Free The Haunted Lady by Bill Kitson

waiting for the vicar to open the door, I glanced back. The grassed churchyard was immaculately kept. This must have been no simple task given the number of stones marking the burial places of former parishioners.
    Michael removed a large key from his pocket and fitted into the lock on one side of the heavy, studded oak door. We followed him into the church and, as we entered the building, the first thing I noticed was the drop in temperature. It was a hot day outside, but inside the church was an oasis of coolness.
    Looking across the nave, I saw a hatchment bearing a coat of arms. As this was in stone, I guessed it to be that of the church’s patron. I glanced towards the chancel, where the nave was flanked by huge stone pillars that rose to support an arch-beam roof. The craftsmanship was superb and must have taken many hours of patient labour. Both arms of the transept were separated from the nave by elaborately carved wooden screens that rose to the roof. Eve gestured towards them. ‘Those screens are magnificent.’
    ‘They’re called parcloses,’ I informed her.
    ‘That’s right,’ Michael confirmed, eyeing me with approval. ‘Do you know a bit about church architecture, Adam?’
    ‘Don’t encourage him,’ Eve muttered.
    It was enough of a challenge to be irresistible. ‘I know about flying buttresses, castellated battlements, ashlars, quoins and fan vaults,’ I said with a touch of smugness. ‘I had a teacher who was a bit of a fanatic.’
    ‘I did try to warn you,’ Eve told the vicar. ‘Adam loves airing his knowledge, but all that really means is that there was one lesson he didn’t sleep through.’
    Eve can always be relied upon to bring me down to earth – usually with a bump.
    Michael signalled to his left, towards the north wing of the building. ‘That screen divides the nave from the Lady chapel. The other transept is used for small events these days, bible studies, confirmation classes and so forth. However, we stay true to Lady Mary’s wishes and the chapel is still reserved for female parishioners to use. It is inside the Lady chapel that the apparitions have been seen.’ He paused and added with a smile, ‘Before you ask, none of those who witnessed the figure had been at the communion wine beforehand.’
    The empty church echoed to the sound of our laughter. We walked forward and as we reached the transept got our first proper view of the Lady chapel, though on a much smaller scale, like the rest of the building it was impressive. Before the altar, which was a miniature replica of the one in the chancel, twin rows of pews, six in number were positioned for the worshippers.
    We moved into the chapel, passing two small windows on the side walls, and our attention was drawn immediately to one of the most magnificent stained-glass windows I’d ever seen. The window was even more eye-catching than its larger counterpart behind the altar in the chancel, possibly because it dominated the enclosed space. It almost filled the north wall completely. I gasped aloud, a sound that was echoed by Eve. Michael smiled with satisfaction. ‘It’s quite something, isn’t it?’
    ‘It is truly superb,’ I breathed. The window was in three sections or lights, divided by mullions, vertical stone columns. Above the main panels, the upper sections consisted of a series of armorial decorations. The greater part of the window contained depictions of easily identifiable scenes from the New Testament, with the centrepiece being a portrayal of The Crucifixion. Despite the difficult material used, the craftsman had succeeded in capturing Christ’s agony on the cross dramatically.
    We stared in awed silence for a long time before either of us spoke. Eve found her voice first.
    ‘You’re right, Adam, it is absolutely magnificent.’
    Her voice was hushed, barely more than a whisper, which befitted our surroundings as well as the depth of her feelings.
    After a while the spell was eased, if not entirely