‘Yes, a real whodunnit. Was it Mr Plum in the study with the candlestick?’ Maxwell guffawed.
‘That’s Cluedo, darling,’ Ava retorted. ‘And nobody died.’
‘Or did they?’ Chuck piped up. ‘Should I do a quick head count? How many of us are there now?’
‘Drinking champagne will be even easier in this light,’ Caitlin whispered to me. But I was no longer sure. I knew now that it was Hackett’s face at the window I had seen. Beverly told us all the cracking noise was probably the surge of electricity before it went out. As Rayner had said, there was no sign of a storm. Suddenly, I was no longer hungry.
But Beverly and Judith carried on regardless, carefully navigating their way back and forth from the kitchen until they had put out ten soufflés on the table which was now alight with candles of all shapes and sizes. Since the lights went out, people were finding themselves a seat wherever they could. I found myself between Chuck’s parents, whilst Caitlin shot me an array of angry expressions across the table.
‘Jolly good show, girls,’ Maxwell hollered to Beverly and Judith as they scurried carefully back to the kitchen to prepare the beef wellington.
I had never tasted a soufflé before so when I put the first spoonful in my mouth, an incredible party erupted amongst my tastebuds. This was followed by another two courses of the beef, then a chocolate fondant pudding, which I devoured in minutes.
A cheese board was on its way with more brandy, whisky and coffee for the adults, so Caitlin and I took the opportunity to slip away.
‘Was it fun between the olds? Why didn’t you sit next to me?’ Caitlin was walking a bit strange. I had seen her swipe a spare glass of champagne during the dinner, and with everyone chatting and the darkness of the room, I knew she had got away with it. I decided she was now slightly drunk, and this suspicion was backed up further when she asked me if I wanted to go upstairs and see her room. In the few months I had known her, I had never been in the upstairs of the house, so I said yes without hesitation; I didn’t need to be asked again. I had been dying to see the rooms and other parts of the twelve-bedroom manor house since we had moved in. Only Mum had seen it all, but she had never taken me around with her.
We each took a tall candle that was stuffed into an old-fashioned holder, like something from A Christmas Carol. We went out to the hallway where the main staircase was. I followed Caitlin tentatively, the light from our candles casting dancing shadows up the wall, and I could just about make out the odd spiral or pattern of the wallpaper.
As we climbed the stairs again to the second floor, I could smell something like mildew. When we reached the landing, I felt a strong breeze coming from ahead.
We turned right and headed down a narrow corridor, which was lit up enough for me to see several doors on either side. Some were open ajar; others were closed shut. We walked past the first door on my left, which was wide open; the room was dark, a silhouette of the end of a large bed just visible. The curtains were drawn back and a window was pushed wide open, the curtains flapping widely in the breeze. I went to speak, to ask if we should close it, when I heard a familiar sound coming from Caitlin. Her murmurings had begun, but they sounded so much more intense in the claustrophobic corridor. I felt my body shudder as the skin on my bare arms erupted into goosebumps. A hollow clanking noise panicked me, and I spun around to where we had come from. The feeble light from the candle only reached the end wall; to the left a black abyss loomed where the staircase was. Caitlin’s murmurs had become louder, her words more pronounced. ‘I can see you, I can hear you.’ My skin prickled. I looked around, trying to see who she was talking to. A slither of me wished for someone to discover us; to realise we had gone and come and look for us. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to be up this far in the house with Caitlin without any adults around.
Caitlin raised her voice even more, and I spun back around to face her. Although she still had her back to me, I was able to catch the last words she spoke.
‘Shall we play a little game?’
Somehow I knew she wasn’t talking to me.
Caitlin turned around and faced me. She held the candle just below her chin, so her face was illuminated from below, distorting her features and casting wild shadows on the walls either side of us.
I took a step back as I didn’t want the breeze that came from the room to my left to blow out my candle. Caitlin moved closer so she was almost shoulder to shoulder with me. I heard a howl of wind, and a gust of breeze shot past my legs. I thought about our warm, cosy cottage and I longed for the warmth of our log fire; long after everyone had gone to bed, it continued to heat the sitting room.
‘Did you drink any of the champagne tonight?’ Caitlin asked, I could feel the warmth of her breath on my cheek as she hissed out a whisper. I knew she was now talking to me.
‘Yes,’ I lied, although I knew I had only brought the glass to my lips just before the electricity went out and I had felt her stares from across the table throughout the meal.
‘It was good, wasn’t it? What would you
