I was driven through the night by the nameless chauffeur, and I could do little else but listen to my iPod and stare out the window into the dark. What was I getting myself into? Where was I being taken? And why had Lady Hunt lied to me about going to New York?
Most people would be demanding to be let free of the car or to be taken home to safety. But I didn't feel anything like that. Yeah, if I'm to be honest, my innards felt like they were being gripped by an invisible fist, but that feeling of apprehension - of not knowing - made me feel alive, al of my senses tingled with the thought of what might lay ahead.
As I stared out of the window, I made a mental note of the route which I was being taken - just in case.
We took routes, A390, A39, and the A30, reaching the M5 at 21:34 hours. We traveled along the M5 until we reached the M49 an hour and fifteen minutes later.
After a further five minutes we took the exit onto the M4 and I noted we traveled this for a further twenty- nine minutes until we left the motorway and headed onto the A470 and to a place caled Merthyr Jydfil. We reached Brecon twenty-one minutes later and this is where the chauffeur took a series of unmarked roads that led us away across the Brecon Beacon moors. The roads twisted and climbed, the chauffeur having to slow the car as he navigated his way via a series of slate stone lanes that were shielded each side by low, black slate wals. It was so dark outside, that al I could see was the pale shadow of my face reflecting back at me off the glass. We drove further and deeper across the moors. Every now and then, the barren landscape would be iluminated by the light of the moon as it appeared from behind passing clouds. It was bleak, rugged, and desolate. As I sensed the rest of civilisation disappearing behind me, that invisible fist drew tighter around my guts.
The vehicle climbed again, then the ground beneath us leveled out. In the distance, I could see the shape of a building set against the night sky. The sound of gravel crunching and breaking beneath the wheels of the car seemed almost deafening as the chauffeur headed towards this building - or castle?
The vehicle slowed, and I pressed the button set into the car door to lower the window. It made a buzzing noise, but the window refused to open.
Cupping my hands together and pressing them against the glass, I peered out into the darkness, keen to find out why we had stopped. It looked as if we had come to a bridge that had only been half-finished. Then in the distance, I could hear a grinding and clanking sound, like heavy metal chains being dragged across concrete.
Then I saw it, the drawbridge that Lady Hunt had told me about, coming out of the sky like a vast black wing.
With an earth-trembling shudder, it fel into place in front of the car, and we slowly crept over it. No sooner had we reached the other side than the sound of those clunking chains came again. I looked back to see the drawbridge rising back into the sky, sealing access to the outside world. Ahead, there was a huge iron gate, and set into the ancient stone wal was what looked like a smal gate house. Stepping from the shadows was what looked like some weird creature. But as it came towards the gate, I could see that it was, in fact, a man.
In one of his hands he held an old fashioned-looking lamp. In the glow of the light, I could see that his back looked misshapen and twisted as he lurched from the gate house. Even though he was stooped forward, he was tal. He wore a long dark coat, which hung about his knees. The gates wailed as if in pain as he pushed them open. Sitting forward in my seat, I tried to get a better look at him. The chauffeur steered the car forward through the gates and as he did, I peered through the window at the gatekeeper. He wore a large-brimmed hat, which looked tattered and old. The brim was puled low over his brow. Bending forward, I tried to get a look at the face beneath it and what I saw made me gasp and jump back in my seat. His face was partialy covered in a grubby-looking bandage. Tufts of beard protruded from between the gaps, and only one eye and his mouth were left uncovered. His one eye swiveled in its socket as he looked at me. But it was his mouth. The top lip was twisted upwards and as he stared at me, I couldn't tel if he were smiling at me or snarling.
Looking away, the gates screamed as the deformed-looking gatekeeper closed them behind us.
The chauffeur drove forward, and on each side of the car I could just make out the sheer vastness of the estate that the manor was set in. We folowed the winding gravel path for what seemed like forever until we reached the entrance to the building.
Coming to a slow stop, the chauffeur kiled the engine. I looked ahead, and although he wore those dark glasses, I knew that the chauffeur was watching me in the rear view mirror.
