by Griff Hosker
“Yes Debbie but our hostel is just up here. Larpool Hall.”
The Hotel sat on a ridge above the Esk River, just below the magnificent viaduct which had once carried the railway. It was a solid, imposing house which had been the home of sea captains for a hundred years before it fell empty and was rescued as a hotel and hostel for schools and businesses.
As the bus pulled up all of the children, Wayne included leapt to their feet. “Sit down.” Miss Tozer rarely raised her voice and when she did it sounded like thunder. Every bottom planted itself firmly in its seat. “First I want you to pick up every piece of litter and Johnno you will need a whole bin sack for the disaster area which is the back seat. When the bus is clean you will get all your belongings and line up next to the bus so that Benny can check that Johnno has done as I asked.” Johnno immediately found a few more pieces of rubbish. Soon they were lined up. “Now I will go in and Mrs Harper will help you to get your luggage out. We will then go in and register. Alice didn’t know what register meant in a hotel but it sounded important and she preened herself in anticipation.
Chapter 9
“Right you are all in double rooms. When I call your name one of us will take you to your room. Do so quietly.”
The girls went first and Wayne waited worried with anticipation. “Wayne and Stephen go with Mrs Harper.”
His relief was so obvious that Bridget had to hide a smug smile. ‘This could be the salvation of Wayne.’ Bridget Harper hoped so.
The room was quite pleasant with two single beds. As soon as he put his holdall on the bed Wayne went to the huge sash window and opened it. He had a wonderful view of the river and the viaduct. Leaning out of the window and looking east he could just make out the harbour. This could be really good, a trip away from the school besides the sea, away from the bullies. And to top it all his great grandmother had lived here! How spooky was that?
He and Stephen didn’t take long to unpack. They just took a drawer each and emptied the contents of their bags in it. They put their toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom and they were done. “What did Miss say we were to do when we had unpacked?”
“She said we had to wait until she shouted.”
The two of them were itching to be out, exploring but, they both waited patiently until they heard the voice shout from the ground floor. “Everyone outside and bring your outdoor coats with you.”
Wayne and Stephen had anticipated the request and they were the first ones to hurtle down the magnificent staircase and fly out of the massive front door on to the gravel drive. “Well done boys but a little slower next time. I don’t fancy a visit to A and E on our first day.”
“Sorry Miss. It’s great here isn’t it?”
“It certainly is Wayne.”
“My great grandmother worked here before the Second World War.”
“Really? How did you find that out?”
His face darkened slightly, “My nana told me. She said she was a governess or nanny or teacher or something for the sea captain’s kids.”
“We’ll have to see if we can find anything out while we are here.”
The last out was Mrs Harper shooing Johnno and his two henchmen out of the front door. “Found these two trying doors Miss Tozer.”
Jo looked at the three of them; she had had a feeling that they would be trouble. “Now Mr Campbell is coming tomorrow for a visit. Any trouble from you three and he will have three passengers to take home.”
“Yes Miss. Sorry Miss.”
“Sorry is only worthwhile when you mean it. We have our eyes on you three.” She did a quick head count. The first rule of any field trip was count them, count them and count them again. There was nothing worse than losing a child, especially in a strange place. “Bridget you be ‘tail end Charlie’ please. Diane plonk yourself in the middle. Now no one goes ahead of me and no one drops behind Mrs Harper. Is that clear?”
Fifteen voices chorused, “Yes Miss.”
“We have some busy roads to cross so keep in your pairs. We are heading up there.” She pointed to the decaying ruins that were Whitby Abbey.”
“Will we see Dracula Miss?”
“I don’t think so Alice.”
”Well it’s all right Miss we have our crucifixes.”
They walked down the long drive, across the entrance where Benny had dropped them off. When they came to the main road they saw the road bridge towering over the Esk below. “That’s high Miss.”
“Yes I know Carl. You don’t notice it when you are in a car but walking it is enormous. Right, the lights have changed. Smartly across the road.” Once they were across the road Jo could breathe a sigh of relief. For the next part it was easy they had no main roads to cross, just a crocodile of children meandering through the busy Whitby Streets.
