The next morning at half past six, Erik Barrington woke both of the girls and told them to meet him in the sitting room.
"Dad, why did you wake us up so early?" Jae asked sleepily.
"Because I need to tell you something." Erik replied. "Your mother and I are leaving in fifteen minutes for the airport, but you two are going to stay here and spend the rest of the vacation here with Jason."
"Yes!" Jula shouted excitedly. "Does that mean we get to go on the tour?"
"Yes, you do, if he is willing to take you."
"Oh, he is!"
"Can we do an overnight tour?" Jula asked hopefully.
"Well, I don't really see a problem with adding an overnight portion to the day tour, but you must have your phones with you, and you have to talk to your uncle about it."
Jae smiled.
"Thanks, Dad. So much..."
"Yeah, thanks so much!" Jula added.
"You're welcome, you two. Just be sure to tell your mother thank you as well. After all, it did take some convincing from both Jason and I on the matter."
"We will."
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Twenty minutes later, after saying good bye to their parents and giving their mother a huge thanks for allowing them to continue on with an overnight tour, Jae and Jula sat down on a couch in the living room letting the silence and the impacts of the past events sink into them.
"You know, this could be the last time I ever see Mom and Dad again.." Jae said quietly.
"You're not coming back?" Jula asked.
"I don't think I can. Not with how everything seems. It would just ruin time all over again.. I'm going miss it here.. the way things are..."
Jula nodded solemnly.
"I don't think I've ever hugged someone so long in my life.. I just hope Mom, Dad and Jason don't all simultaneously have coronaries when they find out I'm gone.."
Jula chuckled.
"We'll just have to see... but still, maybe you could visit occasionally..."
"Doubt it..."
Jula sighed.
"Let's just... not think about that little element to this whole ordeal, alright? I mean, at least not right now. My mind is already runnin' on overload."
Jae smiled, chuckling softly.
"Well, now that you two are up, you can come with the dogs and I to let the horses out into the pasture for the day."
Jae looked up and groaned, and Jula rolled her eyes as Jason stared at them grinning impishly.
"Are you kidding?"
"No, I am not. I fed them this morning, but I didn't let them out yet."
"Can we at least get dressed?" Jae asked.
Jason nodded.
"Yeah, but then meet me in the stables."
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Ten minutes later, Jae and Jula met their uncle down in the stables as Aries and Blaze came bounding up to greet them.
"Hey boys." Jae said, stooping slightly to pat them on their heads.
Aries licked her hand while Blaze sniffed her and then took a step back, barking loudly.
Jae rolled her eyes.
"Blaze, you're weird."
Blaze barked a couple more times and then moved forward, leaning into Jae in a demand to be petted.
"Alright you two, grab a horse." Jason said, taking Divino on a lead rope towards the entrance of the stables. "The lead ropes are hanging on the sides of the stalls."
Jae and Jula nodded and walked over to Ignatius' and Sangre's stalls.
"Good morning, Sangre." Jae greeted the chestunut gelding as she stepped into his stall with Aries bounding in after her, wagging his stub-tail.
Sangre snorted and looked at her with large brown eyes as she grabbed the lead rope and clipped it on to his halter.
"Let's go, buddy."
Leading Sangre out of the stables, Jae paused a moment to let Jula lead Ignatius out in front of her, patting him on the shoulder as he walked by and glanced over at her and Sangre with bright blue eyes. Then, she led Sangre out with Aries bounding happily beside them, barking and running in circles around them as Sangre neighed in annoyance at his antics.
Once the horses were all out and grazing, Jae, Jula, and Jason, along with the dogs, headed back up to the house, ate breakfast, and then sat down to discuss the future events.
"So, you're parents are allowing you to stay here and go on the tour.."
"Yeah, they are." Jula replied. "Thanks, Uncle Jason, for everything."
"It was nothing. Besides, the estate is quite interesting. Creepy though. I could have sworn that I heard footsteps pacing up and down the hallways; I remember getting up to see who it was, but I didn't really get a good view, although I think I may have seen a cloaked figure hiding in a corner. I'm not sure, but I wouldn't doubt that the ghost stories that Brant Tavington was telling were true. The place can get pretty spooky at night."
Jae shook her head smiling to herself.
"We can handle it." Jula said.
"I know you can. So, what time does the tour start?"
"I think it starts at around 11:30."
