The Haunting of Highdown Hall by Shani Struthers Read Free Book Online Page B

age proudly. Five and three quarters . A clever boy, if a little precocious. Who is that other boy?
    “He’s called Dylan.” Ruby had spoken next. “He lives here now. This is his bedroom.”
    No! A stomp of the foot. This is my bedroom. Where are my toys? I don’t like his. Tell him to go.
    Timothy was beginning to get cross, the energy around him building. On the floor, Lego and cowboys started to vibrate, as if he were getting ready to throw them. The atmosphere became heavier, denser. Theo and Ruby did their best to placate him, but not even Theo’s soothing voice could calm him. It was only when a great ball of fur had suddenly thundered in, rushing past them, straight to the child’s side and distracting him, that the increasingly dangerous situation had been defused.
    As the child began to laugh, Theo seized the chance to explain to Timothy that he had passed; a hard thing to get across at the best of times, let alone to a small child. Timothy, however, steadfastly ignored her, too absorbed in Jed.
    I always wanted a dog, he said, to no one in particular, probably to Jed.
    Patiently, Theo tried again. “Do you see a light, Timothy? A beautiful, bright light? It’s there if you look. Tell me, can you see it?”
    No response.
    “It’s sparkling too,” Theo continued, “like a beam from a magic lantern.”
    That got his attention.
    What is it? He couldn’t resist asking.
    “It’s home.”
    As the boy stared, Theo spoke again.
    “Touch it,” she encouraged, “feel how lovely it is, Timothy. It’s like the warmest, the softest, the fluffiest blanket you’ve ever known, wrapping itself around you.”
    But the boy did not move.
    “Timothy?” Ruby prompted.
    A shake of the head.
    I want my mummy, he repeated, his hand, previously deep in Jed’s fur, faltering.
    Theo ventured on.
    “I know you do, sweetheart. And she wants you too, so very much. But she’s not here anymore. She had to go and live in another house. A new family live here and this is their home now. Your home is in the light. There are people there, people who know and love you, people who will look after you until mummy can be with you again.”
    Ruby could see tears running down the boy’s cheeks, tears that caused her own eyes to blur. Dealing with spirit children was always so damned hard.
    “Darling...” but before Theo had a chance to say anything more, Ruby quietened her.
    “Wait...” she whispered, laying a hand on her arm.
    Jed was nudging the boy now with his nose, nudging him, Ruby presumed, towards the light. The boy was resistant at first, pushing the dog away, lost in sorrow again, thinking only of his mother – but Jed was relentless. Finally, the boy looked up.
    Grandad? There was surprise and delight in his voice.
    Both Theo and Ruby watched as the boy rose to his feet.
    Grandad! He repeated the name, no surprise this time, just pure and sweet delight.
    Turning away from them, from Jed, the boy ran to his grandfather and, as the old man’s arms encircled him, the atmosphere in the room immediately brightened. After a few moments, Timothy’s grandfather pulled away and, taking the boy’s hand in his, led the child home.
    It was only when they had faded entirely that Jed returned to Ruby’s side, looking, she had to admit, extremely pleased with himself.
    “You still can’t stay,” she said sternly. Then, unable to resist, she favoured him with an indulgent smile before turning to Theo, “I could murder a Starbucks.”
    “Me too,” Theo eagerly agreed, “one of those caramel macchiato things.” And with that she was off downstairs to break the good news to the anxious owners waiting below.
    ***
    After a fitful night’s sleep (mainly because Jed had taken up residence at the end of her bed, scratching constantly at some imaginary itch), Wednesday dawned bright and cold.
    Yawning, Ruby removed her earplugs first and then her eye mask – essential nightwear as far as she was concerned, sensory deprivation