Chapter 6 – Caer Odor Digyfnewid

…

Bess came back from the bathroom at nearly three and moments later was called downstairs to the telephone.

Susan clattered down after her hoping it was Colin. But it was Gowther, just making sure they had arrived safely. He was at the Alderley Post Office making a timed trunk call and by the time they had got down there again, they could hear him popping a new sixpence into the slot.

"Is that Gowther?" said Bess, somewhat excitedly.

She beckoned to Susan to press her ear to the reverse side of the large black receiver, hoping she would get the gist. But Gowther was speaking loudly, as people tended to do for trunk calls, so Susan could have heard his tinny voice three feet away.

'Ho lass! Con you hear me there now? Y'all settled in yon?

'Oh, aye Gowther, we're alreet', said Bess, not much more quietly than Gowther.

'Any problems on the run over?'

'Not a spot of bother on the journey Gowther. Well, bar a couple of rude young beatniks I think they're called. But they disappeared while I was asleep.'

Susan shivered, remembering only too well.

'For I had a bit of shut-eye on the train. And we're all settled in. But we're still waiting on a phone call from young Colin to find out about his progress, so we canner speak long now. But it's been a long, long day and there's still the rest of the afternoon to get through. I'm more tired than if I'd been at the milking and cream-separating and butter-churning all morning and then mucked the stables and cooked pie and all. Still, we're each in one piece and that's a blessing.'

'Oh, that's good to hear lass'. His voice reduced in both anxiety and volume. The gentle love now was palpable and Susan drew away from the phone slightly, feeling embarrassed, realising that he and Bess had probably only been parted a few times in their married life.

'But did Colin get off to a good start? Bess asked.

'Oh, aye, I was forgetting. He set off at a fair clip right across country. So, I can't say no more about that. But lass… there's more trouble afoot. We had visitors while we were out… and I went to the police again. I just come up from there now.'

At that, Bess drew the receiver away and muffled the earpiece with her hand and Susan could hear nothing clearly. She watched Bess closely as Gowther said his piece. She looked perturbed. Susan knew there was something Bess and Gowther hadn't been telling them.

Finally, Bess intoned heavily 'you keep the doors locked you hear me?', followed by Gowther's crackle. Bess said 'Alright then' and hung up, looking grim.

The landlady appeared again. She collected the phone and took it back, ravelling its long cord onto the desk behind reception, eyeing Bess and Susan curiously. She had obviously been listening.

'I could see you're as straight-laced as any Cheshire woman I've ever 'ad 'ere, but I can tell you're in some kind of bother Mrs Mossock' she said, looking at Bess somewhat hard eyed. 'I wondered why you was eatin' in your room tonight. There'd better be no trouble mind.'

'Nobbut a few people mucking a few things up Missus, up home away. There'll be no trouble, mark my words. It's my 'usband I'm worried about.'

'Oh, so why don't you join us for dinner in the dining room then? It might help keep your mind off your worries.'

She added briskly. 'And there's another grandmother with an older child here for their last night. They might be glad of your company at dinner.'

Bess didn't put her right on that one. The less anyone knew or guessed the better. The land lady sailed on.

'Then there are a pair of newlyweds, you won't see much of them. Then a trio of middle-aged gentleman, one of whom can sing like a professional and one of his mates can play piano like the clappers. We might hear a jolly tune or two tonight if we're lucky. Then there's a pair of teachers coming in this afternoon with a small party of school girls, just about your age', she added, looking at Susan encouragingly. 'So it's quite a full 'ouse.'

Susan was interested and showed it. Their life in Alderley Edge had been quite restricted as far as it went in the mundane world of farming and village life. Bess and Gowther were not the sorts to be hobnobbing and socialising. But then she thought of Colin and caught Bess's posture and hesitated. The landlady caught her eye and must have thought she sniffed potential for compromise. She clearly didn't run a guest house for nothing and was determined.

'Oh, so you will join in? It'd be just grand! You will won't you?' she finished enthusiastically.

