Moorcroft - the Possession: Book One of the Moorcroft Trilogy (3 page)

Charlotte couldn’t understand them; her home was once more bright and beautiful, not creepy at all. She danced around the kitchen oblivious to the workmen’s shivers. A few young women from the village came to clean all the rooms, even the attic had a clean sweep and the house was filled with laughter and chatter, Charlotte was so happy she followed them from room to room enjoying their company. Night time was a different story, everyone went home and the house was quiet again only an old man remained, and slept on a little bed in the drawing room. He kept the fire lit all night and although he checked the downstairs rooms and windows he seldom went upstairs. Charlotte had tried to talk to him, asking him questions about the workers, was someone coming to live in her house and what were the people like, but the old man ignored her. She sat by his side looking into the fire and listening to his snores and waited.

Over the next few weeks she watched as the men cleared away all their equipment and left the house. The young women had cleaned the house from top to bottom, the old crumbling furniture had been removed and the better pieces polished, now everything was clean and bright. All too soon Charlotte watched as they all left her home. The doors were locked once more and Moorcroft was left quiet and lonely again. Charlotte wandered the rooms, touching the furniture, the shiny door handles and polished banister, she could smell the bees wax and the freshness of the floor cleaners. One day, two days, she lost count of the days she watched from the upstairs windows longing for someone to come, and then it happened. A large van approached the house, it rocked from side to side, and stopped at the front door and two men got out, they stood chatting to each other and smoked leaning against the van. She ran from room to room looking from the windows, why hadn’t they come in? She spotted a car coming up the drive and held her breath. When the car stopped the same two children she had seen a few months before jumped out and started running around kicking up the gravel and laughing. Their parents emerged from the car and the man took a bunch of keys from his pocket and he moved towards the front door. Charlotte could hear the old key turning in the lock and she ran to the top of the stairs, just in time to see the nice lady walk through the door and look up the magnificent stairs, she smiled as she twirled around taking in the new look of Moorcroft. No more the dark and dingy stairs but a bright, fresh and airy entrance.

In ran the young boy and stopped dead in his tracks. “Wow!” he said and ran to the top of the stairs eager to ride the banister once more.

Charlotte watched the boy having fun, she had never been allowed to do anything like this as a child and decided to join in, and she too sat on the banister rail and slid to the bottom.

Sarah was standing near the bottom of the stairs watching her brother and laughing as he fell to the floor. Her laughter stopped as she felt the air move past her and heard a whooshing sound, she turned to look up the stairs but she saw nothing.

Richard pushed her. “Come on sis, let’s explore.”

Sarah shivered, she didn’t like this house, it felt spooky. “I think I’ll stay down here with mother.”

“Don’t be such a baby, come on, we’ll have some fun.”

Reluctantly Sarah looked up at the dark landing above and followed her brother.

Charlotte watched the woman smile at her children as they set off up the stairs.

John Gardener stood holding the keys in his hand and admired the gleaming chandelier and the wood panelling. He smiled as he looked at his wife. He had made a good choice with this house, a sound investment. He had a home to be proud of and tenant farmers bringing in an income, and a happy family, what more could a man want.

“Well, Emily, what do you think of the old house now?”

She flung her arms around her husband’s neck, “Oh John it’s wonderful. I can’t believe we actually own this house, it’s so beautiful.”

When they heard a cough behind them they turned to see one of the delivery men carrying in a large box.

“Where do you want this Mister?”

John cleared his throat. “All the boxes are labelled so you can see which room they belong in. We will label each room so that you can put the correct box in the same numbered room; there shouldn’t be any mix up.”

The man raised his eyebrows. “Right you are Sir,” and put the box on the floor.

John looked down at the box and sighed.

His wife giggled. “You didn’t expect it to go that smoothly, did you?”

Emily went from room to room admiring her new home and went upstairs to inspect the bedrooms, labelling as she went. She could hear Richard and Sarah arguing over who would have which bedroom. She gave them a coin. “Toss for it. Whoever wins gets to choose.”

She left them to it; she had a lot to do today. At last all the furniture and boxes were brought into the house. John gave the removal men a tip and they were soon rattling down the drive. Between them they made some sort of order in the rooms and flopped down in the armchairs, exhausted. John looked at his wife.

