Malevolent Hall 1666AD

by Rosemary Lynch

  “Come in,” Mike yelled. Entering his Porta cabin, she saw him sat at his desk. Parker barked and lifting his head from where he lay in his basket, his ears pricked up.

  A warm smile enveloped Mike’s face as she approached.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Me, sure why?” he replied putting his pen down on the desk.

  “Steve just told me about the gargoyle. I’m so sorry,” she rushed, running her fingers anxiously across Mike’s desk.

  “Why, it’s not your fault, Matilda. We probably knocked it loose when we put up the scaffolding,” he replied.

  “But – It could have killed you,” she stuttered. Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of something happening to him. It was bad enough she lost her entire family to this sodding Hall, but to lose him too would have destroyed her. Matilda fought with every ounce of self-control to hold them back.

  He frowned, stood, and walked around his desk towards her.

  “Hey, it’s okay it’s a hazard of working on a building site. These things do happen. Rarely, thank God, but they do happen. It’s no one’s fault especially not yours,” he insisted, and he lifted a hand and rubbed her arm.

  Her gaze roamed his face. Their eyes met and as if locked in time and space, the intensity of his gaze held her. She felt the heat, like molten lava build up between her thighs, and he was so close to her his warm breath kissed her face. For a moment, she imagined his lips soft against her own, his hands touching her, caressing her body.

  Captivated by her, Mike swore he could see straight into her soul, and it was so beautiful he was really struggling to hold back his urge to take her in his arms and kiss her. He forced himself to look away

  Matilda took a breath of composure as he walked back around his desk.

  “Steve’s going to check the other gargoyles to make sure it can’t happen again so please don’t worry okay,” he insisted. He leaned both his hands on his desk towards her. “I’m fine.”

  Matilda felt awkward as he looked at her, and she sucked in her bottom lip in order to hold her emotions in check.

  “Good. Oh you left this behind,” she said, putting his walkie-talkie on the table and walking towards the door.

  “Matilda,” he called. She glanced over her shoulder and caught his smile.

  “Thanks,” he said. She returned his smile and left.

  ****

  Unable to face the rest of the day room, Matilda decided to do a few jobs in the kitchen. As she finished washing the last kitchen window an unexpected shiver ran down her back, and she turned around. A man was leaning against the fridge staring straight at her.

  “Erm excuse me, but are you actually going to do any work? I don’t think I’m paying you to stand there and stare at me,” she said sharply, lifting an ominous eyebrow at him.

  The man nearly fell over with shock almost as if he thought she was unable see him.

  As he caught her eyes, her heart shook. He was gorgeous, if dressed a little strangely.

  She spun around startled as Parker barked.

  “Parker, shut up,” Mike said, “sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump,” he apologised. “I did knock,” he added.

  “Oh I didn’t hear you,” she replied, frowning as Parker barked again. He stared past her, his head moving as if watching something or someone move towards the back door.

  She glanced over her shoulder, assuming he was watching the stranger, but the man was gone. She thought it strange, as she hadn’t heard the back door open.

  “Matilda, the new boiler will be here tomorrow, I’m sorry but I can’t get it here any quicker,” Mike said, walking to her. She turned to him.

  “That’s okay, I’m sure I can manage one night without hot water, thank you. I suppose you want more tea?” she asked, turning back around to fill the kettle.

  “Yes, please, if it’s not too much trouble,” Mike replied. “We should have the t-caddy up and running by tomorrow, so I won’t have to bother you anymore.”

  “Oh, that’s okay I don’t mind. In fact, I’m glad of the company, even if it is just while we make tea,” Matilda said glancing over her shoulder as she walked to the fridge to get some milk.

  Mike stared at her and could not help but smile. Covered in dust she had a smudge of dirt on the end of her nose. With her hair pulled back off her face, and secured in a bun with a pencil while the rest fell about and framed her face, she looked gorgeous. He deliberated whether to tell her as he watched her making the tea.

  “Do they want any sandwiches?” she offered.

