Free The Silence by Sarah Rayne Page B

nothing seemed to be out there. Had the woman Beth saw gone away, as she had last night? Nell had a sudden wild vision of some poor half-mad soul in the grip of a freakish compulsion to walk through Stilter House’s gardens every evening at the same hour.
    She turned back to the room, trying to decide how safe she and Beth were and wondering if she dared go all round the house to look into each room. She was just checking the catch on the French windows when there was a movement behind her. Nell whipped round and something stepped out from the shadows and walked towards the piano. The torchlight fell on wild unkempt hair and mad, staring eyes, and on dreadful thin hands that reached out greedily. Nell gasped and raised the torch in instinctive defence, backing away, praying to reach the door before the woman pounced, somehow managing it. She slammed the door hard, then ran across the hall and up the stairs as if all the demons of hell were at her heels, calling to Beth, not caring if her voice gave away her exact whereabouts.
    Beth answered at once. ‘I’m here. What’s happening?’ Her voice was scared, but she was clearly all right, and Nell fell thankfully into the room.
    ‘It’s all right, we’re quite safe. But we’re going to drive to the village.’
    ‘Is it the woman I saw?’ Beth hopped down from the window seat, her eyes huge with fear. ‘Did you see her?’
    ‘Yes. She won’t hurt us, though. Most likely she’ll have run off now,’ said Nell, hoping Beth would accept this. ‘But she seemed confused, so it’ll be better if we get to the car and fetch help for her. We’ll go quietly downstairs, and all you’ve got to do is keep tight hold of my hand and do exactly what I tell you.’
    ‘You promise it’s safe?’ said Beth, her eyes huge.
    ‘I promise it is. Double treble promise.’
    As Nell led Beth to the dark landing, her mind was racing ahead. She always put the car keys in the side pocket of her handbag, but had she left the bag in the sitting room where she had been working, or looped over the banister at the foot of the stairs when they came in earlier? Let it be on the banister, she thought.
    ‘Beth, I’ll snatch up my bag from the stairs and we’ll go out through the front door. If the bag’s not there it’ll be in the little sitting room, and that’ll mean a quick sprint down the hall and out through the garden door. All right?’
    Halfway down the stairs Nell saw that the music room door was partly open, and her heart leapt with fear. I left it shut, she thought. She’s come out of that room. She’s somewhere in the house.
    The foot of the stairs was in shadow, and for a moment she thought her bag with the keys was on the banister after all, but as they neared the stairs she saw it was only a scarf. She tightened her hold on Beth’s hand, and pointed to the hall. Beth nodded, understanding, and they went towards the back of the house. Please don’t let her be here, Nell was thinking. Please let us get out of the house and to the car.
    It was like one of the old children’s games, where you had to cross a piece of land without being caught or seen. The hall seemed to stretch out and out, like the distortion in a nightmare, and there was the strong feeling that she and Beth were not alone. It’s the stranger at the fireside, thought Nell. The guest who wasn’t invited, but who’s here anyway . . .
    Here was the sitting room at last, and there was her bag on the fireside shelf. She picked it up, and turned to indicate to Beth that they would go out through the scullery.
    There was a whisper of sound from the dark hall and a blurred movement, then the woman was in the doorway, her face in shadow, black rain clinging to her. For several dreadful seconds Nell froze, then Beth gave a sob of panic and her mind snapped back into place. She thrust Beth behind her, then bounded forward and slammed the door hard. There was no lock, but she was already seizing the edge of a small