and could never have given one a proper home. Until now. And best of all, this one didn’t need a litter box!

  “I wonder what your name is?” she asked not really expecting an answer.

  “Cloud. His name is Cloud,” a feminine voice whispered close to her ear.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Days passed and, with the extra money, they were able to hire the craftsmen needed for the specialty jobs of matching and replacing mouldnigs, paneling, the intricate plaster ceiling rosettes and the broken stained glass windows. They brought in a cleaning crew and hired painters to take some of the load off their shoulders, which freed Charlie up to finish her book and send it on its way. An ad in the local paper for a live-in housekeeper/cook, produced several replies. All expressed an interest only if they were paid enough to offset working in a house with such an unsavory reputation. And, despite the ‘live in’ requirement, none would stay on after dark or be there until it was well past light. Resisting the impulse to chuck all their resumes in the wastebasket, just in case one of them was their last resort, they were nearing desperation, when the last letter arrived.

  It was from a Mrs. Anna O’Leary. Her letter was brief, stating she liked nothing better than “cooking, cleaning and caring for folks”. She only had one reference, or almost had one…a Mrs. Stanford, who she’d taken care of for more then ten years. “She would write me a reference if she could, sweet soul, but she went to her reward, tucked snug in her own wee bed at age 93. Before that I was a married lady with a husband to care for, God rest him”.

  She was due to arrive at 3:30PM and both sisters were hoping this would be the last candidate they would need to interview. Neither was prepared when, at 3 o’clock sharp, someone hammered loudly on their front door. Hu
rrying to open it, they both stared open-mouthed at the portly, gray haired woman, holding a dog in her arms. “Lord a mercy! I found the poor beastie lying by your gates and took him to be yours. Hit by a car from the looks of it. Does he belong to you lasses?”

  Charlie shook her head and reached out to stroke his gray muzzle. Judging from the blood around his head, he seemed badly injured, she thought, but, thankfully, unconscious.

  Freddie was whining in distress, Meg was in tears, her hands fluttering about helplessly, while Mrs. O’Leary…who else could it be?…was weeping copiously. “Then I’ll be taking him to the veterinarian to see if he can save the poor thing. There’s one I know of. I’m Mrs. O’Leary. I hope you’ll be holding me place for me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She refused their offers to go with her, telling them she’d bothered them enough and it was her responsibility, since she’d found him. Charlie opened the tailgate door of her old station wagon and helped her load the dog gently inside, covering him with a blanket, “Twill be all right. You’ll be fit as a fiddle in no time, me wee darlin’, old Annie will see to it, she will,” she clucked.

  “I think one of us should ride with you and keep him quiet if he comes to,” Charlie told her worriedly.

  “It’s only up the road a piece and I can be there in a lick,” she replied with a warm smile that dimpled her rosy cheeks. Pushing her wire rim glasses up her nose, she climbed inside her car and headed down the drive.

  Charlie and Meg watched until she disappeared from view. “If that woman can cook, she’s hired,” Meg said, brushing the last of her tears away with the back of her hand. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

  “I couldn’t tell much. Let’s hope. I wonder who would just hit a dog and let him lie there.”

  “Thank God there are people like Mrs. O’Leary in this world!” Meg said fervently.

  It was just after 5PM when Anna O’Leary returned. Her hair had come lose from her tight little bun and there were traces of blood on her high-necked blouse. “Sorry about all the fuss. I hope you won’t be holding it against me. But the wee critter needed tendin’,” she said with a weary sigh.

  “Of course. We understand perfectly. What did the vet say?” Meg asked.

  “He said it looked worse than it was…head wounds bleed a lot…said he should be fine if he came to, which is why I’m so late. I waited till I got the word. He’s fine, groggy, .but fine.”

  “We’d be glad to pay for his care,” Charlie told her.

  “No need. The doctor says it was ‘on the house’. What a kind man he be! But, if they can’t be findin’ the owner, I’ll be keepin’ him and I don’t know how you be feelin’ havin’ another wee dog in the house. That is if you decide to be takin’ me on. I be a good cook, or so I’ve been told, and I like a tidy kitchen with all the bits and pieces in their place. I can manage the household accounts, if you be wantin’ that, and I’m good with a mop and a broom, if you get me meanin’.”

  “Sounds perfect. When can you start?”

  “Well, as to that. Tis not the wages I be hesitatin’ about. I know you want someone to live in, but with the dog and all…should I get him…I…. No, Annie, that’s no way to be going on,” she scolded herself under her breath, then continued. “I be an old plain spoken woman and I’ll be gettin’ straight to the point. I saw the old carriage house, as I drove past and what looks like a wee place above it. I know I be presumin’ a lot, but…”

  “You’d like to live there instead of in the house? There is a little apartment, but we haven’t done anything to it yet. It’s still rather a mess. Would you like to see it?” Charlie asked her.

  She smiled warmly, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Nothin’ better, Lord love the pair of you! It would be like having a home of me own again…something I haven’t had since me Mr. O’Leary passed on. He would have liked it here; he would indeed. But first, if you lasses would show me the kitchen, I’ll be seeing what I can do about your dinner.”

  Meg and Charlie smiled at each other. Her words were music to their ears!

  ***

  After supper, which was ‘plain fare nothin’ fancy’, as Mrs. O’Leary described it, the sisters took their new cook/housekeeper to see her quarters. “Oh my! Tis all I could be wishin’ for with a bit of elbow grease!” she exclaimed, "and look! A lovely sunny window it will be when the mornin’ comes visiting. And the wee bedroom! I can picture it all cozy like. Thank you both. If you don’t mind, I’ll be cleaning the place up now. while I can still see what’s in the corners. Don’t like spiders and such jumpin’ at me.”

