The Mercer's House (Northern Gothic Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

don’t suppose she’ll say anything to me either, but it’s worth a try.’
    The sun was streaming in through a big arched window, and looking out, Zanna caught a glimpse of a woman in a nurse’s uniform, pushing a man in a wheelchair down the path of the walled garden behind the house. The nurse bent over to listen to something the man was saying, then changed direction and came to a stop in a sunny spot by a luxuriant flowering creeper. She adjusted the chair to his liking, then sat down on a bench next to him and took out a book. The man shifted slightly in the chair and raised his face as if to drink in the rays of the sun.
    ‘That’s Corbin,’ said Alexander, following Zanna’s gaze. ‘He likes to feel the sun on his skin. He says it gives him strength. He’ll probably get up and take a walk in a minute.’
    Sure enough, after a minute or two Zanna saw the nurse stand up and help the man to his feet. He waved her away, and she sat down again and watched as he shuffled slowly and unsteadily along the path. It was an uncomfortable sight, and Zanna turned her eyes away.
    ‘Well, I’m sorry I haven’t been any help,’ said Alexander. ‘I don’t know whether Corbin kept the correspondence from the private investigation agency, but I’ll ask him and perhaps see if there’s anything useful there. I’m not very good at organizing things, so Corbin dealt with it all for me. But one can’t go on searching forever for someone who doesn’t want to be found, and in the end he said we’d have to give it up.’
    ‘If you can find the file I’d appreciate it,’ said Zanna. Before coming to Elsbury she had been uncertain as to how far she was prepared to go to find her aunt, but she’d been dismayed at the mention of Canada and the thought that Helen might have gone all that way. Now it looked as if the search had already ended. If a private investigator had failed to turn anything up, then how could she hope to be any more successful? She would try and speak to this Alison Maudsley, but if she had no luck there then she might as well give up.
    ‘How long are you planning to stay here?’ said Alexander. ‘I do hope you’re not going to run off straightaway. I suppose you have to get back to work, but I’d love it if you’d come to tea before you go.’
    ‘I don’t really know. I don’t have any firm plans,’ said Zanna. ‘I can work anywhere as long as I have my paints.’
    ‘Marvellous,’ he said. ‘Then do come tomorrow. Or why not today, if you’re not busy? After all, it’s not every day I meet a long-lost niece. We can have tea in the garden. Might as well take advantage of this beautiful weather, don’t you think? I’ll show you around the house, too. It’s said to be haunted by the spirit of a woman who died in tragic circumstances. It’s a very interesting story.’
    ‘Thank you, I’d like that,’ said Zanna. She supposed she was his niece in a way, and she liked what she’d seen of him so far. His engagingly vague air gave him a childlike quality that was very endearing, and he was so uncomplicatedly friendly and welcoming that it was hard not to respond.
    ‘And you must keep in touch after you go back home. We can be pen pals, if you like. Or email pals, I suppose we should call it,’ he said with a laugh.
    Just then the door opened and the dog Tess came running in, followed by the man from the beach, who was holding a tattered newspaper.
    ‘She’s been at your paper again,’ he said to Alexander without preamble, then saw Zanna and stopped dead.
    ‘Will, this is Zanna, the young lady who’s looking for Helen. You remember I told you about her. She’s Helen’s niece. Zanna, this is my son, Will,’ said Alexander.
    ‘Hello again,’ said Will. His words were polite enough but there was a wary look on his face.
    ‘Oh, you’ve met already, have you?’ said Alexander.
    ‘She was out swimming this morning when I took Tess out,’ said Will. ‘She got caught by the