  “No, biscuits will be fine thanks Matilda. Erm, Matilda, you have a…” he rubbed the tip of his nose.

  “A what?” Matilda cried in horror, her hand flying to her nose.

  “Dirt on the end of your nose,” he finished.

  “Oh,” she replied letting out a relieved breath and thanking the heavens it wasn’t something else.

  She turned the tap on and splashed some water over her face.

  “Gone?” she asked turning to him.

  “Yep,” he confirmed, wanting so much to peel back the wet hair stuck to her face.

  “Right, we’d better take this tea out before it gets cold,” she said, pulling the pencil from her hair and shaking it loose.

  Mike gave a shudder as he watched her - she was so sexy.

  She grabbed her coat from the back of a chair and slipped it on. Mike helped her to carry the two trays with seventeen cups of tea, a huge pot of sugar and a barrel of biscuits outside to the workforce and as always Parker followed at his master’s heels.

  As Mike drank his tea, he opened the plans for the Hall and laid them on the bonnet of a car.

  “Okay, it’s going to look a lot worse before it starts to look better, Matilda, so be prepared. We are going to have to pull this part of the Hall back to the bare skeleton in order to repair the fire and weather damage,” he said pointing. “Of course, we will try and salvage as much of the original interior as we can,” he added.

  “I will leave it all in your capable hands, Mike. I know you will do a great job. Honestly this just looks like a load of chicken scratches to me,” she confessed looking down at the plans. He gave a chuckle and rolled them up knowing it was pointless showing her any more.

  She looked at the Hall, still undecided whether or not she would actually be able to live here even after all the work was finished. Matilda was hoping more of the good memories would return to her, so she could put the horror of her family’s murders behind her.

  Her eyes scoured the crew of men but she couldn’t see the man who had been in her kitchen; maybe he was embarrassed and keeping out of her sight. His face, however, was haunting her, it was as if she knew him from somewhere, but was unable to place where. He was a little older than she was, at a guess, around twenty-four. He was at least six foot, broad, muscular, with short, dark hair, and a beautiful face. The more she thought about him, the more she needed to find him. Matilda glanced back at Mike, and gave a frown as the image of the stranger looked back her.

  “Are you okay, Matilda?” Mike asked, touching her arm. Her body felt charged by his touch, and she took a breath.

  “What, yes fine, sorry, I was miles away. I will leave you to your work,” Matilda muttered. Feeling confused she spun around, leaving Mike staring at her as she walked away.

  Matilda watched the scaffolding continue to go up, looking at the men there, but he was not among them. Where could he have gone? He had to be here somewhere. Some of the men were only here today to put up the scaffolding and set up ‘camp’ as it were, so if she was unable to find him today he may never come back.

  Matilda found herself wandering to the overgrown gardens. Passing the fountain, she pulled out her note pad from her pocket, flipped it open to her, ‘to do list’, and added, repair fountain, under the garden section.

  She carried on with her meandering making her way to the walled, kitchen garden. She stopped at the old oak door, the entrance to her mother’
s garden, but found it locked.

  “Damn it,” she cursed, she needed the key. Matilda checked over her shoulder, making sure there was no one around. Lifting her finger, and looking around once more to be doubly sure no one was observing her, she pointed it at the lock.

  “Aperi,” she chanted in a whisper. White magic left her finger, it fizzled in the keyhole, and the lock clunked and opened. She looked around once more and opened the door.

  Inside was wild and overgrown, and the brambles kept tugging at the bottom of her dress as she walked. The individual vegetable beds her mother had painstakingly kept meticulously were now just one big mass of brambles and weeds. She opened her notepad and added, ‘clear out, and re-establish mummy’s vegetable garden.’

  Hitching her dress, and climbing over the brambles, she made her way to the old summer house tucked away in the far corner of the garden. It was looking a little worse for wear, so Matilda added the summer house to her list. Pulling back the ivy covering the door, she kicked away with her booted foot at the scrub preventing the door from opening. Matilda heaved it open and looked inside. It was a big summerhouse, with an old stove at one end, and seating and a table at the other. She remembered a water tap fixed to a wall outside. She smiled at the memory of filling the kettle for her mother so she could make tea while they gardened, and there were always little cakes to munch.

