“Thank you, Peter. I know I’m being silly. But would you mind?” Mary replied.
Peter made his way through the kitchen to the cellar door and opened it. He moved down the old stone steps and switched on the lights. He moved into the coal area and glanced up at the solid wood cover. It was secure as he’d expected. He made his way back up the steps and stopped halfway as he heard a shuffle in the shadows. He turned back around and snapped the light back on. The shadows jumped back and Peter could see nothing but bare walls. He switched off the light and made his way up to the door. As he got to the door he shivered as the cold air passed around him. He closed the door shut and made sure the drop catch was properly closed and went back to the sofa and Mary.
Mary was sat waiting on the sofa and reached a glass towards Peter.
“Sorry about that sweetheart, I got myself all spooked,” Mary said.
Peter took the proffered glass and joined her on the sofa.
“You and me both it seems. I had the weirdest chill down there. Was as if someone or something was watching me. Had to turn the light back on again to make sure. Just all stupid village talk I guess. Let’s take these drinks up to bed babe, I’m exhausted.”
Peter picked up the half-empty wine bottle and his glass and followed Mary up the stairs to their bedroom. Jason’s bedroom door was slightly open and as they passed they could hear him muttering in his sleep. Mary quietly pulled the door to and they went into their own room.
Peter moved over to the window and placed the bottle on the window ledge. Mary joined him and they gazed out over the moonlit moorland that stretched away from the back of the house. The large standing stone silhouetted on the horizon could be seen bathed in the moonlight.
“Is that a fire? I think I see a campfire or something near that big stone,” Peter said.
“Maybe it’s those gypsies everyone seems to go on about. I thought I could see a fire too, but it’s gone now,” Mary replied.
“Yeah, sure. Gypsies or backpackers on their way to the seaside I guess. Quite enchanting out there isn’t it?” Peter said.
Mary slid an arm over his shoulder and pulled him against her. He could feel her hand sliding down into his bathrobe, untying the cord and allowing it to fall open. He turned to face her and lowered his head to kiss her as he slid his hand under her shirt and around her waist. They stood in the glow of the moonlight as he slowly undressed her and allowed his robe to fall to the floor. He turned her towards the window and positioned himself behind her. She could feel his muscular body pushing her breasts against the cool glass. She groaned as she gazed out across the moonlit moor and felt her nipples hardening against the glass.
“Someone might see us, Peter. Out there,” she whispered, turning her neck to receive his kisses there.
“Someone will get a lucky night then, won’t they?” Peter replied, lifting her arms above her head and holding her palms against the window.
She could feel his hard cock pressing against her buttocks and began slowly to writhe against him. She felt him slide himself into her and she gasped. He thrust rhythmically into her and as he pressed her against the cool glass she could see a fire starting to glow far off below the tall standing stone. As they writhed together she could see the fire growing and around it, what she thought to be hooded people circling the fire. They too seemed to be following the same rhythm.
Peter exploded deep within her and she gasped in delight to feel him furiously emptying inside her. He groaned as Mary turned around towards him and guided him to the bed. Laying him down she told him, now he’d had his turn it was time to give her the same pleasure.
Chapter Four
Mary had woken early to the sounds of Jason playing in his room. She busied herself in the kitchen preparing breakfast then shouted him down.
“Come on, Jason. Breakfast is ready!” Mary tried again.
Peter was making his way down the stairs and had heard the call. He made his way to Jason’s room. Standing outside, he could hear the boy talking. He seemed quite animated and sounded as if he was replying in a conversation.
“Jason?” Peter said, opening the door. “You okay son? Your Mum called you for breakfast. Let’s go.”
Jason dropped the toy he had in his hand on the bed and rushed out of the room, looking back and smiling as if he were leaving someone for a short time.
“Having fun, son? Who were you talking to?” Peter asked smiling. “Not inviting them for breakfast?”
