Chapter Three – Marilyn RobertsOn the south side of the village, next to the little Norman church, stood a whimsical thatched cottage with latticed windows and a solid oak door. Upon that door was a huge brass knocker, depicting two mermaids entwined in what could be interpreted as either an embrace or a struggle, depending on how you looked at it. The children of the village fantasized that a wicked witch lived beyond the threshold of that quaint little abode but, being almost the last property on the lane, they seldom ventured there to see. As it was, the resident there was neither wicked nor a witch but she did have an enormous black cat called Cecil.
Cecil was a born hunter and a creature of habit. He liked to spend his days lying in front of the warm kitchen stove in the winter or ou
