"Matilda!"
Matilda scrunches her face, trying to remain asleep, but a smile graces her face either way. She rolls over in bed, sleepily groaning, "Marcus," as she reaches out for him.
"Good Lord, no, Matilda."
Matilda opens her eyes, finding the Captain stood at the side of her bed. She jumps up in surprise, "Sorry." She apologises without reason. "No, wait, what are you doing in my room?" She asks.
"It's morning," the Captain explains.
"It's not like I have any plans." She sits crossed legged atop the bed.
The Captain raises an eyebrow, "We'd like to formally introduce ourselves, and you, in turn, can tell us a bit about yourself."
Matilda didn't much like being woken up or told what to do. Still, in this case, it was worthwhile as she was curious about the different characters of Button House.
"Let's go, then." She climbs off the bed, following behind the Captain. "Don't expect me to wake up this early every day." She warns, trying to have some good-natured banter.
"Now listen here, Matilda," the Captain pauses on the landing between the second and first floors, holding his swagger stick out as a barrier. "We adhere to a strict schedule at Button House, and I will not tolerate laziness, not in my ranks." He tells her sternly.
"Ranks?" She questions. "Look, Captain, I'm not saying that I won't participate in all the clubs and activities you have planned. It honestly sounds like a fun way to spend my time here. However, my morning routine involves me not being woken up at... why does the clock say quarter past three?" She interrupts her own rambling when she notices the grandfather clock.
"Ah, yes, Fanny is forced to relive her death every morning at three o'clock," the Captain explains.
"It's three in the morning!" She exclaims.
"Of course not, we moved the hour hand backwards, so she's pushed out the window at eight o'clock." He clarifies.
"Did you say pushed?"
"Yes, by her husband."
"It's always the husband," she shakes her head disappointedly. "Anyway, as I was saying, please don't wake me up again, except for an emergency. Your morning routine does not involve me, this is my first day." She finishes her coherent ramblings.
"Deal, for now." The Captain holds his hand out.
Matilda smiles, shaking his hand.
"Firm grip." He nods appreciatively.
She snorts as they continue towards the common area. When they arrive, a young woman in a burgundy dress is standing beside the colonial columns.
"Hello!" Kitty sings. "My name is Katherine, but all my friends call me Kitty. You can call me Kitty too. I'm sure we'll become quick friends. Do you have a nickname, Matilda?"
"I- I-" Matilda stutters, mouth agape, eyes flickering between the many faces gathered around the couch, as they walk into the centre of the room.
"What did I tell you about mumbling?" The older lady snaps disapprovingly.
"Give the girl some space," the Regency man stands, strutting over to her, taking her hand. "I am Thomas Thorne," he introduces himself, ducking his head to kiss her knuckle.
"Hi?" She smiles, glancing at Pat nervously.
"Hello," Thomas grins. "And might I say, you look just like Rachel Green."
"You've seen Friends?" She asks, very amused at the thought of a group of ghosts sat around watching TV.
"Alright, mate, leave her alone, she's not a new toy," Pat stands. "Sit down everyone." He ushers the Captain and Thomas to sit on the surrounding chairs.
Kitty takes Matilda's hand, "There's nothing to worry about, Matilda, we're like one big family." Kitty pulls her in front of the group. "Fanny is like our grandmother," she gestures to the older woman sat on the couch.
Fanny scoffs in dismay, pouting and looking away.
"The Captain is our father, and Pat and Julian are our uncles." Kitty continues, pointing each person out to Matilda.
"Absolutely not," Captain shakes his head.
"I was the favourite uncle amongst my nephews," Julian comments. "Bought them both their first dirty magazine," he grins.
"Well, what does that make me?" Thomas asks, perching on the arm of the couch, beside Julian.
"Thomas, Mary and I are the children," Kitty swings her dress around, rather childishly. "Oh, Matilda, you can be our sister too."
"What bout me?" Robin asks.
"You're the pet dog, mate," Julian tells him. "That's why the bitches listen to you." He laughs.
"Bitches?" Matilda frowns.
"Our neighbour in the nearby village calls his dogs bitches," Pat clarifies. "Not sure they have actual names."
"Who am I then, in this family?" Humphrey's head asks.
Matilda flinches, nervously scanning the room for the decapitated head.
"Humphrey, you can be our grandfather?" Kitty giggles, covering her mouth.
"I'm not that old," he opposes. "I barely made it to my forties."
"It's difficult to tell when you're usually just a head, Humphrey," Pat tells him, looking beneath the coffee table beside Matilda.