As soon as they came to the old town with its cobbled streets it became incredibly crowded. They also had to pass the many fish and chip shops with their attendant inviting smells.
“Miss I’m starving. Can we go to the chippy?”
“No Johnno were eating in the hostel tonight.” Jo had to agree with Johnno, a bag of fish and chips would have gone down very well. The next trial was the smell of fudge from the fudge shops and, before he could request a stop she called down the line, “And no Johnno no visit to the fudge shops we will save that for another day.”
At last they reached the end of the street and the road turned left to the famous ninety nine steps of Whitby Abbey.
“Oh miss I can’t climb them.”
“Of course you can Jane,” called Mrs Harper, “if I can do it then a young thing like you should have no problem. In fact I was hoping you two girls would help me up the stairs.”
“Oh all right Miss.”
Wayne saw Mrs Harper wink at him. This was a great trip and, for the first time since his nan’s death he didn’t feel like he was carrying the troubles of the world on his shoulders.
They paused half way up to let everyone, especially the classroom assistants catch their breath. Wayne took the opportunity to have a good look around from this lofty vantage point. He pointed over the estuary. “Miss what’s that?”
“They are the jaw bones of a whale and that, behind it, is a stature of Captain Cook. We’ll be going there tomorrow when we do some work about Captain Cook.”
“Work miss? I thought this was a holiday.”
“No Johnno. We are having what we call a field trip.”
Alice and Jane looked around, puzzled. “Miss where’s the field?”
Mrs Harper shook her head. “Let me explain.”
Rested they pushed on to the windswept top of the steps. “There, look at that view. Magnificent isn’t it?” Now when Diane and Bridget have caught their breath we will visit the abbey.”
Wayne was animated all the way from the abbey. Stephen just listened as Wayne spoke twenty to the dozen at Miss Tozer. Jo smiled, perhaps this would be the best thing for Wayne, perhaps this would give him hope after the tragedy in Hope Street. “What’s for tea Miss? I’m starving.”
“Me too Wayne but we’ll just have to wait and see what they have for us.” Jo knew exactly what they were having as she had been asked by Aileen the cook and they had decided Spaghetti Bolognese followed by a cheesecake.
When they arrived back at the house Miss Tozer gave her instructions. “Shoes off in the hall then go and have a wash before dinner,” Jane and Alice looked confused, “sorry girls, tea.” The temporarily puzzled girls smiled happily now that they knew which meal they would be having.
Wayne was ready first; he was eager to explore and discover things. He went into the lunge and found some games, Scrabble, ludo, Monopoly and, best of all, a chess set. He also found some books on the shelves, no G P Taylor but some books that looked quite interesting. He would try one later on. As no-one else had made it downstairs he went out to the front of the hall and looked at the enormous railway viaduct which towered over the valley and the hall. He could smell the sea as the tide had
gone out and the boats rested in the seaweed covered mud. Above he could hear the cacophony that was the noise made by the herring gulls screeching at each other for food. He had never, in his life, been anywhere that was like this. To say it was different from London was the biggest understatement you could make.
“Wayne love. Food’s ready.”
“Coming Mrs Harper.”
After tea they all gathered in the lounge. “Now this is a field trip, a work week so we will do some work now and then you can play with some of the games.”
Johnno and the other two boys groaned. “It’s worse than being at school.” It was on the tip of Wayne’s tongue to say this was so unlike school with no Mr Lancaster screaming at them but then he looked at Johnno. He did not want to make an enemy of this brute of a boy who towered over Wayne.
“Well that is neither here nor there. Ladies, would you give out the paper and pens.” As the two classroom assistants gave out the equipment, Jo continued, “I want you to make a map of the journey we took today.” She unfurled a piece of A3.”I have put on here the shape of the Esk and the position of the Abbey and the Hall. “Glaring at Johnno she added, “I did this in case some of you said you didn’t know how to start. You can add any other details you like.”
