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The rain weakened as I travelled north. Low cloud hid the tops of the hills, and water ran along the edges of the road. My phone signal dropped twice before returning. Harrowmere’s village appeared after a final turn, a cluster of stone houses, a pub and a church set back from the road.
I recognised none of it.
My childhood memory began at the iron gate. A wide staircase. Dark curtains closing before sunset. Edith’s hand firm around mine when I wandered towards a cellar door.
We’re not going down there, Bryony.
I couldn’t remember asking why. At eight, Edith’s tone had been enough.
The navigation sent me past the village and along a lane bordered by wet hedges. There were no signs for Harrowmere. The entrance appeared behind a bend, marked by two stone pillars and a pair of black iron gates.
I pulled into the short approach and stopped before the cameras.
The gates were taller than I remembered. Iron ravens sat on top of each one with their wings folded around narrow crowns. New motors and a keypad had been fitted to the old stone, but the design matched the key in my bag.
I sent Arthur my location and a photograph. Then I called him.
“I’m at the gates. They’re closed, and there’s no sign of another vehicle.”
“Use the contractor fob. Don’t get out of the car if it fails.”
I took the modern fob from the metal box and pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
“It isn’t responding.”
“The battery was tested this morning.”
The old key shifted inside my bag.
A green light appeared on the keypad before I touched it. The motors engaged, and the gates began to open.
Arthur heard them through the phone. “Did you press the fob again?”
“No.”
“Stay where you are.”
The gap widened. Beyond it, the gravel drive curved through dense trees and disappeared. No house was visible from the road.
The key grew warm against the side of my handbag.
Edith had written that Harrowmere was waiting for me. The open gates made that harder to dismiss.
“I’m going as far as the house,” I said. “I’ll call before I get out of the car.”
Arthur swore quietly. It was the first time I’d heard him do it.
“Five minutes,” he said. “Then I’m calling you.”
“Five minutes.”
I ended the call, put the car into gear and drove across the boundary.
3
STELLAN
