She felt the first stirrings of anxiety, a growing concern, and, perhaps, almost as if he sensed this also, Jolly Roger’s scratching ceased, and he took a step back, eyeing the door as if with apprehension.
The silence grew, and then, even though her beloved pet had stopped his spoilt protests at the closed door, Clara heard the sound of scratching anew.
Standing alongside her, Jolly Roger looked up with feline curiosity as if he was asking her to explain the sound that came from behind the walls, the scratching at the relatively new panels of the house that overlaid the ancient stone.
She stood still for a moment, listening, and again, in the dark, came the scratching, only this time it sounded as if it was further away, and Clara realized with alarm that whatever was making the sound
