Haunted Hearts

Chapter 5: What was it?

The station at York was nothing like what Raeliana had imagined. Certainly, the morning's blue skies above added to a feeling of optimism. She and Isabella got off the train, but neither of them was ready for the rush of crowds at the station. The fashionably dressed ladies and smartly dressed, top-hatted men laughed and cheerily greeted their friends arriving fresh from London.

"Now what'll we do?" Isabella asked, clearly dazed by the colorful crowd.

Filled with unexpected affection for the woman, Raeliana suddenly took Isabella's arm in her own. She had always been with her. They had been childhood best friends and were already like sisters. Now that she had dragged her best friend far away from London, the only town they'd ever known, it was time for Raeliana to look after her.

Raeliana searched among the group of travelers on the platform and only saw unfamiliar faces again. Her optimism and confidence suddenly sank like a ship. In dismay, she murmured, "How foolish of me to think this is a small provincial town. I just assumed the driver would be waiting, and... we would have spotted him immediately." As she said that, Isabella slowly turned to her with an 'Are you serious?' kind of look. Raeliana shrugged and continued looking at the crowd.

"Did the letter give any clue as to who was going to meet us or pick us up?"

Raeliana shook her head. "The last letter was from me, informing his lordship of when we were to arrive." She looked around at the laughing, hugging crowd. There was not a soul who seemed to have not yet met with their partner.

"My bottom is worn out from all the sitting." Isabella sighed as she grabbed her luggage and sat by a nearby bench.

"Don't fret. We can always hire a driver to take us to the castle." Raeliana watched the crowd getting smaller, everyone leaving the platform.

"Not a good idea, Rae. We can't just go wandering around the countryside without knowing a soul. Besides, it's dangerous. Who knows what will happen to us." Her bestfriend shook her head while covering her cheeks with her hands.

Raeliana clutched her purse and took a deep breath. She was going to handle this. She walked to the front of the platform to survey the depot. The station looked deserted. The only sign of life was a painted 'open' sign over the ticketmaster's window. With spreading unease, Raeliana watched as a hand appeared on the other side of the glass and turned the sign over, which now read: 'Closed for Dinner. Return at two o'clock.'

"Wonderful." Raeliana whispered under her breath, afraid to look at Isabella I-told-you-so expression.

"We will just have to wait then. Surely Lord Noah Wainwright will have to send someone to pick us up, and-" Raeliana stopped her words. Isabella sat on the bench with a horrified expression by something above them.

"Belle?" Raeliana whispered. Isabella was pale. Her frozen expression sent shivers down her spine.

"Do you see her?" Isabella choked.

"See what? Who?"

"She's staring right at you Rae... Come here."

Raeliana moved closer to her friend and followed Isabella's gaze toward a towering wall, more than fifty feet above them. However, she saw nothing else. "I don't see anything."

"Never mind... She's gone." The words were a whisper of relief and terror. Raeliana turned to Isabella. Her best friend now stood, as if whoever was on top of the wall had called her forward.

"How can you see anyone from up there? It's so far away."

"Oh, Rae. She was terrible. I never want to see such a figure again. Please, never again." Isabella said, covering her eyes like a frightened child.

Raeliana took her friend's hand and found it felt like ice. "I think the journey has taken its toll on you," she said softly. "Perhaps it was selfish of me to take you with me-"

"But who else would you have? And you need someone with you. I know that now." Her bestfriend seemed on the edge of hysterics.

"Come, sit here and rest. I fear you look as if you might faint." Raeliana helped her down onto the bench. "Rest here. We should look for a hotel to stay in and rest. That might make you feel better." Isabella just shook her head, as if tragedy had already occurred.

"What was it that you saw? A woman?" Raeliana patted her shoulder to comfort her. "Was she so ugly then? Perhaps whoever it was was staring because she was supposed to notify the driver to pick us up. No doubt he might be drinking at a pub, and that's why he's not here," she joked, trying to lift her friend's spirits.

"No..."

Raeliana bit her lower lip, perplexed. She had never seen Isabella in such a fit. Nice, sensible Belle. It is unusual for her to have a fit.

