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Mia was loathe to leave her mother's side. He made her comfortable in one of the big armchairs with another duvet and some pillows, her feet resting on the footstool.
Almost seconds later she had closed her eyes and was fast asleep.
Adding another log to the fire, he checked everything was secure in the grate and locked the fireguard in place. A quick check on her mother who was lightly snoring, satisfied all was well, he stepped out of the room switching the light off as he moved into the hallway.
There he stopped, grabbed his thick coat, slipping it on before shifting outside.
A scarf and some decent gloves, a serious consideration given the the thicker snow flakes falling resting on his shoulders. That old woollen hat! Surprising how warm it kept his head!
The car was, almost covered in snow. Opening the boot to the car, he took their luggage out piece by piece, into the house. Several loose items including blankets could be left there. They were not needed.
Trying to be as quiet as he could, noise at night always seems so much louder, he teturned to the car to cover it with a tarp from the shed making sure the rope ties were well secured.
It would take some time before he managed that thanks to the wind picking up making it almost impossible to keep the tarp in place, but perseverance appeared to pay off as he tied the final tie into place and stepped back to breathe a sigh of relief; job done.
The storm was picking up and somehow he knew it would be worse by morning.
Already the snow was piling up against the hedge next to the main gates.
Since parking the car and moving his houseguests indoors he could swear there had been at least several feet of new snow AND it had made the driveway almost impassable.
Such a snowfall might make it difficult to get to the barn where the huge pile of logs were stored, aswell as bags of coal. Opening the wooden cellar door he threw two bags of coal that landed with a thud into the pitch black. Couldn’t see a thing!
BUT as he continued piling logs into the black abyss and realised he could now see the outline of some of them, the conclusion that he had secured a decent haul of fuel, accessible ( well he hoped) from inside the cellar, he closed and secured the external wooden doors.
Once back inside the house, he headed into the kitchen which luckily could be accessed without having to go through the lounge; to make himself some tea.
A chocolate chip cookie and some hot tea was well refreshing.
He peered through the hatch into the lounge, they, were still fast asleep. For him with all that sweat and smelling a little ripe! Time, for a shower! Change into some pyjamas and head off to bed.
He was yawning. It would not take much tonight before he was asleep! As for their luggage, that could wait until the morning, hang on a minute; it was morning. OK, until later that day.
If Terry had been in the shower, he was totally unaware of what was unfolding in the lounge as two figures suddenly appeared. "Have you ever seen the likes of this, its a bairn." "Why it's a girl." "Arn't we the wise one." "Hold on, that's not his bairn!"
"Not seen her before either!" "Well this won't do, not at all!" "Where is he?"
"Hold on I'll go and see." A few minutes later he reappears. "Having a wash."
"At this time of the night?" "Aw look at the petal, can't leave her there! You best be getting this bairn up stairs.. along with her mother."
"How do you know it's her mother?" "Same color of eyes." "Uhh? With the eyelids shut?" "Thomas Lamb, you do as you're told and less of the wittering!"
"Why is it always me, that has to move em?"
Finishing his shower, feeling refreshed, he thought, he had heard a noise? A desire to investigate further.
Thomas Lamb, one could say, one of the resident ghosts; had moved Mia and she was now fast asleep in Nina's room. He was attempting to move her mother.
"Come on! Put your back into it boy!"
Hanging suspended mid air.. the mother slumped back onto the sofa. "Stop calling me boy!" "He's on the move. Come on!" "You'll be the death of me! I will have to distract him!"
Entering the upper hallway, at the end of the corridor Terry saw the curtains move, before the wind blew, from what appeared to be an open window. How strange!
That had definitely been closed earlier. So how, could it now, be open?
Faulty window catch, that's what it must be. He strode towards the window pausing in front of it, to slide his hands behind the curtains and drag the window down to close it.
Gripping the catch, locking it into place. Whilst he had been occupied, he had not seen the body of the female, float mid air and into his room, to be placed on his bed. Terry had realized he had left his watch in the restroom. He went to retrieve it.
"It's done woman! Now let me rest." "Where did you put her?" "His room!" "You can't put her there." "Why not?!" "They're not married! You'll have to put her in the olduns room." "Not! " "Are!"
Sliding the watch onto his wrist, Terry stopped to clean his teeth. Ah yes a wee, now finished he washed his hands. Made his way to the landing. He had thought about checking them downstairs to change his mind, they would be fine. He yawned. Another noise?
