Parliament of Rooks Read online

  ‘Yes, it’s always a good idea to cleanse a new home anyway to clear it of old energies, and I brought some sage with me so I could do the guesthouse for you. We’ll get started when you’ve finished your breakfast.’

  ‘What does it entail, exactly?’ I asked.

  ‘Sage is cleaning and protective. I’ll light the smudge stick—’

  ‘The what?’

  ‘Smudge stick, Jayne. Don’t look so sceptical, it’s been used for centuries.’

  Jayne grimaced but stayed silent.

  ‘Anyway,’ Lara continued, ‘I’ll use the smoke to clear out the old energies of the people who used to live and work here, and invite in all things positive for Verity. You’ll be surprised at the difference it will make to the feel of the place.’

  ‘And will it get rid of those things, those orbs, from last night?’

  ‘I don’t know to be honest, Verity. We can only try it and see.’

  ‘I’ve been thinking about that. There’s all sorts of things those could have been. Insects or moths, for example,’ Jayne suggested once more.

  Lara pulled her phone out and played the video again. ‘Do you see any wings, Jayne? And anyway, it’s December, not exactly bug season.’

  ‘Dust, then.’

  ‘When have you ever known dust to move like that? Plus we’d have been able to see it when we were watching Grasper without the phone. And before you say it, they weren’t lens flare, else Grasper wouldn’t be reacting to them, they weren’t torchlight or headlights, nor were they dandelion clocks or any other kind of seed in December. And we’re inside, so they’re not raindrops.’

  ‘It does smell a bit damp in here though, it could be moisture.’

  ‘When have you ever known water droplets to form and move like that? They’re orbs, Jayne, accept it. What else can they be?’

  Jayne said nothing.

  ‘All right, I’m done, let’s get started with this smudge-sticking or whatever it’s called,’ I said to break the charged silence.

  Lara smiled. ‘Smudging,’ she said. ‘Come on then, we’ll start upstairs and work our way down.’

  ***

  ‘Just what exactly is this supposed to achieve?’ Jayne asked, disapproval distorting both her face and her words.

  Lara ignored her and continued dancing around the room, waving the smoking, tightly bundled baton of sage into every nook and cranny. She finished her circuit of the window frame, then of the rest of the room before standing in front of us.

  ‘As I said before, I’m clearing out any and all energies that no longer belong here,’ she said slowly, staring into Jayne’s eyes. ‘I’m getting rid of any and all negativity so that Verity’s positivity, hopes and plans for her new life can flourish. Your attitude is not helping the process, Jayne.’

  Jayne scowled and I hurried to speak before she could pour more scepticism on to Lara. ‘It can’t hurt, Jayne, and it might help – I like the idea.’

  ‘It smells like dope,’ Jayne said.

  ‘It’s not cannabis, it’s pure sage – grown in my own garden,’ Lara said, her irritation barely concealed. ‘Just keep an open mind, Jayne, that’s all I’m asking. Now, you’re in the way.’

  We moved from the door to let Lara finish, then she stepped into the corridor and moved on to the other rooms. Jayne and I followed behind, staying out of her way.

  ‘This will be my quarters,’ I said, taking the conversation away from Lara, herbs and energies. ‘Kitchen and lounge up here, bedroom and bathroom below.’

  ‘Isn’t that upside down?’

  ‘What does that matter? This house is four nineteenth-century cottages converted into one property – you’ve seen the maze of rooms and staircases. I can get four double and one single guest room – all with en-suites – from it without having to knock through any stone walls, apart from doorways, and this is the space that’s left.’ I spread my arms, indicating the doors around us.

  ‘I’d rather have a larger lounge than bedroom, and a bigger kitchen than bathroom, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Fair enough.’ Jayne went back into the room behind us – the lounge – and looked out of the window. Finally, she smiled. ‘It’s one hell of a view, Verity. You can see right up on to the moors. Oh, what’s that?’

  I joined her and looked down at the line of smoke. ‘Steam train. It runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. They used one of the stations to film The Railway Children.’

  ‘Oh wow, can we go on it?’

  I laughed at her transformation from stern disapproval to almost childlike delight. ‘Absolutely.’ I turned to look back into the room. ‘I’m going to paint everything white.’

