drove her on, along the passage and down thehall until she came once more to the corridor that Sylvia had joked about.
This time Allie searched the study more thoroughly, looking for secret drawers in the desk or any other hidey-hole. She was desperate to find something — anything — that would prove to everyone that Noah’s ancestor had deserved everything he got, and that John Bennett was only doing his duty. But if there were any secrets locked away, she couldn’t find them. She was ready to give up when she became aware of the sound of muffled weeping. A girl was crying as if her heart would break. Allie stopped dead and listened intently. She knew that the sound wasn’t coming from the children’s rooms.
Moving soundlessly, feeling desperately afraid, she let her ears guide her to its source. A young woman was standing beside the closed door of the small room near the administrator’s study. Her outline rippled with light and shadows, but there was the definite impression of a pale face and golden hair, and a long dark blue dress with a lacy collar. Allie stopped, rigid with shock.
‘Who are you?’ Allie quavered. ‘What are you doing here?’
The figure moved slightly. Allie gripped her hands together, willing herself to keep calm. What if the ghost meant to harm her? And yet she seemed so frail, and so sad.
Allie stepped forwards. The woman turned to look at her, then, in the next instant, she vanished through the closed door behind her. Allie blinked and stared at the place where the ghost had been.
She swallowed hard over her dry throat as she tried to recall what Sylvia had told her about the layout of the house. She’d mentioned there was a bathroom and toilet next to the study, and beside that? The small room next to it was probably used as a bedroom . Wiping her sweaty palms down her jeans, Allie turned the handle and flung open the door, half-expecting to find the woman waiting inside. She clicked on the light. To her great relief, the room was empty. A solid wooden bed was set against one wall; a cupboard against the other. A window looked out onto a small enclosed courtyard. Below it was an old-fashioned bureau, and Allie at once opened the drawers to feel for secret levers. But the drawers were empty, and so was the cupboard. It was a huge, heavy thing and smelled faintly of mothballs and lavender. Allie knocked and pressed all over it, but found nothing.
She turned her attention to the bed. It looked quite modern, but even so she gave it a thorough search and then felt about in the small space underneath its solid wooden base. Nothing. Disappointed, she sat down on the bright spread that covered the mattress and pondered what to do next. Why had the ghost come in here? She was surprised to realise that she wasn’t afraid any longer. She felt only compassion for the unhappy spirit.
She could hear nothing now except the faint whisper and suck of the sea. With a hiss of frustration, she wondered where she should search next. She’d looked everywhere around this room — except under the bed! She jumped up and gave the bed a shove. It didn’t budge. She kneeled down to look underneath,but the gap was too small to see anything. She stood up. After a moment’s thought, she squeezed herself into the space between the bedhead and the wall, gripped the headboard and tried swinging the bed sideways. It shifted slightly. Yes! Allie heaved again. And again. She realised that the carpet didn’t cover the whole room and there were floorboards under the bed. Gradually more and more of them were exposed as she tugged and pulled until the bed stood almost at right angles to the wall. Allie looked down at the line of wooden boards. They were rough and rather splintery. She knew they must be original, but they didn’t have the same high polish of the floorboards in other rooms. These looked as though they’d been in hiding all these years. Not under this bed, but perhaps under a different carpet or
This time Allie searched the study more thoroughly, looking for secret drawers in the desk or any other hidey-hole. She was desperate to find something — anything — that would prove to everyone that Noah’s ancestor had deserved everything he got, and that John Bennett was only doing his duty. But if there were any secrets locked away, she couldn’t find them. She was ready to give up when she became aware of the sound of muffled weeping. A girl was crying as if her heart would break. Allie stopped dead and listened intently. She knew that the sound wasn’t coming from the children’s rooms.
Moving soundlessly, feeling desperately afraid, she let her ears guide her to its source. A young woman was standing beside the closed door of the small room near the administrator’s study. Her outline rippled with light and shadows, but there was the definite impression of a pale face and golden hair, and a long dark blue dress with a lacy collar. Allie stopped, rigid with shock.
‘Who are you?’ Allie quavered. ‘What are you doing here?’
The figure moved slightly. Allie gripped her hands together, willing herself to keep calm. What if the ghost meant to harm her? And yet she seemed so frail, and so sad.
Allie stepped forwards. The woman turned to look at her, then, in the next instant, she vanished through the closed door behind her. Allie blinked and stared at the place where the ghost had been.
She swallowed hard over her dry throat as she tried to recall what Sylvia had told her about the layout of the house. She’d mentioned there was a bathroom and toilet next to the study, and beside that? The small room next to it was probably used as a bedroom . Wiping her sweaty palms down her jeans, Allie turned the handle and flung open the door, half-expecting to find the woman waiting inside. She clicked on the light. To her great relief, the room was empty. A solid wooden bed was set against one wall; a cupboard against the other. A window looked out onto a small enclosed courtyard. Below it was an old-fashioned bureau, and Allie at once opened the drawers to feel for secret levers. But the drawers were empty, and so was the cupboard. It was a huge, heavy thing and smelled faintly of mothballs and lavender. Allie knocked and pressed all over it, but found nothing.
She turned her attention to the bed. It looked quite modern, but even so she gave it a thorough search and then felt about in the small space underneath its solid wooden base. Nothing. Disappointed, she sat down on the bright spread that covered the mattress and pondered what to do next. Why had the ghost come in here? She was surprised to realise that she wasn’t afraid any longer. She felt only compassion for the unhappy spirit.
She could hear nothing now except the faint whisper and suck of the sea. With a hiss of frustration, she wondered where she should search next. She’d looked everywhere around this room — except under the bed! She jumped up and gave the bed a shove. It didn’t budge. She kneeled down to look underneath,but the gap was too small to see anything. She stood up. After a moment’s thought, she squeezed herself into the space between the bedhead and the wall, gripped the headboard and tried swinging the bed sideways. It shifted slightly. Yes! Allie heaved again. And again. She realised that the carpet didn’t cover the whole room and there were floorboards under the bed. Gradually more and more of them were exposed as she tugged and pulled until the bed stood almost at right angles to the wall. Allie looked down at the line of wooden boards. They were rough and rather splintery. She knew they must be original, but they didn’t have the same high polish of the floorboards in other rooms. These looked as though they’d been in hiding all these years. Not under this bed, but perhaps under a different carpet or
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