Chapter Two
A Call for Help
Christina Ryman had been born in Lower Boulding, and she had lived there quite content for the first eighteen years of her life, but she had happily moved away when offered a place at the University College of London. She found her new life exciting, and now in her final year, and with a new boyfriend, she was looking forward to a life somewhere other than back in boredomville. The problem with her home village was that it was in such a quiet spot, deep in the English countryside with absolutely nothing to interest her or to stimulate her mind. Oh she missed her mother and her younger sister during her times away from them, but the excitement of her new life more than made up for it.
Today, Christina was sitting in the apartment that she shared with three other students. She had just sat down to enjoy a cup of tea before she got out her study books when the phone rang.
“Hello, Christina, it`s mother, are you well dear?” Her mother`s voice sounded weird, maybe stressed out, and Christina immediately felt butterflies flocking in her stomach, yes flocking not simply fluttering, something was definitely wrong.
“I`m fine mother, are you and Cassie ok, nothing wrong is there?” Something deep inside of Christina told her that there was a problem back in boredomville.
“Could you come home this weekend Christina, I really need your help. Something is going on here in the village, something that involves Cassandra, I really need you here with me, please.” Fear filled her mind as the thought that Cassie had done something foolish flashed into her mind, what though?
“Is Cassie on drugs mum, she`s not pregnant surely?” Christina asked as these and other possible troubles sprang to her mind.
“No Christina, it isn`t that, it`s something else, something that involves a man who moved into the manor house almost two years ago. Ever since then there has been the most weird noises coming from the woods, not all the time you understand, just at certain times, and they have bonfires there too, all at the dead of night. And since this new comer arrived in the village it has been filled with lots of weird looking people, guests of this man I think.” Christina sighed with relief, poor old mum was fretting about nothing, the newcomer must be French or German and dear old mum immediately thought that the home fires were in imminent risk of being extinguished.
“Mother, you must expect a few foreigners in the village these days, we are in Europe. And bonfire parties normally are at night.” Christina said patronisingly.
“Christina don`t you patronise me, this is real, I need you, Cassandra needs you before she does something foolish, please promise me you will come home.” Her mother begging her so, scared Christina, and she knew that she had no other option other than to agree.
“Ok mother, I will come, it`s the end of term anyway so I can stay for a few days, but tell me what Cassie has done that is so bad?” Christina had been going to a party on Friday, night now she would be travelling home by one of the dirty and very old trains that ran between London and the station where she could catch the rickety old bus to her village of Lower Boulding.
“I`ll tell you when you are here, you will only think me an old fool if I tell you over the phone, down here you will see that I`m right to fear for her. Thank you Christina, I know you think I’m just a foolish woman but I`m not, not this time.” With that, they said goodnight and Christina put her books back on the shelf and fretted well into the night. Her mother was getting on, and since Christina`s father had died her mother had feared every strange sound or sight, this was probably just another example. With this thought Christina slipped off into a troubled sleep filled for some reason with nightmares that featured Christopher Lee and Count Dracula`s castle. Cassie was at her bedroom window asking to come in, except that Christina lived on the third floor, and they didn`t have balconies in the sort of terrace houses that she lived in.
The next morning was Friday, Christina still felt tired but after having a quick breakfast she got washed and dressed and walked round to Rob`s small apartment. He wasn`t there, he had gone to Europe on a business trip of some sort. He couldn`t say why, but them he never could. He worked for a government department, even its name was secret, and it was forever taking him away from her, but he was worth it. Rob wasn`t due back until Wednesday evening, and as per normal she couldn`t contact him on one of his trips. Instead she slipped a note through his letter box telling him about her mother`s phone call and her fears. She ended up saying that she missed him so and asking him to call her on her mobile as soon as he returned.
As nothing much happened on the last day of term, Christina decided to leave for home on the afternoon train. Therefore, at noon she returned to her apartment and picked up the bag that she had already packed. She then left for the train station where she caught the two o`clock train which would take her most of the way home. The final part of the journey was by a local bus, it ran along narrow lanes for an hour and by the time she got off it, she felt well and truly shaken, would they ever fix the too many potholes that littered the country lanes like a minefield.
Christina got home in time for dinner, to be met by an obviously relieved mother, and a sister who was very happy to see her big sister again after so many months apart, for they had grown much closer since the death of their father. Her mother didn’t raise the subject behind her desperate call for help until Cassie had retired to her bedroom, only then did she take her eldest daughter into the kitchen where they sat at the table with a hot cup of tea and talked.
“Well mother, Cassie should be safely tucked up in bed by now, so now you can tell me just what has spooked you so much.” Christina asked of her tired looking mother who in normal times would have already retired to the comfort of her bed.
“There is so much to tell you that I hardly know where to start Christina.” Her mother lamented
“Why don`t you tell me when you first noticed these weird events.” Christina advised her mother.
“Well I suppose it started with all of the weird people walking about the village, they appeared soon after the new owner arrived to take up possession of the old Fairbrother estate, you know the one dear, that one that my friend Lilly worked on, it is just outside of the village.” Her mother looked at Christina who nodded.