  It felt good in here, and sitting on the bench, she reached down to the side of the seat, picked up an old doll, and brushed her down.

  “Hello Lulu,” she said, stroking through her old doll’s hair. “Long time no see.” The doll appeared to blink, and she held it frozen in her hand.

  “No. You did not just do that,” she muttered, with a shake of her head. “I did it when I tilted you.” She theorised as the doll stared back at her. A cold, shiver rippled down her spine, and Matilda hastily put her back down the side of the chair. Looking up she glanced through the window and her heart jumped. Wiping her hand across the dirty pane, she thought she saw someone out there. She stood, staring out of the window, she could see a man. Matilda picked up an old poker from beside the stove, and gripped it tight, as she was not sure if what she was seeing was real or something more sinister.

  Matilda moved to the door and stepped outside. She walked towards him as he walked towards her.

  “You,” she said as they stopped in front of each other.

  “Hello,” he said, with a smile that sent her heart racing. He looked at the poker.

  “I am not going to hurt you,” he added.

  “What, oh, no, sorry,” she said, throwing the poker to the ground. “I’m just a little jittery at the moment.”

  “That is understandable, after what happened here,” he said in a gentle voice.

  “You know about my family?” Matilda asked. He gave a slow nod.

  “Do I know you?” she asked, as the feeling of familiarity rippled through to her core.

  “Yes, Matilda, you do,” he confirmed.

  “Where from, school?” Matilda asked. “Are you, local to Selton?”

  “Not from school. I am from Selton, but I cannot tell you, you have to remember me,” he said, mysteriously.

  “What, why can’t you tell me?” she asked. He smiled, and the intensity in his eyes turned her legs to jelly. “And not being funny, but you’re not exactly dressed for a building site,” she remarked looking at his trousers, white shirt and waistcoat.

  “It is the rules of the enchantment,” he said.

  “Enchantment, what the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

  “Matilda,” a man’s voice hollered. She turned to see Mike walking towards her, with Parker bounding by his side.

  “Excuse me,” she said to the man, who merely dipped his head with a smile. “Mike,” she greeted as he approached.

  “Sorry to bother you, Matilda,” he said, in a smooth, deep voice. Parker sat by Mike’s feet and growled.

  “Parker, shut up,” he said, looking down at his dog. It was not like him to growl. Parker ignored him, and he growled staring at the stranger by Matilda’s side.

  “Parker,” he said again, this time his voice was firm. Parker stopped growling, but he did not stop staring. Matilda eyed the dog, looked back at the stranger and then to Mike.

  “That’s okay. How did you know I was here?” Matilda asked.

  “One of the guys putting up the scaffolding saw you go through the gate,” he replied.

  She swallowed nervously; he saw her go through the gate, she hoped he had not seen her use her magic to open the door.

  “We’ve found something I think you will want to see,” he said mysteriously.

  “Really, what is it?” she asked, curiously.

  “A chest,” he replied.

  “A chest,” she repeated, glancing at him, and then to the man to her side, and she was surprised at how similar in appearance the two men were. In fact, if you ignored the stranger’s weird clothing, they could easily pass as brothers.

  Matilda was somewhat concerned however; that Parker could obviously see the man, as he was still staring at him but Mike never acknowledge the man was there.

  “Yes, you know like a treasure chest,” he said.

  “Oh, okay. Look I will catch you up if that is okay, I’ve just got to grab something from the summer house,” she lied.

  “No problem. I will get the men to get it out of the hole and put it in the kitchen for you.”

  “Thanks, Mike,” she said gratefully, and he gave her another one of his heart melting smiles, before heading back towards the garden gate. Parker stayed, and he growled again.

  “Parker,” Mike yelled. The dog barked one more time, and then took off after him.

