A New Estate - Crimson Peak

Chapter Twenty Eight

No news had emerged by that night.

Hours drifted by, day turned to night and it seemed as though Robert had dropped off the face of the Earth.

For a brief spell I was worried that Father had disposed of him and hidden the body beneath the floorboards in a fit of daughter protective rage.

I attempted to distract myself with a book, but the biting loneliness of the dark beyond the candlelight proved too much and my attempts were in vain.

With a drawn I sigh, I set my book to one side and stared towards the door, willing for it to open and for Robert to walk in at any second.

My eyes grew tired as I stared unblinkingly at the thick wood, waiting in a silence so strong that I swore that I could hear my heartbeat.

Eventually, I grew restless and bored of waiting and came up with a small idea.

Throwing my cover to one side, I set my feet on the cold floor and take one of the smaller candelabras that sat on a small table top beside the bed and offered me reading light.

I stood and quietly crept to the door, pulling it open as carefully as I could I thanked the stars that the hinges made next to no sound despite their age and long time of no use before we had arrived.

Poking my head out, I looked up and down the dark corridor as if I could see something before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind me.

My feet padded on the bare floor as I made my way down the hallway, a strange tingle instantly running down my spine and putting me a little on edge.

It was an uncomfortable sensation that grew worse the further down the dark hall I walked, but one that wasn't unfamiliar to me.

This was the exact same feeling I would always experience when I had my back turned to the darkness, as if I was just waiting for something to emerge and grab me.

There was a saying I'd heard in my teens, where from I can't remember, but it said that if you felt a shiver down your spine when you were facing away from darkness that it was a ghost or spirit following behind you and that the worst thing you could do was look over your left shoulder.

Ever since I had heard the old tale, I had always been paranoid about feeling that shiver.

Even at my old home, which was of course unwarranted as I'd never experienced anything in my years of living there, but Allerdale Hall was a completely different story.

If anything, I'd be ridiculous to not be paranoid about spirits behind my back within the manor.

But I did my best to ignore it and continued on my mission to reach Robert's room at a brisk pace.

Thankfully, the trip proved uneventful and I managed to reach his room unscathed beyond light goosebumps that ran down my arms, my light nightdress not adding any protection from the chill within the corridor.

"Robert?" I whispered as I knocked on the door, "are you in there?"

I took a small step back and waited for a response.

After a few beats of silence, I stepped forward again and went to knock a little harder.

My knuckles barely managed to graze the hard wood when distinct hushed voices caught my attention and made me pause.

My brows furrowed and I pressed my ear against the door in hopes to hear a bit clearer.

The murmurs from inside were barely hearable, but every now and then a clear word could be made out amongst the otherwise muffled talk.