Weekend at Wilderhope Manor (5 page)

Wrapping herself in a huge fluffy towel, she then manoeuvred her long hair into
another one, twisting and piling it on top of her head like a turban. She left the
bathroom to find Jenny just draining the last of her coffee and ready to trade places
with her.

"Good timing, honey." Stephanie said, "Enjoy. The water pressure is immense. I
could have stayed in there all day."

"I won't be too long. I'm definitely ready for my breakfast. I'll brush my teeth
when we come back up."

"Mmm-hmm."

Fifteen minutes or so later, both of them were dressed and heading downstairs
for breakfast. They walked into the dining room, the beautiful old-fashioned long table
already set. A couple of people were there, and she and Jenny nodded politely,
wishing
them a good morning. There didn't appear to be a seating plan, so they sat next to one
another. She looked down at the place setting, then glanced across at Jenny who'd
clearly spotted the very same thing. After their rather energetic evening and resulting
dead-to-the-world night's sleep, they'd both completely forgotten what day it was.

"These are so cute!" Jenny said, picking up a paper napkin and examining it. The
manor more than likely used proper cotton serviettes, but for the very special
o
ccasion
of Halloween, they'd broken out their best bat and ghost covered ones. Jenny, at least,
approved. Grinning delightedly, she looked at the place settings on either side of her to
see if they were all the same. Much to Stephanie's relief, they were. She wasn't sure she
could deal with her girlfriend’s in-depth inspection of each different pattern. She loved
Jenny more than life itself, but her lover tended to get excited over the oddest things at
times.

"So," said Stephanie, trying to distract herself from her madly grumbling
stomach, "what's the plan for today?"

"Ooh," Jenny replied, immediately digging into the pocket of her jeans for her
slightly dog-eared itinerary, "let's have a look! Umm…okay. Breakfast is now,
obviously.
And, oh! Awesome! We basically have the entire day to ourselves. Lunch is
buffet style, so we can pop back into the house whatever time we like, between twelve
and two, but we can please ourselves until seven. That's when we have our formal sit
down
meal, followed by the costume party. What fun!"

"So," said Stephanie, looking out of the window, "what do you say to dashing
back upstairs after breakfast to brush our teeth, then heading out to explore the
grounds? It looks as if it's going to be a nice day."

Glancing out at the gardens, Jenny nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Now where's
our breakfast?"

During this little exchange, other people had filed into the room and sat. And as
if they'd heard Jenny's hunger-spurred comment, the doors to the kitchen flew open
and a series of waiters and waitresses came out. They were laden with all the
ingredients for a yummy English breakfast, and a few appreciative murmurs came from
around their table as the tantalizing smells of bacon and sausage hit their nostrils.

* * *

Pulling the laces of her hiking shoes tight, Stephanie remarked, "Well, I was
hungry, but now, I definitely need to walk some of that off! I'm stuffed."

"Me too," Jenny said, emerging from the bathroom. "You ready?"

"Mmm-hmm. So we need to be back here by six at the latest to make sure we're
ready in time for tonight."

"Make it half past five. We need to get our costumes perfect!"

"Whatever you say, honey. Let's go!"

After exiting the building, they headed into the gardens, sucking in lungfuls of
the fresh, crisp air. Being October, it was a chilly morning, and dew adorned the grass,
giving the garden a slightly ethereal feeling. Spotting a board with a map of the
grounds, she headed over to it with Jenny in tow.

"Wow," said Stephanie, examining the map, "I had no idea this place was so big.

And look, there's a maze!" She pointed to the relevant place, drawing an excitable
squeak from Jenny.

"A maze! Cool! How do we get there? We have to go in!"

"Hmm, give me a minute." Stephanie worked out the best way to navigate the
sprawling grounds from their current position to the maze. "Okay, yep, I got it. Follow
me."

They walked hand in hand, their breath visible in the cool air. There was nobody
else around. The other patrons must’ve gone back to bed with hangovers, or decided to
spend the day lounging around indoors.
Had the weather been inclement,
S
tephanie's
choice would’ve been to hole up in the library all day, poring over the various
fascinating tomes it housed. But as it was the sky was clear, and so, outside it was.

Glancing across at Jenny, her nose and cheeks slightly pink from the cold, she decided
she wouldn't have it any other way.

Stephanie squeezed her girl's hand to get her attention. When Jenny turned her
head, Stephanie dropped a kiss on her lips.

"What was that for?" Jenny asked as they parted, smiling.

"Just felt like it, that's all."

"Okay. Well, I'm not complaining. Hey, is that the edge of the maze?"

Stephanie looked. They'd covered some distance by now, leaving the finely
manicured lawns directly at the back of the manor. They headed down a hedge-lined
path, which had varying patches of ground on either side. So far, they'd seen rose
gardens, knot gardens, a pond and a parterre. They hadn't popped in to explore,
planning on hitting the maze first, then checking out everything else in more detail on
their way back to the house. They had all day, after all.