But Bess wouldn't be budged. She was taking no chances. 'No thankee, such kind thoughts though. Seems a pity as I said before, but it's been a long few days and I for one am dead tired.'

But she did manage to soften things. 'As I said to Susan on the way down on the train, I'm getting' fat as Pig Ellen and I really just need to put my feet up. That chicken and vegetable soup you said about, t'would be just the thing. Sorry to be muckin' you round, but we mun be turning in early. Maybe if that man does sing, we'll hear him and he can help put us to sleep.'

Bess yawned and patted her mouth. It was not feigned.

Susan shrugged silently at the landlady, but she was tired herself and probably showed it because the landlady looked from one to the other, shrugged herself and said 'All right, I can't say I didn't try. I'll let Maureen know to bring up your soup and toast at half past five. And the hot apple and custard at six o'clock. I hope you'll be very comfortable. Along with you then! If the phone rings for you, I'll let you know.'

She disappeared into the back office.

Just as Bess and Susan were about to step onto the broad lower step and Susan grasped the newel, the door tinkled and two black clad figures came sidling into the rooming house lobby like great ravens. Susan and Bess both froze. Then in came a group of seven school girls all in grey uniforms. Dragging in suitcases. The black figures turned to face the reception desk and the bright white of nun's wimples blazed, long strings of beads swinging. The teachers. Both Susan and Bess let out audible sighs of relief.

Two nuns, one tall, thin, pale and fidgety, one medium height, shiny and plump. They both looked about and not seeing anyone at reception, cast their gaze grimly and authoritatively at Bess and Susan, taking their measure but said not a word. The girls looked glum and a little bit like they weren't fond of their teachers. One stuck out her tongue at Susan but her companion elbowed her in the ribs and winked at her.

Still the landlady did not come. Bess decided she wasn't going to be intimidated. 'Oh, the landlady has just stepped into the back office. I'm sure she'll be back in a moment. But there is a bell.'

As Bess and Susan made themselves scarce, the tall one reached out and tapped the bell smartly.

Bess and Susan went to their room and closed the door again. Bess locked it, popped the key in her pocket and shot the bolt just in case.

So they waited through the late afternoon, and each lay down on one of the twin beds.

Susan felt imprisoned. But under the circumstances, it was the least she could do to behave. They heard the nuns and school girls come up the stairs and take rooms further down the corridor. It was all clatters and bangs for while with the stern but distance-muffled voices of the nuns saying things that sounded like 'Girls! Now do be on your best behaviour'. Or 'The reputation of St Margaret's is at stake here'. Or 'You will eat what is served up to you. There shall be no complaining!'.

Meanwhile, Susan sat there, twiddling her thumbs, listening to the square electric clock on the wall tick. She found herself looking at the bag with the collar and spinning top. She itched to get the top spinning again, but what was to be gained?

The room was airless.

Susan just sat, slumped on the bed getting anxious about Colin. Clearly the Morrigan was on her tail already. Was she on Colin's too? They had still heard nothing from him. Susan found herself contemplating the worst, imagining Colin again as he had been only a few weeks ago, locked in that timeless room at Errwood Hall.

The way they had calculated it, he should be able to get to Bristol by about eight o'clock but maybe not until twelve. He had the telephone number for the guest house and the landlady had been asked to get them to come down instantly if a call came though. But there was nothing.

…

Finally, the soup was delivered and Susan sat dutifully at the tiny table to eat.

Shortly after, the apple and custard arrived on a tray with a new teapot and they settled in for the night. Darkness had fallen by the time they'd finished and stacked the plates.

The warm satisfying food and the long day almost put Bess to sleep. She managed to rouse herself to get her and Susan's teeth brushed and then they came back up the hall and into their room and Bess relocked the door. They saw no-one. Bess had taken the bed on the right closest to the door and said her good nights and soon she was snoring gently.

Despite the tiring time, Susan was restless. Then she heard some cats yowling in the street and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Palugs?