“Can we put little drawings in, like the whale bones?”
“Good idea Carl of course you can. Now there are colours to make it look better. Any questions? Off you go.”
Although this seemed a little like the drawing exercises he had been given at Ken Livingston Academy he could see a point to this. To do it properly you needed to put the turns in at the correct places and identify key features such as the post office, the market square, the pubs. Soon he was totally engrossed in the work and enjoying the penmanship needed to make it neat.
After an hour in which Diane and Bridget had had to chivvy Johnno and his associates into even starting work Jo announced. “Well if you want to carry on working you can but you can have free time. Remember the rules, no one leave the grounds and no one goes into the garden without telling a member of staff.” The look to Johnno was quite clear, no sneaking off for a quick cigarette. Wayne looked up but was so engrossed he kept on working.
“Right you have done really well so, just before you go off to play some games I am going to tell you a mystery story. A sort of ghost story. Come closer and listen. This is called the Richmond Drummer Boy. Hundreds of years ago there were soldiers in Richmond Castle and they found a tunnel leading from the castle. They thought it might lead to treasure. They got the drummer boy, who was just about your age, to walk down the tunnel beating his drum and then they walked above listening to the beat of the drum and following the sound. Suddenly, about a mile from the castle the drumming stopped. Two of the soldiers ran back to the castle and walked down the tunnel. The drummer boy and his drum had disappeared. He was never seen again.”
“Is that story true Miss or did you make it up?”
“Well Jane if you go to Richmond you can see the castle and the stone which marks the spot where his drumming stopped.”
“Ooh I’m scared.”
“Well it was a long time ago. Those who have finished their work can either play games in the game’s room or write a ghost story.”
“Can I finish off the work?”
“Yes Wayne.”
Some of the children stayed to work but Johnno and his cronies sloped off quickly. Eventually there was just Wayne left in the lounge with Jo watching him. “That is a lovely map.”
“Thanks Miss. I enjoyed doing it. It’s okay for a special needs kid eh?”
“Don’t put yourself down Wayne. I have been checking your file. At Key Stage One you were doing well it was just the papers you missed in year six which dropped your grades.”
“Mum wasn’t well and, well she needed me at home. It seemed more important than an exam. I guess I was wrong.”
“No you weren’t wrong. Family always comes first,” she took a deep breath; “it’s what your nana believed.”
“Yes Miss but if she hadn’t put me first she might still be alive.”
“Wayne I think your nana lived more in the last four weeks of her life than the previous twenty years. Anyway I have found a book in the library which tells about this house before the war. I think I have found your great grandmother. Do you want to look at it?”
Enthusiasm lit up his face. “Yes Miss. That’s great. Aren’t books really good?”
“Hm. It says here that the sea captain was called Kenneth Bellerby and he sailed the South China seas. His wife died when she had her second child and Dorothy Bate, that’s your great grandmother, was hired as a governess-teacher. She lived here from nineteen thirty until nineteen forty.”
“Why did she leave Miss? Were the kids grown up?”
“Looking at their ages they would have been fourteen and twelve when she left but I can’t find a reason. Aileen, the cook, says there are some scrapbooks and newspapers in the attic. She is going to ask Sam the gardener to get them tomorrow so we might find out more then.”
“Have you got some spare paper Miss I’d like to make a family tree for the family?” Wayne spent the next two hours engrossed in his work until Jo came in and said, “Time for bed Wayne.”
“Already Miss?”
“It’s quite late. You can work on that tomorrow. You can show Mr Campbell. He will be impressed. He used to be a history teacher you know?”
“No I didn’t. Thanks Miss. Night.”
“Night Wayne.”
As Wayne passed Mrs Harper who was sipping a glass of wine in the corner he said, “Night Miss.”
“Night Wayne, sleep tight, hope the bed bugs don’t bite.”
Wayne suddenly felt like someone had walked across his grave. He felt a shiver down his neck and all the good feelings seemed to evaporate. “Night Miss.”
