The ride to the country seemed to take forever. It was actually quite a good distance away from the hustle and bustle of the city of Burgess. Jamie had brought along board games to play with Sophie on the way, but his sister wasn't interested in any of them. Jamie felt incredibly bored and wished Jack was with him, but of course, that was just wishful thinking. It was not like Jack was his one and only Guardian Angel; the Guardian of Fun had to protect other children as well.
Jamie turned to look at his eight-year old sister who was fast asleep. She hadn't changed much, either, her blonde hair still covered part of her face, it was still rather unkempt. The only difference was that she was slightly taller, and was no longer dressed in clothes for toddlers. She still clutched a toy, though. Jamie smiled a little upon seeing that it was a plush bunny. Sophie's belief in the Easter Bunny had never wavered very much like his belief in Jack Frost.
"We're here, kids!" Mrs. Bennett called to the children in the back. Sophie woke with a start. Jamie peered out of the window. Mr. Bennett was driving faster than before, maybe because snow was falling and he was afraid they wouldn't make it there. Jamie saw the silhouette of a large grand building in the distance. It was almost dark. Jamie's thoughts wandered for a moment to the Boogeyman, but he then brushed them away.
Mr. Bennett managed to drive into the driveway of the snow-covered manor. In the semi-darkness and with all the snow, it looked a little foreboding. Jamie's eyes widened as he surveyed it. He had never seen such grandeur. The exterior was grander than some grand houses in Burgess.
"Whoa, mom. Is it true the lady who lives here is my aunt?" Jamie asked. "She seems to be too rich to be a relative of ours."
Mrs. Bennett chuckled. "My sister happened to marry a rich man, Jamie, and after your uncle's death last year, she has been living alone, with only your cousin to keep her company. The servants don't make really good company."
"You mean she's a widow? With servants? And she's your sister? How come we've never heard of her?" the 14- year old inquired further, taking his bags out of the trunk of the car, keeping an eye out for that one particular Guardian.
"Well, she lives all the way out here," Mrs. Bennett replied. "It isn't exactly turn right at the next corner. And she's always been someone who keeps to herself, you know. She's just grown incredibly lonely since last year. It was rather weird for us at first, too, when we received her invitation to spend Christmas here."
"I have a feeling we're gonna have a rather grand Christmas this year," Jamie said, as they made their way up to the manor. An impeccably-dressed man was awaiting them.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett," he greeted them, bowing slightly. "And to you, too, Master Jamie and Miss Sophie."
"Master Jamie!" Jamie said, grinning at his sister. "Man, I love this guy."
"Please leave your bags here. I'll see that they will be sent up to your rooms, which I will show you to later," the man who resembled a butler continued. "For now, you are wanted in the living room."
The little family left their bags and were escorted to the living room. Jamie and Sophie kept admiring the interior of the manor, which seemed a hundred times grander than the exterior. The living room was cavernous, and it sported a real fireplace, which wasn't lit. Jamie remembered seeing some chimneys on the manor outside earlier. There was a good reason why the fireplace had no fire in it and that was because there was already central heating. The living room was furnished with elaborate and elegant furniture and several statues. A large staircase led to the second floor and a few pairs of double doors led off the living room. Jamie noticed that there were many portraits lining the stairs. There were some in the living room as well. Most of them looked old and faded.
A lady sat on a chaise armchair, awaiting them. She looked slightly older than Mrs. Bennett, with the same brown hair, only hers was up in a tight bun. She was wearing a dress Jamie had only seen in the windows of expensive designer stores and looked extremely pleased to see them. Jamie noticed that she had different eyes from his mom's.
"Oh, dearie, how nice of you to come," she said. "Please, sit yourselves down."
As Jamie and his family took a seat on the elaborate furniture, he noticed that there was someone else in the room besides his aunt. A girl dressed in a frock sat quietly in an armchair not far from them. She had blonde hair, quite unlike Sophie's, and looked very pale. Her head was bowed. Her hands were clasped together.
"Hello, Estella," greeted Mrs. Bennett, smiling at the girl. Jamie noticed that she looked no older than he was. "How do you do?"
The girl was about to answer before a coughing fit seized her. Jamie noticed his aunt's worried look as she gazed upon her daughter. "Go to your room, Estella," she commanded. The girl got up and hurried up the stairs.
One of the servants brought them tea. "What's wrong with the girl?" Mr. Bennett asked, looking in the direction of the stairs which Estella had ascended.
