Beatrice (The Tipton Hollow 2)

“Are you sure you want to be left here, Mrs Partridge?” Ben asked as he wove the carriage through the busy traffic.

“Please call me Maud. Nobody calls me Mrs Partridge, except for the vicar, and I don’t really like him,” Maud replied with a smile.

She hoped that he would understand that her relationship with Beatrice was not going to change if Beatrice married him. At Brantley Manor, formalities were never adhered to because Beatrice and Maud were like family to each other; if Ben intended to join them then he had to accept that things were a little different, and a lot less formal than in most houses.

“Let’s start as we mean to go on then, Maud. You must call me Ben,” he smiled as he handed her down from the carriage. “Beatrice has Sally’s address, so we will call by there when we have finished at the university. Whatever happens, we will be back for you so don’t go home on your own.”

“Fair enough,” Maud replied as she lifted both of her baskets off the seat and turned toward the busy market. “Wish me luck.”

Beatrice merely smiled at her and studied the crowds. It was only when Ben had started to edge the carriage back out into the traffic that her gaze landed on the now familiar face of Sigmund Hargraves, who stood with one shoulder propped against a market stall. Although he didn’t attempt to approach them, his stare was fierce as they drove past.

Beatrice nudged Ben. “Hargraves,” she whispered and nodded to the spot where the man had been standing. To her consternation, he had vanished. She turned around and searched the crowd, but couldn’t see her either Maud or Hargraves.

“Are you sure?” Ben demanded as he turned to look back at the market stalls.

“’ere watch out,” a pedestrian cried as he quickly dodged the horse.

“Sorry,” Ben called and turned his attention back to the heavy traffic. “I haven’t seen Great Tipton like this in a long time,” he muttered as he wove the carriage expertly in and out of both stationary and moving carriages.

“I hate the market when it gets this busy,” Beatrice replied. It was a relief to leave the hustle and bustle behind when they turned onto a much quieter road which took them directly to the university.

“Heavens above,” she whispered minutes later, once Ben had parked the carriage and they had entered the main square of the campus.

In contrast to the raucous bustle of the market, the heavy atmosphere of the university was almost too quiet. The clip of their boots on the cobbled path seemed to echo around the large courtyard which was surrounded by four-storey buildings. Although she had yet to see another living soul, she could practically feel eyes watching her as she made her away across the open area toward the door marked ‘Entrance’. She was glad that Ben was with her because she was certain that if she had been alone, she would have got no further and turned around and gone home. It was a relief to be able to open the door to the entrance hall and get inside.

Ben stood back to allow her through and fought the urge to tug at his collar. He hadn’t been into a building like this since he had left university, and had forgotten just how oppressive the atmosphere was. They walked onto hallowed ground as they entered the huge, panelled entrance hall embraced by two massive oak staircases. Directly in front of them sat a single desk behind which sat a small, bespectacled gentleman.

“Can I help you?” He intoned, clearly bored out of his skull from having to sit with nothing much to do.

“Would you be able to direct us to someone who may have specialist knowledge of botany please?”

“Harrington, Room 51. Top of the stairs, end of the corridor, turn right, last door on the left.”

Beatrice looked at Ben and fought a smile. She hoped he had made a note of what the man had said because she couldn’t remember anything other than the room they needed was number 51.

“We may be gone for some time,” she whispered.

“Shh.” The man glared at them as they made their way up the stairs.

She winced and remained quiet while they tip-toed up the large staircase. To their consternation, once they got there, one long corridor ran both to the left and the right of them.

Ben opened his mouth to ask the man at the desk which way they should go, only to stare aghast at the now empty desk.

“We didn’t imagine him, did we?” Beatrice asked. She started to feel a little unnerved because they had been near silent going up the stairs, and she hadn’t heard any movement behind them. Yet the man had not only left the desk, but vanished completely.

She drew her shawl around her shoulders and took Ben’s arm, even though he didn’t hold it out to her. Thankfully, he drew her against his side as they walked arm in arm down the corridor, and it was a relief to have his solid strength beside her.

“We can try this way first. If there isn’t any sign of Room 51 then can try the other corridor. If we get lost, we can always start to knock on doors.”

Beatrice studied the long corridor before them and simply couldn’t count the amount of doors they were faced with.

“One hundred and eleven,” she sighed.

“Right, let’s go then,” he suggested as they started to walk down the corridor.

Secretly though, he wondered if they would ever see daylight again.

CHAPTER TEN