The Considine Curse (5 page)

‘My shoes are no good in the snow,’ I say, not relishing the idea of going out with Oberon.

‘We can lend you some wellingtons,’ says Aunt Ruth.

‘Thanks,’ I say, although I don’t mean it.

‘You could take her up to Percy’s Ruin,’ suggests Uncle Harkett. ‘There’s a lovely view from there.’

‘Percy’s Ruin,’ says Mum wistfully. ‘I can’t believe it’s still standing.’

‘What is it?’ I ask.

‘It’s a folly,’ says Uncle Harkett. ‘The local authority has been trying to get it pulled down for years but there’s a campaign to keep it as a local landmark.’

‘What’s a folly?’ I say.

‘Something that was either built foolishly or which has no purpose. Or, as in this case, both. It was built by an ancestor of ours, your great-great-grandfather. You can see it from here.’

‘You wanna go after breakfast then?’ says Oberon.

There is something unnerving about the way he looks at me. I have no desire to be alone with him but I don’t want to appear rude in front of my aunt and uncle so I say yes.

‘I’ll come with you too,’ says Gerald, entering the kitchen.

‘Ah, morning, sweetheart. How nice, yes, all three of you can go.’

‘Hungry, Gerald?’ says Oberon, shovelling a forkful of food into his face.

Gerald doesn’t answer but he sits down to eat.

Before leaving with Uncle Harkett and Mum, Aunt Ruth finds me some hideous purple wellies with yellow flowers. They are a size too big but they do keep my feet dry in the thick snow. Most of the conversation is with Oberon as we trudge up the hill. Gerald walks behind us, as silent as ever. Oberon asks a lot of questions about my life in Melbourne.

‘So you go to the beach every day?’ he says.

‘In the summer, yes.’

‘And it was summer there when you left?’

‘Yep. Blue skies, hot sun, long days.’

‘I like it like this,’ he says.

‘What, getting dark halfway through the afternoon?’ I say.

‘I like the dark.’ He grins at me. ‘There’s a good nightlife here, isn’t there, Gerald?’

He looks at his brother.

‘You mean, like clubs and things?’ I remark, finding it hard to believe.

Oberon laughs. ‘Not exactly.’

‘How far are you planning on taking this?’ asks Gerald.

‘We’re going all the way to Percy’s Ruin,’ replies Oberon.

I can tell this isn’t what Gerald meant. Considering that he’s the oldest he does appear to be scared of his brother.

‘You want to know why it’s called Percy’s Ruin?’ Oberon asks me, not bothering to wait for an answer.

‘Old Percy was Grandad’s grandad. He bought the piece of land on top of the hill and built the tower. The problem is the ground is soft around here. Dad says it was crazy to think about building on ground like that. Even while it was being built it started to lean. It cost him loads of money. Then, just after he finished it, a chunk of outside wall fell away. Percy climbed up to the top and threw himself off.’

‘He killed himself?’

‘That’s the story. Poor old Percy.’ Oberon smiles.

We have left the village, following a path alongside a field heading towards the woods. The field has a covering of white snow, spoilt only by a few pairs of animal tracks.

Oberon glances over his shoulder at Gerald. ‘Let’s get him,’ he whispers. ‘Do what I do.’ He scoops up a handful of snow and presses it together. I do the same. ‘When I say “now”, turn and lob.’

The idea of a real snowball fight is exciting.

‘Now!’

He spins round and throws his snowball. It smacks Gerald in the chest. I do the same but mine hits him in the face. Gerald doesn’t react. Ice drips down his glasses. He takes them off and wipes them with his scarf.

‘Oh, come on, Gerald, retaliate. It’s supposed to be fun,’ says Oberon.

‘This isn’t my idea of fun,’ he replies.

‘Then why did you come?’ snaps Oberon.

Gerald doesn’t answer and I feel bad as he brushes the ice off his scarf.

It’s darker in the woods, even though most of the trees are bare and leafless. Oberon pulls out a chocolate bar from his pocket. He takes a bite and then, as a second thought, offers it to me. I don’t fancy the end he thrusts in my direction because it has his toothmarks and glistens with saliva.

