Hey folks! Thank you for the reviews :) I'm glad you liked the first chapter, here's the second!
He hadn't been kidding when he said that the turn-off would be hard to spot, Elena grumbled to herself. She'd had to drive up and down the same stretch of road several times, the needle on the fuel gauge leaning worryingly close to 'E'.
Gravel crunched under the wheels of the mini as Elena drove slowly up the narrow path, avoiding the many potholes that seemed to suggest the path was seldom taken. Either that or the owner of the boarding house didn't give a damn about good impressions.
Soon she came to a stop outside the building that a faded wooden sign proclaimed the 'Salvatore Boarding House'. House? she mouthed to herself. It was a mansion, for crying out loud!
Feeling more than a little bit intimidated by the sprawling building with period features and ivy climbing the walls, Elena craned her neck to see just how far it went on for. Far enough, in her opinion. When she reached the door with her bag hiked over her shoulder she was too tired to hesitate and consider whether or not it was open for business. All the signs so far seemed to indicate it wasn't, from the weeds growing in the driveway to the vast bank of darkened windows. Mind you, all the windows in the centre surrounding the main entrance were lit.
Elena yanked on the rope attached to a bell that made a substitute for a door knocker. From inside she could hear an obnoxious clanging that heralded her arrival.
Promptly the thick wooden door swung open to allow her into a wide foyer that took her breath away. The air smelled slightly musty as though dust had been stirred only recently after spending months, years, possibly even decades gathering.
"Welcome to the boarding house," a man said as the door slammed shut behind them. Elena hadn't even noticed him, hidden behind the door as he was.
"Um, hi. Could I have a room for tonight please?" Elena asked, trying to hide her shock.
"Of course. What's the name?" he questioned briskly, leading her through to what she imagined would have been a parlour in years gone by, where a desk was set up, with what looked like a brand new guestbook on it.
"Gilbert." She watched with her eyes narrowed as he flipped to the very first line on the very first page. Surely she wasn't the only guest here?
He paused; "The master is out at the moment, recruiting staff so I don't know what room to put you in."
Elena bit back an urge to question where on earth this 'master' expected to find staff to man a boarding house at this time of night. And for god's sake, shouldn't the man in front of her be able to give her room without having to clear it with his boss first? She had been driving all day, was missing out on the first day of her summer holiday with her friends, hadn't eaten since this morning and was in no mood to stand around waiting on someone that couldn't just do his job and give her a damn room already!
Even as she was thinking this a frown lined his face as he began muttering. "Welcome the guests, register the guests, assign the guests. Welcome, register, assign. Welcome register assign. I don't know where to put them!" He raised his hands to face in clear anguish, ripping at his face and into his neat beard.
Elena took a step back in alarm as he turned to her with wide eyes. His boss must be a real piece of work if he was this scared of crossing him. "Um, I really don't mind what room I get. I just need something basic," she added, hoping to ease his mind and make the apparently difficult decision of where to put her easier.
"Basic," he said flatly, his arms falling to his sides.
"Yes," Elena said firmly, wondering in the back of her mind how much exactly this pit stop was going to cost her. "What did you say your name was?"
He had turned to the desk and was rifling through the top drawer, where Elena could see a mound of keys glinting in the light. How he could tell them apart, she couldn't fathom. Finally he emerged with a small silver key and held it up triumphantly. "My name's Zach. Welcome to the boarding house. Let me show you to your room."
Elena nodded warily as he spun on his heel and lead her up a flight of wooden stairs. Zach seemed to have found his stride as he walked down the dark halls, coming to a stop in front of a panelled door that was one among many. She doubted that she would be able to tell it apart from the others if she were to leave her room at any time before she continued her journey.
Zach smiled for the first time since Elena's arrival as he handed her the key, without even testing it in the lock. "Enjoy your stay," he said warmly before disappearing down the dark corridor leaving Elena alone with her holdall digging into her shoulder as she fumbled with key in the lock.
Relieved to hear a click as the door unlocked, she pushed the door open. She really didn't fancy her chances of tracking Zach down again to get another key. Plus she wasn't sure if his mental state was stable enough to deal with another deviation from the script he was obviously working from.
Her jaw dropped as she took in the room. If this was basic, she would love to see what qualified as luxurious in this place. Dark panelling covered the lower half of the walls, the remainder being old fashioned floral wallpaper that fitted in with the rest of the decor perfectly. Next to a large bed that was calling out to Elena in her exhausted state, was a sturdy wooden nightstand with a surprisingly fresh looking pitcher of water on it with a single flower in a tiny vase delicately placed next to it. A bay window looked out over the driveway and Elena could see her car, parked rather haphazardly next to a tree, glinting silver in the light of a full moon that illuminated the room.
In the corner of the room was another door that lead to an ensuite bathroom, which Elena was relieved to see was basic enough not to warrant a massive bill in the morning. An ornate mirror over the sink reflected her tired face back to her causing her to blanch at the stringy hair that framed her sweaty face. Wasting no time Elena rooted through her hold-all to find a pair of pyjamas and her toothbrush, and returned to the bathroom to take a shower and freshen up, if only to go to bed nice and clean after.
It was only as Elena was lying in the king-size bed with her heavy eyelids beginning to droop that she noticed the curtains were closed. Shouldn't the moonlight be pouring in? Groggily she lifted her head and saw that her hold-all was now sitting on the chair in the corner, next to the wardrobe in the shadows, where her shoes were neatly aligned. Or at least, that's what she assumed the dark blobs were. Had she done that? Usually when she was this tired she just kicked her shoes off, the farther the better. And the hold-all was suspiciously flat looking. She hadn't unpacked; there was no point since this was just for one night and she'd packed enough clothes for her two-week trip. Had someone been through her belongings while she was in the shower? The room began to swim in front of her tired eyes, pushing the concern to the back of her mind. Time to sleep.
Hopefully the next chapter will be longer and move the plot on a bit .Thanks again for the reviews and subscribing to story alert. More are always welcome ;)
