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  Dinner was to be served in thirty minutes and so Cian ushered Cecily over to the bar and got her a rather large, orange-coloured cocktail. If Fen, Sol and Jedd were not ready to talk to her yet, then so be it. She had Cian, although not for long it seemed. After he handed her the drink, he said he had to go and sort out some party business. He kissed her on the cheek and was gone. So Cecily reluctantly made her way back over to her friends and stood with Kaden and Elisabeth until it was time for dinner. She really tried to focus on the conversation, but she could not help looking round the Great Hall for Cian. She was missing him.

  ***

  It was not long until there was a second announcement from the balcony above. This time it was Lady Bramble.

  “Thank you, everyone!” she said as the din softened. “It gives me great pleasure to announce that dinner is now served! Please make your way into the dining room.”

  And so the crowd obediently shuffled to dinner, checking the two big boards on either side of the doorway to see where their table was located.

  The tables were large and round, each seating eight people. The magnificent floral displays that Cecily had seen on her way into the party had now been removed to make space. The six friends and Cian were sat together on one table, leaving a spare seat, which was sat upon at various points through dinner by people stopping to say ‘Hello’ on their way to the toilet. So far, it had been occupied by Acantha, Millie Poole and Dawn and Cherry, who kept giving Elisabeth dirty looks as she was accompanying Kaden. Instead, the two girls turned their flirty attention to Jedd, although he was completely uninterested.

  The starter came and went and the mood at the table had still not improved. It was not supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be having fun. So, with a couple of cocktails down her neck, Cecily attempted to lighten the mood with some funny anecdotes and a few bad jokes. However, only Elisabeth seemed to be enjoying the Cecily show. Everyone else seemed preoccupied and Fen and Sol were talking quietly amongst themselves. Worse still, Cian kept leaving the table between courses to sort yet more ‘party business’. Cecily decided to give up. If they did not want to have a good time, that was their problem. She absent-mindedly picked at a bread roll while waiting for the dessert bar to open.

  ***

  As dinner drew to a close, Cecily’s mood had completely blackened. Two hours in the dining room had seemed like an eternity and she was glad that they were now being heralded back into the Great Hall, where the big band was set up, ready to whisk the dancing party goers into a frenzy. Cecily was hoping this would lift her friends’ moods. Everywhere else she looked, people were having a great time. Tonight, the guests would be partaking in real dances, such as the Quickstep, the Foxtrot, the Tango and the Waltz and dance instructors were dotted around the Great Hall ready to give tips and impromptu lessons. Cecily could not wait to dance with Cian, but once more he guided her through the crowd to the bar and got her a cocktail. He apologised again as he said that he had to go and speak to his uncle about something. With that, he disappeared.

  Drink in hand, she surveyed the room from the confines of the bar space. Fen and Sol were dancing nearby, as were Kaden and Elisabeth. However, she could not see Jedd anywhere and to her surprise, she felt relief. She was beginning to feel really sorry for herself as she tucked into her third cocktail of the evening. Everyone else was quite literally having a ball, except for her, who was deserted again. But she was not to be alone for long. Seeing her by herself, Justin Long, the kitchen porter, lumbered over and asked her to dance. Cecily accepted graciously. She may as well; Cian was nowhere to be seen. For such a large chap, Justin was surprisingly light on his feet. As Justin twirled her round, Cecily saw Lord Bramble ascending the grand staircase and she found herself wondering what the aristocrat and his nephew had to talk about. So far, this evening was certainly not turning out to be the fairy tale she had hoped for.

  ***

  Kaden had remained vigilant up until now. He had spent all night watching everyone, looking for any indication he had missed something, but so far, he had seen nothing to be suspicious about. He did feel a bit bad for Fen. It was her birthday, but the gang were not having much fun. Jedd was more or less ignoring everyone, Kaden himself had certainly been preoccupied and although Cecily had made various attempts at lightening the mood, she had failed and so she now appeared to be sulking. However, Fen seemed oblivious to all of these happenings as she only had eyes for Sol.

  As Kaden and Elisabeth danced their way around the Great Hall, Kaden noticed that the guests seemed to be having a fantastic time. People were talking and smiling and jovial laughter could be heard above the music. This did not look like a place where something dreadful was about to happen. Maybe on this occasion, he was over-thinking things. Maybe he had become paranoid. After all, the dreams, their warning signal, had ceased. If there had been imminent danger, maybe it was no more.

  As the foxtrot came to an end, Elisabeth announced that she was going to the ladies’ room, so Kaden told her he would wait for her at the bar. After he had ordered his drink, he turned to survey the room. He saw that Fen and Sol were close by, dancing a slow waltz together and gazing into each other’s eyes. He could not see Jedd anywhere and come to think of it, he had not seen him since they had re-entered the Great Hall after dinner. He would not be surprised to find he had actually left for the evening. As for Cecily, Kaden was surprised to see her dancing with Justin Long, the kitchen porter. Once again, Kaden found his eyes darting from face to face to see if he could locate Cian, but he could not. He had not really had an opportunity to speak to Cian yet as he had been so busy with the party and rarely at Cecily’s side, so he felt it would be unfair of him to judge Cian, but there was something about him. Not only did Kaden find something familiar about Cian, but when they shook hands earlier, there was something in his eyes and something smug about his attitude. But Kaden thought once more that he must be imagining things. If Cecily liked him, then he must trust her judgement.