A cold rush of air, across his back. What the? Turning to look in the direction of the window, the same one he had just locked and drawn the curtains on. It was open again with the cold wind blowing through it. The curtains all over the place!
He walked back towards the window cursing! Behind him, the door to his room opened, mid air she was moved from there to the other room, two doors along and one door from where he was stood. If he had turned around at that moment in time,
he would have got the shock of his life!
Once again, closing the window and securing it. This time, after drawing the curtains, he stepped back, keeping his eyes on the window for several minutes. It would be the door closing with a slight click that distracted him from the window. He turned to see a slight misty almost steam like vapor that vanished before his eyes?
Had Nina been right. Ghosts? No way! Things, strange things happened at Nan’s, including things being moved around and going missing, only to be returned?
He went to pass Nina’s room, opening the door, he glanced in.
The sight of Mia fast asleep on Nina’s bed ?
OK, it was a bit of a shock, but he smiled, remembering the times he had looked in on Nina. He took a duvet draped it over her. Softly stepped out of the room, closed the door.
He would keep an eye on her mother for her. Minutes later when he entered the main room, he stared at the sofa. The empty sofa? Not quite. The duvet was on the sofa before it slid onto the floor. That was when he started to panic! Exhausted, not thinking straight?
Could she have gotten up and walked out, into the snowstorm? It was then he saw.. The discarded shoe. It had surprised him how such a shoe could have stayed on her feet in the first place.
Bringing her in, he had at one point, dragged her. Would she have gone out without that on her foot? Given her possible state of mind, more than likely; YET?
He moved to the main door. There were signs of melted snow but from earlier.
Sliding back the bolt, he went to open the door and cussed. His stupidity! Surely you idiot, if she had gone out, the bolt would not have been locked shut.
Breathing a sigh of relief he stepped back, secured the door and made his way into the main room. If she had not gone out, then where was she?
Totally unaware of the figures watching him, a soft mutter from Thomas Lamb. "Wait for it!" "He's thinking and I’ve always said he can be a bit dense this one,
I reckon, it could be some minutes, before he decides to look upstairs!"
Maybe, Terry thought, she went into the cellar. The door to that, was adjacent to, the main room. He went to investigate the possibility. No. The bolt on that door, was still shut tight. Maybe one of the other rooms.
There were in fairness at least three rooms on this level. Plus of course, the downstairs restroom and kitchen? He was stood doing nothing for several minutes, still puzzled.
"Told you." "Thomas Lamb behave yourself. You can see he's upset." "Well what suggestion have you got. I'm not showing myself if that's what you're thinking."
"We need to lead him upstairs." "Ooo I can manage the clanking chains, screeches, moans, groans."
"Don't be so melodramatic and as for the groaning! Thomas Lamb, you can wipe that smile of your face, right now! There's only one actress here and it's not you." Lilly Bell, star of the music hall."
Terry had reached the bottom of the stairs about to go into one of the parlor rooms, when he heard a noise. A door slamming, upstairs? He went up the stairs. Within minutes, he had opened the door to his parents room.
On the bed, fast asleep totally undisturbed by the slamming of the door? Mia's mother. There are few words, that could express his relief! How she had gotten there, at this particular moment in time, he was not the least bit interested in knowing, or speculating on. He stepped across to the cupboard, took down a blanket and covered her, before leaving.
Minutes later, sat in the chair next to the fire, he sipped on his brandy.
Well deserved. To think he, had thought this, was going to be a quiet uneventful Christmas.
The phone rang. Nina. Of course where she was, was several hours behind his. Almost 7 hours, about 7pm there and just after 2am here. "It could only happen to you Dad! So tell me more about them." There wasn't, he had to admit, much he could tell her. For the moment she would, like he had to, wait.
Some concern on her part. "You know nothing about them Dad, be careful."
There was, some element of sense in that. If what Mia had said was true, and he was not doubting it was, with any luck, the thug would not know, where she was.
The villain? He was talking to a male sat across from him at the table, in the bar. "Cost you!" "How much?" "Fifty." "No way." "Twenty, take it or leave it."
"Alright." "Done!" They shook hands.
"Money when YOU have the info." "Same time tomorrow." "Tomorrow?
Why not tonight?" "Alright! 7pm tonight, just make sure you have the money!"
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