The hedge that lined the right-hand side of their path came to an end now, and
off to that side was another lawn. Beyond that was a much higher hedge with a
purposely designed gap to admit entry. It had to be the maze. They walked across the
lawn in the direction of its entrance. Once they reached it, they looked at each other in
awe. The walls were even higher than Stephanie had first thought.

Jenny said, "I think I'd rather we went in together. Wouldn't you? It's all a bit
Alice in Wonderland,
and I don't want to come a cropper with the Queen of Hearts while
you're drinking tea with the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit."

Stephanie laughed out loud, jabbing Jenny playfully with an elbow. "Where do
you come up with these ideas? It's just a maze, sweetheart. But if it'll make you feel
better, we'll go through together. I guess it could get a little creepy as we get inside."

That decided, they walked in. Stephanie, the more logical of the two, led the way
through the narrow corridors in search of the elusive centre. She felt confident at first,
but as the twists and turns continued, she felt less so. That, and the fact that she'd been
right about the creep factor. It was a clear but not particularly bright day, resulting in
very little natural light penetrating the hedges that made up the maze. It was navigable
but incredibly gloomy, and she sensed Jenny stayed behind her as close as possible
without treading on the backs of her shoes. Honestly, she didn't blame her. Even she felt
a little spooked. The silence wasn't helping. From their sheltered position, they could
see glimpses of the sky, but they couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of their
own footsteps and breathing.

Stephanie picked up the pace, albeit subtly. She didn't want to worry Jenny, but
she wasn't really sure where they were, and to make it worse, she started to feel quite
nervous. Despite the silence and the fact they hadn't seen another soul since they'd left
the house, she suddenly had the oddest feeling they weren't alone. It was a silly notion,
because the walls of the maze were so thick she couldn't see through them, so it wasn't
as if anyone could be secretly spying on Jenny and her. But Stephanie simply could not
shake her apprehension. She desperately wanted to get out of the maze, but saw no way
of doing it quickly. Even turning back wouldn't guarantee a swift exit, because she
couldn’t remember each twist and turn they'd taken. They could just end up stuck in
there even longer.

Suddenly, Jenny's
Alice in Wonderland
comment didn't seem so stupid, after all.

Refusing to let Jenny sense her fear, she looked steadfastly in front of her and carried on
walking. Then she heard the crack of a twig, which sounded as if it came from up
ahead. Unfortunately, Jenny heard it too.

"W-What was that?" Jenny asked, clutching onto the back of Stephanie's coat.

In spite of all the layers of clothing she wore, Stephanie felt a shiver run down
her spine, but forced herself to continue putting one foot in front of the other. Trying—and failing—to inject some normalcy into her voice, she replied, "P-Probably just
someone else from the house. You can enter from either side of the maze, remember.
They could have come in the opposite end. I expect we'll bump into them shortly."

They didn't, but the path broadened, and they soon emerged into the centre of
the maze, much to Stephanie's relief. She knew they were far from home and dry, but at
least, she wasn't feeling as if the walls were closing in on her anymore. Stopping for a
few minutes, she looked into each of the paths leading off the centre to see if she could
see anyone lurking there. She was reminded of the incident in the corridor outside the
library the previous evening, and wondered if the same person was trying to scare them
here too. She decided not to say anything to her girlfriend. There was no point. With
Jenny's imagination, she'd be conjuring up ghosts and ghouls left, right and centre, and
getting her out of the maze would be even more of a chore than it already was.

"Come on," Stephanie said loudly, as if trying to prove how perfectly fine she
felt. "Let's get going."

She walked toward the potential exit paths and chose one, hoping against hope it
was the right one. She didn't know how much longer her nerve would hold out. Jenny
followed close behind, seemingly calmer now as the sound of the broken twig hadn't
been followed by anything else. Walking steadily onward, Stephanie made quick
decisions on their turns, thinking that even if she got them wrong, keeping this pace
w
ould mean she could easily correct any missteps they took, and get them the hell out
of the maze.

Neither girl spoke. After a while, Stephanie wasn't sure how close they were to
the exit, but she sensed they were almost there,
since they hadn't hit a dead end
in some
time. Suddenly, she heard a noise from behind. Spinning, she grabbed Jenny and
pushed in front of her, ready to face their foe head-on. She was terrified, but she sure as
hell wasn't going to show it.

"Who's there?"

Nothing. Stephanie waited, her upper arms starting to hurt where Jenny gripped

them tightly.

"Hello? Are you lost?"

Still no response. If there were a genuine patron in the maze, they'd have replied

by now.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Stephanie yelled. "What are you, some kind of creepy
pervert who likes scaring women? Well, it's not working!"