Just then she heard 'Here kitty-kitty!' and then some tapping of a spoon on a plate.'

Susan calmed only a little. She was tired but couldn't doze.

All went silent. Then a few cars passing. She would loved to have heard the clop of hooves in the road. Where was Colin?

At about eight o'clock, when Colin should have rung by this time, Susan could bear it no longer.

Very quietly, she went to her bag and got out the top. This time she felt almost reluctant to touch it, but she got it out quietly, sat crossed-legged on the floor, looked over her shoulder at Bess and then spun the top. It worked on the second go. The low hum just audible to Susan.

She counted as well as she could in the thick timelessness and found it faltered eventually. She repeated the experiment several times more to make sure it was consistent. About 500 heartbeats was the average, after which the top tumbled and time reasserted itself. 500 heartbeats was not much time to do anything secret and very difficult to keep a track of anyway.

Susan wondered if she dared use it that night and to what purpose?

Could she retrieve things without being seen? The key, certainly.

Could she use it to make a quick getaway if something menaced her? But that would mean leaving the top behind as she obviously could not shift herself and keep it spinning.

And then, anyone happening upon the fallen top could just pick it up and pocket it. Like she herself had on the train. She wanted to experiment but it felt dangerous. Like running across a steep cove before the waves crash and sweep one away. Foolhardiness.

But Susan was itching. She made a plan. Spin the top. A swipe of the key. A quick run down the stairs. A quick scout into the street. Then back up. Lock door. Slip the key back under Bess's pillow. No harm done.

Casting a glance at Bess again, Susan spun the top anti-clockwise with her left hand again and made sure it was steady. Susan slipped her hand under Bess's pillow and got the key. She grabbed a couple of her angels with her and left the top humming. The corridor was empty. She locked the door, not certain why.

The stairway was tricky to navigate in the thickness of timelessness, but she managed it and sliding the bolt of the front door and putting the lock off the snib, Susan found herself standing on the front door step of the guest house in east Bristol, heart beating hard. She resisted the itching at her wrist.

There was nothing.

A few cars in the street, frozen drivers, lights dim. Nothing unexpected. Susan ventured down onto the street and turned looking back up to the guest house. It gleamed white in the night and the odd headlight. So far, so good. Then she noticed something and froze. There, not forty feet away to her left was a low shadow moving quickly in front of a car. It rubbed against tyres that would otherwise be spinning and running it over. There was another, just crossing the street to her right, converging with the first. Then, from twenty feet away the two palugs began to stalk her. She checked quickly behind her and there was a third, much further away, but running faster.

Susan hurled her angels at the closest ones with her braceleted hand and they ignited, sparks streaming, flying directly at the wildcats and made a break for it.

Susan waded up the steps, got inside and forced the door shut. She felt rather than heard the cats hit the door. Susan flicked the snib, shot the bolt and waded upstairs as quickly as she could, her heart thumping ten to the dozen. No time to waste!

Just as she reached the first landing, time returned to normal and she saw above her, a tall dark figure flick past the balustrade, disappearing down the into the left-hand corridor.

…

Susan opened the bedroom door as quietly as she could and slipped inside.

She bent and spun the top again, locked the door, shot the bolt hard and then slipped the key back under Bess's pillow. Just as she was about to pick up the top, the eerie sound of a wild cat yowled outside and it was answered by another from further away. Susan snatched the top. The sound of palugs ceased.

Susan shoved the top back into her bag and crawled under her covers, sweating, feeling sick. Feeling like a fool.

…

Susan lay awake for hours and only dropped into an uneasy sleep at about three o'clock in the morning. Her dreams were vivid. Spinning yo-yos, clocks that went backwards and terrible wildcats that slid down alleyways of time looking for a door into the now. The voice of Angharad Goldenhand came to her as she woke sweating when Bess's alarm clock rang.

'Do not use the top. It draws the morthbrood and their familiars and has more cost than you know.'

…