So I didn't get this up on Friday like I wanted, but I feel I did better than I had expected. Now we're getting to the good suspenseful parts. Yay! You're probably thinking "Finally, I thought I'd die before this happened."

vbudkey: No it is not the Charles that inherits the Manor, that Charles was the one who started the tradition and has been dead for a while. This Charles is just her jerk wad cousin. Names get passed down sometimes y'know.

Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Midnight fell over the manor and I snuck into my relatives' room. Standing over my aunt and uncle's bed I began to sing in a low voice.

Be wary my pet, do not come near.
A beast is very near I fear.
His eyes are red and his heart is cold,
And lives within my very soul.

My aunt was the first to wake up and in an instant her face was as pale as the moonlight.

I must have been quite a sight. I had taken the white ashes from the fire to give my face a sickly white appearance. I was dripping wet and I had wrapped my dark cloak around me.

Aunt Delores reached over to her husband with a shaking hand, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "G-g-g."

She passed out before she could even speak the words.

The next day, when we were having dinner, the second part of my plan went into action.

"I swear to you George, I saw her, this ghostly figure. She's cursed this place. None of us are safe here!" Aunt Delores whispered to her husband who gave his head a shake.

My uncle put his hand over his wife's. "It was only a dream love. You had those oysters before you went to bed, and you know how they upset your stomach."

"I know what I saw George. She is warning us not to stay in this house." Delores said, her voice growing louder.

"We wouldn't want to scare the children now, would we love?" Uncle George gave his wife's hand a squeeze.

Charles took the cream from his little sister. "I'm certainly not scared mother. I'm sure it was as father says. Nothing but a horrid nightmare."

Aunt Delores continued to argue with her family about the existence of the ghost.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom and when I was walking in the Great Hall I saw faint lights dancing around in the air. My scream reverberated throughout the house. Everyone came rushing out, and they saw the lights too. They were there for a moment and then the lights suddenly disappeared.

"What was that?!" Martha exclaimed.

"It was a ghost, I'm sure of it!" Uncle George said, his voice clearly shaking. "You never told me that the manor was haunted!" he said, turning to my father.

"See, didn't I tell you. It's her." Aunt Delores said to her husband, eyes wide with fear.

"I'm sure it was just our imaginations. Let's all sit back down and finish our meal." Charles said quickly.

Uncle George began to wring his hands. "Delores is right. I cannot allow my family to stay here if I find we are in danger. And I do believe we are in grave danger with evil ghosts running around ready to drag us down into the underworld. How could you let this happen to the family home?" He exclaimed, acting exactly as I knew he would.

Father shrugged.

"Children pack up your bags. We're going to be leaving right now!" Dolores exclaimed.

Charles stood in front of his family."But mother, there are no such things as ghosts. We're perfectly safe."

"Right now Charles." His Father told him sternly.

Delores ran up to her room. Her children trailed behind her and Charles followed reluctantly.

"I can't believe that you would let our family home go to such disarray. Ghosts! Our father would be rolling over in his grave." Uncle George sneered.

In a few moments Uncle George and Aunt Delores came trotting down the stairs, their children trailing behind them."I never liked this place anyway. Much too stuffy, and altogether drab and dreary." She sniffed. With their noses in the air, my relatives left. On the way out Charles stopped beside me.

"I commend you Elinor that was some superb trickery on your part. However I will be seeing you again." He assured me.

I gave a beaming smile "I don't doubt you will. Goodbye Charles." and I happily watched him leave.

"Goodbye!' Charlotte called out in a sing song voice as she waved them off. 'And good riddance!" she growled and slammed the door shut.

"Elinor, are there really ghosts in this house?" My father asked once our relatives were well on their way.

I shook my head "They were my doing. The ghosts were nothing but a hand full of fireflies." I said.

Charlotte laughed "I thought so, but I didn't want to say anything." She said.

Father grinned. "Thank you very much for your help Elinor. I am pleased to have raised such a smart daughter." He praised.

"It was a rather good plan, wasn't it?" I said shyly. He patted me on the back.

"What would I do without you?" he asked.

"Listen to your brother drone on about his prized racehorse that was ridden by the king himself." I laughed.

"I am glad to be rid of those awful people. Though if I may ask James, what is this nonsense about you raising her well? I was the one her taught her everything she knows." Charlotte explained.

