The Haunting of Highdown Hall

by Shani Struthers

  “Come on, Jed,” she called, watching in amusement as the eager animal flew past her on four furry feet and disappeared straight through the unopened front door.

  ***

  “Aren’t you bringing the box with you?” said Cash as Ruby clambered into the passenger seat of his estate car, just as battered as her own.

  “The box? Oh God, the box. Sorry, I won’t be a minute.”

  She ran back to the flat and soon returned with it under her arm.

  “Did you look through it again today?” he asked once she was settled.

  “No, I didn’t,” Ruby admitted. “I spent the day relaxing instead, trying to keep my mind clear.” She thought she’d leave out the bit about EastEnders, she’d only managed one episode anyway before dozing off. “I think we’ve found what we were looking for anyway.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Cash, “weird or what, huh? About Ron Mason I mean?”

  “If there’s a link, definitely. But there might not be.”

  “No, there might not be. Bringing the box with us could be useful; it’s another thing that could help to jog Cynthia’s memory.”

  Ruby nodded, it was a sensible train of thought.

  Turning round to peer into the back of the car, she smiled.

  “Poor Jed, he doesn’t look very comfortable perched on whatever it is you’ve got back there.”

  “The remnants of my drum kit mainly. And he’ll have to get used to it. It’s just me and you up front I’m afraid,” replied Cash as he put his foot on the accelerator and pulled away.

  ***

  The road that led to Highdown Hall was surprisingly clear considering it was Christmas Eve; Ruby imagined most people must have already gone home to gear up for the big day with their families.

  “Did you get a good rest last night?” Cash asked her.

  “I slept okay, you?”

  “Not so well...” he replied. “Had a few things on my mind, keeping me awake.”

  “Highdown Hall?” Ruby sounded worried.

  He cast a cheeky glance at her. “Oh no, nothing to do with Highdown Hall.”

  Looking straight ahead, Ruby tried to suppress a smile. She reminded herself that she needed to concentrate on one thing right now and one thing only – sending Cynthia and Co. into the light. It was difficult though, when he was right by her side.

  Attempting a stab at seriousness, she said, “Cash, I know I say this every time, but if you don’t want to come in, if you’re at all nervous, that’s fine. You can wait outside.”

  Glancing at her quickly, this time with no mirth in his eyes, he said, “If you go in, I go in. It’s as simple as that.”

  Ruby couldn’t help it this time, she laughed out loud.

  “What?” Cash looked genuinely confused. “Why are you laughing?”

  “You,” she said. “You remind me of Leonardo di Caprio.”

  “Leonardo di Caprio?” Cash looked appalled. “But I look nothing like him!”

  “Not in looks, in what you’ve just said.”

  “Explain,” he insisted.

  “You know, in that film, Titanic, when he’s trying to persuade Kate Winslet not to jump off the ship. He says something like, “If you jump, I jump”, have you seen it?”

  Cash nodded his head. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen it, an old girlfriend made me sit through it. Such a cheesy film, though I suspect I might be about to develop a new respect for it.”

  “What you said reminds me of that scene.”

  “So...” he continued after a moment, “I make you feel like a film star, do I?”

  “You make me feel a lot of things,” she replied, more serious.

  “Ditto,” he said, smiling, one hand on the wheel, the other reaching across temporarily to touch hers. “Really though, Ruby, I’m going in with you, to Cynthia’s bedroom; don’t even think about trying to stop me.”

  “I won’t,” she whispered, tingling at his touch.

  She couldn’t say much more, she thought she might cry if she did. This man sitting beside her, he really was different to any she’d ever known before, so accepting of what she did – promising to stick by her through thick and thin, to watch out for her. It was an all-time first. Historically, and not just in her case but in her mother’s and grandmother’s too, men didn’t stick around. Sooner or later her psychic ability would come between a Davis woman and her man. With Cash though, she seemed to have discovered a new breed of man entirely, someone who was keen to help her with what she did. Time would tell, she supposed. But right now, she suspected time would tell only great things.