"What?" I said, staring back.
He said nothing.
Then I was aware of a light coming towards the car. I looked sideways to see someone approaching my door. Placing my iPod back into my pocket, I groped for my bag as the car door was swung open.
"Good evening, Ms. Hudson," said a soft voice.
I looked up into the face of an elderly woman. In the glow of the lamp, her face looked warm, friendly, and kind.
"Can I help you with your bags?" she asked, holding out a hand that was so wrinkled it looked as if it had been covered in papier-mache.
"No, thank you," I smiled, as I got it from the car.
"I only have the one."
"Very wel," the old woman said, and I noticed that her silver hair was tied into a bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a plain, grey dress and white apron.
"I'm Mrs. Payne," she said. "I'm Lady Hunt's housekeeper."
"Helo," I said back, feeling overwhelmed by the size of the manor house that loomed above me in the darkness. The Rols Royce crept away, back down the gravel path.
Turning back to the old woman, I said, "Where am I, exactly?"
"Halowed Manor," she said, turning away and guiding me with the light from her lamp to the front door. Folowing her, I glanced at my wristwatch. It read 00:13 hours. With a quick calculation in my head, I knew that the journey from Havensfield to Halowed Manor had taken four hours and six minutes and that I was about two hundred and twenty-five-and-a-half miles from home.
The giant oak front door was open, and Mrs.
Payne ushered me inside. The manor had a strange odour. It smelt musty but yet, almost kind of sweet. It wasn't the scent of flowers or mildew, and I couldn't quite place it. The halway was lit with candles and I could just make out a wide set of stairs, which led up into the darkness. I glanced up to see a beautiful chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. What a shame it wasn't lit-up as I guessed it would have looked beautiful.
"No lights?" I asked as she shut the door behind us.
"Oh no," she sighed. "The house has been undergoing some repairs and the workmen have somehow managed to fuse al the lights. Marshal has contacted an electrician who'l be here in a day or two.
They're very busy, apparently."
"Marshal?" "The gatekeeper come grounds man,"
she said. I pictured his twisted back and lip, and shuddered. "So al the electricity is out?" I asked her.
"No, no," she smiled at me, "just the lights." Leading me to the foot of the staircase, she placed her lantern on a nearby table, plucked up two of the candles and handed one to me. Throwing my rucksack over my shoulder, I took the candle and folowed the old woman up the staircase. With each step, the stairs beneath me groaned and creaked, and the candle flame bobbed to and fro, splashing the orange light into the darkness.
The wals were covered in large oil paintings.
Mrs. Payne must have detected my sudden apprehension as she said, "Don't be scared Ms.
Hudson. I know the old place can look a little creepy at night, but by day you'l see what a wonderful home this is."
"I'l take your word for it," I said, straining to see into the darkness ahead of me. "And cal me Kiera. Ms.
Hudson makes me sound like a school teacher or something. What about you?"
"I'm sorry, dear?" she asked, nearing the top of the stairs. "Do you have a first name?" Smiling at me from behind her candle, her eyes twinkled and she said, "Mrs. Payne, dear. Just cal me Mrs. Payne." "Okay, whatever you like," I sighed. We reached what I thought was the top of the stairs, only to discover that we were on a smal landing where the staircase divided left and right. Leading me to the left, I looked back over my shoulder in the direction of the right set of stairs that almost seemed to lead upwards into a black hole.
"What's back there?" I asked as we started to climb again. "That's the right wing of the house, but it's out of bounds." "How come?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "Like I said, we've got builders working here. They're refurbishing that side of the house." Then stopping, she looked at me and that twinkle in her eye had faded. "Don't go into that side of the building - it could be very dangerous."
"Dangerous?" I asked her.
"The floors are unsafe as is the whole structure,"
she said fixing me with a cool stare. "The whole lot could come down at any time."
"So no one goes into that part of the house?" I said just wanting to make sure.
"No one," she said, turning away. "It is forbidden."