  Kaden had come to the conclusion that on this occasion, his paranoia had got the better of him and he was looking for signs that simply were not there. He decided that he was going to relax from now on and let his friends make their own decisions. He could not control everything all of the time. And with that last thought, he felt relief.

  ***

  Even though everyone seemed a bit quiet tonight, Elisabeth was having a great time. She had felt a bit shy at first, but they were all being so nice to her, even the formidable character that was Jedd. Although he seemed to be ignoring everyone else, he was courteous to her. She was sure she would become firm friends with them all as she got to know them better, as was her positive outlook. Elisabeth thought that Cecily was lovely, so bubbly and kind. She looked stunning tonight in her beautiful handmade dress. Elisabeth even felt a bit envious, but not in a malicious way. She admired Cecily and she looked fabulous together with Cian. That was what Elisabeth wanted and a fleeting thought passed through her head that maybe she and the glorious Kaden Quinn would get together. They had been dancing all night.

  Elisabeth adjusted her long, raven curly hair in the mirror and refreshed her pink lip gloss, secretly hoping it would be kissed off by the end of the evening. She was in a bathroom in one of the bedrooms on the first floor. The queue downstairs for the toilet had been enormous and she was dying, so she had crept up the back staircase and used the en suite in one of the manor’s seven bedrooms. As this room was fairly small compared to the other bedrooms, it was not frequently used. One of the chambermaids had told her this when they were chatting in the gift shop when she first arrived. The bathroom had two doors so it could be used by the bedrooms on either side of it. As she was about to leave the bathroom, she heard raised voices coming from the bedroom next door. Elisabeth stealthily snuck out of the bathroom, checking as she left that it was in the same condition as she had found it. She quietly closed the door and repeated the same actions on her way out of the bedroom. She tiptoed along the l
anding to the next door, even though that by going in this direction, she was moving further away from the back staircase.

  Once outside the door, she could definitely hear voices coming from inside, muffles liberating themselves through the small gap at the bottom of the door. Elisabeth looked around warily to see if she was alone and when she was satisfied that she indeed was alone in the corridor, she lightly pressed her ear against the door.

  “I do not think we should put any more lives at risk! There is no need!”

  Lord Bramble’s voice was getting louder with every word and he clearly sounded agitated.

  “S-s-sir… if I may,” stuttered a second voice, which Elisabeth recognised but could not quite place. “Maybe we could lure the five sacrifices up here while the other guests leave the party? I could be responsible for that. Then we could take them out to the clearing for the ritual.”

  Ritual? Elisabeth knew that she was overhearing a conversation that she should not. Her instinct was telling her to run, yet her feet were glued to the floor. She was suddenly feeling very hot, little beads of perspiration escaping from her temples.

  From inside the room, a third voice began to speak, one that sent a cold shiver down Elisabeth’s spine.

  “Let me make it perfectly clear, I am in charge of this situation, not either of you, and I alone will decide what happens. This is not a democracy. You have played your roles well until this point, but remember, you are my servants. Do not give me reason to…” he paused, “end your, well let’s say, your performance.”

  An evil cackle rang out chilling Elisabeth to the core. Even though the third voice was irritated, there was an eerie calm about it and an element of control.

  And then she saw them out of the corner of her eye. She stumbled backwards as the shadows moved towards her and in doing so, she dropped her handbag to the floor with a loud thud. All of a sudden, it was like a fog had lifted. It was all coming back to her, memories of past lives flooding her head. She had to warn the others. As she turned to flee, she realised she was surrounded. The black mass was rising from the darkened corners, growling and snarling at her, daring her to move. Then the door to the bedroom flew open. Inside, she saw Lord Bramble and Jedd, with the one person in the world she did not wish to see. As he glided towards her on a sea of shadows, his wickedly calm voice spoke out of the void beyond his black hood.

  “Apprehend her.”

  ***

  Kaden was feeling a little bit squiffy after one too many cocktails. It seemed like he had been waiting ages for Elisabeth to return from the bathroom, so he decided to go and look for her. As he battled his way through the dancing crowd in the Great Hall, he knew that his senses were certainly dulled. As he reached the ladies’ toilet, which was situated by the drawing room, he assessed the huge line. He could not see Elisabeth anywhere. At the front of the queue, he spotted Dawn and Cherry. He ambled over to them and asked if they would nip into the toilets to see if Elisabeth there. The girls looked at each other for a split second with disgruntled looks on their faces, as if to question why he was looking for another girl, when the two of them were stood there.