  “It’s the next turn off after this,” Ruby managed at last, pointing to a sign saying ‘Oldlands Wood, 2 miles’, which had momentarily shown up in the car’s headlights.

  “I’m not likely to forget,” Cash replied.

  ***

  “Stop! Pull in here,” said Ruby, just over a mile away from the gates of Highdown Hall. “I can feel it... This is the place where David Levine passed.”

  Although the road was empty, Cash mounted the verge, just in case another car happened to appear out of nowhere, desperate to get by. Bringing his car to a halt, he stuck on the hazards, flashing amber lighting up the dark in an almost festive manner. Getting swiftly out, Ruby walked up to the tree that Levine had most likely crashed into, laid one hand flat against its trunk and tuned in. Jed, meanwhile, took the opportunity to cock his leg up against it and have an imaginary wee.

  “Anything?” said Cash, coming up behind her.

  “No, just residual emotions, like I said before. His spirit, wherever it is, isn’t here.”

  “What can you feel?”

  “Anger is the most prevalent... and such extraordinary bitterness, like he was eaten up with it. There’s jealousy too. Hmm... I wonder if that was the source of the bitterness?”

  “Not a happy man then?”

  “Not at all,” agreed Ruby.

  “Do you think he is the culprit? The one terrorising Cynthia?”

  Ruby was quietly contemplative for a moment. “It’s likely,” she eventually replied before turning on her heel. “Come on,” she added, “let’s go, the others will be arriving soon.”

  The gates to Highdown Hall drew back slowly, more slowly than ever it seemed to Ruby. Leaving them open so that the rest of the team could follow, Ruby tried to quell a growing sense of unease. Her mother’s warning visit, her grandmother’s revelation, the attack she’d experienced, they were all affecting her more than she wanted. Although she believed wholeheartedly what her grandmother had taught her, she couldn’t help but remember her mother’s assertion: where there was good, there was evil, and not just evil acts and evil thoughts, but pure evil, as real and relentless a force as love. They’d already established that what waited for Cynthia wasn’t Rawlings’ Devil, but what if it was a creature from another dimension entirely, what if it had never been human, what if she were putting not only herself in danger, but also, and far more importantly, her dearest friends? Was Jessica right? Was true strength knowing when to retreat? If so, should they retreat now and to hell with their reputation? Let Alan Kierney do his worst?

  “You okay?” said Cash as he drew to a stop in front of the house, a house that Ruby thought, by moonlight, looked less like a grand country manor and more like the setting for a Hammer Horror film. All they needed was thunder and lightning to suddenly manifest itself from nowhere, to rip an otherwise benign sky apart, and the set would be complete.

  Shaking her head, as though to disperse such thoughts, Ruby replied at last, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just letting my imagination get the better of me.”

  Leaning over to tuck a rogue strand of hair behind her ear, Cash said, “You’re good at what you do, Ruby, bloody good. And Cynthia needs you.”

  “Your faith in me is touching,” Ruby smiled back at him, but it was only a half smile.

  “My faith in you is absolute,” he answered back, leaning in again to kiss her lightly on the lips.

  H
is words, his touch, helped her, dissolving the fear that threatened to overwhelm her; a fear that could easily be used against her if sensed by an opposing spirit; a fear Gran had always said there was never any need to feel.

  Before it could take hold again, Ruby reached for the handle, pushed open the car door and stepped outside, breathing in great gulps of night air. Jed immediately rushed round to her side.

  As she straightened up, squaring her shoulders as a soldier might before heading into battle, Ness’s car came into view. After crunching to a stop on the gravel, Ness, Theo and Corinna climbed out.

  All five turned to stand in a row, staring at the house before them, preparing themselves mentally and psychically for the imminent onslaught.

  “Coming, ready or not!” said Theo at last, trying to lighten the atmosphere as she marched up to the front door.

  Ruby fell into step beside her, Jed bounded ahead.