"I beg your pardon Miss Bossiny, but Elinor is my daughter." Father smirked.

"Not by blood, so you can't say that any of her qualities came from you good sir. All of her resourcefulness obviously came from this great mind." Charlotte said haughtily.

"Great mind." He snorted.

"Are you mocking me James? Is it just because I'm a woman?" Charlotte retorted.

I laughed to myself as they argued back and forth over who my good qualities came from. There was Charlotte, feisty and loud. And then father, quiet and calculating, his one eyebrow always raised in a mocking manner. They never meant what they said to each other, it was all in jest. Sometimes one could think that they did it for fun. Either way, it was good to see that the house was back to normal.

The next day Charlotte gave me the day off to focus on my invention, but I couldn't concentrate. All I could think about was that Randulf was coming sometime today to take me for a walk. And when he finally came to the door, I was almost at my wits end.

"The house is quiet, have your relatives left?" Randulf asked as he peered into the Great Hall.

"Yes, they left in quite a hurry. They claimed to have seen a ghost. I'm sure it was just a few fireflies that wandered into the house." I said with a sheepish grin.

"It wouldn't have had anything to do with a certain dark haired beauty that shall not be named?" Randulf smiled, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh no, of course not. I would never do such a thing to my dear Uncle and Aunt, or their darling children." I exclaimed.

"How considerate." Randulf said.

I laughed and then leaned back into the house to yell "Charlotte, I'm going on a walk with Randulf. I'll be back within the hour!"

Randulf took me around the town, and on the way back, he took a detour through a field. It was fun to try and find our way back without a road to follow. Except the only problem was the bog we ran into. The rest of the walk we were wading in ankle deep mud, trying to avoid the least boggy parts of it. My foot sunk far down, and I clutched Randulf's arm. With a bit of difficulty he yanked me out of the mire.

"Watch where you step. Test the area before you walk anywhere." Randulf told me.

I nodded and lightly pressed the ground in front of me. Seeing that it was safe I kept walking, still holding onto Randulf's arm for safe measures. "Remind me why we decided to go this way. Whose bright idea was this?" I asked.

"I believe it was mine, if I remember correctly. Though you may have had a hand in the decision." He said, popping his boot out of the mud.

"I do vaguely remember it being your idea." I huffed, getting a bit tiered from traipsing around in the muck.

We finally reached the manor much later that I had anticipated. Charlotte would not be pleased with me. I even tracked mud into the house. But I was finally home. "I'll call for the house keeping." I said, pulling the bell. "I wonder…" I trailed off as I became deep in thought.

"Wonder what?" Randulf asked.

"A bell to call, a bell to warn. Couldn't you use bells as some sort of alarm system? Or use them as-" I stopped, Randulf didn't know about the family treasure business. He stared at me, an unsure look in his eyes. "Never mind, it was just a thought…I was speaking out loud." I mumbled.

"Okay."Randulf shrugged. "I'll see you later." He said, and kissed my cheek.

I waved him away at the door and then quickly dashed back inside.

Alarm bells to protect the family secret, like a knight. There might be some shred of an invention there.

Now that the relatives were gone, I could run around the manor doing things a Penvellyn was supposed to do. I could also visit Hedwig now, which was something that I hadn't done in ages. I told Charlotte that I was going to visit Randulf, and I headed over to Hedwig's house. When I arrived at her home, she was outside in her herb garden, a small goat grazing beside her.

"Hi Hedwig!" I called. She saw me and waved. The goat trotted over to me and bumped against my leg.

"Clancy, come over here." Hedwig said, tugging on a rope around its neck.

I knelt down beside her "Sorry that I didn't visit you for a while. I had some very annoying relatives over." I apologized.

"You should have come to me. I could have cursed them for you." Hedwig laughed. Seeing the horrified look on my face she added "Which I meant as a joke of course. You know I don't curse people." She said.

The goat nuzzled my hand and I pushed it away. "Yes, I know."

Hedwig took me inside the house, and we sat down in her kitchen area. Clancy bleated loudly outside, he probably wanted to come in.

"Oh, Elinor, how is it going with your young man?" Hedwig asked.

My cheeks flared up "Charlotte says that he might ask me to marry him soon." I said quickly.