  Jayne nodded. ‘A blank canvas,’ she said.

  ‘Exactly! I don’t know what my future will hold – other than this place, of course – or who I’m going to, or even want to be. I like the idea of clean, fresh walls. A new start in every way.’

  ‘What about the guest rooms?’

  ‘I’m taking my inspiration from the Brontës,’ I said.

  ‘What? Wild moors and crumbling ruins? Mad wives in the attic, that kind of thing?’

  I laughed. ‘No, from their home, the parsonage. It’s all very tasteful and understated. The wallpapers are floral, but two-tone and are as masculine as they are feminine – delicate patterns intertwining. Classy.’

  ‘And the furniture?’

  My face darkened. ‘Well, all dark wood, nineteenth century of course, but I don’t want it to overpower the space. I’ll have to go to Ikea.’

  ‘What? You can’t be serious!’ Jayne scolded, loudly enough to bring Lara running.

  ‘What’s going on now?’

  ‘Verity has this wonderful plan for beautiful wallpaper in the guest rooms, then wants flat-pack furniture!’

  ‘I can’t afford solid wood,’ I said. ‘I can only do what I can to furnish five bedrooms.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ Lara and Jayne said together, then looked at each other and giggled, best of friends once more.

  ‘What’s your budget for each room?’ Jayne asked.

  I shrugged.

  ‘Well, that’s the first thing to do. We’ll sit down this afternoon and go over the figures, work out what you can afford to spend.’

  ‘Then we’ll go round the second-hand shops and auction houses,’ Lara said. ‘I bet we’ll find some nice stuff in Ilkley and Skipton, and even Harrogate isn’t that far away. We can sand it down and varnish or paint, the rooms will look stunning.’

  ‘And everything you do have to buy new: beds, mattresses and the like, well, its sale season in a couple of weeks, the perfect time to buy.’

  All of a sudden, I felt like bursting into tears. I couldn’t afford to do everything at once, and had made the decision to focus on the basics – plumbing, electrics, structural alterations – then gradually upgrade the furniture in the rooms as and when I could. It hadn’t occurred to me to buy used pieces and renovate them. ‘That could work,’ I mumbled, and grinned at my friends.

  ‘It would add character too,’ Jayne said.

  ‘Thank you, I don’t know what I’d do without you two.’

  ‘Well, you’ll never have to find out,’ Lara said.

  ‘Probably starve,’ Jayne said, and we both looked at her in confusion.

  ‘You have no food, no microwave and no kettle. As soon as Lara’s finished her smoking—’

  ‘Smudging.’

  ‘Whatever. And when Hannah’s back with Grasper, we’re off to Asda. We’ll get these rooms liveable this weekend and move your camp bed in, but there’s no way you can put us to work without regular cups of coffee!’

  6.

  ‘Fish and chips times four,’ Jayne said, puffing as she came through the door and put the bag on my new kitchen table. ‘Bloody hell, Verity, you’ll soon get fit living here – there are hills everywhere. And then this place, I’ve never been somewhere where I’ve actually had to look for the next stai
rcase! I nearly got lost on the way up.’

  ‘It’s a great place for hide and seek,’ Hannah piped up. ‘I could hide for hours! You’d never find me, I’d win easily!’

  I laughed as I found the salt, vinegar and ketchup in the array of Asda bags lined up along the wall ready to be unpacked into the newly cleaned kitchen cupboards. We’d eat out of the boxes for tonight. ‘Yes, you probably could, Hannah. Once all the alterations and decorating are done, it will look very different though, and should be easier to navigate.’

  ‘I bet your guests will still get a bit lost though,’ Lara said.

  ‘You’ll need lots of signs guiding people to their rooms,’ Jayne said, ever practical.

  I brought the condiments to my new camping table, and Lara carried wine and glasses.

  ‘We did a good job today, thank you, ladies,’ I said, looking around the upstairs of my flat. We’d scrubbed, washed and swept, and I had a living space with basic cooking facilities. ‘I’d never have got this done without you, not before Monday.’