“Did that agency fellow say we had people coming for jobs tomorrow?” He would have been happier if the agency had done the interviews themselves but his wife had insisted on doing it herself, she wanted to be sure of getting only the people she liked.

“Yes, I’m afraid he did, we will both be busy interviewing first thing after breakfast. Well, I have a meal to produce for this family so I’ll leave you to light the fires and I’ll find the kitchen and prepare a light meal.” He watched as she scurried off down the hall.

By mid morning the next day it was obvious to everyone, except to the Gardeners, that they were not proper gentry. John was in his study taking stock of all the men as they came and sat before him and Emily was in the drawing room checking over the young girls to see if they were suitable as housemaids. She had seen several upright women, all more than capable of becoming her housekeeper, but she could see from the look in their eyes that they looked down on her. She tutted to herself and shook her head, the working classes were far snootier than the gentry.

She had become exhausted walking backwards and forwards to the drawing room door so this time she stayed sat at her desk and shouted. “Next.” She sighed and in walked another straight backed woman with a stern look upon her face. Emily pointed to a seat and the woman perched on the edge of the chair. “And what is your name?”

“My name is Mrs Edith Shaw and I live in the village Ma’am.”

“Have you done this kind of work before?”

“That depends on what kind of work you are talking about Ma’am.”

Emily smiled to herself for the first time that day and lifted her head up from her writing and looked at the woman sat opposite her.

“I am a cook, Ma’am, and a good one too. The man who owned the house in my last position said that I made the best game pie he had ever tasted.”

Emily nodded. “Were you in charge of the kitchens in your last employment?”

The woman sniffed and fidgeted in her seat. “No ma’am, I was undercook, but the head cook drank more cooking sherry than she put in the trifle, and left most of the work to me.”

Again Emily laughed and sat back in her chair, she liked this woman, she spoke her mind. “Do you think you could cope with being head cook in a house this size? There will be myself, my husband and two children to cater for on a daily basis and the occasional guests no doubt. Then there will be the staff and perhaps a dinner party or two.”

Mrs Shaw smiled for the first time. “Of that I am certain; just you give me a try.”

“Right, that’s settled.” Emily sat back and sighed with relief. “Now Mrs Shaw I have had a rather tiring morning as you can imagine, can I rely on you to pick the kitchen staff. I was thinking two kitchen girls would be enough. One to help with the cooking and another to do the laundry, do you agree?”

Mrs Shaw clutched at her handbag and leant forward. “That would be fine Ma’am and I know just the girls.”

Emily cocked her head to one side. “Can you start tomorrow? I know its short notice and I’m afraid the house is still in some disarray, but I’m sure you will soon have the kitchen sorted out and up and running.”

Mrs Shaw nodded and smiled; she had not only got herself employment but had found work for her daughter too. “That would be no trouble at all Ma’am.”

Working hours, days off and wages were discussed and Emily showed her around the kitchen with its new fridge and freezer, she could see that the woman was impressed. Emily walked Mrs Shaw to the door and they shook hands. She watched the woman walk jauntily down the drive and felt that she had gained a friend that morning. Emily walked back to the drawing room and flopped in the chair exhausted. She had never realised just how difficult the interviewing process could be and hoped that John was having more luck checking out the men.

Within a month the house was running like clockwork. The meals Mrs Shaw produced were homely and delicious and the girls she had employed were polite. It turned out that one girl was Mrs Shaw’s daughter Mary, quite a bright young girl and keen to learn. The other was not so bright, just a slip of a thing, but well capable of peeling vegetables and washing dishes and pans. John had employed a butler, Mr Howard, he would oversee the daily running of the house, keeping a check on the household staff, but he was told not to interfere with Mrs Shaw and her kitchen. Mr Howard a respectable gentleman and a butler for many years, soon realised that the Gardeners had never had a butler before, or run such a large house, but he liked the couple and decided he would do his best for them.

