Doctor Who_ Wolfsbane - Jac Rayner [58]
She hadn‟t seemed like much of a concerned parent that morning, Harry thought, but perhaps her feelings ran deeper than had showed. „Did you find him?‟ he asked her.
She shook her head. „Alas, no. I reached the woods - there was a terrible fuss going on - then the whole place seemed to go mad. Trees and bushes everywhere, behaving like nothing I had ever seen. Thankfully, Trelawny found me and brought me home.‟ She pushed back her sleeves, revealing more bloody scratches. „Before I was too greatly hurt.‟
She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat as the Doctor, an interested look on his face, bent down to examine her arms.
„There‟s a lot of blood on your dress for just these few cuts,‟
he said.
„It is not her blood,‟ said Emmeline Neuberger from the darkness of the doorway.
Hester looked up at the other woman. „Indeed, I never claimed it was. Trelawny here had the misfortune to come into contact with the attacking plantlife too, as you can see -‟
She gestured at the injured butler.
„No,‟ said Emmeline. „That blood is not from the cuts on the arms or the face or the legs. That is the rich pure blood that comes straight from the heart. Whoever spilled that blood on you, they are dead now, that I know.‟
Hester jumped to her feet, all traces of weakness and exhaustion vanishing. „What are you saying?‟ she cried.
„Emmeline, I think the moon must have addled your senses‟
„On the contrary, it is the moon that has made them clearer. What I say is true.‟
Hester shot a look from Emmeline, to the Doctor, to Harry.
On Harry‟s face at least, she must have seen a dawning comprehension. „You‟re not saying that she‟s the killer?‟
Harry enquired, not sure if he was asking the Doctor or Emmeline.
„Oh, I think that‟s exactly what‟s being said,‟ the Doctor answered, taking a step towards Lady Hester.
The woman flung out a hand and shouted a string of meaningless-sounding syllables. The Doctor took another step forward, and her eyes widened.
„Sorry, your magic obviously doesn‟t affect me,‟ he said. „I‟m not some poor boy from the Dark Ages.‟
With a snarl, she dived towards the broken windows. The Doctor dashed forwards after her, as did Emmeline. Harry, still getting his head round all this, was a few fractions of a second behind. But as Emmeline entered the room proper, the moonlight which filtered through the shattered glass hit her. The change took place in mid air as she leaped through the window. Harry stopped in his tracks, trying to keep down last night‟s chicken, soup, savoury and so on and not make a spectacle of himself. Trelawny the butler fainted clean away.
As Harry pondered his most recent meal, the Doctor stepped carefully back through the window. „Did she get away?‟ Harry asked, pulling himself together.
„I was distracted,‟ said the Doctor, grimly. „Could you come and give me a hand?‟
Harry followed the Doctor out of the window, glancing warily at the greenery around just in case it decided to jump about again, carefully stepping over the vines that trailed across the floor and the windowsill.
The Doctor indicated a pile of earth, dark in the moonlight.
There was a paler streak by it - no, sticking out of it. A tree branch? Harry got closer. No. It was a stiff white arm.
Harry shivered. ‘Who is it?’
The Doctor shrugged. I don‟t know. Judging by the size and apparent age of the arm, I would suspect it‟s Jane the maid.
But of course, it needn‟t be an occupant of the house at all.‟
He knelt down and started to dig at the dirt with his hands.
Harry joined him. „This is getting to be a bit of a habit,‟ Harry said, only half joking. The Doctor didn‟t smile.
The body was lying face down, but when turned over did prove to be that of Jane Jones - although if Harry hadn‟t been expecting it to be her he might have found the identification difficult. He only seen her once or twice, after all, and - well, she looked different dead. Colourless. Rigor mortis had set in („And she‟s cold - I‟d