Star Gazey

Chapter Three

On the side is a lovely cover that the wonderful @ch4rmed made me once upon a time, so I wanted to add it to this chapter!

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I raised a skeptical eyebrow at Mrs. Donnelly.

"I suppose I can't say I'm surprised, anyway. I'm sure half these houses out for let here have their own haunting tale. It's rather good fun, wouldn't you say?" I gave her a wry smile.

Disappointment flashed across her face for a moment, and it occurred to me that her son may have come by his flair for the dramatic honestly. I supposed that she may have hoped for a more awed reaction, and I had let her down.

"Well, of course some say as it's all nonsense," she smiled at me with an air of indulgence, "but folks hear the stories and have a healthy respect for them 'round here, what with the history of the village. Did you know that Mousehole was burned in a Spanish raid, Miss Grantham? Yes, you may never have heard of it, but we've had our fair share of excitement here, we have." She ruffled herself up, settling in to talk, and I was once more reminded of a hen in her roost. "They came to the bay in the night and set fire to the village. They took the other villages along the bay as well. Most all was burned to the ground. Rumor has it that it was retaliation for the piracy of Mousehole racketeers on Spanish ships. It took some time to rebuild, but a prosperous merchant eventually built a new, grander house using some of the stones of the old structure. Now, the old people of the house had fled during the raid, you see. Never returned, did they, but folks say it's the lady of the house who came back in the spirit, seeking her lost home, yearning to be its sole lady once more. Perhaps that's why she doesn't take too kindly to intruders?"

Here she stopped, and smiled as though she had caught herself rambling. "But of course I'm no expert on the stories. If you'd like to hear more about it all, you should head on down to the Keigwin Arms, by the harbor. You'll find many of the old timers there who'd be more than delighted to talk to a pretty young face."

I saw this as my opportunity to escape for now, and so I stood politely to take it.

"That is a lovely idea, Mrs. Donnelly. I think I shall do just that. Thank you very much for your hospitality, and for the wonderful photos of my gran. It was splendid to hear about her life here, really." I decided to avoid bringing the ghost story back to her attention, particularly because it sounded rather too fanciful to me. I did intend to hear more about the Spanish raid though, as that had caught my interest, and so I thought I might as well take a stroll down to the pub.

"Wonderful to have you, I'm sure. Now, my Mick will take you down to the village, won't you, Mick? Always good to have a gentleman take a lady into town."

Gentleman is perhaps the wrong term, I thought, and tried to protest. I did not particularly want to spend a walk down to the village with Mick.

"Well that's very kind, Mrs. Donnelly, but really I'm sure I can manage on my own. No need for Mr. Donnelly to put himself out when I'm sure he's very busy."

"Ah yes, you're a London girl of course, so you should have no problem finding your way around our little hamlet," said Mick with a slightly mocking smile. "But no matter, I have business with Mr. Lyle, the carpenter in the village, so I'd be delighted to escort you down to the Arms."

There was clearly no arguing, so I accepted my fate and took my leave of Mrs. Donnelly after promising to return again soon.

I felt a little better as I breathed in the fresh breeze outside the stuffy cottage. I felt myself relax, as though I had unconsciously been holding onto a sort of tension that began to release in the warm light of the sunshine.