The children were enrolled into the local school, but Emily soon realised this was a mistake, living at Moorcroft was a stigma for the children and they were soon both bullied. Instead she arranged for them to attend private schools, Sarah to a girls only school and Richard to a boys and they were both home each evening. Richard settled down well at school and soon found himself on the schools athletic team and made many friends. He saw the house as one big playground and often invited his school friends to stay over. Sarah, on the other hand, rather shy and subdued found it hard to make friends and had become rather quiet and withdrawn. Emily often found her in the kitchen talking to the young girl Mary.

The family soon settled into a routine and it wasn’t long before the wives of the local land owners nearby paid them a visit, Emily felt uneasy in their company and found the ladies to be nosey and ill mannered. John had bought a couple of horses and took to being the lord of the manor and would ride round to all his tenant farmers. It wasn’t long before he knew them all by name and was often invited into their homes for a bite to eat. Emily seemed satisfied that the house was running smoothly, her husband had become a new man since acquiring the prestige of becoming the owner of a country estate, Richard was bright and chirpy and excelling at school, her only worry was Sarah. She had become clingy, following her around the house like a lost sheep and she always looked tired, when Emily had asked her about it she had said that she didn’t like her room so they had decided to have it redecorated for her in the hopes that she would settle. Sarah soon came to realise that Moorcroft was haunted, but who could she confide in, if she mentioned it to anyone they would think she was insane and lock her up, the best thing she could do was to avoid being in the same room as the woman who tormented her, pretend that she hadn’t seen her then perhaps she would go away. John was a generous and caring man and during their first Christmas at Moorcroft he held a big party in one of the barns, just for his staff and tenants. There was plenty of good food, and drink, music and dancing and presents for all the children. Charlotte sat in the background laughing and clapping her hands listening to the music and the laughter, happy to have people around her again.

Charlotte felt that she and the house were alive again and would busy herself listening to the young maids chatter as they made the beds and laid the fires. She often watched the cook and her girls as they pottered around the kitchen making delicious looking meals and she laughed at the pompous Mr Howard as he ordered the servants about. When the house settled in the evening she tried to make friends with the young girl Sarah, but she would run away whenever she had approached her, but she delighted in Richard as she watched the pranks he and his friends got up to, he was such a mischievous boy but seemed unaware of her presence.

As Richard got older he remained over active, full of surplus energy. Although his grades were good his teachers felt that with more discipline they could be excellent, he became disruptive in class and was constantly in trouble at school so John decided that he should be sent to boarding school. Emily wasn’t too pleased but John insisted it would make a man of him. After a tearful farewell the household settled back into normality. Charlotte missed him terribly; she had watched him grow up and admired his character and spirit, now she would be left with the girl who was sulky and timid. Sarah also missed her brother and hated being left alone anywhere in the house and spent more and more of her time in the company of Mary and Mrs Shaw, this worried Emily, so after talking it over with her husband she took her daughter into town to buy a pet. It was love at first sight the minute Sarah saw the wagging tail and looked into the droopy eyes, and a generous kiss sealed the deal, Sarah now had a Springer Spaniel puppy all of her own. They became inseparable, the puppy would follow her everywhere and after school and at weekends Sarah would take him on long walks through the woods and fields. The puppy was allowed to sleep on her bed and Sarah would smile when she heard a low growl, knowing that the ghost was in the room but having Brandy by her side made her feel safe. Emily relaxed once more, Sarah was getting more colour in her cheeks and Richard wrote every week and seemed to be more settled. Now she decided she needed a distraction herself and thought it would be a good idea for herself and Sarah to take up a hobby and they both enrolled for art classes at the local night school. Sarah loved it at first and found she was quite good at it, but it was mostly attended by people of her mother’s age group, she wanted to mix with younger people, she longed for company her own age. On their way out of the college one evening, she noticed that a class was starting for shorthand and typing, she knew that when she left school she wanted to do something interesting but her grades were not as good as Richards and there were not so many opportunities for girls, this class might just be the answer.. She made enquiries and found that there were still a few places left and enrolled. On the first evening Sarah stood by the door looking in, everyone seemed to know someone else and she wondered if she had made the right decision to enrol. As she hesitated by the door fear of the unknown gripped her, she was about to turn and head off home when a girl stopped beside her.