Hedwig grinned, "That's very good. I'm glad for you."

"Those charms definitely worked." I added.

"Of course they did, and I'm glad they worked out so well for you." She said.

"Without your help, I don't know if I would be here today. It was your protection charm that called Randulf to my aid. You've done so much for me Hedwig; I don't know how I can thank you." I said.

"That's fine dear, that's what I'm here for. To help people such as yourself. I wouldn't have given you that charm if I had expected some sort of payment." Hedwig explained, and she slowly got up from her chair. "You just bring him along so I can meet him. That's all the payment I need." She smiled.

"Of course Hedwig. I don't know how I'll get him here, but I will." I said, embracing her.

By this time I didn't need Hedwig to walk me home, I knew which way the manor lay, though I had tied a string from the my home to Hedwig's so I could find my way back in the event that I forgot my way. I slipped into the growing fog, my heart warmed with thoughts of Hedwig, and of Randulf, and of my new invention. It was coming along nicely. I still didn't know what I could use it for, but I was excited none the less.

I walked into town before it got dark, determined to get Randulf and Hedwig to meet. I wanted to show him to her because she was the reason that we even met. I walked into the bookshop, where Randulf's father was standing behind the counter. He smiled at me "How can I help you, Miss Penvellyn?"

"Is Randulf at home ?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes from being glued to the floor in embarrassment. It was my first time calling on Randulf.

"Why yes, I'll call him down for you." The old man said and gradually went up the stairs to fetch his son.

I heard Randulf's feet pounding down the wooden staircase before I even saw him.

"Elinor, what a pleasant surprise!" His mouth cracked open into a wide grin. "Why have you come?"

"First you can tell me that you'll come over to my house tomorrow night. Secondly, you can ask me why." I said.

Randulf raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll come to your house. Why?"

"Because, you've wanted to know what it's like to be on the moors at night. Well, I've been on the moors at night; I'll show you what they're like." I explained.

Randulf grinned, and then quickly exchanged that look for a frown. "Is that such a good idea?"

"It's alright, there's nothing but a few old turtles and a bug here and there. Besides if you wear this a charm a friend gave me it will protect you from whatever other dangers prowl around during the witching hour." I said, handing Randulf a charm I had gotten from Hedwig earlier that day.

Randulf took it cautiously.

"Don't worry' I assured him 'it's safe. In fact, I was wearing it the first time we met, and the second just to make sure it worked. And it did. Every time I was in trouble the charm called you to me." I said.

Still quite skeptical Randulf pinned the charm to the inside of his jacket.

"In fact, I want you to meet her when we go for our walk tomorrow." I stated.

Randulf gave me a look, and then sighed. "Alright Elinor, I'll go."

I gave him a hug "You won't forget this Randulf. Hedwig is very kind, and she makes the best tea. You'll really like her." I explained.

"I hope so." Randulf said. I told him what time to be at the manor, and then left the shop.

Charlotte threaded her needle through the stiff fabric she held in her hand. We were practicing needlework, something Charlotte insisted every woman should know.

"I don't like the way Randulf has been acting lately. He's getting too comfortable with your current relationship. I'm afraid he won't ask you to marry him." Charlotte sighed.

"Stop trying to rush him, these things take time." I reminded her.

"If you ask me, it's taking too long. He's been your beau for over a year now. Most men would have proposed by now and you two would be planning in preparation for your marriage."

"I'm sure he has a good reason. We've both spoken and we don't want to move things too quickly."I said calmly. Unlike Charlotte, I wasn't afraid of Randulf's lengthy waiting period. We had talked about marriage some. Randulf always promised he would marry me, and I trusted him.

"I don't know darling. I don't like his behavior." She hounded.

I shook my head "You can think whatever you like Charlotte, but I believe Randulf is a man of his word. He will ask me to marry him very soon, I am certain of it. And that's all that needs to be said on the matter." I told her.

Charlotte sighed and continued her needlework. "I just don't want you to turn into an old maid like me." There was a veil of sadness that hung over her face. "You never know with some people Elinor. Their actions tell you they love you, but whether they truly do or not can sometimes be a mystery."

I continued on with my own work in silence after that.

I knew Charlotte meant well, but she could be so stubborn in her ways and completely wrong sometimes. I also didn't want to believe that she was right.