Page 13 of The Haunting of William Thorn

Wine sloshed around in the glass as William shot forward. “Someone like you? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Edward pulled a face, scrutinising William’s expression. “Hold on, you’re the one asking me questions now? I thought the rules of the game were that you must answer the question before asking one.”

“I get the impression you are a stickler for rules?” William rolled his eyes before taking a long swig of wine. For comfort or courage, he was unsure.

“That’s a question and an observation,” Edward said. “Now I’m getting the impression you don’t want to answer my question, William. Dancing around the conversation on two left feet.”

Edward wasn’t exactly wrong. William didn’t particularly want to divulge the truth behind how he got the manor without opening himself up to criticism.

But then again, it was a game, and he couldn’t stumble over the first hurdle.

The William before his trauma always loved to win.

And Trust went both ways, so William answered.

“I might’ve told a little white lie to you earlier. ”

William considered this personal growth, opting to tell the truth for once.

“A plot twist. Care to tell me how so?” Edward narrowed those rich eyes on him.

“I didn’t buy Hanbury. It was… given to me. By someone I loved.”

Edward looked away, down at his nails. “They must’ve really loved you then, giving you a place like this. That certainly beats any Christmas present I’ve ever received.”

“Well, actually, the love part is still debatable.”

“Really?”

William drank some wine for courage. “I caught my fiancé cheating on me. They died not long after I found out, and then ta-da, free manor house listed in my name. Less of a Christmas present, and more of a ‘I fucked up, here is my apology’ present.”

It wasn’t a lie. Nor was it the whole truth.

Edward’s dark brows rose into his hairline, his mouth parting in a subtle o-shape. William enjoyed watching the surprise settle over Edward’s face. “That sounds…”

“Tragic? Explains the cold soul. Not what you were expecting, was it?”

“For the record, I don’t think your soul is cold.” Edward drank without taking his gaze off William. “You’re just so hospitable and welcoming; I find it hard to imagine anyone wanting to cheat on you.”

That was really what Edward took from the conversation?

William grabbed the closest pillow and smacked it into Edward’s head.

“I’m joking,” Edward fumbled over a laugh, which, to William’s surprise, he then echoed. Edward ceased his giggling first, something serious overcoming his expression.

“What’s so funny?” William asked. “My sad past? Do I entertain you with my pain?”

The colour left Edward’s face. “I mean… yes? No. Urm.”

“It’s the dog-shaped slippers, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Edward couldn’t hold my eyes, his embarrassment almost endearing. Perhaps that was just the wine muddling William’s thoughts, or maybe not.

Edward seemed more than just endearing. He was distracted, like he’d stepped a foot in a pile of shit and didn’t know what to do.

William helped him with a prompt. “Are you going to ask another question or…”

“How did you find out he was cheating?”

William took a deep breath, filling himself with the confidence to answer the question.

“Straight to the point. I get it.” He took another breath in, held it and prepared himself.

“Archie was away for a work trip – classic. I was home, using our shared laptop to find something to watch in bed. Low and behold, Archie’s phone was connected to it.

I saw texts from an unknown number coming in, someone thanking him for a good night.

He was meant to come home that night, but he never did.

The next day, I saw a transaction for a hotel on our bank statement.

Cliché, I know. Honestly, I’m more pissed off that he was so arrogant that he didn’t even bother to hide it.

Then again, he must’ve thought I was just so stupid I’d never put two and two together. ”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Edward replied, yet he couldn’t even look at him. All earlier signs of hysteria had gone.

“No, you’re right. The only stupid person is the poor soul Archie was buried five and a half inches deep inside. Oh, I hope it was worth it.”

Anger bubbled within William, making him tighten his grip on his glass.

Although, it was a relief to say the words out loud to a stranger.

William didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable saying it; in fact, it was almost freeing.

To everyone else in William’s life, they didn’t know the moments that led to Archie’s death.

This was a burden only he kept. How could he tell Archie’s family and friends that he died a monster, breaking William’s heart twice over in the matter of an hour?

Instead, he hid the truth inside of him. And like all festering things, it ate away at William and ruined him.

“I’m sorry.” Edward studied William. He likely was searching for the right thing to follow up with, or perhaps there wasn’t anything he could say.