All at once, Isabella grabbed her arm. "Let's leave here. Find the ticketmaster and tell him we want to return to London immediately."

"How could a woman who is merely standing on the wall put you in such a state? What's this all about?"

"I saw her. She was ordinary, except for her hair, she had great lumps of it, quite red. And it was all unpinned. Blowing back in the wind."

Raeliana looked up at the wall, a small furrow lining her brow. "But... it's not windy today, Belle."

"Exactly." The word was barely a whisper.

Raeliana took off her glove and held her hand high. The air at the station was graveyard quiet. "I suppose it's entirely possible a wind touched upon a wall moments before. Oh you silly goose, you must have just seen a tourist-"

"She was staring straight at you Rae."

Raeliana locked gazes with her. A funny, skittering feeling took hold of her stomach, but she willed it away. They had enough worries looking for their driver to pick them up.

"But how do you know this?" She asked. "Was this woman wearing a witch's costume? Was she holding a pitch fork?"

"No. She was dressed all in black. A horrible sight she was."

Raeliana stared at her, helplessly searching for words of comfort. Isabella and Raeliana are just as the same age, and seeing her worrying for her alot made her heart ache. Raeliana took her bestfriend's hand and held it in her own. "There's nothing to be frightened of, I swear it. Think about it Belle, a woman in black is not strange at all. You yourself is wearing black, and so am I."

"She was wearing a dress the same as yours. But it was a bit more old fashioned, and without the laces."

"Then I must get the name of her dressmaker. You know I hate the laces on my gowns." Raeliana quipped lightly.

"Please, let's just go back to London. I have a terrible feeling all of the sudden." Raeliana had known Isabella to have sweet and comforting eyes. But now their expressions terrified her.

"I can't return." She pressed the woman's hand, her face apologetic. "If you're so frightened from whatever you saw earlier, I can help you go back to London now. But I can't. I won't." Raeliana drew herself up. Isabella stared at her for awhile and sighed.

"I'll come with you then." Isabella dug through her purse and took out her handkerchief. She patted her upper lip and forehead then looked up at the wall.

"See? There are only tourists up there." With a great weary sigh, Raeliana looked around the platform once more. Still quiet and and empty.

"Let's not speak of this anymore." Isabella whispered. Her expression losing some of the terror she had earlier.

Raeliana nodded her head. "Ofcourse, let's pretend this never happened."

"Are you with Dr. Ackerman?" The voice nearly sent both women jumping. Raeliana spun around and was greeted by a neatly dressed older man standing behind them. He wore corduroy breeches and a brushed black coat over a plaid vest, clearly a driver for a country manor house.

"We've been waiting for you," Raeliana stammered, wishing she could have just asked how he managed to sneak behind them without being noticed.

"Are you in Dr. Ackerman's party?" he asked as he grabbed some of their luggage from the bench.

"We are the Ackerman party, but there is no doctor. I'm afraid you're mistaken," Raeliana said as crisply as she could to cover her nervousness.

"But I was sent from Stonegate to pick up Dr. Ackerman," the driver frowned in confusion.

"I'm Raeliana Blythe Ackerman, and this is my friend who will accompany me, Isabella Mayfield. We've come from London as sent for by Lord Wainwright."

"Lord Wainwright said in his letter that it was to be a Dr. Ackerman."

"I never professed to be a doctor, and indeed, I'm the one he sent for. There is no other," Raeliana corrected coolly..

The driver stared at her, his frown deepening. He looked at her from head to toe, lingering on her green eyes; it was evident she wasn't what he had expected.

"The carriage is over there," he said, nodding toward the front of the depot. "I'll take you to the castle if you like, but you may as well know, his lordship's expecting a Dr. Ackerman."

"Then my appearance shall correct that error," Raeliana declared confidently, though her nerves remained beneath the surface.

Reluctantly, the driver loaded them in, ready to depart, his expression a strange blend of worry and warning.

So we'll be booted out anyway. She thought to herself. "Don't worry yourself too much, Raeliana. At least we tried... At least we've come this far."