  However, as both of them had a mammoth crush on Kaden, their disappointment soon turned into clamouring affability. They rushed off giggling into the toilets and when they returned, they appeared overly pleased to deliver the news that Elisabeth was nowhere in sight. Kaden was slightly questioning whether he should believe the girls or not (knowing their true intentions towards him), but Kaden figured that if Elisabeth had been in the toilets, she would have been finished and out in the time he had been stood there. He thanked the girls sweetly and as he walked away, Cherry’s excitable high-pitched voice reminded him where he could find her if he wanted to dance later.

  Kaden headed for the drawing room, which housed the gift shop. When he got there, the door was locked; therefore, there was no access to the parlour either, as the only door to the parlour was inside the drawing room. He pushed his way back through the throng of people in the Great Hall, with slightly more urgency than before, scouring the party for Elisabeth. She was not waiting for him at the cocktail bar, so he made his way towards the dining room to see if she was perhaps sat down, resting her feet. It did cross his mind that he was possibly over-reacting and she had simply had enough and gone home. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check for a missed call or message, but nothing. As he neared the entrance to the dining room, he saw Cecily talking to Fen and Sol. They were all laughing and looked to be having a good time. At least that was something as they had barely spoken all night. As he approached, Cecily saw him coming.

  “Kaden!” she shouted. “Come here, you’ve got to listen to this! Go on Sol, tell him!”

  Evidently, they had also had one cocktail too many as they could not stop giggling.

  “Listen,” he interrupted. “Have you seen Elisabeth?”

  “Not for ages,” replied Fen. “Why, is everything OK? You look rather pale.”

  “I don’t know. I can’t find her anywhere. She went to the toilet ages ago and hasn’t come back. Maybe she has had enough and gone home, but she hasn’t called or messaged to tell me.”

  The others could tell from Kaden’s demeanour that he was worried.

  “I haven’t seen Jedd for a while either,” shouted Cecily, straining to be heard over the music.

  “Well they must be somewhere,” said Sol, checking his phone. “Let’s all go and have a look round together. We’ll find them.”

  As they forced their way through the swaying couples, Kaden noticed that those closest to the grand staircase had stopped waltzing and were looking up at the balcony. As he followed their gaze, he was aware that the band had stopped playing too. Bit by bit, the joviality in the room was being replaced by low murmurs, which informed him that the rest of the party was catching up. A sinking feeling emerged in the pit of his stomach as he saw Lord Bramble on the balcony, overlooking the party below. He was as white as a sheet and he was shaking, although he was clearly attempting to hide his distress. Walking along the landing to join Lord Bramble was Cian, closely followed by Jedd, who had a tight grip on Elisabeth’s arm. Elisabeth’s appearance was dishevelled to say the least and she was frantically searching the crowd below, her eyes darting back and forth. Her eyes finally found Kaden’s and the look on her face communicated what Kaden had been dreading.

  “Oh no!” he whispered to himself. He should have listened to his gut instinct after all.

  Kaden was staring up at the balcony helplessly, wondering what on earth he was going to do next. He had to get Elisabeth down from there. As muddled thoughts ran through his head, he felt Cecily nudge him in the small of his back.

  “What is going on?” she hissed quietly, for the crowds around them were now practically silent.

  “Trouble,” replied Kaden.

  “What is Cian doing up there with Jedd and Elisabeth?”

  “I’m not sure,” Kaden hissed back.

  “Well, why is it trouble? Honestly Kaden, if you know something and you’re not telling me…”

  Cecily was interrupted by the trembling voice of Lord Bramble, for no matter how hard he tried to mask his anxiety, it was not working and he had lost all composure.

  “I’m so sorry everyone, if I could just have your attention please.” He paused while the room fell still. “I’m afraid that this party is over.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The crowd were stunned into silence for what seemed like an eternity. Cecily wondered if like her, they all thought it was an elaborate joke or prank; part of the evening’s entertainment. But then she saw Elisabeth, white as a sheet, trying her best to stifle looming sobs, while Jedd, a man that she had known almost all her life, held Elisabeth’s arm so tightly that Cecily could visibly see the blood building in her arm where he was preventing her circulation. She was aware that Jedd and she had not always seen eye to eye, but she knew him, didn’t she? What was he doing? He liked to put on his hard man act, it was par
t of his bravado, but to hurt someone?

  Cecily’s horrified gaze came to rest on Cian and she felt like her heart had been pierced with a shard of glass. Her stomach was turning revolutions and she felt that she could be sick at any moment. The Cian she had fallen in love with was not the man standing on the balcony guarding his uncle. His face wore a cold detachment, all of the laughter gone from his eyes. It was like his soul had been separated from his body; the shell was there but the essence gone. What was happening? She was willing Cian to look at her, just to give her a nod and reassure her that everything was OK. However, her intuition told her this would not happen, his polar glare fixed steadily on his uncle.

  The party stood silent, waiting with bated breath for Lord Bramble to enlighten them all. The aristocrat visibly took a large intake of air. He looked directly at his wife and children, although he was clearly addressing the whole room.