Free The Silent Touch of Shadows by Christina Courtenay Page B

As she walked along the corridor she experienced a prickling sensation between the shoulder blades, as if someone was watching her. Turning around swiftly, she thought she caught a glimpse of a shadow disappearing quickly into the wall. A shadow in the shape of a human.
    She shivered and went slowly over to the spot where it had vanished. It was just an ordinary wall. Smooth plaster painted white. Nothing else.
    ‘What are you doing, Melissa?’ Dorothy appeared behind her and Melissa jumped as if she’d been jolted by an electric charge. She put a hand over her heart to stop its frantic beating.
    ‘Dorothy, you scared the life out of me.’
    ‘Sorry, dear. You were so engrossed I suppose you didn’t hear me coming. What are you looking at?’
    ‘Er, this wall.’ Melissa cleared her throat and tried to come up with a plausible excuse while studying the wall for something that might be of interest. At the top, she found what she was looking for. ‘I was just wondering why the wood was shaped like that.’ She pointed to a piece of cross-timbering in the shape of a semi-circle. ‘All the others are straight.’
    ‘Perhaps there used to be a door here before they added on the back part of the house,’ Dorothy replied, stepping closer to have a look. ‘Yes, this section is about the right shape for a door, wouldn’t you say?’
    Melissa had a sudden vision of a sturdy door, rounded at the top, and set with iron studs in an attempt at crude decoration. She closed her eyes and heard the squeak of its hinges as it opened and shut slowly. The sound grated on her nerves and she had to clench her teeth together firmly to stop from groaning.
    ‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right,’ she murmured faintly. ‘Well, never mind architecture, I think I’ll go and read the paper now.’ And she escaped into the sitting room, clutching the newspaper in front of her like a shield. She didn’t know what she needed protection from, but there was definitely something strange going on in this house.
    With a frown she tried to concentrate on the day’s news, but she still felt as if someone was watching her. The room was quiet, almost eerily so, but nothing untoward stirred. There was a slight draught from the windows moving the curtains, and in a pale beam of sunlight the dust motes danced merrily as always, but there was no sign of the shadow from the corridor. Melissa scanned the room twice, just to make sure, then returned her attention to the newspaper.
    The log fire suddenly collapsed, making Melissa’s heart jump almost as far as her throat. She put up a hand to still its beating and drew in a deep breath.
    ‘For heaven’s sake,’ she grumbled to herself. ‘It’s an old house, it makes noises. Get used to it!’
    She felt foolish, but she couldn’t help it. Something was making her edgy and no amount of reasoning with herself could shake the feeling that she was being observed, perhaps even appraised. Was the house judging her to see if she deserved to live here? Would she pass muster? Shaking her head to rid herself of such stupid thoughts, she gave up her attempt at reading and left the room.
    As she ran upstairs, however, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been accepted.

Chapter Seven
    John of Ashleigh was not a patient man.
    Sibell tiptoed along the corridor outside the main hall of her father’s house, hoping to avoid a meeting with him before the evening meal. He’d been in such a foul mood that morning and she had no doubt it would have worsened during the day while he waited anxiously for her return. She knew he was in awe of Sir Gilbert Presseille, the most powerful man in the district. She was also sure he’d be terrified in case she should manage to persuade her former father-in-law to help her thwart his plans for the marriage to Sir Fulke.
    ‘Don’t you dare breathe a word of it to anyone, do you hear, or it will be the worse for you,’ he’d threatened before she left, as she’d told Lady