“Don’t be silly, Daddy,” Jason said as he hurried down the stairs into the kitchen.
The three of them sat down to a breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs and baked beans. Mary was buttering toast for Jason when Peter asked: “So who’s the new friend you were talking to, Jason?”
“New friend? Did I miss something? Don’t they want breakfast, Jason?” Mary exclaimed, looking at them both.
Jason looked strangely at them both and then looked down at his breakfast and began eating silently.
“Well, okay, I guess we’ve got the answer to that one then. Anyway, today you can help me moving your toys into the nursery. I’ll let you choose where everything goes okay?” Mary said.
Jason nodded and continued with his breakfast not looking up at either of them.
“Okay Mum, that will be fine,” he muttered.
Peter pushed his chair back and stood up, reaching for his jacket on the back of the chair.
“Right, I’ve got a long day in York today. You two going to manage without me?” Peter asked.
“We’ll be fine, darling. Hope you get your contract sorted in one trip. You don’t want to be running backwards and forwards all week. I’ll book us a babysitter for tonight and we’ll explore the nightlife of Pudsgate. I’m sure it’s buzzing,” Mary laughed.
Peter kissed them both and left through the kitchen door. Mary went back to her breakfast as she heard the car outside pulling away from the house.
“Looks like we have the house to ourselves little man,” she sighed.
Jason didn’t respond and as soon as he had finished his breakfast he rushed upstairs, leaving Mary staring in surprise.
“Well. I guess it’s me, you and this pile of toast Mary,” she said to herself.
With Jason upstairs, Mary went out into the garden. The sun was shining on a beautiful summer morning in the dales and the roses and geraniums were mingling in a riot of colour with the wild flowers that filled in any gaps they could find. Mary made her way out to the back to look over the dales to the strange standing stone. She noticed the pram they had moved up from the basement was gone. Surely Peter never had time to get it in the car to take to the dump, she thought. She would have noticed. She was sure he got straight into the car this morning and drive off. Perhaps the gypsies had sneaked in during the early hours and taken it, she mused to herself. She shrugged. If the gypsies were happy to remove her junk, she wasn’t going to complain.
She took a gentle stroll around, listening with a mother’s ear to any sound from Jason that might cause her to break her peaceful exploration. He was quiet. She found herself at the swing Peter had hung from the large overhanging branch of a tree and sat herself on it. It had been years since she had been on one of these. She pushed herself gently and giggled as the swing began to move to and fro.
Peter would be gone most of the day arranging a work contract. He worked from home as a freelance journalist but every now and again he would need to meet a client face-to-face and thrash out exactly what would be in his column and, of course, the rate. Mary had all day. Time enough to sort out a nursery playroom for Jason and plenty of time to relive her childhood on the swing. As she let herself swing higher and higher she glanced around the garden and over the moor. The large, standing stone would rise up and fall with her swinging and around her, in the garden, the sweet scented rose bushes would zoom closer and further away. She began to giggle as she realised just how childish she was feeling as she thrust her legs in and out to get the swing higher and high
er.
Slowly, she allowed the swing to ease off back down to the ground and pondered the missing Victorian pram again. No, of course there was no way Peter could have got that loaded this morning, she thought. It triggered her to have a nosey around the cellar and see what other wonders she might find down there. Climbing off the swing, she made her way back into the house and into the kitchen. She flicked the switch on the kettle and then proceeded to the cellar steps. Upstairs, she could hear Jason in his room playing. She smiled as she cocked an ear to listen to him for a moment before descending the steep stone steps into the cellar.
At the top of the steps, she had snapped on the light switch and the feeble bulb hanging from old wire lit the main part of the basement. Out to the edges of the main room, the shadows still lingered and into the two other rooms there was total darkness.
Mary took a quick glance around, peering into the shadows for a switch that might light the other rooms. As she moved forward into the darkness, she felt something solid smack against her hip. She looked down in shock to see, standing in the shadows, the old Victorian pram.