“What for?” William forced a laugh. “The five and a half inches or…”

Edward didn’t even crack a smile. “All of it.”

William couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. Out of everything Edward could have said, that was certainly not on the list. The laugh started out light but soon cascaded into breathy gasps that entirely took over his body.

“I think that’s enough wine for you,” Edward announced. “Perhaps bed time is upon us.”

“Touch my wine and you’ll face a terrible demise.”

Edward lifted his glass in cheers. “Who sounds like the murderer now, you or me?”

“When it comes to my wine, I take its safety very seriously,” William said. “Now, hands off.”

“I can see that.”

Opting to shift the conversation away from the sudden and heavy tension between them, William said, “Anyway, it’s my turn!”

“Go ahead,” Edward replied, swirling the wine in his glass. “Ask away.”

“Out of all the things you could be doing with your time, why do you come to Hanbury Manor and waste your time tending its gardens?”

Edward shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the backhanded insult layered beneath his question. “I would hardly say it is a waste of my time if that is what I choose to do with it.”

“But why?”

“Someone has to. I guess.” Edward looked at William with such intent that his gaze almost bore directly through him.

The pure emotion William recognised in Edward’s eyes was enough to completely sober him.

He expected Edward to say something else, but he didn’t.

Instead, he leaned back on the sofa, regained his composure and offered William a smile that didn’t quite reach his sky-blue eyes.

“I get the impression there’s more to that story,” William said.

Edward sighed, his loosed breath heavy with tension. “My family have… ties to Hanbury Manor, going back a long time. Believe it or not but my great-great uncle once worked here for a short time. I moved back to the area recently, and have been spending my time here when I can.”

“Why, though?”

“Ah ah ah, now it’s my turn to ask you a question.”

“As long as you don’t expect me to start paying you a salary. As of tomorrow, you can consider yourself relieved of your duties, great-great uncle or not.”

Edward brought his hand to his forehead and saluted.

William held his stare, challenging, as he took another hearty sip of his wine.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Edward’s question caught William off guard. So much so that he almost choked on the mouthful of wine.

“Not you too,” William moaned, thinking back to the taxi driver. “What’s every obsession with ghosts. Am I missing something?”

“I will take that as a no to my question then.”

“Well, it’s hard to say I don’t believe in something I haven’t seen,” William added. “Why do you ask?”

He looked at the room around him. “Well, you’ve moved into one of the Cotswold’s most notoriously haunted buildings.”

“Hanbury isn’t haunted,” William said, brushing the comment off with the brush of a hand.

“Oh, it most certainly is.” Edward leaned forward and snatched a book from the table, which William had hardly paid attention to.

It was Robert’s journal. “Ask anyone in a thirty-mile radius. For years there’s been reports of strange sightings around the grounds…

some of the local’s even believe that people have gone missing inside Hanbury’s walls. ”

“Sounds perfect,” William said far too quickly. “Disappearing is exactly what I’m in the market for.”

Edward shot him a discerning glare, but didn’t push William to explain. Instead, he asked another question. “When you inherited the property, did you not research its history? Look into its sodden past?”

Of course, William had researched what he could about Hanbury Manor. Besides the information pack provided by the lawyer’s firm, the internet offered little information about the manor. It seemed it was a true hidden gem of the Cotswolds. A secret place – somewhere William could store his secrets.

“I know it has been vacant for years. It was passed down in Archie’s family from his great-great-grandfather who died during World War One.

He decided to have it written in his Will to be left to me, since the last person who lived here was some distant cousin who moved out sometime during the late nineties. ”

“And now you’ve been burdened with it,” Edward said. “Seems like a really shitty gift if you ask me.”

“You could say that. The solicitors have tried to convince me to sell it, and I just might. Thought I’d come and see it for myself, check how much work needs to go into it to make it purchasable.”

It didn’t go unnoticed to how Edward perked up at his mentioning of selling the manor.

“I’m sure someone would buy it,” Edward replied, eyes hyperfocused on William. “I guess you could say the manor is… unique.”

“Would you?” William’s brow peaked. “Buy it that is?”

“I’d need money for that…” Edward looked down, inspecting a nail for distraction.