Free The Body at Auercliff by Amy Cross Page B

seconds longer until silence falls once again.
    “It's a ghost, isn't it?” Nathan asks. “It has to be!”
    I hesitate for a moment, before reaching out and cautiously turning the door handle. When I try to pull the door open, however, I find that it's locked.
    “That's the western wing of the house,” Nathan reminds me. “Mum said Aunt Emily keeps it shut up, remember? She never goes through there.”
    “I know, but -”
    “Maybe this is why she never goes through,” he suggests. “Maybe that's the part where the ghosts are.”
    “Ghosts wouldn't be stopped by a locked door,” I point out.
    “You don't know that.”
    “Ghosts go through doors, dummies.”
    “You don't know that, Becky.”
    I try the door again, but there's no way I'm suddenly going to find a way through. Stepping back a few paces, I realize I can hear the shuffling sound again. I want to believe that it's just a bird or some other kind of animal through there, but I can't even bring myself to make that suggestion. I know deep down that it's not true.
    “Should we tell Mum and Dad?” Nathan asks.
    “Sure,” I reply, “go wake Mum up and tell her you heard a scary noise. I'm sure she'll be really happy and grateful.”
    He pauses, before turning to head toward Mum and Dad's room.
    “That was a joke,” I add, grabbing his arm to keep him close. At the same time, the shuffling sound returns for a few seconds. I wait until it's gone again, and then I turn to Nathan. “There's another way through to that part of the house.”
    “No there isn't!”
    I nod. “It might be locked, but shouldn't we at least try?”
    He shakes his head.
    “Well, I'm going to,” I continue, turning and heading toward the top of the stairs.
    “Becky, wait!” he hisses, hurrying after me.
    “You don't have to come,” I tell him, already making my way down to the hallway. “I'll tell you what I find. If I find anything at all.”
    “But -”
    “You're the one who woke me up, remember? Or was that only fun when you thought we couldn't actually get through to take a proper look?”
    “Becky, wait!”
    “And keep quiet!” I add. “We're not allowed to wake anyone up.”
    When I reach the hallway, I walk quickly through to the reception room and then to the study, and finally I get to the pantry and hurry to the door in the far corner, which I remember Mum mentioning was another way into the shuttered and abandoned part of the house. Grabbing the handle and giving it a turn, I don't expect for one moment that it'll be unlocked, but to my surprise the door swings open, almost hitting me in the face.
    Stopping, I feel cold air reaching through from the darkness ahead, as I contemplate the idea of going through to the house's empty, uninhabited western wing. Suddenly this idea doesn't seem so enticing, and I reach out to shut the door again.
    “Are we going in there?” Nathan asks.
    Turning, I realize he's right behind me. I'd kind of assumed he stayed upstairs like a little scaredy-cat, but apparently he decided to come with me after all. There's no way I can back down now.
    “Of course,” I tell him.
    “Are you scared?”
    I shake my head. “Are you?”
    He hesitates, before shaking his head. He's a liar, but I'm not going to say anything about it. I guess we're both lying right now.
    Turning, I look through to the darkness and then I take a step forward. The air is so cold now, I actually feel like I should go back and grab my jacket, but to be honest I think I'd end up chickening out of the whole thing. Instead, I keep going until I find myself in a cold, dark room with a flight of wooden steps leading upstairs. I remember Mum saying something about this part of the house having been used by servants in the past, and it certainly seems like things are more basic and less fancy here. Whereas the bannister in the main hallway is smooth and intricately carved, the bannister here is just a long stretch of wood.
    “Do you hear anything?” Nathan