Mary grunted in disgust as the smell of the mouldy pram reached her nostrils.
“Peter! Why on earth would you bring this smelly thing back in the house?” She muttered to herself.
Mary grabbed the handle of the pram and pulled it to the bottom of the staircase, forgetting her plan to investigate for the moment. Her head hit the low-hanging light bulb and set the shadows dancing crazily around the cellar walls. Mary heard a giggle.
She let go of the pram and looked around into the darkness. “Jason? Is that you? What are you doing down here? It’s not where you should be playing. Come here to me,” Mary called out into the swinging shadows the light cast in the darkness.
Another light giggle and the shuffle of feet led Mary into the back of the cellar and into one of the side rooms. She swept her hands over the walls looking for a light switch. There was none to be found. This was the coal room and when it was in full use, there would have been enough light from the now covered coal hatch to illuminate it during the day at least. Now the hatch was covered over, the small room was in total darkness.
“Jason? Please come out of there, baby. I have no idea what nastiness might be on these floors,” Mary asked again. There was no reply. From the side of the wall, Mary felt a cold breeze along the floor. She shuddered.
“I’ll leave you here then. Maybe you won’t find it so funny when you’re on your own,” Mary snapped, her voice taking on a harsh tone as she made her way back into the main room of the cellar.
Mary dragged the old pram up the cellar stairs into the kitchen. She peered down into the cellar waiting for Jason to give up his teasing and come rushing up to join her. He didn’t. A thud from upstairs and Jason calling her, jolted her mind as she hurried up the stairs to his room.
“Jason? What’s wrong, darling? I thought you were downstairs,” Mary said to him as she noticed a box of toys spilled onto the floor.
“Sorry, Mummy. I was trying to climb on it to get my bear and it fell,” Jason said, looking at the upturned box and back to his mother sheepishly.
“Nothing we can’t fix baby and we’re going to move it all into the playroom for you so everything will be where you can get to it,” Mary said, scooping the toys back into the box.
She left Jason in his bedroom playing with his bear as she went back down to where she had left the pram. She reached down the cellar steps and clicked off the light. As she turned to close the door she was sure she heard the sound of a child giggling down in the darkness. It sent a chill through her as she hauled the pram out of the back door and into the back garden. She stood it back where it had been left before and gazed around the garden. How could it possibly have got back into the cellar? Mary pondered. She shrugged and went back into the kitchen. Peter would be home soon and the playroom still needed putting together.
Mary made herself a pot of coffee and listened to Jason playing upstairs. He was singing to himself in between having a conversation. The bear of course, thought Mary. He loves that teddy bear more than her, she thought to herself as she sipped on the hot coffee.
Mary’s phone began to buzz on the kitchen table. She picked it up.
“Hi there, princess. I just got off the phone to Mrs. Baker. Julia will be at the house around seven thirty to babysit. I know you were going to organise it but I had an hour to kill,” Peter said over the phone.
“Hello, sweetheart! Well done you! I was going to call as soon as I’d had my coffee. So how did the meeting go?” Mary replied.
“Went well. Got what I came for, just had to hang around for ages while the board accepted it. Should be home in a couple of hours, okay?” Peter said.
“That’s wonderful news. I’ll see you when you get back. Drive careful, baby. Love you,” Mary replied.
“Love you too. See you soon, byeee,” Peter finished and Mary heard the phone hang up. She smiled. Peter was good at what he did and whatever he did, he did for them - for Mary and for Jason. She would get the playroom finished and get ready for a trip to the pub this evening.
Mary finished her coffee and slowly made her way upstairs. Passing by Jason’s room, she could hear him talking, almost whispering. It sounded too like somebody was responding. She gently opened the door and peered into the room. Jason was sat on his bed facing away from her. His head snapped round as she entered and he looked at her fiercely. He turned his head quickly back to face where he had been looking again and when he turned back to look at his mother his face was a picture of calm.