  The house had been empty for a week but already it had taken on the abandoned air of a property left for much longer. Instead of forlorn and forgotten, it looked slightly smug, as though enjoying its abandonment – wanting to be left to its own devices.

  Too bad, thought Ruby. You belong to the living, not the dead.

  Looking up at the turret that housed Cynthia’s bedroom, Ruby thought she could sense movement. Was that Cynthia looking out wistfully across the lake?

  “It’s just a shade,” said Theo from beside her. “A re-run of what happened on Christmas Eve, 1958. Cynthia must have stood and looked out of the window at some point.”

  “The house is waking up...” It was Ness, close behind them.

  “Then let’s put it back to sleep,” said Ruby, taking another deep breath.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The big oak door was resistant at first.

  “Is that because we’re not wanted?” Cash whispered beside her.

  “No,” said Ruby, imitating his dramatic tone, “it’s because the hinges need a good squirt of oil.”

  “Oh,” said Cash, somewhat deflated.

  Once inside, Ruby reached for the lights before closing the door and the night out entirely. The Grand Hall lit up before them, the bulbs shining surprisingly bright. Despite her padded jacket, Ruby shivered. She was sure it was colder in here than it was outside. Mr Kierney had failed to leave the heating on, either through absent-mindedness or Scrooge-like stinginess. With him, she suspected the latter and pitied the poor guests arriving on Boxing Day, hoping sincerely they’d bring with them a good selection of thermals and woollen apparel. A house like this would take ages to feel warm again.

  Although Cash and Corinna seemed oblivious, Ruby knew that Theo and Ness could also hear the faint sound of music coming from the ballroom – big band music, upbeat tunes; tunes that made you want to dance. And she could sense a large number of people milling about, confined to the ballroom mainly, but also spilling out of the French windows onto the terrace beyond; fur shawls wrapped around the ladies shoulders. Excited chatter and laughter – high expectations of a magical evening to come – filled the air. Not spirits, but shades, emotional echoes of a prominent night replaying.

  “Cash, Corinna, would you mind walking through every room downstairs, cleansing with sticks and oils, opening windows and doors where you can and leaving them open?”

  “Of course not,” said Corinna, kneeling down by the black bag and unzipping it.

  “Start with the kitchen first and then the drawing rooms, leave the ballroom for last.”

  “What about you?” asked Cash. “You’re not going upstairs, are you?”

  “Not without you,” Ruby assured him.

  Looking slightly happier, Cash followed Corinna to the rooms that led off from the Grand Hall, the darkness enveloping them greedily.

  Ruby turned to Theo and Ness.

  “The ballroom?” she said.

  “The ballroom,” agreed Theo.

  The energy in the ballroom, if not quite at fever pitch, was certainly frenetic. The music was louder here and the shades more dense, almost tangible – dapper gentlemen in black tie, ladies in ballgowns, swirling around the dance floor. Others huddled together in groups, almost conspiratorial. Maids and waiters weaved expertly in and out of the glamorous party goers, proffering an endless flow of champagne. Ruby wondered briefly which of the maids was Esme – although she wasn’t dead, the shade of her younger self belonged to this night. She led the other two over to the far end of the ballroom.

  “I think this is where John Sterling was standing.”

  Before them was indeed an outline of a tall gentlemen; the shell of a spirit long gone.

  “Dear, oh dear,” muttered Theo, but not entirely without amusement. Gazing at him, she continued, “She did taunt him, didn’t she? He was madly in love with Cynthia and yet I get the distinct feeling she barely glanced at him all evening.”

  “She was certainly a player,” agreed Ruby.

  “But you don’t think it’s him that haunts her?” enquired Ness. “He’s incensed enough to remain grounded.”

  “Not according to Cynthia,” said Ruby. “John wasn’t vengeful.”

  Ness didn’t look convinced.

  Theo sighed as she looked around. “I’d have loved to have attended a party such as this. Her invites must have been the most coveted in the land.”

  “I should think the cream of British society was here,” said Ness, also looking wistful.

  “And American society too,” chimed in Ruby. “The jet set crossed the ocean for this.”

