A Pocket Full of Posies (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Six (Part 1)

Our plan to drive as far away as possible lasts about fifteen minutes. There's logic behind it, and it's strongly based on Ava's newfound trust in me, which while I am appreciative of, may be a critical mistake on her behalf. I'd started rambling about getting Annabel to remember the whole dead family scenario instead of me, which Ava perceived as a good idea, but it turns out there's a severe lack of understanding about the way a spirit's memory works.

Spirits themselves often have a far better grasp of that sort of thing, to which I mentioned the one I encountered at the haunted manor house. When I revealed said spirit must've been from at least two centuries ago, Ava nearly had heart palpitations.

Despite the fact almost every ghost story ever involves dead folk from centuries past, it turns out a spirit that old is actually extremely rare, and often extremely knowledgeable. So that's where we're headed. It could be an entirely fruitless mission that'll get us all brutally murdered, but I'm remaining optimistic. That's worked so far. Sort of.

Between the time we set off and the time we pull up to the manor house, we encounter no murderous ghosts, so I'd like to think the journey is a success on the whole. The ticket queue isn't too long, but five minutes after joining it, Jamie is already whining.

"Must we pay for our tickets? Frankly, ten pounds each is extortionate for such a poorly orchestrated tour, and even if it was of decent quality, I image it's exactly the same as last time."

He keeps talking, but I'm too mentally drained to tell him to stop, while Tom and Carmen are too focused on me to even really notice him droning on.

"... Just wait around the outskirts of the building in hopes of what we're searching for will come to us. Is that not feasible? I'm still reeling over the horrid conditions at that bed and breakfast. I mean, honestly, how can they expect anyone to sleep when the bar remains open until ridiculously late? The last thing I wish to be doing right now is queuing for an unreasonable length of time to spend money on something so--"

"Shut up," Ava finally interjects. She shoots Jamie the warmest smile I've ever seen, then turns back to face the front of the queue. She really is a beacon of light in an otherwise hellish world, sometimes. Jamie stammers, but shuts up, to which Ava responds to with a "thank you."

Around ten minutes later, we're inside. It smells older than I remember. Like burning wood. We just bought regular entry tickets instead of a guided tour, so much to Jamie's relief, they were seven pounds instead of ten. We immediately begin scouring the building for an empty room, which ends up proving tricky due to the fact barely twenty percent of the house is open to the public, and so most areas are filled with tourists.

At the realisation that finding an empty room will be impossible, I take the next logical step. We're in one of the long hallways, and towards the end of it is some rope with a 'no entry' sign placed in front of it. After checking there's no one else around, I duck under the rope, and wave my hand for the rest of the group to follow.

"You can't go in there!" Jamie whispers in a way that makes it sound like he's shouting. It's actually quite impressive.

"Call me an anarchist," I reply sarcastically. "C'mon, before anyone else shows up."

My friends glance at each other, but soon follow my lead as I turn down a hidden part of the house. Jamie complains the whole time, naturally. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this hallway looks no different to any of the areas open to the public.

"How do you summon these things?" Tom asks, and what I can only perceive as an attempt to answer his own question, he begins bobbing his head around while whistling and clicking his fingers.