"Alright, well, I have to do some chores around the house and then I can take you two there for the tour."
"You're not staying?"
"I'm sorry, but I have a lot I have to get to work, but if you really need something, you have your cell phones, and your pepper spray. Besides, I trust you both will be with a group of people, and also, you've done overnight tours back home together without your parents before. But, if you want, I can at least stay for the day."
"Sure. Yeah, I guess we have been on tours alone before. We went to Middleton Place..." Jula said slowly.
It wasn't suppposed to be overnight though, and we ended up screwin' up history...
"Alright, well, you two get your things packed for the tour and then you can just hang out while I work for a while."
"Alright." Jula replied.
"Sound cool.."
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At approximately 11:00, Jason, Jae and Jula left the house, Jae staring out the window of her uncle's SUV watching the house and the horses in the pastures until they were completely blended into the horizon. Twenty minutes of driving later, they arrived at the Tavington family estate where Brant and Aidan were waiting for them, Aidan looking particularly eager as they pulled into the parking lot.
"Welcome to the Tavington family estate." said Brant with a smile as they got out of Jason's SUV and unloaded their luggage.
"Thank you." Jae replied.
"You're welcome." said Aidan, walking up and taking Jae's bag before bending down and whispering in her ear, "Thank god you're here. You do realize that the overnight portion of the tour is only going to be us four, right?"
"I figured, but my uncle doesn't know that, and neither do my parents, so don't say anything about it. Oh, and Jason isn't staying overnight, but he is staying for the day tour."
Aidan nodded.
"You look familiar." said Brant, glancing over at Jason as he helped Jula with her bag.
"I took a tour here a while back; actually, it was a day tour with an overnight portion added."
"That's right!" Brant grinned. "You were the only other guy on the tour that heard the noises in the night."
Jason laughed.
"I guess so.."
"Well, should we get your bags stored away?" Aidan asked.
"That would be great."
"Alright, let me get the wagon and we'll take you to the house.."
With that, Aidan ran off, only to appear several minutes later driving a beautifully designed wagon being led by a gypsy shire.
"Nice..." said Jae, nodding her head in approval while Jason and Jula nodded in agreement.
Aidan smiled.
"Thank you. This is Sebastian. I would have gotten one of the English shires out, but they're out in the pasture and Sebastian was ready to go.."
"Hey, that's all good, this boy looks beautiful." said Jason. "Healthy, strong, very nice feathering on the legs and a long mane and tail..."
"Yes, only the best of the gypsies.." said Brant, absently stroking Sebastian's nose. "Well, should we load your things?"
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Just hop in, and I'll get the bags."
"Cool..."
Minutes later, Brant, Aidan, Jason, Jula and Jae arrived at the entrance to the actual estate.
"Wow..." Jae muttered, looking over at the large and beautifully built Georgian style home, which sat on a very well manicured lawn with a gravel pathway leading to the front door. "So this is really his house..."
"Yes, it is.." Aidan whispered to her.
Stopping Sebastian at the path, they got out and Aidan and Brant grabbed Jae and Jula's bags and carried them into the house.
"Oh my..." Jula said softly as they stepped into a wide open entryway, with freshly swept wood floors, portraits hanging on the hall walls and the Tavington family crest hanging over them by a beautifully crafted set of stairs.
That's some crest... she thought to herself as she stared at the family emblem, which had two sabers crossing one another with a crimson 'T' in the background mounted on a dark green backing.
"Here, let's go into one the sitting rooms and set your things down." said Brant.
"It sure is dark in here." Jae commented, looking around the room.
"That's becuase light damages the portraits." Brant replied.
"So, shall we get to the tour now? We don't start at the house, actually, we start in the stables and work around the property." said Aidan.
"Cool."
Setting their bags down, Aidan and Brant led Jae, Jason, and Jula out of the sitting room and back towards the front door, when Jae paused for a moment, taking in her surroundings.
Something's not quite right... she thought, looking around the room, noticing dust in the air; there was no light save for a dying single sliver which cut across the floor, giving it an odd and strangely unwelcome feel.
Indeed, the house did seem very cold and foreboding, and in a way, almost alive because of it. As if the house itself were trying to ward off visitors.
Suddenly, Jae felt a hand on her shoulder and yelped, turning around to see Aidan staring down on her with a slightly concerned expression.
"Jae, are you alright?"
"Yeah, fine. It's just creepy in here."