She crouches slightly to glance below and catches a glimpse of the head, thankfully he's facing the other way. She stands tall, cautiously sidestepping away from the coffee table, standing next to the fireplace.
"Right, now that we're all gathered," Pat begins. "I thought it would be nice for our newest member to introduce herself, Matilda?" He holds his hands out to present her to the group.
Kitty, Mary, Robin and Thomas clap as she steps in the centre of the rug.
"I'm clapping too, somewhere," Humphrey announces.
"Good luck," Pat gives her a double thumbs-up, picking Humphrey up from beneath the coffee table, and squeezing in between Julian and Fanny on the couch, Humphrey sat on his lap, staring at her.
Matilda stares wide-eyed at the head. She wasn't sure she would be able to get used to seeing a disembodied head around the house. Hopefully, she wouldn't be here for long. She lets her eyes wander from face to face and wonders why her unconscious mind would force her to speak in front of a group of strangers.
"Hello," she waves awkwardly. "I'm Matilda, Matilda Martin. I'm from Kent originally but moved to Surrey for university and never left. I'm a History teacher now, at the local secondary school."
Her audience 'oohs' at the mention of history.
"No doubt you teach the children about the war," the Captain announces, confidently with a smile.
"Erm, yes, both world wars," she answers.
"Does you teach about the Stuarts?" Mary asks.
"Well, we teach the Tudor period from Henry VIII to Elizabeth," she tries to ignore the head's cheer, but unsuccessfully flinches. "Then we look at James the first of England, and touch upon the witch trials."
"Oh, no," Pat turns to Mary, sat wincing on a nearby chair.
"We don't mention the trials," Julian tells her, an air of amusement around him.
Matilda takes in Mary's dress, sooty face and the plume of smoke emanating from her, "Oh, Mary, I am sorry."
"It's alright," she says, still tensing.
"Henry VIII once dined here," Humphrey announces.
"Really!" Matilda asks in fascination, turning and shuddering when she makes eye contact with the head. "That's interesting!" She grimaces, looking above him.
"Do you teach the Regency period?" Thomas asks her.
"That period is usually discussed in literature classes, because of the number of classics from then," Matilda explains.
"It certainly was a fruitful time for great works. I myself was a poet of the time," Thomas stares off.
"Like Byron?" She asks.
Thomas gasps, hurt, "Everyone knows of he, the one who stole my verses, and yet I am left unknown by the modern world."
"He plagiarised your work?" Matilda frowns.
"Yes, and had I not died so young, I would have taken him to the highest courts and made a name for myself." He assures them all.
"Byron died in Greece; I believe," Matilda comments the only fact she knows about this man's foe.
"Greece!" Thomas exclaims joyfully. "Why would one choose to die in Greece?" He chuckles.
"I doubt it was his choice," she shrugs. "There's nothing else for me to really tell you about myself." She adds, hoping she can sit down now.
"Do tell us about your boyfriend, Matilda," Kitty asks excitedly.
"I'm sure Matilda doesn't want-" Captain begins before being interrupted.
"Oh, yes, that would be nice," Mary agrees, and the majority of the room hums in agreement.
"Is he a noble gentleman?" Fanny asks.
"He's a history professor at the University of Surrey." She answers, and Fanny nods, impressed.
"Saucy," Julian comments. "The teacher-student kink was a favourite of Margot's." He adds.
"He wasn't my teacher at the time," she defends herself, with the tone of someone who has had to defend herself on this issue before. "His name is Marcus. We've been together six years, and he was a PhD student and a TA when we met," Matilda explains.
"And ye not yet be married?" Mary questions.
"No, we aren't," she grins. "I do think he was going to propose yesterday, though."
"How unfortunate!" Thomas cries.
"He told me he was taking us out to dinner, in the nearby village. He's been acting strange too, for the last couple of weeks. So yesterday afternoon, I spent hours getting ready. I styled my hair into these waves, put on some makeup and red lipstick, he likes it when I wear red lipstick, and I chose this outfit." She glances down at her black flared trousers, red turtleneck, and black blouse, realising she would be stuck in the same clothes for the time being. She doesn't mind, though; she had chosen well.
"I do like your trousers, Tilda," Kitty tells her, emphasising the nickname.
Matilda furrows her brow, "What?"
"Oh, I am sorry, Matilda," Kitty begins to cry. "I did hope we would become good friends."
"It's just, my dad used to call me Tilda," she explains. "If you want, you can call me Tilly," she suggests.
Kitty's tears disappear instantly, "Yes, that would be nice, Tilly," she giggles. "You can continue with your story, Tilly."
