She could do that of course. Only then both of them would be behind on the rent and that was the first step on the road to eviction. All over a parcel she was too scared to take an extra few feet.
Why did she feel so worried anyway? Nothing was going to happen.
Stop being such a coward, she told herself, taking a deep breath before walking through the doorway into the darkness inside the gatehouse.
There was a door to her left but it was closed and locked. She could hear movement inside but no one answered her when she called out.
At the far end of the gatehouse the door was open, light streaming in from the courtyard beyond.
Her footsteps echoed as she began walking toward the light.
The square courtyard she emerged into was grassed, the remains of buildings visible in the low lines of stone that cut through the verdant green toward each of the walls.
A set of stone steps ran up the right hand corner of the courtyard, ending in a huge wooden door. There was another door to her left and one more straight ahead across the grass. Other than that, there was only stone, grass, and more stone.
She tried the door to her left first. It was locked.
Of course.
The door at the far side of the courtyard was also locked.
“The stairs it is then,” she said, retracing her path to the stone steps.
Climbing them gave her the oddest sensation. It wasn’t anything she could put her finger on. If asked, she would have said it was like wading through treacle. Her legs had to work harder than they should to ascend the short climb to the door.
She paused, sure she could hear talking behind her. Turning, she saw no one, the sound dying away.
She assumed it was a trick of the walls, the breeze echoing off the stone and mixing with her strange sense of anxiety to make her hear things that weren’t really there.
“I hope you’re not locked as well,” she said, taking a deep breath before turning the brass handle of the door at the top of the stairs.
The door swung inward, a gust of cool air blowing out as she stepped inside. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dark and as they did she once again heard swords clashing and voices talking. What was that?
She was in a wide but empty reception room, devoid of any furniture or decoration. She headed for the far side, passing through another door and then up a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever.
Once again she had the sensation of walking being harder than it should.
She was starting to agree with Tabby that this was a strange place. She was glad she was only here briefly. It was not a castle she’d be adding to her list of attractions to visit, despite her interest in medieval history.
The stairs opened out into a long corridor filled with numerous wooden doors. She tried the first few but they were locked.
Then she heard a sound coming from the far end, near the arrow slit window that was letting in a blindingly bright stream of sunlight.
She headed that way, stopping outside the door where the noise was coming from. It sounded like a sword thwacking something inside. Swishes through the air and the crash of metal.
Was the laird sword fighting in there?
Battling ghosts, she thought for no reason.
She knocked and waited.
The sound of swords died at once. A gust of wind blew down the corridor, chilling her to the bone.
She shivered as the door opened and she almost fell backward in surprise at the sight of the room beyond. It was like looking through a timewarp.
Just as she began to get over her shock the laird appeared, towering over her, sweat pouring down his face. He had a sword in his hand though at least it was pointed at the ground, not at her.
He was nothing like she’d imagined.