  ‘I know it’s rudimentary,’ Jayne said, glancing at my ‘furniture’: camping table, four foldaway chairs and a camp bed doubling as a sofa in the large, open-plan kitchen and sitting room. ‘At least you have somewhere to escape to while all the work is going on.’

  ‘We can decorate next weekend,’ Lara said. ‘It won’t take long to slap some paint on the walls and then you’ll be ready for proper furniture as soon as the New Year sales start.’

  ‘Are you both coming for Christmas? Have you decided?’

  ‘Definitely,’ Lara said. ‘Jayne talked to the receptionist at the Old White Lion about Christmas lunch and rooms, and we’re all booked in, so we can help out here over the holidays. It’s our Christmas present to you.’

  ‘I don’t know what to say,’ I said, feeling emotional as I hugged them both. ‘I can’t believe you’re giving up your Christmases.’

  ‘We’re not,’ Jayne said. ‘We’re spending Christmas with friends. Now come on and eat, the food’s getting cold.’

  Lara and I laughed, and Hannah sidled up to her mother. ‘We’re not giving up Christmas, are we?’

  ‘Oh, no, Hans,’ Lara said with a laugh. ‘Don’t worry, it’s just an expression. We’re going to come here for Christmas.’

  ‘We’ll still have turkey?’

  ‘We certainly will – at the hotel where we’re staying now.’

  ‘So you won’t be cooking?’

  We all laughed at the hopeful expression on Hannah’s face. Lara was an enthusiastic cook, but rarely followed a recipe or the recommended cooking times. She usually got away with it, somehow, but there had been one disastrous Christmas lunch two or three years ago which had come with an extra gift of food poisoning for all who’d tasted her undercooked turkey.

  ‘No, I won’t be cooking,’ Lara said with good grace, ‘and Grasper will be here to play with.’

  ‘Yay!’ the girl said, clapping her hands and hugging the dog.

  ‘Right, wash those hands again, young lady, then come and eat.’

  Jayne poured the wine. ‘To your new home,’ she toasted.

  We all clinked glasses and I looked around. Yes, this could be a home – my home. I started to relax. I could be happy here, couldn’t I? Okay, at the moment it reflected my life: bare, empty, and in need of decoration and filling, but that would not last.

  I looked at Lara and Jayne, and raised my glass again. ‘To best friends and an empty guesthouse,’ I said with a wry smile.

  ‘From small beginnings are grand dreams realised,’ Lara said.

  ‘I’ll drink to that,’ Jayne said.

  ***

  ‘So what’s the plan for tomorrow?’ Lara asked, closing the lid of the cardboard fish-and-chip box.

  ‘Day off, it is Sunday, after all,’ I said. ‘I thought we could do the touristy things, explore Main Street, visit the Brontë Museum, ride the steam train, maybe even go for a hike over the moors.’

  ‘What, with Lara in high heels?’ Jayne laughed. ‘You know its stilettos or bare feet – nothing in between.’

  ‘Too right,’ Lara said, lifting one of her legs and wiggling her toes. ‘A girl has to have standards.’

  Jayne snorted, but said nothing.

  ‘I don’t want to go to a museum,’ Hannah said from the camp bed where she was cuddling – and surreptitiously feeding – Grasper.

  ‘Someone needs to look after Grasper anyway,’ Jayne said. ‘Unless we lock him in which doesn’t seem fair when there’s so much countryside about.’

  ‘I can take him for a walk!’ Hannah said.

  ‘Is it safe?’ I asked.

  ‘Grasper will look after her – she’s part of his pack,’ Jayne said.

  ‘Okay, as long as you don’t go far and you have your phone switched on – but only while we’re in the museum, all right, Hans? And you go no further than I say.’

  ‘Okay, Mum,’ Hannah sang, then she turned to Grasper. ‘We’re going to— oh!’

  ‘What is it, Hans?’ Lara turned to her daughter. ‘Oh my God. Verity, Jayne, look!’

  Grasper leaped from the camp bed, high enough to clear Hannah’s seated form, although she had ducked out of his way, then circled a couple of times and jumped back on to the bed, ran over Hannah’s lap, then tumbled back on to the floor.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ I cried.

  ‘I saw it too,’ Lara said, fumbling in her large handbag. ‘Damn it, where’s my phone? We need to video this.’