  A sudden banging noise from upstairs put a halt to their musings.

  “Madam doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” said Theo, glancing upwards.

  “She still hasn’t got used to it.” replied Ruby, also turning her head towards the ceiling.

  Theo and Ness made their way back to the Grand Hall in search of Cash and Corinna but Ruby lingered for a while longer, walking around the perimeters of the room, searching for something more, but also, if she were honest, reluctant to let go of the scene before her. It would be the only chance she’d ever get to witness such a sumptuous occasion. Just before she reached the door, she stopped.

  “Theo, Ness,” she called.

  “What is it?” asked Theo. “David Levine?”

  “I think so,” said Ruby, “I’m picking up the same feelings in this spot as at the site of his death: anger, jealousy and triumph. Whoever this is, he was a man with an axe to grind.”

  “An axe meant for Cynthia?” questioned Ness.

  “With luck, we’ll soon find out,” replied Ruby, leaving with them this time.

  ***

  They all congregated in the Grand Hall.

  “We’ve just got the ballroom to do now,” said Corinna, nodding towards it.

  “Okay,” said Ruby, “while you’re doing that we’ll spend some time reinforcing everyone’s shield – ramp our protection up to maximum level before heading upstairs.”

  As soon as Cash and Corinna had gone, the remaining three joined hands.

  “Remember,” Theo addressed Ruby in particular, “we all belong to the light.”

  Ruby nodded at her.

  Several minutes later, Cash and Corinna re-joined them, the downstairs cleansing complete. Ruby felt a cold draught; the French doors had been left ajar.

  “Are we ready?” Ruby asked.

  Four voices assented, not one of them even slightly hesitant, despite another loud bang from upstairs echoing menacingly through the hall.

  Jed valiantly led the way.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Downstairs, the atmosphere had been full of revelry; the same could not be said for upstairs. The atmosphere had always felt increasingly heavy the further up they climbed, as though a great weight was bearing down, the weight of emotions that time could not diminish – fear, anger, grief. At the top of the staircase it was heavier still, becoming even more dense as they ventured towards the turret, bypassing numerous doors, some open, some closed, wanting t
o peek inside, to make sure that guests from once upon a time weren’t inhabiting still. Ruby had checked all of the rooms on first visiting Highdown Hall and found them empty of any spiritual presence, she hoped that was still the case now and no one had decided to return. Perhaps now would be a good time to start cleansing the upstairs rooms, however, another loud crash drew their attention to Cynthia’s room. Glancing at Theo and Ness, a silent agreement passed between them: they could not keep her waiting any longer. As they gathered outside her door, a whimper escaped Jed.

  “It’s alright,” Theo soothed. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, nothing at all.”

  Ruby suspected Theo’s words were directed at her as much as the dog and she did her utmost to banish the last dregs of fear which insisted on clinging to her heart like a drowning man might cling to the last piece of wreckage. Furtively, she studied the faces of Cash and Corinna, both looked utterly determined. They inspired her.

  In contrast to the gates of Highdown Hall, to the oak double doors downstairs, the door to Cynthia’s bedroom gave way easily, almost welcoming them in. One spirit at least was glad to see them. They filed in, their jaws dropping in turn as they did so.

  “Whoa.” Theo looked slightly dazed. “Someone’s had a tantrum.”

  No longer a revered shrine, the room resembled a bombsite. Even in the gloom they could tell quite a bit of damage had been done. The chair by the dressing table was upturned and there were cushions scattered everywhere. On the floor, perfume bottles, combs and brushes lay at random. One bottle had shattered, releasing a bittersweet smell into the air.

  Ruby switched on the side lights, the bulbs in the main light had still not been replaced, and walked over to the bed. The silk cover was rent in two. Before she could quash it, another pang of anxiety flared up inside her and almost caught fire.

  “Right,” said Ness, her practical voice another lifeline. “Gather up all implements that could be thrown to hurt someone and get them out of here.”

  “Even the crystals?” asked Corinna.