Chapter 1
I tapped the taxi driver on the shoulder.
“Are you sure this is the right address?”
“This is Balley House. That’ll be twenty pounds, please.”
“You aren’t going to drive up the driveway? They’re expecting me, so the gate will open any minute now.”
“Lass, you could never pay me enough money to go on that property.”
“Why?”
“Twenty Pounds please.” He held out his hand over his shoulder and looked straight ahead. I raised an eyebrow but let it slide, I was late already.
Taking my wallet out of my purse, I sighed at the little money that was left. After taking the train all the way from London to get here and this taxi ride, I was two hundred and twenty Pounds lighter. Eighty Pounds left.
I paid the driver and got out. He accepted the money and motioned for me to get my bag from the trunk. He made no move to get out of the car and help me. Balancing on my heels on the cobblestones, I walked over to the trunk and heaved my backpack out of the trunk. I looked ridiculous with my long black dress decorated with red flowers and a black and yellow hikers’ backpack.
With all my might I slammed the trunk shut. The second he revved his engine; I regretted the move. I wasn’t out of the way fast enough and received the full brunt of mud kicked up by the wheels.
My new dress and shoes were soaked.
This was not how I wanted to present myself to my long-lost great-aunt. Not really lost, but more hushed up by my grandfather.
I was hoping for a distinguished look and had nearly bankrupted myself buying this dress and these shoes.
And now I looked like a hobo. That is the look I go for, minus the mud. But that was not what I wished to go for today.
Taking a deep breath, I hiked the backpack higher and hobbled over to the giant black gate. I looked around for an intercom. I put my pack against the gate and it opened all on its own.
There was no intercom to be found, so I hoisted my backpack over my shoulders and took a step. I would not make that walk down the drive in these heels. It was all cobblestone and looked very slippery. Struggling to get the shoes off and keep the backpack on, I almost ended up in the little moat surrounding the property.
Shoes in one hand, I looked ahead and marched forward on bare feet.
My feet were hardened from my volunteer work in Africa, but that was not enough to help. My ankles were getting the brunt here as I was constantly balancing myself.
After almost slipping twice I had reverted to watching the cobblestones, rather than gaping at the house up ahead.
When I was contacted by a mystery person saying that my great-aunt requested my presence, I had never imagined a mansion. I mean I am all up North, right along the Loch Ness. A nice little cottage was what I expected. Granddad had not been poor, but this was the filthy rich type of house.
I should’ve guessed because the house had a name instead of an address.
I was so lost in thoughts I walked into a wall. At least it felt like a wall until it grabbed my arms to stop me from falling. It had started raining and when I looked up, I couldn’t see a thing through my thick curtain of hair that had fallen forward.
Another thing to curse about, I never left home without a scrunchie around my wrist, but mom thought it looked ridiculous. With one free hand, I wiped the long strands of brown hair out of my face and looked up into the most handsome face ever.
Do you know those covers of those cheesy romance novels? Well, that kind of handsome.
“Hi.”
The frown covering his forehead was anything but welcoming and his grip was tightening.
“Who are ya?”
He looked like he was trying to hold himself back from shaking me. I didn’t care. That dreamy Scottish accent was all I heard.
“Ellen.”
It came out breathy, and I swallowed what little dignity I had to keep it from pouring down the drain. I was practically drooling and this man couldn’t care less.
“Um, sorry, my name is Ellen Pet. Ms Elena Pet is expecting me.”
Instantly he let go of me. Putting a hand behind his head, he grew red.
“I’m sorry, let me take your bag and let’s get out of the rain.”
No further explanation. He grabbed the backpack, while I was still processing the fact that he didn’t give an explanation for his strange behavior.
When he turned around, I finally noticed we were standing at the bottom of the stairs to the front door which was open.
The entrance must have once been amazing, now it looked run down. Curtains were ripped up or not even there. The staircase seemed to be missing a step if I wasn’t mistaken. The once wonderful chandelier missed a lot of lightbulbs and was covered in cobwebs, giving the lobby a somewhat gloomy look.
A boy in his twenties came down the stairs, dressed somewhat old-fashioned, something I would find in my granddads closet. A white shirt covered by a tweed jacket with those elbow patches. He was wearing loafers under his dress pants. His red curls bobbed with every step he took, somehow missing all the broken steps.
Frowning, he looked me up and down.
“Who are you?”
“I am Elena Pet.”
With a huff, he turned around and went back upstairs.
A thud made me turn towards the bulky, handsome man, who had dropped my bag on the ground.
“Ah, crap, you can see him as well?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll explain everything later. Your room is downstairs. Follow me then you can freshen up and we can talk.”
I was about to demand an answer but saw he had picked up my pack again and moved further into the house. With him being tall, he moved to fast for me to see anything except a few glances of some old standing clock, a well-worn carpet, and some pictures.
I had a chance to count the doors, so I could make my way back to the front door if things kept getting weird. Weirder than they already were.
Passed the staircase there was a large wooden door, with some nice carvings I had to race past to fast to catch more than a glimpse.
On the left was a smaller door underneath the stairs, probably a closet. Next to the big doors on the left was the standing grandfather clock and the pictures. We passed two more doors on the right and then the third door he opened. The hallway was nowhere near finished and I could see several more doors. From here the front door was not visible and with my horrendous orientation skills, I was sure to get lost.
“Here you go. There are two doors in the room. One leads to a walk-in closet and one to the bathroom. You need to let the water run for a minute, as it is red-brown when it exits the faucet.”
Leaving me with that interesting bit of information, I turned in a circle to examine the room.
“Dinner is in an hour!” He yelled through the door.
I could hear his footsteps disappear. Guess I would have to find my own way towards the dining room.
