Chapter 3 An Accident in the Snow

Claire and her aunt drove to the church that evening. There was a strong wind and snow started to fall again. Claire watched it through the car window. But she did not think about the snow or about Christmas: she thought about the witch and about the fire-coloured thing that she saw on the top of the Black Tower after the stone fell. These thoughts stayed with her all evening and she only half-listened to the singing in the church. She could not get the story of the witch out of her head.

When the Christmas singing was finished, she and Aunt Min went back to the car through the snow. Now it came up over their shoes, and the night was very cold.

The car made lines in the snow when they drove away from the church, and everything was white — white houses, white trees, white cars, people's white coats. Soon they were in the little roads outside the village and there were no other cars, only Aunt Min's. Driving was difficult. The car could not stop easily in the snow. Aunt Min drove carefully, but with a worried face.

They were in the road near the castle. Aunt Min tried to drive slowly — but the car went faster and faster in the snow!

'I can't stop it!' she said.

And then the car went off the road and hit a tree!

Aunt Min put her hands to her face and shut her eyes.

'Are you OK?' Claire asked.

'Y-yes, I think so,' said her aunt.

They got out of the car and looked at it.

'I can't drive it now,' said Aunt Min. 'I must phone the garage in the village. Mr Perkins can drive out and see it tomorrow. But now we must get home, Claire.'

Claire looked across the fields. She could see Genny Castle. Aunt Min looked at the castle too and Claire could read her aunt's thoughts: it was more than two miles round the road, but iff was not a mile across the fields.

'Let's go across Walter Burge's field,' said Aunt Min. 'I can't walk all round the road.'

She got a light from inside the car, then they went into the field and began to walk through the snow.

Claire tried not to look at the castle.

Walter Burge sat in a big chair in front of the fire in his cottage. There was a book about castles in his hands. There were other books in the little room and many of them were about castles too.

His cat, Alexa, sat by the fire.

Walter knew the stories that people in the village told about him. 'He's crazy,' they said, and he knew this. And he knew the stories about the castle. People said it was a bad, dangerous place. He didn't try to stop these stories, because people stayed away when they heard them, and Walter didn't want people to go near the castle. He knew that the castle had its secrets.

He stopped reading and closed his eyes.

Alexa, the cat, stood up. She walked into the kitchen without making a sound, and across to a window. The window was not quite shut and she pushed it with her foot. When it was open, Alexa jumped down into the snow.

She began to walk up to the castle.

Walter opened his eyes. 'It's time I went to bed, Alexa,' he said.

Then he saw that the cat was not there, and he got up out of the chair and walked through to the kitchen.

'Alexa?' he said. He saw the open window. 'Again?' he said. 'Why did you go out on a night like this?'

Walter knew that the cat went up to the castle. He remem­bered other nights - nights when people in the village heard sounds and saw lights on the Black Tower. Nights when Walter shut his cottage doors and stayed inside.

Walter tried not to think about these things. He loved his castle, but he knew that the village people were worried about it. 'The castle is a bad place,' they said. 'Pull it down!' Walter did not want that to happen.

'I must stop you, Alexa,' he said.

And he took a light from a cupboard, pulled on his shoes and coat, and went out of the back door, into the snow and the wind.

'I'm so cold,' Claire thought.

She and Aunt Min walked across the field. They could see Walter Burge's cottage, half a mile away. Claire was worried about her aunt. How far could she walk in the snow? The old woman's face was grey and she was very, very tired.

Claire took the light from Aunt Min, then put a hand under her aunt's arm. She helped her across the field to Walter Burge's cottage.

'We must stop here for you to sit down, Aunt Min,' Claire said above the sound of the wind.

Her aunt was too tired to say anything.

The front door of the cottage was shut, but Claire hit it with her hand. 'Mr Burge!' she called. There was no answer. She tried to open the door, but it stayed shut. 'Let's go round to the back,' she told her aunt.

They went round to the back door of the cottage. Claire looked at the snow by the door. 'He's gone out,' she thought. 'I can see his footprints in the snow; they're going up to the castle. But what is he doing up there?'

There was no time to think about this — her aunt was cold and tired. Claire pushed open the back door of the cottage and they went inside.

They found the room with the fire and Aunt Min sat on the chair in front of it. Claire went to the kitchen and made her a cup of tea. When she came back Aunt Min's eyes were closed. Claire looked at her watch. The time was eleven o'clock.

After two or three minutes Aunt Min opened her eyes.

'Here's some tea for you,' Claire said.

'Thank you, Claire,' said Aunt Min. Her voice was weak. 'I'm a little better now.'

'You can't walk any more tonight,' said Claire.

'No, I don't think I can,' said her aunt.

'I'm going to find Mr Burge,' said Claire. 'Perhaps he can take us home in his car.'

Aunt Min looked worried. 'Where is he?' she asked.

'I think he's up at the castle,' said Claire.

'Claire, you can't -!' Aunt Min began to say.

'I know about the castle, Aunt Min,' said Claire. 'I'm not afraid.'

But she was afraid.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1184