We reach a clearing at the top of the hill where the tower stands. Percy’s Ruin is impressive up close. It stands at the top of the hill, looming high above the nearest trees. I can understand why Percy wanted to build it there. The view is amazing.

‘That’s our house,’ says Oberon, pointing it out. ‘That’s the university where Lily and Elspeth live. That’s the old pea factory where Freddie lives. And that’s Amelia’s cottage down there. You can see Percy’s Ruin from most the houses around here.’

I look up at the tower and notice that the top is blackened by smoke. I realise that this is where I saw the light last night. The spiral staircase that runs through its centre is visible where a section of wall halfway up has fallen away. It reminds me of those drawings you get of buildings which are designed to show you the inside and out. A wire fence surrounds the base of the tower with signs that read
DANGER: DO NOT ENTER. UNSAFE STRUCTURE
.

‘You want to go up it?’ asks Oberon.

‘Not really,’ I reply. ‘Going up a wonky tower with half a wall missing isn’t exactly my idea of fun.’

‘Oh, come on,’ says Oberon. ‘It’s an even better view from the top. You can see the whole of Chilton.’

He pushes the wire fence down and easily steps over it. I follow him in and approach the tower. ‘It’s completely safe,’ he says. ‘I’ve done it loads of times.’ He goes through the open doorway and up the stairs. I peer inside the tower. It is dark and damp. I don’t want to say it but the prospect of going up with someone as heavy as Oberon makes the idea even less appealing.

‘I’ll wait here and wave at you,’ I suggest.

‘You’re not a coward like my brother, are you, Mariel?’ he asks.

‘She said she didn’t want to go.’ Gerald is standing next to me at the entrance to the tower.

Oberon comes back down. The intensity of his stare frightens me. ‘Stay out of this, bro,’ he growls. ‘We’ve all done it. Even him.’ He points at Gerald. ‘It’s not really dangerous. You’d have to be an idiot to fall and you’re not an idiot are you, Mariel?’

Gerald pushes in front of me and squares up to his brother. ‘I know what you’re doing.’

‘Of course you do,’ says Oberon. ‘After all, Gerald is the brains of the family, aren’t you? You’re the one who’s never in trouble.’

‘Trouble? Is that what you call it?’

‘Look, no one’s getting in trouble,’ I say, ‘because I’m not going up.’

‘Suit yourself,’ says Oberon and he storms out of the tower. He pushes Gerald out of the way and runs down into the woods.

I turn to Gerald for some kind of explanation but he avoids my gaze as usual.

‘What’s wrong with you people?’ I ask.

‘You shouldn’t be here,’ he says, then silently leads me back down in the direction of the house.

Chapter 6

Her Beloved Grandchildren

When we get back to the house, Oberon is sitting in the living room with his parents and my mum.

‘Gerald, Mariel, sit down please,’ says Aunt Ruth. ‘We have something to tell you.’

‘This doesn’t concern her,’ says Oberon.

‘Oberon, don’t be so rude,’ scolds Aunt Ruth.

‘Flora left it to
all
her grandchildren. That includes Mariel,’ says Mum.

‘To her “
beloved
grandchildren”,’ snaps Oberon. ‘Grandma didn’t mean her.’

‘What are you talking about?’ asks Gerald.

‘The will,’ says Uncle Harkett. ‘Your grandmother split her money evenly between her children, but she left the house to you and your cousins.’

‘To us?’ says Gerald.

‘Yeah,’ says Oberon. ‘Her
beloved
grandchildren.’

‘Which includes Mariel,’ says Mum.

Oberon storms out, slamming the door behind him. My uncle and aunt look apologetically at Mum.

‘He is taking your mother’s death pretty hard,’ says Aunt Ruth. ‘She was like a mentor to him.’

Under her breath Mum mutters, ‘Poor him,’ but no one else hears her and the conversation moves on to what should be done with the house.

‘The most sensible thing to do is to sell it and split the proceeds eight ways,’ says Uncle Harkett. ‘The question is whether to sell it as it is or do it up first and get a better price.’