Aidan chuckled softly.
"It is, isn't it?"
"Yeah.. I want to leave..." Jae said.
Aidan smiled.
"Well let's go then..."
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By late evening, Jae, Jason, and Jula had toured the grounds twice before Jason had to leave, and Jae and Jula headed back to the Tavington estate with Aidan and Brant.
"Man, that was some tour..." Jae commented. "He really did invest a lot into this place."
"He sure did." Brant replied with a grin. "That's why we've tried our best to preserve everything. Oh, and before we go in, here are a couple of flashlights for when we go in, so you can find your way around the place. However, just be sure to keep the light dim, and try not to shine them on the portraits too much."
"Alright, thanks."
"No problem."
Stepping into the nearly pitch black house, Jae, Jula and Aidan made their way to the sitting room where their bags were to unpack and roll out their sleeping bags while Brant walked around the house to make sure everything was in order.
"You're not afraid of ghosts, are you?" Aidan asked the girls.
"No." they replied.
"Are there any here?" Jula asked.
"Well, I don't think so, but my brother swears that this place is haunted by the colonel."
"That's odd.. sort of..."
"Aidan!" Brant called from down the hall in the kitchen, a note of fear in his voice. "Come here!"
Aidan rolled his eyes.
"Please excuse me.."
Grabbing a flashlight and turning the light on dim, Aidan strode down the hall to meet his brother."
"What is it?"
"Look at this..."
Brant handed him a brochure for the estate that had a note written on it in black ink.
To Aidan and Brant Tavington,
I am writing this as merely a quick note in passing, just a little reminder of how I like my house kept. In observance, I have noticed that the dusting is done here only every three days. From now on, you shall see to it that it is done every other day. The floors should be swept every day, and please, don't leave the silverware out on the counter. It would not bode well with my wife if she knew about it. Oh, and do get better brochures, as these are rather dull for my taste, but everything else seems to be going well. The lawns look nice, well kept indeed. Now if you'll follow these minor requests, it would be most appreciated.
Sincerely,
Col. William Garrick Camden Tavington
"This can't be... someone must have written it as a hoax.." Aidan scoffed.
"No, Aidan." Brant said in a determined voice. "Look at the penmanship; no one could forge that; and if you need more evidence, you can look at his memoirs, which are upstairs in his room in a desk drawer for hand comparison.."
Aidan looked closer at the note and paled, folding it up and stuffing it away in his coat pocket.
"No one will see this.."
"But we are going to follow his wishes.."
"Of course we are! After all, he is, technically speaking, the master of this house.."
Brant nodded.
"Best get started tomorrow then.."
Aidan nodded grimly in response and they headed back to the sitting room grabbed their pajamas (in their case, boxers) and headed out of the room to change, returning ten minutes later, and finally went to sleep..
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It was one in the morning as a clock dyingly chimed the hour. Booted footsteps sounded in the hall as someone paced impatiently, cursing occasionally as their spurs rung eerily in the tomblike silence as they finally decided to wander towards the sitting room where Jae, Aidan, Brant and Jula all lay asleep when suddenly, Jae awoke, feeling agitated.
I know someone's in here, and it's someone other than the people in this room..
Sitting up and looking around here, Jae's breathing went shallow as she heard footsteps come close to the sitting room and then turn up towards the stairs. Waiting until they were far enough away, she decided to follow, heading up the stairs, creeping slowly lest she should come across a creaky floorboard or something worse.
Making her way up the stairs, Jae thought she saw the heel of a boot as someone stepped into a room. With baited breath she continued to follow only realizing she forgot her flashlight when she was in the room.
Oh damn.. I am so stupid! What the hell Jae? You don't go creeping around after things in an old house without a flashlight! Duh!
Jae stood for a moment, her senses heightening to their max as she took in the room. Tiny rays of moonlight escaped into the house through the miniscule cracks in the window coverings shedding light on a large mounted saber. Jae walked over to it and then turned around gasping softly as her eyes fully adjusted. The room she was in was where the colonel had kept all of his weapons and other wartime things, which were all neatly mounted or shelved. Walking over to the mounted saber, Jae slowly ran her finger along it, coming down to the blade, and accidently cut herself.
Damn.. still sharp...
Still mesmerized by the room, Jae didn't notice she was being watched as a hand suddenly clamped firmly on her shoulder and spun her around.
"I thought I told you not to touch that.."