“Everything okay, sweetie? You sounded busy,” Mary asked gently.
“I’m fine, Mum,” Jason replied.
“I thought I heard you talking as I was coming up the stairs. I’m sure you’re having fun. Sorry it’s so boring alone here. It will be better once you start school and make some new friends,” Mary said.
“I’m fine, Mummy. I said I’m fine,” Jason replied, the snarl in his voice simmering under the surface.
Mary was taken aback by the boy’s tone but chose not to show it.
“That’s good then, dear. I’m going to move these boxes into the other room for you, okay? Then you can have a proper playroom. You want to give me a hand?” Mary said lightly.
“Yes,” Jason said, climbing off the bed and collecting up one of the boxes.
“Good, it will all go quicker if we do it together. But let me carry that one. No need to carry anything too heavy, baby,” Mary said, reaching for the large box Jason had picked up.
“I said I’m fine, Mother! I can carry this,” Jason snapped back.
“Very good. Yes, of course, you are a proper little man now. Just be careful,” Mary said, picking up another of the large boxes and leaving the room. She was confused. Jason was such a mild and gentle boy. She had never heard or seen him so petulant. She shrugged it off and together they spent the next hour moving and arranging the new playroom.
Once it was finished, Jason sat happily in the new room and enjoyed himself arranging and rearranging his favourites. Mary watched him, glad that he had lost his moment of anger and still wondering what exactly had got into him.
She took herself to her own bedroom and prepared a hot tub to soak in. With Jason playing quietly in his new room, Mary allowed herself to sink slowly into the hot scented bubbles and relax. Time enough to change and be ready for Peter’s return.
Chapter Five
Peter and Mary were making their way out of the front door and at the same time ensuring Julia, the babysitter, had all she needed. Mary had made at least three trips back into the house after they had stood at the front door to check the food she had left on the kitchen table and to check and recheck on Jason.
“So, you have done this before? Sorry. Obviously you have. I’m such an idiot. But you have Peter’s phone number if you have any problems, right? Yes. Yes of course you do. And we’ll be in the Yew Tree all night. Just for the quiz. We won’t be going anywh
ere after that. Unless you want me to bring fish and chips home. Do you? We can stop off for fish and chips can’t we, Peter?” Mary said.
“No, dear. I don’t think we can,” Peter replied.
“Yes, of course we can, if Julia needs some supper later. We can get some fish and chips,” Mary snapped back.
“No, because unless you stop fretting and let us get out of here, both the pub and the chip shop will have closed, right?” Peter said, smiling and winking at Julia.
“We will be fine Mary. Get yourselves off and have a good time. Me and Jason will have a great time while you’re out. Don’t worry about a thing,” Julia replied.
Julia was seventeen and pretty. Or she would have been if she hadn’t followed the path of gothic madness and coated her face in black lipstick and a pale, almost white foundation. Black, skinny, ripped jeans and Doc Marten boots were topped with a scraggly, old, knitted sweater that Mary would have thrown out with the old Victorian pram if she could have got it off the girl’s back. Julia was politely trying to close the front door without offending Mary as she was speaking.
“Well then. Shall we go? Or shall I just die of thirst here on the rose beds, Mary? I’ve had a long day you know? I think I earned a pint today,” Peter said, as he gently tugged on Mary’s sleeve.
Mary turned for the last time and the pair of them began the short walk down the lane to the village.
“I have a question for you, Peter. Why on earth did you move that stinking, old pram back into the cellar?” Mary asked.
“Pram?” Peter replied. “I didn’t move any pram. Why would I?”
“Well someone did. I took it back outside this morning. Are you sure?” Mary said.
“Quite sure, honey. I’ve had a lot more to think about than that pram I can assure you,” Peter replied as they entered the Yew Tree pub.
Inside, it was quite busy and Peter pointed out an empty table to Mary as he made his way to the bar.
Thriller: Emily Page 3