At the car rental firm she picked up an open-topped red sports two-seater that reminded her of her beloved car back home. A few minutes getting used to having the steering wheel on the left, and the traffic on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, and she was away on the hundred and twenty miles to Larne.
Driving carefully, she reached York without mishap, and went for meal in an oak-beamed restaurant. As she ate she studied her map, noting that the castle was on a small island just off the coast. But the road travelled straight across the water, so obviously there was a bridge.
She read Lord Larne’s letter again and was charmed by its light-hearted air. He spoke of poverty but with a humorous touch that suggested he might be pleasant to know.
It was getting late when she restarted her journey. By the time she’d reached open country the light was already fading and there was a nip in the air.
The map informed her that she’d reached North York Moor. Luckily there was a clearly marked road across it, and twenty miles would bring her to the coast and the bridge to Larne Castle.
As she headed across the moor the sun vanished and black clouds began to scud across the sky. The road had no lighting, and she soon had to switch on her headlamps. Outside their glowing circle the bleak land stretched away for miles. She was totally isolated, and beginning to feel a tad dismayed. All around her the earth grew blacker and the wind gusted strongly. The light sports car didn’t hold the road well, and the rain was getting heavy now. She stopped and got out to try to put up the top. It stuck.
She became chillingly aware of her isolation in this bleak place, with no sign of life in any direction. Not a light. Nothing. It was like being the last person left alive on earth.
But this was an adventure, right? A headless horseman might come galloping past. Just now even a headless horseman would be welcome company.
‘So what the heck if I’m alone?’ she demanded of the starless sky.
Incurable honesty made her add. ‘And lost. And confused.’
She abandoned the attempt to raise the top and got back into the car. There wasn’t much further to go. But ‘adventure’ was definitely fraying at the edges.
‘How do I get myself into these situations?’ she muttered. ‘Oh, well, it can’t be far now. All I need is a friendly local to direct me.’
Right on cue a torch gleamed just up ahead, and soon she discerned the outline of a very tall man. In the headlamps’ glare she could make out that he was wearing faded, muddy trousers and a leather-patched jacket that had seen better days. Here was the ‘local’ she’d wanted, except that he definitely wasn’t friendly. He planted himself rudely in her path and waited for her to stop.
Muttering dire curses, Meryl braked. The car responded sluggishly and the gap between her and the stranger narrowed with alarming speed.
‘Move!’ she shrieked, swerving madly and missing him by a whisker. He hadn’t budged.
She vaulted out of the car and placed herself in front of him, furious, terrified and soaked by the downpour. ‘Have you got a death wish?’ she yelled. ‘What’s the idea of just standing in front of me?’
‘The idea was that you should stop,’ he yelled back against the wind.
‘I tried to. It’s an unfamiliar car. I only hired it this morning.’
‘And you didn’t check the damned brakes.’
‘I
‘Then I guess the firm saw you coming.’
She breathed hard. ‘I’ll pass over your rudeness, but I do want to know why you just stood in my path when you must have seen I was having trouble stopping. Why didn’t you get out of the way?’
‘That’s what the world usually does for you, is it? I didn’t move because then you might have driven on, and the road’s under water. I may consider you a total idiot for driving out here in that thing you jokingly call a car, and not dressing properly for these parts, but I don’t want you to drown because I didn’t warn you. Where are you going anyway?’
‘Is that any of your concern?’ she demanded, fighting the crick in her neck. It was infuriating to have to argue with a man so much taller than herself. Meryl could look most men in the eye, but she had to peer right up as this man loomed over her. He was built for looming, too, powerful about the shoulders, with a harsh face and eyes that flashed disagreeably over a slightly hooked nose. He would have been impressive at any time, but from this angle it was like arguing with an enraged bull.
‘It’s my concern if you drive into the sea,’ he snapped. ‘That road doesn’t lead anywhere.’
‘According to the map it leads to Larne Castle.’
‘Well, you can’t go there, so-’
‘Who says I can’t?’
He made a tearing movement at his hair which the rain was plastering to his skull. ‘It’s not open to tourists,’ he yelled over the storm.
‘Then why are you turning up out of the blue?’
‘Who says I’m out of the blue?’
‘I know this-nobody is expecting you.’
‘Oh, yes, they are-well, in a sort of way-maybe not today exactly-hell! Why am I telling
‘How? Swim?’
‘Over the bridge.’
The grinding of his teeth was audible even above the storm. ‘Will you listen to me? There is no-’
‘I’ll show you. The map’s just over here in my-
‘Out!’ the man yelled and the two vast animals obediently jumped out.
‘That’s it!’ Meryl seethed. ‘I’m getting out of here before I start seeing things-if I’m not seeing them already.’
‘Fine. Turn back.’
‘Don’t give me orders. I’m continuing my journey, and if you stand in front of me again I shall drive over you.’
She thought she heard him mutter, ‘On your own head be it,’ but she couldn’t be certain because she was already speeding on her way.
CHAPTER TWO
MERYL put her foot down. This was one journey she wanted to get finished, fast.
The man had seemed strangely familiar with the castle and its concerns, and it briefly crossed her mind that he might be Lord Larne himself, but she dismissed the thought. That ill-tempered curmudgeon had never written the letter that had charmed her. Probably a family retainer.
She could see where she was going now, the shore lights, and far beyond them the lights of some huge building that must surely be Larne Castle. Straight ahead for the bridge. She squinted, trying to detect the start of the railings. With her attention thus occupied she didn’t realise how far she’d driven until she found herself surrounded by water.
‘I’m in the sea,’ she said, aghast. ‘Where’s the bridge?’
But there was no bridge, only a causeway, fast vanishing under the incoming tide. With horror she saw that the shore was fifty yards behind her. The waves were swelling strongly, and a sickening lurch warned her that her little car wasn’t built for this.
She couldn’t go back. It would have meant trying to turn the vehicle and she didn’t know if the causeway was wide enough. Besides, retreat wasn’t in her nature. She must get ahead as fast as possible. The water had covered the road by only a few inches, and she could just about discern it.
But it grew harder and harder to hold her course. She slammed her foot down, trying to force her way through,