"Thank you, Kitty. Well, we were on our way into the village when I saw something run out of the woods. I called for Marcus to watch out and the next thing I know, I'm waking up with my head bleeding, and Marcus is unconscious beside me." She tears up. "I wish I knew if he was okay." She sobs.
Pat passes Humphrey's head to Julian, who, in turn, passes the head to Thomas, as Pat rushes to comfort their newest housemate. "There, there, maybe Alison can help?" He suggests, questioning the rest of the group.
Together, they burst through the walls into the kitchen where Alison and Mike had been enjoying a quiet conversation by themselves.
"That didn't last long," Alison comments with a sigh. "Matilda, how are you dealing, with all this?" She asks, nodding to the rest of the ghosts.
"It's a lot," she admits.
"Yeah, it took me a few days to come around, seeing them," Alison smiles.
"She thought we were figments of her imagination," Pat explains.
"What's to say your not? I studied history at university for four years, I could have easily have imagined all this," Matilda states.
"We're a lot more three dimensional than any characters you could imagine," Julian tells her.
"Alison, Matilda is still worried about her boyfriend, Marcus," Pat states, ignoring Julian. "Is there any way for you to find out about him?" He asks.
"I suppose I could google your accident. I'm sure the local paper would have picked it up as a story." Alison takes her phone out.
She searches for 'car accident', 'Surrey' and 'Matilda', and finds a news article. Her eyes scan for any mention of Marcus. Matilda, Pat and the Captain crowd behind her to read over her shoulder.
"It just says the driver and passenger were taken to the nearby hospital," Alison reads out.
"You could call the hospital," Matilda suggests.
"I'm not sure they would tell me anything," Alison says, apologetically.
"Please, can you try? If I'm stuck here for a while, I need to know Marcus made it out alive." She begs.
"Okay, okay, I'll call them," she groans, pulling up the number for the nearby hospital on her phone. "What his name?"
"Marcus Lloyd," Matilda smiles.
Alison dials the number. "Hi, I'm wondering if you could tell me about a patient you have, he was taken in yesterday afternoon after a car accident. His name is Marcus Lloyd. His girlfriend managed to come to our house for help, and we called the ambulances. I just want to check he's okay." She explains to the man who answers at the hospital.
"All I can tell you is Mr Lloyd's condition is currently stable." He answers.
"Thank you, that's a relief," Alison smiles, giving a thumbs up to Matilda. "Yeah, thanks, bye."
"What did they say?" Matilda asks, a hopeful smile on her lips.
"All they said was he's in a stable condition," she repeats.
"Oh, thank you," she sighs, turning and hugging Kitty.
Kitty gasps excitedly, "Thank you, Tilly."
Matilda takes a deep breath as she pulls away, "This is all quite a lot." She states.
"Shall we go for a walk down by the lake?" Kitty suggests.
"There's a lake here?" Matilda asks.
"Of course, Thomas enjoys drowning himself there when he's upset," Kitty explains.
"I wouldn't say I enjoy it," Thomas mutters.
Matilda grins, her chest bursting with happiness. Just knowing her boyfriend is alive has brightened her mood. Surely, this proves her coma theory as well. She and Kitty walk, arms linked through the front door and out across the driveway towards the gardens. Kitty is chatting to her quite animatedly about a ball she had attended back in the day. Matilda, once again, is lost in her own thoughts. She remembers hearing about people who have awoken from comas claiming to have heard people talking to them. A nurse, or perhaps a family member or friend, must have told her about Marcus to urge her to keep fighting. There was no other way for her to know. It all makes sense. She loves history, and so her brain has come up with this elaborate nightmare to keep her occupied while the nurses and doctors healed her. It would also explain why the hospital hadn't mentioned her own condition to Alison. Matilda starts laughing. She would continue to fight to stay alive and in a positive mindset for as long as it would take for her to wake up.
"Are you alright, Tilly?" Kitty asks, inspecting her curiously.
"I'm wonderful," she drops Kitty's arms, spinning around with her arms wide. "Well, besides the obvious," she points to her head.
"Oh, yes, you seem very happy." Kitty smiles, swinging the skirt of her dress around.
"I have every reason to be happy, Kitty. My boyfriend is alive and stable, he's going to get better." She sighs contently, falling onto the damp grass, not that she can feel it.
Kitty giggles, lowering herself to sit beside her. "That is wonderful. It's a shame you're dead, though." She mentions.
"Kitty!" Matilda complains, propping herself up on her arm. "I'm trying to stay positive." She smiles. "You're a very positive person."