Bridget wondered what she had said to cause the change but went back to her historical novel about the Romans.
All the rest of the children were in bed and, as he passed Johnno’s room, he heard sniggers and the door slam shut. Once in his room he had a wash and cleaned his teeth. Stephen lay on the bed watching him, a strange look on his face. “You all right Ste?”
“It wasn’t me Wayne. I couldn’t stop them.”
Wayne immediately knew who they were, Johnno and his thugs, but what had they done. He pulled back the sheets to get his pyjamas and discovered what they had done; they had soaked his pyjamas and bed with water. He slumped down in the chair. The day had gone so well, right until the very end. “I know Ste. I know. “He stripped the bed. The sheets were soaked but the blankets were only damp. He squeezed out as much water from his pyjamas and sheets as he could and put them on the radiator then he put his clothes back on and took the pillow to the chair. He got Stephen’s chair and made a bed. Luckily his size helped him and the home made bed was a cosy fit. Covering himself in the blankets he turned out the light. “Night Ste. Thanks for trying.”
“Night Wayne.”
As he snuggled down, trying to find a comfortable angle to sleep Wayne heard a voice, he didn’t know it if was in his head or in the room but it said, “Goodnight Wayne, sleep tight, hope the bed bugs don’t bite.” Surprisingly the voice did not upset him in the least and he dropped off to sleep amazingly quickly.
Chapter 10
The next morning Wayne was stiff and aching but he was pleased to find that his sheets were dry. His pyjamas were still a little damp and he left them on the radiator to dry completely. Stephen was still asleep when he began to make his bed up. He changed out of the clothes he had slept in and washed and brushed his teeth. By the time he had finished Stephen was awake.
“Did you manage to sleep Wayne?”
“Yeah I got used to sleeping in a chair when mum was ill. Soon as you are up we can go down for breakfast. I could eat a horse.” Even as he used one of nan’s favourite phrases he dwelt on the voice he had heard in the night. It hadn’t been nan’s voice. Then
whose voice was it? Was it Johnno and his mates playing another trick? Somehow he didn’t think so; they had no subtlety about them and he had not detected any skills in mimicry as yet. While they were eating their breakfasts Johnno and his mates arrived. Instantly Wayne knew that they had been the ones responsible for wetting his bed sheets. He showed no sign that anything untoward had occurred and he was pleased to see a puzzled look creep on their faces when Wayne smiled at them and said,” Morning.”
“Everyone sleep all right?” Stephen and Johnno both looked at Wayne who just nodded happily.” Good Now we are going to walk into Whitby again but this time we are going to West Cliff to see the Captain Cook statue. Remember Johnno we will be doing some work about Captain Cook so do try to pay attention. Oh and one more thing. Mr Campbell is going to meet us at West Cliff and he will spend the day with us.” Johnno and his two friends groaned. Any pleasure they might had had evaporated like the morning mist from the Esk.
They walked down the opposite side of the road this time and, as they turned the corner towards the river Wayne saw the best shop in the whole world. It was a shop full of chess sets. There were fantasy chess sets, ones with knights and soldiers and many traditional ones. He was there so long that Mrs Harper had to pull him away. “Come on Wayne. We’ll be down here later in the week. You can have a good look then. I promise.” For the first time they had to cross the swing bridge. Diane spent fifteen minutes trying to explain how it worked to Jane and Alice but she got nowhere. Fortunately they saw a gull steal an ice cream from a pensioner and they forgot all about the complications of a bridge which moved. Mrs Harper had to keep her wits about her as they passed the arcades for Johnno and his friends kept trying to slip away. Eventually she found the magic phrase, “Mr Campbell will be most annoyed if he finds that you have gone missing won’t he lads?”
Wayne liked the statue and the description of the famous Captain’s exploits but the jaw bones of the whale were even more fascinating. “Miss if these are just the bones of the jaw, and the jaw is just part of the whale’s head, and the whale’s head is just part of the whale, imagine how big the whale must be?”