The Secrets of Finchrock Manor

Chapter Two

The journey was long and tedious. Finchrock Manor extremely far away from London, in a place called Castleton. And it didn't help that Cassandra kept boring Rose with stories of Rose's grandmother.

'—She had me very young, your grandmother, and so she was terribly vain, all her life. I grew up hearing her compliment herself and tell everyone how beautiful she was. It was awful, and—'

Until, about two hours before arriving, Cassandra said this:

'She and Beverly were a good match, they both the same proud personalities, but of course Eliza was sometimes a bit jealous, her friend was a princess after all—'

'Princess?' Rose interjected, suddenly interested. 'Was — was Beverly the Princess Beverly, who was murdered on the cliffs in 1972?'

'She wasn't murdered Rose, it was an accident,' Cassandra said, her lips pursed, and took a sharp turn left. 'And yes. Your grandmother happened to be best friends with one of the world's most famous princesses. They met at a ceremony in Bagdad about 60 years ago.'

'That— wow,' Rose said, not believing it. 'And— what happened after Princess Beverly's death?'

'Well, your grandmother was terribly upset, of course. It changed her. She said she would never feel the same again. It was quite sad honestly, as it was only a few days after her divorce with your grandfather, Charles.'

Rose nodded, and lay back, pondering this information. She wondered what it was like to be friends with a princess. Then she wondered what it was like to be a princess, and to have died so young by an extremely unfortunate death. Rose closed her eyes, and soon she drifted off to sleep.

Hours later, they had arrived.

'Rose?' Cassandra opened the car door and gently shook her daughter. 'Rose, hon, we're here.'

Ross opened her eyes, and yawned. She felt drowsy, and her head hurt. 'Wha-what— where—' she said sluggishly.

'Come on, we're here. Hop out please.'

Rose slowly got out of the car, and almost fell. She staggered and regained her position, looking around and squinting against the sun.

There were only three words to describe Finchrock Manor. Tall, imposing, and regal. It was like a castle, with its stone walls and tall glass windows.

'Wow,' Rose said without thinking. 'It must be like, 1000 storeys.'

'More like 8 storeys,' Cassandra corrected, appearing suddenly behind Rose. 'Here, take your bag please hon.'

Rose and her mum walked the pebbled path. Cassandra was admiring the greenery.

'Look at those roses,' she said, pointing. 'They must smell amazing. Oh, and the willow tree! It's still there, but it looks like it needs a bit of treatment—'

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Boring. Plants are boring.'

'You think so?' Cassandra said smiling. They reached the door, but before Rose could reach for the handle, it swung open before her.

'Welcome!' A small, burly man stood in front of them, with a huge smile on his face.

'David!' Charlotte cried, and hugged him. 'Gosh, its been ages! How are you?'

'I'm brilliant. It's so nice to finally be back in Mum's old house.' He turned to Rose, still smiling. 'Well, if it isn't Rose Finchrock. She's certainly not a little tot anymore, is she Cass?'

'No she certainly isn't,' Cassandra laughed, and ruffled Rose's hair. Rose huffed and slapped her mum's hand away.

'Well, come inside, I'll give you a tour and we can meet the others,' David said, and stepped aside so they could enter. 

Word Count: 637

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