"Thank you, Tilly," she rests her hand upon Matilda's. "Do tell me more about Marcus. Is he handsome?" she asks, leaning closer.
Matilda chuckles. Kitty reminds her of being a teenager at school, chatting with her friends about cute boys at school, or in their teen magazines.
"How old are you, Kitty?" She asks.
"A lady never tells her age," Kitty smiles swaying as she sits.
"Well, I'm twenty-six," Matilda tells her.
"Oh, we're almost the same age." Kitty beams. "I'm twenty-eight years old, or at least I was when I died." She whispers. "It's a secret, though."
"I won't tell anyone, Kitty," Matilda whispers in return, amused by this character. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kitty," she adds, lying back down on the grass. "I remember you from the kitchen with everyone yesterday. I really love your dress."
"It's burgundy!" She exclaims. "Alison and Mike hold weddings at Button House, and during the first wedding, I was a bridesmaid."
Matilda doesn't want to think about the logistics of a ghost being a bridesmaid, so she doesn't. She closes her eyes, basking in the morning sun.
"Tilly?" Kitty shyly asks. Matilda hums for her to continues, cracking an eye open. "Now that we're friends, would it be too much if I were to ask you for a hug?" She fiddles with the hem of her dress.
Matilda sits up, "Are you alright, Kitty?"
"Sometimes, a hug is just what I need to feel better, but no one here will hug me. Alison did offer once, but it wouldn't work." She sniffs.
"Well, Kitty, it just so happens I love hugs," Matilda leans over, wrapping her arms around the other woman.
"Oh, good, this is nice. I can't remember the last time I had a hug." She says cheerfully chirps.
Matilda chuckles, breaking apart, "I like you, Kitty. You remind me of my best friend, Natalie. I don't suppose I'm going to see her for a while." She sighs.
"I wouldn't worry, everyone dies eventually." Kitty tries to comfort her. "I can be your friend now, Tilly. Although not your best friend, Alison is my best friend." She explains.
"Thanks, you can have more than one best friend, though," Matilda suggests.
"I don't think so, Tilly, a best friend means they're the best. There can only be one best friend." She smiles as she clarifies.
"Good point, Kitty." She stands up, holding her hand out for Kitty to join her. "Shall we continue to this lake then?"
This time, Matilda listens to Kitty's stories, finding them all thoroughly entertaining, if not a little worrying as she learns more about Kitty's sister. In turn, Matilda tells her new friend stories of her childhood, growing up with an elder brother that she used to argue with all the time. Kitty was pleased to hear they had grown up in similar situations, albeit four-hundred years apart, apparently.
When they reach the lake, the two women walk along the old fishing pier, perching on the end. The water doesn't so much as ripple when their feet dangle down.
"Did you have a boyfriend, Kitty?" Matilda asks, turning to her friend.
Kitty gasps, covering her mouth as she falls into a fit of giggles, "Of course not, Tilly. My father had a lot of lands, but not enough money to put forward the dowry for both my sister and me." She explains.
"Did you ever fancy anyone, though?" She asks. "You talked about your parents holding balls at Button House. There must have been some eligible young men that caught your eye." She teases.
"Tilly, you are awful." Kitty covers her face as she blushes and giggles. "Was Marcus your first boyfriend?" She asks, obviously attempting to change the topic of conversation.
"No, Marcus was my second boyfriend," Matilda answers. "I met my first boyfriend at university too, though. We were nineteen and dated for seven months. He broke up with me after Christmas." She explains.
"Why would he do that? You're a wonderful person." Kitty tells her.
"That's kind of you, but it turned out, after he met my brother at Christmas, he had more of a thing for him. They're still together now, actually." Matilda mentions.
"How awful!"
"I felt a little betrayed at first, but I moved on, and they're happy." She shrugs. "And I'm happy with Marcus." She adds.
"Will he have no mercy!" Thomas exclaims, appearing from behind the trees, stopping when he spots them.
"Are you quite alright, Thomas?" Kitty asks.
"The Captain mocks me to my face and in front of my peers, leaving me thoroughly embarrassed, and you ask me if I'm quite alright." He cries.
"Do join us, Thomas?" Kitty offers, shuffling along to make room.
"No, I simply wished to drown myself in peace, now I shall have to wait." Thomas turns on his heel, wandering off the way he appeared.
"Thomas is quite dramatic, isn't he." Matilda comments.
"Oh yes, he is," Kitty replies, missing her tone. "He is a poet, after all."
The two women stay sat on the pier a little while longer until Kitty announces Alison would be making lunch soon and she liked to watch her best friend cook. They return to Button House, going their separate ways once inside, after a friendly hug.