The Flyer by Stuart Harrison Read Free Book Online

water and vanished again, like pale ghosts.
    By the time he reached the ruins of Fotheringhay castle the temperature had risen and the mist was lifting, though a few shrouds still lingered around the mound. Sometimes, William imagined he could feel vibrations in the atmosphere, a humming below the pitch at which things could be heard or felt in the ordinary sense. Mary, Queen of Scotland, had been imprisoned in the castle a little over three hundred years ago, and eventually she was exectued there. Did such things somehow leave their indelible mark on the fabric of time and space? An imprint of melancholy, the extremes of the range of human feeling. It was said that when the castle was demolished the staircase was used in the Talbot Hotel, and that Mary’s ghost has been seen walking down them on the way to her execution. William had seen a figure on the mound more than once. He was sure it was a woman. She stood gazing out across the field, though he sensed she couldn’t see him. An aura of loneliness surrounded the place, a feeling he understood.
    He turned away and began the run back towards the town, where the spire of St Peter’s was visible for miles around, pointing towards heaven, if there was one.
    Before he reached the square he passed a large Georgian house built from the local stone. He paused and bent down on one knee, pretending to tie a loose lace. He saw a figure looking out from a window on the uppermost floor. Her name was Emmaline, a girl of sixteen with long chestnut coloured hair and wide, dark eyes. He had seen her several times about the town before he’d spoken to her in the cake shop one day. She knew he ran along the river every morning and she was always at her window when he came back. He raised a hand to her and she waved in return. When he stood up he felt as if he could run on air, and he sprinted the rest of the way back to the school.
    On Sunday afternoon, William saw Emmaline walking across the square. He caught up with her and asked where she was going.
    ‘I was bored indoors, so I decided to come out for a walk.’
    ‘Can I walk with you?’
    She smiled. ‘If you’d like to.’
    When they reached the church gates, Emmaline suggested they take the path through the churchyard. There were few people about and they walked slowly.
    ‘Where’s your aunt today?’ William asked.
    ‘She’s gone to visit Mister Barnes and his wife. I didn’t want to go so I told her I wasn’t feeling well.’
    Emmaline lived with her father and his sister. Her mother had died when she was young.
    ‘Is your father at home?’
    ‘No, he’s away on business,’ Emmaline said.
    ‘If you’re not in a hurry then,’ William suggested, ‘we could sit and talk for a little while if you like.’ He gestured to a seat.
    ‘My father would be furious if he knew I was here alone with you.’
    ‘I’m sorry. I don’t want to get you into any trouble.’
    ‘Well, I suppose it’ll be alright. You are an Oundle boy, after all.’ She smiled to show that she was teasing him. ‘Anyway, I don’t care what he thinks.’
    It was the first time they had been alone. They sat a foot apart from one another.
    ‘I expect you’re going home for Easter aren’t you?’ Emmaline said.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Where do you live?’
    ‘In a village called Scaldwell.’
    ‘Do you like living there?’
    ‘There isn’t much there really.’
    ‘Where will you live when you finish at Oundle?’
    ‘I’ll be going to Oxford.’
    ‘You’re lucky,’ Emmaline said. ‘My father doesn’t approve of girls attending university. He wouldn’t even let me go away to school. Instead I’ve had to put up with Mister Willis. He’s my tutor. What will you be studying at Oxford?’
    ‘I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps law.’
    ‘Is your father a barrister?’
    ‘No.’ William faltered. He didn’t want to tell her that his father was a blacksmith. ‘Actually it was my grandfather’s idea. He lives in Birmingham.’
    He told Emmaline