‘I can’t help feeling sorry for Will,’ says Mum. ‘He and Chrissie were hoping they would be able to move in.’

Gerald remains silent. I don’t say anything either, because I don’t really want to own even a percentage of a spooky old house and, if I’m honest, I agree with Oberon. Grandma probably didn’t mean me when she said “beloved grandchildren”.

More snow falls in the afternoon. I watch TV with Gerald but he shows no interest in talking to me.

The parents sit chatting and drinking tea until Uncle Harkett decides it is time to open a bottle of wine. Oberon emerges for dinner but doesn’t say much, then goes back to his room.

I can tell Mum is enjoying herself, reminiscing with Uncle Harkett. She keeps laughing loudly and trying to involve me in the stories, but I feel distant from her so I pretend to be interested in the TV until it is late enough to go to bed.

In the middle of the night I wake with a jolt. It is dark. I can hear a noise. It sounds like a rattling door but the sound keeps stopping and starting and I can’t get to sleep for the anticipation of the next time I will hear it. Frustrated, tired and groggy, I get up and go to see if I can stop it.

It isn’t any of the doors on the floor below so I go down to the ground floor where my cousins sleep. It is Oberon’s door that is rattling. I grip the handle and hold it in place to stop it, but I can’t stand there all night like this, so I push the door open. It creaks and I freeze for fear of disturbing Oberon. There is no movement so I push it further and see that Oberon’s window is open. His curtain is flapping in the wind and soft moonlight spills into the room. The only choice I have is to close the window. If Oberon can sleep through the rattling door, he can sleep through anything. I step inside and look at his bed. It is empty.

I pull the window shut and leave the room, closing the door behind me. I run upstairs and climb back into bed. Where is Oberon? My imagination runs wild until I hear a toilet flush and I realise that he probably just got up to go to the loo. I begin to wonder whether this place is making me go insane.

In the morning neither Oberon nor Gerald are awake to say goodbye, which I am relieved about. I persuade Aunt Ruth not to bother waking them. We are staying with Kitson and Celeste next. Amelia was nice to me at the funeral so I hope our stay with her is a bit more normal.

We leave the hire car at Uncle Harkett’s and he takes us in his car because there is still snow on the roads and his car has four-wheel drive.

Kitson and Celeste live in Todminton on the other side of the hill, right below Percy’s Ruin. We pull up outside a quaint white-walled cottage with a thatched roof.

The door to the cottage opens and Amelia and her mum come out. They both look like they have just stepped out of a stylish winter clothes catalogue. I feel self-conscious in the purple wellies Aunt Ruth gave me.

We get out of the car and Celeste kisses Mum on both cheeks. Mum isn’t prepared for this and only narrowly avoids a head collision. Amelia greets me in the same way and says, ‘I’m so glad you’re staying. We’re going to have such fun.’ Her perfume is overpowering.

‘Kitson’s out on a housecall,’ Aunt Celeste says.

‘Is he a doctor?’ I ask.

‘Dad’s a vet,’ says Amelia.

Uncle Harkett gets back into his car. ‘We’ll see you at Robson’s get-together,’ he says.

The rest of us go into the cottage and sit on stools at a breakfast bar in the kitchen. The cottage is colourfully decorated with vases of fresh bright flowers and bowls of potpourri everywhere. Aunt Celeste makes coffee for Mum and freshly squeezed orange juice for me.

‘Amelia has an audition this afternoon in Chilton,’ Aunt Celeste says. ‘We thought you might like to get the train in with us and go shopping.’

‘Audition for what?’ I ask.

‘I’m up for a part in an advert,’ says Amelia. ‘I’ve been modelling mostly so far but I go for acting jobs when I can. After all, acting is just modelling with speaking really. You can help me pick out what to wear for the audition.’

‘What’s the part?’ asks Mum.

‘It’s for a fabric softener. In the advert I put on a jumper, notice the smell and then say, “Wow, that’s fresh.”’

‘Now, darling, remember the emphasis,’ says Aunt Celeste. ‘“Wow” and “fresh” are the important words.’

‘
Wow
, that’s
fresh
,’ says Amelia again.