Thy neck shall feel what once was spared.
For none outrun what lies within,
The mark of guilt, the serpent’s kin.
Though time may pass and masks be worn,
The devil knows where fate is sworn.
So let the raven flap its wing,
And let the tolling church bells ring.
Thy secrets writ in bone and lie
Shall burn beneath the watching sky”.’
As Tabitha finished reading, a shadow fell across the page and she screamed in terror.
25
CERENSTHORPE ABBEY – PRESENT DAY
‘The curse poem?’ Gulliver’s voice was tinged with anger. ‘You shared the family poem? I thought you told me only the heir was supposed to know its contents.’
Tabitha looked up at him, embarrassed that she had been so engrossed in Edith’s gothic tales that his appearance had shaken her with such intensity.
‘We arenotcursed,’ said Gulliver and Tabitha was surprised to hear anger in his voice. She had expected him to be amused by Edith’s superstitious nature, then she remembered how he had taunted her when she had tried to stop him blowing the golden hawking whistle, as though trying to hide his own fears. ‘Our blood does not carry a terrible blight handed down through the centuries. It’s a poem, nothing more.’
‘A creepy poem,’ said Edith with relish.
‘Yes, but nevertheless, a poem.’
Tabitha slipped her phone from her pocket and took a surreptitious picture of the poem before closing the journal and placing it on the bed, then, without a word, she stood and began gathering the debris of Edith’s lunch.
‘Leave it, Tabs,’ Gulliver snapped. ‘You’re not a waitress. I’ll clear it up and take it down later.’
‘Thank you for the scone, Edith,’ she said before walking swiftly to the door, ignoring both Gulliver’s and Edith’s calls to return.
After Lucia’s unexpected appearance a week earlier, Gulliver’s behaviour towards her had been confusing. Whenever they encountered each other, his mood was transient, shifting from polite, calm but distant, to irritability. On another occasion, he had squeezed her hand and given her a look of deepest longing. His aggravated response to Edith sharing family secrets was another new and unsettling side to his personality. For some reason, she felt he was angry with her, but she could not understand what she had done wrong.
As she hurried away from Edith’s rooms, Tabitha wondered if she had misinterpreted his behaviour during an unpleasant scene with Lucia and this was the root of his irritation. After Lucia’s outburst the previous week, Gulliver had returned an hour later to apologise and reassure her about her position at Cerensthorpe Abbey.
‘You’re family,’ he had said in a low voice, ‘the house would be empty without you, but I must calm Lucia.’
Yet, despite this conversation, he had kept his distance ever since. When she had spoken to Tamar, her sister had advised giving him space.
‘He was mentally preparing himself for a possible divorce,’ Tamar had said. ‘Lucia is playing with him emotionally and because of his feelings for you?—’
‘His what?’ Tabitha had interrupted in shock.
‘He fancies you,’ Tamar had replied with a snort of laughter. ‘Honestly, Tabs, I’m surprised you don’t bump into more walls, you do walk around with your eyes shut. When he caught you in the barn, it was like a scene from a love story. I wonderwhere it might have led if Lucia hadn’t made her unexpected appearance.’
Tabitha had blushed even though she was alone in Tadpole Cottage.
‘You’re being ridiculous,’ she had said. ‘Gulliver is in love with Lucia.’
‘Says you.’
