Page 4

And this time he let out a chuckle that definitely broke character.

‘Please be settled. Soon you will receive a knock upon your door, at which time your cases will be found.’

He left her to the room, which, despite having a gothic carved doorframe, was actually rather cosy and pleasant inside. A neatly made single bed had an autumn-patterned bedspread of foxgloves, ferns, and chestnut leaves. A couple of small chests of drawers stood alongside, and there was a desk and table in the corner upon which stood some common amenities such as a kettle, a pot of coffee, tea sachets, some coffee biscuits, and a couple of tourist information leaflets.

At the end was a little window covered with lace drapes. When Kelly drew them back, they revealed a pretty view that looked down over a small garden at the inn’s rear, and beyond it, some rolling fields at the bottom of the valley.

To either side were low hills, and on the left side, one rocky hillock that rose above the rest, ending in a steep rocky slope.

At the top, looming out over the valley, was a huge but gnarled old tree. A thick trunk supported a towering dome of wild branches.

Kelly smiled. It was like something out of Peter Pan.

A hangman’s tree.

Evening was fast approaching, and with the sun dropping behind the hills, the tree was little more than a black silhouette against an orange sky, but the longer Kelly stared at it, the more certain she became that she could make out the shape of a demonic face. The boughs of the tree twisted into narrow eyes and a grinning, cackling mouth.

She lifted her camera and took a couple of shots, then pulled the drapes closed.

Just as the small magnetic clasp between the drapes clicked shut, there was a sudden rapid knocking on her door, and she spun around, aware that it must be the twins come to bring her cases.

But to her shock—and just a little horror—her cases were standing there inside the room.

The door was closed, and after Kelly had entered, she had closed it tightly behind her.

She couldn’t imagine how the cases could have got there without her seeing someone open the door.

At last, feeling a little unnerved, she went to the door and cracked it open, peering outside.

But the landing, and what she could see of the stairs, were both empty.

3

A Little Nervous Introduction

Kelly was still inspecting her suitcases, wondering if they’d really managed to teleport from the hallway into her room, or whether the two identical maids were just extremely quiet about opening and closing the door, when another sharp knock came, making her jump.

This time she was close enough to the door that she could pull it open before whoever might be outside had time to disappear.

As it was, she found one of the two maids—the one with the red bonnet, Esmeralda—standing there holding a tray, but looking slightly surprised, as though she hadn’t expected the door to be opened quite so soon.

‘I brought your refreshments,’ the girl said in a voice that was just sing-song enough not to be terrifying.

But then she stepped—or rather glided—into the room.

As Kelly stepped back to let her enter, Esmeralda set the tray down on the table at the end of the room and then glided back towards the door.

There, she paused, still inside the room, and turned to look at Kelly.

Again, up close, Kelly was able to see that the girl was wearing a thick pale foundation, almost like clown makeup, as well as dark eyeliner and rouged blusher on her cheeks. She was just about to ask whether the makeup was a personal choice or a job requirement when the girl stuck out a hand to touch a lock of Kelly’s light-brown hair.

‘Hazelnut brown,’ Esmeralda said, assuming a creepy childlike voice which sent a prickle down the back of Kelly’s shoulders. ‘I would so love to take a lock of this.’

Then, without warning, her other hand appeared, now holding a large pair of dressmaking scissors.

Kelly couldn’t help but feel alarmed, so she just gave a nervous nod and stood frozen in place as the girl lifted the scissors.

‘Snip, snip,’ she said as the scissors made the same sound.