Claude swept across the room and grabbed her wrist.

"What did I tell you? DON'T PLAY THE PIANO!!!!"

Claire was about to say something witty, but the look of terror in his eyes stopped her. Then she heard it, the carriage wheels approaching.

"Are you finished in here?" he asked her sternly, still holding on to her wrist.

She nodded and stared at the ground.

"Took you long enough" he spat, "you were supposed to meet me in the library, but you took so long in here that I cleaned it myself, it's already dark outside."

He walked to the window and yanked back one of the curtains. The last rays of the sun were just fading behind the slope.

"Come on" he said, once again grabbing her wrist.

Claire grabbed her bucket and followed him out of the room, inwardly cursing herself for getting caught. As they made their way across the landing one of the huge oak doors opened. Claire looked over the railing, eager to see the Master of this strange household. A man walked through the doors, but much to Claire's disappointment it was too dark to see his face. Just then Claude grabbed her arm and told her to wait for him at the end of the hall. Not wanting to be fired on her first day she reluctantly obeyed. She had just passed the landing when a voice called out,

"Claude!"

Claire paused. It was not really the voice that sounded familiar, but the way it echoed in the large hall. Making her way towards the end of the hall Claire racked her brain to try and figure out who it was. She prayed to God that it was not anyone she knew, she could not afford to be sent home, she rather die then go back there.

That night, sitting comfortably in the servants quarters Claire was able to meet the rest of the staff. There was Paul, the doorman and coachman, Jean the chef, and finally Liz, the pretty young maid.

"So what is my job exactly?" she asked Rachel over a game of cards.

"To do anything we need. You'll probably do a lot of cleaning. This house is so large that as soon as you're done cleaning the first part it's dirty again."

Claire smiled, one of her maids had always used to complain about that too.

"Well it's best we get some rest, it'll be a long day tomorrow" Rachel said.

Claire cleaned up the cards and went to her room. As she lay in bed listening to the crickets, Claire felt a sense of relaxation wash over her. For the first time in three months the morning promised a roof over her head and food in her stomach.

It was almost a week before Claire was in the piano room again. The last few days had been spent cleaning the stables, going into town to buy clothes and supplies, and cleaning the rest of the house. To her delight the rest of the house was as beautifully decorated as the piano room, and had an almost medieval castle quality to it. Everyday there was a new room to discover with small winding staircases and candle lit passage ways. She learned from Liz that the Master only liked candle light and hated gas lamps. But so far, that was all she had learned about this mysterious man, and could not get another piece of information out of any of the other servants.

Kneeling on the floor of the piano room Claire reached for the small candelabra on the wooden table and soaked it in the hot water. As she scrubbed the wax off she began to sing very quietly, not being very good at it and not wanting anyone to hear her.

"Passed the point of no return, no going back now…" and then she began to hum the tune because she could not remember the rest of the words. She slowly became aware that she was not the only one humming. She stopped and listened. Silence.

She hummed again. Nothing.

Claire stood up and spun around. A little scream escaped her lips, which was then shortly followed by a laugh. Rolling her eyes she smiled at her own childishness. She had been startled by her own reflection in the full length mirror that lay against the back wall. Grinning at herself she turned around again and continued cleaning.

Once she had finished polishing she tentatively headed towards the piano. It just looked so inviting, the smooth black top, the polished ivory keys. Claire glanced quickly around. She went to the door, opened it and stuck her head out. The hallway was empty. Closing the door she returned to the piano and ran her fingers lightly over the keys.

"Passed the point of no return" she sang quietly.

She hit a note. It was the wrong one.

"Passed" she sang again.

She hit another note.

"Got it" she thought excitedly to herself.

She had just figured out the tune to the first line when she sensed someone else in the room. She froze as a sense of foreboding filled her, her right had still poised above the keys.

"How do you know that song?" said a man's voice. The voice was smooth and quiet, yet carried the slightest hint of danger.

Claire turned slowly around. She began to tremble.

There, standing in front of her was a man dressed all in black, except for a white mask that covered half his face.