  ‘I’m on it,’ Jayne said, iPhone in position and already recording her pet’s antics. ‘I want to make sure it wasn’t a glitch or a special app on yours, anyway.’

  ‘An app?’ Lara was insulted at the suggestion, but was distracted by Hannah’s giggle as she dived away from ... nothing. Although I did think I saw a flicker of light near her head as she ducked.

  I glanced at Lara and knew she had seen it too. ‘Wasn’t that sage-smudging stuff supposed to get rid of those orbs, or whatever they are?’

  ‘It would have if they were negative energies. If they’re still here, they must be of the light – good.’

  ‘Then why have you gone white?’

  ‘It just dive-bombed my daughter and I don’t know who or what it is!’ She rushed to Hannah’s side, although Hannah didn’t need comforting; she was still giggling.

  ‘Oh settle down, Lara,’ Jayne said. ‘You’re over-reacting.’

  ‘Am I? Don’t you want to know what Grasper’s playing with? If anybody is interacting with my daughter, I want to know who they are and what they intend.’

  Jayne did not answer.

  ‘I need to know. We have to hold a séance.’

  I looked at Jayne and shrugged. I didn’t expect it to help in any practical way, but if it put Lara’s mind at rest then I was happy to do it.

  ‘You can’t be serious, Lara!’ Jayne was not so easily persuaded.

  Lara raised her eyebrows at her friend. ‘Why not?’

  ‘You can’t mess with things like that, you’re likely to make things worse, not better.’

  ‘I’ll be careful. Anyway, do you have any better ideas?’

  Jayne shook her head, then looked at me. ‘Verity?’

  I glanced at Grasper, who was still dancing with things we could not see. I spread my arms and held my hands high, palms up. ‘I don’t think we have much choice.’

  Jayne nodded, although she did not look happy about it. The three of us might bicker like siblings most of the time, but when we needed each other, we were there, no matter what that entailed.

  ‘I’ll go put Hannah to bed and see if that Tess girl will keep an ear out for her, then I’ll be back.’

  7.

  Lara, Jayne and I sat at the camping table, which we’d covered with a new white cloth. Under Lara’s direction, we spread our hands out and connected our little fingers to make a circle.

  Lara took a deep breath before i
ntoning, ‘Is anybody there?’

  I glanced at Jayne, then immediately looked away. Both of us felt it was ridiculous and clichéd.

  Lara breathed heavily again, but didn’t comment, yet I felt chastened, and knew Jayne felt the same way. I glanced up at Lara and smiled to encourage her to continue.

  ‘We only want to talk to you, we will not harm you. Will you talk to us?’

  Silence.

  ‘Please talk to us or give us some kind of sign that you’re here. Can you knock on the wall or tap on the floor?’

  Silence.

  ‘Knock once for no, twice for yes.’

  Nothing.

  ‘Please,’ I said before Lara could continue. ‘We’d really like to talk to you, don’t you want to talk to us?’

  Grasper barked when two sounds echoed through the near-empty room. He jumped off the camp bed and ran in circles around the table.

  Jayne broke the circle to reassure her pet, and I snatched my hands away, shocked that we’d elicited a response.

  Grasper calmed, but refused to budge from Jayne’s side. ‘Are you okay if we try again?’ Lara asked her.

  Jayne glanced at me then said, ‘Maybe we should leave this.’

  ‘No,’ Lara said. ‘I need to know who this is and what they want with us.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ I asked, glancing at Grasper. Although quiet now, he was still alert, his eyes wide.

  Lara nodded and I pursed my lips to indicate my agreement.

  We placed our hands back on the table.

  ***

  I shivered and blew out. My breath condensed and the mist of it dissipated within the circle. Lara and Jayne simultaneously blew a long breath and the same happened.

  ‘It’s so cold,’ Jayne said.

  ‘It’s an old house,’ I said. ‘The heating isn’t working yet.’ I wasn’t sure if I was defending my new home or trying to deny the sudden drop in temperature.

  We gasped when two knocks reverberated around the room.

  ‘Lara,’ Jayne warned, ‘don’t push it.’

  I realised our hands had split again and wordlessly splayed my fingers on the tabletop. I was not in the mood for banter now.