Jamie's aunt looked rather sad. "She's been very sick lately," she said, rather sorrowfully. "I fear she might not last till Christmas."
"Oh no!" exclaimed Mrs. Bennett, concerned. "Haven't you got a doctor?"
"Yes, we have, and he said she's in a very poor condition," Jamie's aunt responded. "I'm afraid it's this snow, this winter, it has brought plague with it."
"Then we must avoid going out in the snow," said Mrs. Bennett. She turned to Jamie and Sophie. "Remember that, you two. No going out in the snow. No snowball fights."
Jamie was devastated. "No way, mom! You can't do that to us! It's like grounding us!"
"Jamie Bennett!" snapped Mr. Bennett. "Do not take on that tone with your mother! Would you rather be grounded... or dead?"
"But everything seemed fine in Burgess!" Jamie protested, but his mother held up a hand to silence him.
"Enough, Jamie," she said.
Jamie was disappointed. Where was Jack? Perhaps he could ask the Guardian about this plague. After all, Jack created snow and blizzards and such. He should know if winter this year brought plague with it. Jamie decided to ponder on that later, and instead turned to his aunt.
"So, aunt, I was wondering, how should I address you? What is your surname?"
Jamie's aunt chuckled. "Such an adorable little boy. I wish I had a son just like you."
Jamie felt a ripple of anger. Little boy? Adorable? Thank goodness the sophomores weren't in that very room at that moment.
"My surname is Warren, my dear. You can call me Mrs. Warren."
Jamie and Sophie both looked up at that. "Warren?" Jamie asked, beaming. "Warren! Mrs. Warren, do you know that the Warren is the home and headquarters of the Easter Bunny? And Sophie has been there before and she told me there were tulips which produced eggs and they go through a process of painting..."
Jamie trailed off as he noticed how his parents and aunt were looking at him. Only Sophie was looking at him in a different way.
"Er... Jamie, are you okay?" Mrs. Warren asked. "I've never heard of a headquarters named Warren. Well, perhaps you got it confused with a company named Warren. But Easter Bunny and tulips and whatnot... sounds interesting. Which book is this all from?"
Jamie's smile faded. "It's not a book, Mrs. Warren, it's..."
Mrs. Bennett chuckled. "Oh, children," she said. "Jamie, you've been acting really strange for quite some time now." She turned to Mrs. Warren. "Can you believe, Petunia, that there has been a few times when I've heard Jamie talk to someone in his room and he claims it's Jack Frost?"
Mrs. Warren laughed. "Everyone knows Jack Frost is only an expression, a figure of speech," she said. She turned to see Jamie's crestfallen face. "Oh, don't worry, dear. We're not teasing you. It's okay to imagine things once in a while."
Jamie looked at his aunt's kindly face. "Mrs. Warren, haven't you ever been a kid before?"
Mrs. Warren looked surprised. "Why, of course, my dear boy. Everyone of us was a kid once. Why do you ask such a silly question?" She smiled.
"Didn't you believe in them, then?" Jamie asked.
"Who?"
"Santa Claus? The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny? Didn't you go on egg hunts during Easter?"
"Yes, we heard of them, but we knew they were just a bunch of fairy tales," Mrs. Warren said. "I had many friends who believe in them, but I didn't. Your mother did, of course. She still believes in the Tooth Fairy, don't you?"
"Just playing along with children's beliefs," Mrs. Bennett responded.
"What about Estella?" Jamie asked.
"Oh, she believes, with all her heart, no matter how much I try to reason with her. Then again, what can I do? She's only twelve." Mrs. Warren sighed. "Twelve and dying."
The family had dinner later, and then it was bedtime. The butler showed them up the flight of stairs lined with portraits. Jamie and Sophie followed quietly, their parents were with their aunt and would be going to bed later. As they reached the top of the stairs, the butler turned right and walked down a dimly lit corridor. It was all very gloomy. Just as Jamie was about to turn, he noticed something in one of the portraits. He stopped for a moment and gazed at it.
"No way," he breathed.
Well, I guess what is to be revealed will only be revealed in the next chapter since this one went on much longer than I'd expected. So sorry. But I think most of you have already guessed what it is. Thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favourites!
And I think I made a mistake with Sophie's age; I thought she was four, but she was actually two. :-P Sorry about that.
Thanks for reading and please review!