The Serpent in the Glass (The Tale of Thomas Farrell) Read Online Free PDF Page B

CHAPTER THREE —
    The Headmaster of Darkledun Manor
    It wasn’t far to Darkledun Manor. After leaving the main road from Selkirk they headed west along a much quieter road that eventually came to follow the course of a river. A few minutes later the road headed toward the river and they crossed a bridge. It was at this point that Thomas saw a sign that read Carterhaugh Forest . He looked at Jessica, but her head was turned the other way. She didn’t seem very interested in her surroundings or the tourist information anymore. In fact, she’d said very little since leaving Selkirk, which was very unusual for her. Perhaps the trip had tired her out.
    After crossing the bridge, Mr Westhrop pulled the car over and consulted the map. Pulling back out again, he turned down a lane that led into the forest. About a mile down the lane he turned off down another smaller lane marked with a wooden sign upon which Darkledun Manor — 2 miles had been painted in black handwriting. The trees became denser as they journeyed down the lane, so much so that Thomas was unable to see anything but a wall of green from the car window.
    Eventually the lane ended at a pair of large iron gates. The one on the left bore the word Darkledun at its top, wrought in iron and painted white, and the gate on the right sported the word Manor . Mr Westhrop drove through the open gates and parked in the small dirt car park that lay just inside of them. It was empty apart from several bicycle sheds filled with bikes of many colours and sizes. Thomas and the Westhrops piled out of the car, Jessica (unusually) last.
    They stood at the bottom of a small, flat-topped hill upon which sat a large manor house with a broad, squat tower at one end. A cobbled path led up the incline to the sizeable front door. They approached the school somewhat warily, especially Mrs Westhrop who appeared concerned she might trip on the cobbles. Thomas walked behind the Westhrops, staring up and taking in the details of the place. Jessica trailed behind, sparing only the odd glance at the school. The door had a bell, not an electric bell but a brass one about the size of a child’s head. Attached to the top of the bell was a small black arm from which hung a long chain made of some dark metal.
    Mr Westhrop tugged on the chain cautiously. From the expression on his face it looked as if he expected something to break. The bell above rang, and the chime echoed through Darkledun Manor’s empty grounds. A moment later the door opened and they were greeted by a lady not much taller than Jessica. Thomas guessed her to be in her middle years. Her long, dark brown dress clung tight to her waist, a perfect complement to the short, dark brown hair that left her neck and ears exposed.
    ‘Good morning. I am Miss McGritch, the Housekeeper of Darkledun Manor. You must be the Westhrops?’ she said in a voice as austere as Thomas had ever heard, but with only a hint of a Scottish accent. The short lady looked at each of them. Her eyes rested last and longest upon Thomas.
    ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Mr Westhrop replied.
    Miss McGritch smiled slightly and beckoned them in. ‘If you will follow me, I will take you to the Headmaster.’
    Mrs Westhrop’s high-heeled shoes clattered noisily on the stone floor of the sunlit entrance hall as they followed Miss McGritch. The Housekeeper walked so prim and proper and straight-backed that Thomas thought she must have practised long and hard with a book or two on her head.
    Facing him, Thomas saw stairs leading up to another level, but they didn’t take those; instead they went left and the Housekeeper led them down a couple of featureless corridors, and past a number of doors all marked with a number and letter such as 3A and 5B, until at the end of the last corridor they arrived outside a door upon which were affixed the words Headmaster’s Office .
    Miss McGritch knocked and an enthusiastic, but not-at-all Scottish, voice answered. ‘Yes? Who is