  “Walk with me,” she asked of the man, and turning she headed back towards the summerhouse. He did not reply, but he did follow her.

  Once inside, she stopped and turned to him.

  “Why didn’t he see you, but the dog did?” Matilda asked apprehensively.

  “Because I am dead,” he replied.

  “You - are – dead?” she repeated, taking a step back, her eyes wide.

  “Yes, I am what you like to call a spirit, or ghost. The dog could sense my presence, but your friend, he could not see me.”

  “But why - why can I see you quite clearly?” she stuttered.

  “I honestly do not know,” he whispered back, and he took a step towards her. She froze to the spot, too afraid, and too excited to move.

  “Are you the one who’s been calling my name?” she said back.

  “Calling your name?” he repeated, a slight hesitation in his voice, and then he gave a gentle nod. “Yes, Tilly,” he said, lifting a hand to her face and gently running the back of his knuckles down her cheek. She took a sharp intake of air at his touch and took a step back.

  “I felt you,” he said, startled.

  “I felt you too,” she whispered, letting out her breath.

  Keeping his eyes fixed on hers; he captured her hand, and teased her fingers.

  Matilda’s fingers tingled with a surge of energy. A wind blew from nowhere, lifting her hair, and swirling around them.

  He glanced over his shoulder and then back to her, his eyes capturing hers once again.

  “I have to go,” he said.

  “Who are you,” she asked.

  “You have to remember.” He smiled at her. “Find the book, Tilly, find the book,” he whispered, and he disappeared.

  “Don’t go,” Matilda cried pointlessly, for he already had. “Shit,” she muttered, stomping her foot on the ground in frustration and wiping a stray tear running down her cheek. Who was he? She was certain she knew him.

  Closing the door behind her, Matilda made her way back to the Hall to see what this chest was Mike had found. Maybe the ominous book was inside.

  “It’s locked,” Mike said as she stared at the large, black, chest sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.

  “Yes I can see that,” Matilda replied,
her finger edging the keyhole. She knew she could open it, but not with Mike around. “Okay, thanks, Mike. I have a bunch of old keys in here somewhere maybe one of them will open it.”

  “Right, I will get back to work then,” he said, sounding disappointed that she had dismissed him.

  “Yep,” she replied, eager for him to be gone. She waited another five minutes after he left, just to be certain he was not going to pop his head back around the door to see what she was doing. Matilda opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out a box of old keys her mother had found, and collected from all over the Hall and gardens. She selected one in order to pretend to Mike she had found the key that opened the chest.

  Pulling on her magic, she enchanted the key and put it into the lock.

  “Aperi,” she ordered, and turning the key, the lock fizzled and clicked open.

  Matilda lifted the lid both nervously and with excitement. She peered inside and saw a beautiful blue, gown made from silk. It was old fashion, long and flouncy. She lifted it up and pulled it against her body.

  “So you got it open then,” Mike said as he stood at the doorway. She jumped at the sound of his voice.

  “Shit, you scared me!” she complained.

  “Sorry,” he said, walking to her.

  “That looks pretty, you should try it on,” he suggested.

  “No, I don’t think so,” she replied. She glanced at him as he put a hammer and chisel onto the kitchen table.

  “Curiosity was getting the better of me,” he admitted. “I thought if you couldn’t open it I could bash it open for you.”

  “Well, I found a key that worked,” Matilda lied, still holding the dress against her body.

  “Put it on, Matilda,” he said. She looked at him startled by the tone of his voice as it was unexpectedly forceful and deep. Mike coughed and ran his hand across his throat.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that,” he apologised, his voice returning to his usual pitch. She still stared at him, as his voice had sent a chill through her whole body.

  Putting the dress on the back of the chair, she knelt and reached inside the chest.

  “What else is in there?” he asked.

  “More clothes, oh, what’s this,” she said. There was something else, wrapped in cloth. Matilda un-wrapped it and held it in her hands. She tried to open it to see the picture inside, but it would not budge.