  Charlie was the first to speak, though Meg’s mouth was already open. “We’ll help. If that’s one thing we’ve learned how to do since we came here, it’s cleaning.”

  “And painting. We have oodles of paint left over. And there are some curtains we took down that, once cleaned, would brighten the place up,” Meg added enthusiastically.

  “You lasses…there I go again calling you ‘lasses’, when you’re the ladies of the house. How would you like me to be addressing you? I called Mrs. Stanford ‘Mam’, but I’ve heard young ladies these days don’t like being called that.”

  “‘Meg’ and ‘Charlie’ will do just fine,” Meg supplied. “You’ll find we’re not ones to stand on ceremony.”

  Mrs. O’Leary looked from one to the other then smiled. “Then it’s ‘Annie’ if you don’t mind. And though I be appreciating all the help you be offerin', this is a bit of bother that’s none a’ tall. A labor of love it tis. Now, if you don’t mind I’ll be getting me tail feathers movin’, after I’ve tidied up at the main house that is.”

  Both sisters shook their heads emphatically. “We’ll do our own dishes. Your wonderful supper was more than enough for you to do, especially with everything else that’s happened. There should be plenty of cleaning supplies back at the house, Annie,” Charlie told her.

  “And if you change your mind about needing help we’re available!” Meg added with her brightest smile.

  Hours later, when Meg and Charlie took Freddie out for his last walk, they saw lights still burning in the carriage house. A shadow moved past the window. “I hope she likes it here,” Meg said thoughtfully. “She hasn’t had a chance to get the ‘full effect’ if you know what I mean. ”

  “Annie O’Leary is just what this old house needs. A good kindly soul with common sense and, hopefully, not too much imagination.”

  “Unlike us,” Meg said pointedly.

  Charlie laughed, “You’ve got the ‘good kindly soul’ part and I’ve got the common sense…at least more than you have. As to the rest?”

  Meg sighed. “I don’t think what we’ve been hearing and seeing is our imagination. I’ve got Breanna visiting me and you’ve got a ghost cat named ‘Cloud’. I’d trade you in a minute, if I thought Freddie would permit it. Then there’s ‘Thumper’. I vote we lock the Hensleys’ master suite and never open it again. And stuff kleenex in the keyholes. I get the creepiest feeling every time I pass those doors even in broad daylight.”

  “And you think that will stop him?”

  “I wish!” Meg said wistfully. “There’s always Sage if we need her.”

  Charlie wasn’t so sure Sage could handle Mr. ‘Red Eye’ Hensley and she wasn’t about to put her in harm’s way. “Let’s wait and see what happens next. And may I remind you that Cloud is my ghost cat, Freddie permitting or not!”

  “Humph!” was Meg’s answer. She decided not to tell her sister that Cloud visited her , too, until Freddie chased him through the wall.

  The next morning, after breakfast, Annie went out and returned with her station wagon filled with boxes and bundles, refusing the sisters' help, saying, "I be used to doin' for meself. No use gettin' the lazy bones in me old age." After lunch, they heard her drive out again and this time she returned with 'Tavish', the name she had decided on for her new pet. Freddie was as wary of the newcomer, as he had been of Annie till she bribed him with bacon that morning.


  "Best be takin' him to me wee new place and settling him in. He's a mite too old to be doing much, but he truly will be a blessing for this old lady, at least until someone comes looking for him, which, if truth be told, I be hopin' never happens! It will be a dark day for me if someone answers me 'Found' advertisement."

  And by now, 'a dark day' for Annie, was something neither sister wanted.

  ***

  Annie did, indeed, prove to be just what Hensley Hall needed. Dressed in her long high necked cotton dresses, “to cover the burns from a grease fire in me childhood. I didn’t have the wits to put it out, just stood there like a great lump and almost burned the house down except for me mither’s quick thinkin”, she seemed to be everywhere at once.

  She was always either cleaning or cooking. The double fudge cake both sisters loved came out of Annie’s oven now instead of the grocery store. When it came to the workers “mucking up me clean kitchen floor” she would chase them out the door with a broom one minute and make chocolate chip cookies for them the next. Everyone loved Annie

  The house seemed to welcome her. It remained quiet, posing as just the normal every day Victorian mansion with no hidden agenda or other worldly occupants. Even when she left at the end of her day, the house remained strangely quiet, except for Cloud who still visited Charlie most every night. If something else stirred about in the darkness, neither sister spoke about it.

  Days passed and the last of the workmen collected their wages and left. The house was as finished as they could afford to finish it. The downstairs rooms had been completely redone. There were five en-suite guest rooms ready on the second floor…enough to get started with the B&B. The third floor rooms were cleaned, but would have to wait till more funds could safely be funneled their way.

  The attics were untouched except for the stack of portraits the sisters went through one rainy afternoon. Most of the paintings were of good quality and they considered rehanging them along the gallery at the head of the main staircase. But when they turned over the portrait of Lord.Hensley, both sisters gasped. Standing with his legs spread slightly apart, both hands resting on a silver handled cane, he looked down at the viewer with an arrogant, cruel twist to his mouth. His dark, deep set eyes seemed to watch them, slyly. Meg’s ’Thumper’! Living he was just as creepy, as he was now!