Now why did she have to go and say that? I mean that was like waving a red flag at a bul - my curiosity dial had just gone crazy. Smiling to myself, I said, "Okay, yeah - sure, it does look kind of creepy back there." In fact the whole house looked eerie, but perhaps like she said, in daylight it would look more welcoming and friendly.
Reaching the top of the second flight of stairs, Mrs.
Payne - as she insisted on being caled - led me down a narrow corridor. The wals on each side had doors set into them. I didn't know what lay behind these doors and guessed that perhaps they were bedrooms.
Either way, if anyone were behind them, they were asleep, as I couldn't see any light seeping from around the door frames. At the end of the passageway, Mrs.
Payne stopped outside a white-coloured door. Turning the handle with her frail-looking hand, she pushed it open. Standing outside the open doorway, she peered at me from the gloom and said, "This wil be your room for the duration of your stay, Kiera. Please make yourself comfortable. I hope I've thought of everything for you, but if there is something that you should need, just ring the bel."
"The bel?" I asked feeling bemused. "You'l find a bel cord beside your bed," she said. "Just pul on it should you require anything. The bel wil alert me."
"Don't worry," I said stepping into the room, "I won't disturb you tonight." "Oh don't worry your pretty head about me, dear," she smiled. "I don't sleep as wel as I used to. You'l find that I'm awake most of the night."
"Stil," I said, "I'm a grown-up, I think I can look after myself."
"Whatever you wish," Mrs. Payne said, and then seemed to almost curtsy at me before leaving the room.
Closing the door, I held the candle out before me and inspected the room. It was huge. Against the far wal, and seeming to take up most of the space, was the biggest bed that I'd ever seen. It was a four poster, with ornate pilars at each corner that reached up into the dark. What looked like drapes had been fastened with white ribbons to each post. Beside the bed was a wooden dressing table with a mirror. Placing the candle on it, I sat on the edge of the giant bed. The mattress felt wonderfuly soft.
Getting up, I crossed the room, the single candle barely penetrating the darkness that seemed to wrap itself around me like a blanket. On the opposite side of the room to the bed was a set of windows, and as I made my way towards them, my boots sank into a soft white rug that was spread out across the floor. The windows were as big as a doorway, and they opened outwards onto a smal balcony. Pushing them open, a chily breeze circled me and made the curtains whisper.
Standing on the balcony, I looked out into the darkness.
In the distance, I could hear the sound of lapping water and I guessed it was the sound of the moat rushing around the grounds of Halowed Manor. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back and let the wind cool me as I enjoyed the silence. I felt a milion miles away from my poky flat with its wals covered in clippings and its piles of newspapers. Then the silence was broken by the sound of gravel being crunched under foot. Leaning over the balcony, I looked down to see a dark figure crossing the grounds below me, a lantern held in the hand to light their way. From my hiding place, I watched, and as my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and shadows, I could see the curved-shaped spine of the figure below and I knew it was Marshal.
Then without any warning, Marshal stopped dead in his tracks, held the lantern above his head and turning he looked up at me. In the orange glow of the lamp, I could see his one good eye boring into mine.
"Whatcha looking at, copper?" he almost seemed to growl, his top lip roling back in a snarl.
Without saying anything, and with my heart in my throat, I skulked back into my room. Shutting the windows, I puled the curtains closed. Crossing back to the dressing table, I snatched up the candle. To be holding the candle made me feel safer somehow. But what was I scared of? And why did I need to feel safe?
The poor guy had probably had years of people staring at him, pointing the finger and making fun. This place was probably his sanctuary against al that, and there I was staring at him.
There was a door leading from my room, just to the right of the window. Crossing to it, I pushed it open to reveal a large bathroom. There was a deep bath that stood on four metal legs. It looked big enough to take a swim in. There was a toilet, basin, and shower. Taking my rucksack from where I had left it on the floor, I rummaged around for my wash kit. Stripping to my underwear, I washed my face, cleaned my teeth, and got into bed. Puling the blankets up under my chin, I suddenly felt tired. Blowing out the candle, I lay in the blackness, and listened to the sound of Marshal's feet crunching over the gravel as he paced up and down beneath my window.