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already."
     
    They arrived at St. Erth Railway Station just after midnight. The bitter night air engulfed them like an icy blanket as they climbed from the train.
    They found a taxi easily enough, and it whisked them through the night to their final destination of St. Ives. The taxi driver pulled up short, just before the turnoff where the main road ended and petered out into a narrow, unruly lane. Thaddeus paid the fare as they clambered from the car with their luggage . They stood before the lane as the taxi's taillights disappeared into the distance.
    "The cab driver won’t take us any further. The lane is too narrow and the wild bracken scratches the car. I can't blame him, the uneven road doesn't help the suspension either," he remarked as he picked up his case and guided her up the lane, leaving the main road and the warm, orange glow of the street lights behind them. Winnie stayed close behind him, then pausing; she looked back at the road. If she was going to back out now, this was her last chance. W here was she to go? She didn’t know this part of England. She had neve r been to Cornwall before. W hat did she have to go back to? Winnie had come this far. Turning away from the road, Winnie was faced with the total darkness and silence that lay before her. It was in complete contrast to London at night, which had been bright and full of noise, people, and traffic. She had never known such silence and her new surroundings unnerved her. Thaddeus continued to move briskly ahead . Winnie could barely make out his form before her. Guided by the sound of his footfalls on the stony ground beneath them, she stepped forward into the dark and followed him.
    Winnie tripped and stumbled in the dark, and she winced o ut loud as thorns and wild ivy clawed at her like greedy hands. Not once did Thaddeus trip himself up or snag his clothes on the undergrowth, which grew in a frenzy on either side of them. Winnie guessed that they must be climbing up, because her legs began to tire and her calf muscles ached. They must have been walking for twenty minutes or more, her labouring behind, as Thaddeus strode out ahead.  She was just about to cry out and plead for a rest, when Thaddeus came to an abrupt halt. There was a sound in the darkness as she heard him loosen a bolt and swing open a gate. Winnie passed through behind him. Thaddeus closed it, and then strode out in front again.
    After only a minute or so of walking, Thaddeus stopped again.
    Winnie heard him slip a key into a lock, then another, and then the sound of him pushing a door wide open. He disappeared for a moment, and then there was light. Winnie found herself standing before a large house. She guessed the building had to be very old from the little she could see by the light which spilled from within. She passed through the open doorway, leaving the cold and the night behind her. Thaddeus had disappeared. Winnie looked about the vast hallway she now found herself in. The walls were panelled in a rich, deep oak. Doors to rooms led off the hallway. A wide double staircase grew from the centre of the hall and spiralled upwards into the dark like an ancient spine. Thick patterned rugs covered the polished wooden floor. Portraits adorned the walls. She was no artist, and knew very little of history, but she could tell that the pictures had been beautifully painted, and were very old. She looked about for Thaddeus as she clutched the carrier bag to her chest.
    " Thaddeus, are you there?" she called out. As the last of her words trailed off into the depths of the enormous house, lights flickered on from the landing above her. Looking up, Winnie saw Thaddeus standing at the top of the stairs.
    "Welcome to my home, Winnie. Come up and I shall show you to your room."
    She moved across the hallway and climbed the stairs. At the top, Thaddeus led her down a long narrow corridor, stopping outside a door at the far end. Winnie stepped into the room and looked about in wonder. The