“Yes,” she says. “By Babushka’s aunt. She went crazy in that room and hanged herself using the sheets. They locked her in there. They had to for the safety of the family.”
“Sounds about right for the times,” I agree, humoring her.
“People say she’s still in there, howling and moaning, looking for a way out.”
“Well the door isn’t locked now, is it?” I ask with a wry smile.
“Well no, but her spirit is confined to the room with her dying in there,” Petra says.
“Right,” I agree slowly.
I hear footsteps echoing in the hallway and heading back for the dining room.
“Anyway, just be careful.” Petra smiles. “We’d hate to see you leaving that room in a strait jacket.”
I’m sure she would hate that. The door opens and Alex comes back.
“Are you ready for bed, Cindy or do you want to stay up for a while?”
The last thing I want is to spend more time with his cousins. I fake a yawn and stand up. “Bed for me. Good night ladies.”
Petra and Anastasia wish me goodnight and Alex and I head for the stairs.
“What were those two saying while we were gone? They looked pretty sheepish when I came in,” he says.
I decide against telling him what they were saying. They were just trying to get a rise out of me, and I think I made it pretty clear their stories weren’t scaring me. I don’t want to tell Alex and have him mention it to them. That would make it seem like I was partially buying the bullshit they were selling.
“Oh, nothing much,” I say. “Just chit chat, really. They’re very protective of you, aren’t they?”
“That’s one way of saying they’re rude and standoffish,” Alex says with a chuckle.
I laugh with him. He’s seen straight through my attempt at being polite about them.
“They are protective though. Of Babushka,” he says.
“Maybe you should tell them the truth,” I say. “Then they’ll know you’re doing this to make her happy.”
“Screw that,” Alex says, stopping in his tracks and looking down at me with a frown. “They are extremely competitive and they’d do anything to make me look bad in my aunt’s eyes. Promise me you won’t let them manipulate you into telling them anything.”
I quickly reassure him. “I won’t say a thing, I swear. The less conversation I have to have with those two, the better.”
Cindy
I wake up suddenly. The darkness around me is denser than I am used to. The city of London never sleeps and there is always light from the streetlamps or cars filtering into my room. For a second I am not even sure where I am. Then it comes back to me.
Alex.
Babushka.
I think I hear a tapping noise outside of my door. That must have been what woke me up. Is it Alex? But no. Surely Alex wouldn’t come to my room in the middle of the night. He promised this trip wouldn’t be like that, and I believe he meant it. Plus, there’s an adjoining door. Why would he risk being spotted in the hallway when he could just come through there?
The noise stops. I strain to listen, but there is nothing. I must have imagined it, or it was the tail end of a dream …
I close my eyes and let myself fall back to sleep, but just as I am starting to slip into the soft darkness, I hear it again. I jerk awake and stay unmoving, even holding my breath so there are no sounds coming from me, and listen more closely. It’s not so much a tapping sound. It’s more of a scraping sound, like … wtf … nails running over wood.
I sit bolt upright and listen again. Every sense in my body is wide awake and on high alert.
Now I can hear footsteps too. They cover the width of my room and then go back again as though someone is pacing restlessly outside of my door. Or something, I think with an icy chill running down my spine. My hand rushes out in the dark to switch on the bedside light.
Instantly, the sounds stop.
Breathing in quick shallow breaths, I stare at the door expectantly. But nothing happens. No movements. No sounds. Everything is still and silent. London is never this silent. The peace is broken when I start laughing with sheer relief. I realize what’s happening here. It has to be one or both of the sisters out there, playing a trick on me, trying to scare me half to death.
I shake my head. What the hell is wrong with those two? They’d clearly decided to hate me before I even got here. They’re like teenagers. So childish. I glance at the alarm clock. Well, well, it’s just turned midnight. They have a sense of drama. I’ll give them that.
Well girls, if you want to scare me off, it’s going to take a little bit more than walking up and down scratching at the walls. I switch off the light and wait. The noises start again. I have to admit the nails against the wall is pure genius. Even knowing it is the two evil stepsisters doesn’t stop the hairs on my arms from standing. I let them continue a few more seconds, before I push the light duvet back and get to my feet quietly. I tip toe across the room, hoping none of the floorboards creak. They don’t.