“Yes I remember Lilly; I sometimes walked up there Saturday morning with her daughter Sally, I wonder how she is?” Christina said momentarily losing track of the conversation.
“Christina, never mind about Sally Bellows. We are speaking about all of the weird things that are happening in the village.” Christina apologised and indicated that her mother should continue.
“It is not only that they all stand out so, being foreigners, and they are obviously very much better off than us locals, but they don`t seem to bother about manners, they treat everyone here as if we are mere serfs, there by the grace of the new owner. More than one fracas has been prevented by one of the more sober members of the community stepping into smooth over the ruffled feathers of an outraged local. Even old Mrs Jenkins had a go at one of them, and she`s almost eighty years of age.” Christina couldn`t help smiling at the thought of the old lady being had up in court for assault, but she quickly brought her attention back to her mother who had continued to speak.
“Then there are the bonfires, they even had one this Easter and another one on last year`s Christmas day. I tell you there is something odd going on. And the strange sounds that can be heard if you walk near to Ten Acre Woods at such times, well I won`t go near the place now, you don`t know if it`s safe anymore.”
“Seems to be they are celebrating the main religious holidays in their own particular way, Mother you have told me nothing that warrants your fears for Cassie.” Christina argued.
“Cassandra has been visiting the manor house, and against my express wishes, the daughter of Mr Bourbon, that`s the new owner of the manor house, well she goes to St Anne’s as well and they have become very good friends, but there is something about her that I don`t like.” Her mother explai
ned. St. Anne`s was a rather good private school not five miles away from Lower Boulding, it was the same one that Christina had gone to as a young girl.
“Mother you are being foolish, and what does Cassie say about the family.” Christina asked.
“Oh she says that they are a very nice family, but Cassandra has taken to staying out late, and mostly at the manor house. When she comes home, she refuses to tell me what she has been doing. And she is beginning to behave differently, secretively; we always had a very good relationship before.” Her mother wailed.
“A fourteen year old girl is spending time with her friend and won`t tell her mother what she has been doing, mother it sounds very normal to me, that`s the way teenage daughters act.” Christina slumped back in her chair; she could have been partying right about now.
“Well what about the missing gypsy family then, one of the local lads found their caravan completely destroyed, it had been burned on that piece of wasteland over by Darling meadow. The police have said that being gypsy`s they have probably gone on walk about, but Christina why would they burn their caravan? And gypsy`s don`t go on walk about Christina, that is why they have transport, to take them wherever they want to go.” Her mother argued in return.
“Maybe someone wanted them to move on, and this is how they accomplished it, gypsy`s aren`t all that popular, mother, it was only last year that you were complaining about them. Christina said and thought that her mother`s fears were over nothing, but she was wrong, very wrong but she didn`t realise it just yet.
Christina decided to stay for a few more days to make her mother happy, Cassie was delighted, and although she went to school as usual, she returned home to spend the evenings with her older sister who told her all about life in London and in the university. Everything at the Ryman household returned to its normal routine.
On Monday, Christina walked with her mother to the local shop to buy a loaf of bread and a few other items needed for their dinner that night. As they were leaving the shop with their purchases, a man barged by them, as he endeavoured to enter the shop, and without even giving them time to exit it. Her mother tut tutted but said nothing more, but as they walked back home she spoke to Christina about the incident.
“That rude man is Mr Bourbon, the new owner of the manor house, his house guests are just like him, very pushy and very rude.”
“Well you are certainly right about one thing mother, he is very rude.”
Cassie was home early from school, so as to spend time with her sister, and to ask her advice about boys; Christina smiled at her younger sister.
“Play it cool Cassie, any woman as good looking as we two are doesn`t need to wear herself out chasing after men. Any man worth his salt will beat a fast track straight to your door little sister, you take my word for it. Look them over and choose the one you like the best, as for the rest throw them back until they grow a little bigger.” The two sisters laughed and their mother who was in the kitchen smiled, for she felt better now that her eldest daughter was home for a while. In the front room Cassie thought about her sister’s advice for just a moment before replying.
“Ok Chrissie, cool it is.” Cassie replied at last with a smile of her own spreading across her face, for she had a certain boy in mind, and he certainly knew where her door was. Christina didn`t see the smile on Cassie`s face, for her younger sister had turned away from her to keep this one particular secret to herself, for the moment.
“But Christina, you`re not trying to tell me that you didn`t chase after Rob, I mean he is really gorgeous?” Cassie asked. Christina thought back to the first time she had met Rob and smiled, it had been at a party given by a mutual friend and Rob had bumped into her. She had been about to complain until she saw him, instead she had apologised to him. They had danced the night away and later Rob had seen her home.
“Well, Chrissie did you chase after him?” Cutting into Christina`s thoughts.
Christina looked across at Cassie who was now getting a little impatient waiting for her answer.
“Sorry Cassie, let`s just say that there was chasing done on both our parts, and it was so much fun being caught.” Christina replied and laughed with her younger sister at her risqué remark.