“She wanted to come with us,” said Carl. “She was here when we left.”
“What time was that?”
“It was just after two o’clock.”
“But she was supposed to be resting then. Sally had sent her to bed.”
“She said she wanted to come with us and I said, ‘You can’t. We’re going to the haunted house.’ She kept saying she wanted to come. So we went off and left her.”
“You don’t think …” I began.
“The house is nearly a mile from here,” Leigh pointed out.
“She knows the way,” said Carl. “We rode past it only the other day. She said she wanted to see a ghost.”
“She’s been listening to gossip,” I said. “That’s where she’s gone. I’m sure of it. Carl and Benjie were going and she wanted to go with me. Come on. We’re going to Enderby.”
Leigh said we should ride there, for we should get there more quickly that way, so we ran to the stables and in a short time we were on the road to Enderby.
We tethered the horses and dismounted. The drive was so overgrown that we had to pick our way carefully. I must confess to a little shudder as we passed through the gates. There was something eerie about the place which seemed more than the state of the grounds warranted. The house rose before us—red Tudor brick—centre hall with east and west wings; the walls were covered with creeper, which hung over some of the windows.
It was easy to imagine why it had been called haunted.
Eager as I was to search the place I felt a great repugnance about entering it.
“Creepy,” commented Benjie.
“You can get in quite easily,” said Carl. “You just unlatch the door. We didn’t see any ghosts,” he added.
“No,” put in Benjie, “but you felt they were there … watching you.”
“We must go in,” I insisted. “We have to search the place.”
Then I felt my blood run cold, for I saw a light flicker in one of the windows and then disappear.
“Someone’s there!” I gasped.
“I’m going in,” said Leigh.
We unlatched the door and stepped into the hall. The door shut with a bang behind us. Only a little light came through the dirty windows. I looked up at the great, vaulted ceiling; the stone walls were damp; there was a great staircase, which must have been beautiful once, and over which the lady of the household had tried to hang herself.
Yes, it was a haunted house. It repelled me. It was almost as though there was an atmosphere of hostility, something which warned me to keep out.
Then we heard a noise above. The opening and shutting of a door. Someone was there. There must be. We had seen a light.
“Carlotta,” cried Leigh in a loud voice, “are you there? Come here, Carlotta. We have come for you.”
His voiced echoed through the empty house.
“Carlotta! Carlotta!” I cried in anguish.
Could she really have come here alone? I had a terrible premonition that we were going to discover something fearful.
“Listen,” said Leigh.
We distinctly heard the sound of footsteps and they were not those of a child.
“Who’s there?” called Leigh.
There was a movement from above and we saw a face on the balcony … the balcony over which the rope had been thrown.
A man was standing there.
“Have you come to see the house too?” he asked.
He started to descend the stairs. There was nothing ghostly about him. He was by no means young and was quite soberly dressed in a frogged coat and grey velvet breeches; his clothes were quiet, well cut and of good quality.
“We are looking for a lost child,” said Leigh. “We thought she might be here.”
“A lost child,” he repeated. “I have seen no one.”
I felt ill with disappointment and anxiety.
“We have reason to believe she may have come here,” said Leigh.
“Yes,” went on Carl. He turned to Benjie. “You remember I said I heard something. You said I thought it was the ghost.”
Benjie nodded slowly.
“We must look for her,” I insisted. “We mustn’t waste any time. She’ll be frightened.”
“I have been over the house,” said the man. “Some of it is very dark. But I had a lantern which I have left up there.” He pointed upwards. “I haven’t seen a child, but of course there are so many rooms. I doubt I have seen everything.”
“We shall search every corner,” said Leigh.
“I will join with you,” the man replied.
“Let’s all keep together,” suggested Leigh, “and we will search from top to bottom. She may be shut in somewhere. Come on, we’ll waste no more time.”
We searched the hall and the kitchens. We went into the outhouses, and it was in the washhouse that I found a button lying on the floor. It had come from Carlotta’s coat.
I pounced on it. It was the most hopeful sign we had had. I was sure now that Carlotta was in the house and I was not going to leave it without her.
“This is her coat button. She has been in here,” I cried. “She must be in this house now. She must.”
We went up the stairs—those sad, haunted stairs which creaked protestingly under our feet. There was the balcony where the minstrels had once played in the days when it had been a happy home with tragedy undreamed of.
There were heavy curtains at either side of it and an alcove in which musical instruments had been kept. There was a door in it. I opened it and there, lying fast asleep, was Carlotta.
I swooped on her.
She opened her eyes. “Hello, Cilla,” she said.
I just held her in my arms and stepped out onto the balcony.
Everyone cried out joyfully at the sight of us. Carlotta looked at them all in surprise.
“Did you come to see the haunted house?” she asked. She looked at the stranger. “Who’s that?” she said.
I said: “Carlotta, we have been looking for you. You have been naughty again. You were supposed to be in your bed.”
She laughed. She was so enchanting when she smiled and I was overcome with such happiness to have her safe that I could only laugh with her.
“I wanted to see the haunted house,” she explained. “They went.” She pointed to Carl and Benjie. “They wouldn’t take me with them.”
“Well, we’ll get home now quickly,” said Leigh. “Do you realize that they are all worried about you? Sally will have something to say to you, I can tell you.”
Carlotta was momentarily sober.
“A happy conclusion to our search,” said the stranger.
“We are sorry to have intruded on you,” I replied. “And thank you for your help.”
“It was a very interesting encounter. I shall always remember the charming young lady who was asleep in the cupboard. If I take the house I shall call it Carlotta’s cupboard.”
“You must have the house!” cried Carlotta. “I want it to be called Carlotta’s cupboard. You will have it, won’t you?”
“Just to please you, I am sure that the gentleman will,” commented Leigh.
“My name is Frinton,” said the man. “Robert Frinton.”
I felt my senses swimming. Frinton! Jocelyn had been a Frinton. It was not an unusual name, and yet on the other hand it was not a common one.
“I am Leigh Main and this is my wife, her brother and my half brother. There are rather complicated relationships in our family. Come back with us and have a meal. That is, if you have time. We must hurry now because they are all anxious about this errant child.”
“What’s errant?” asked Carlotta.
“What you have been,” I replied fondly.
“Is it something nice?” she asked complacently.
Robert Frinton was saying how happy he would be to accept our invitation. He felt almost inclined to buy the house since it would mean that he would acquire such pleasant neighbours.