By Sir Kyle
It was in the fall of 1546 that Sir Robert Garth was invited to spend a weekend at Lord William Berringer's winery. Lord William was in his late eighties and had no living children since his granddaughter, Anna, had drowned under suspicious circumstances a year ago. There were rumors of foul play, but the local constable had been unable to prove that she had been murdered.
Lord William had offered the winery up for sale in the spring, but there had been no interest to date. Sir Robert heard that this excellent winery was up for sale, but the rumors that the mansion was haunted had driven the average buyers away. Sir Robert of course thought this was silly since there were no such things as ghosts. The opportunity to negotiate a low price for this valuable property intrigued him and he wrote to Lord William asking to visit, inspect the property, and discuss a reasonable selling price.
There was a chill in the air when Sir Robert arrived that evening. Lord William's squire, Michael, was waiting and took his horse back to the stable, advising him to bang the knocker hard on the front door as Harold, the old butler, was a bit deaf.
He had to knock twice before the door finally opened. Harold looked to be a badly worn out seventy-five and his hands shook as he took Sir Robert's hat and cloak. Harold led him into Lord William's library, where a small fire in the fireplace was the only light in the dark eerie room.
Lord William appeared to be sleeping in one of the two chairs facing the fire. Harold tapped on the old man's shoulder, indeed waking him from a light slumber. "Your guest, Sir Robert is here. Shall I bring some wine for you both?"
"Yes, please," the old man cackled. Then he tried to rise to shake Robert's hand.
"Please, stay seated M'Lord, Robert offered. They shook hands and Robert sat down in the other leather chair. Harold was back with wine for them both and he left the bottle in an ice bucket.
The two men spent several hours discussing the winery and the vineyards. Sir Robert would tour the entire site in the morning and then they would discuss the price.
Lord William was the first to mention the rumors of ghosts. Robert immediately dismissed them, saying he did not believe in ghosts and therefore it would never effect his offer. Lord William merely smiled.
" Those rumors began after the death of my granddaughter, Anna. There is no proof, but I believe she did not just fall in the pond and drown. I believe she had a lover, a young and foolish love affair, which I suggested she wisely bring to an end. I wanted her to marry Lord Standish, the very wealthy owner of our adjoining vineyards. That would have combined the two wineries, making us one of the largest in the area."
Sir Robert listened quietly, wondering if Anna really agreed with this planned marriage.
"It was embarrassing to say the least when I realized she might be having this foolish fling." Lord William's face had turned a bit red as he spoke and Sir Robert knew it bothered this old man to talk about this sad event.
"Who do you think might have murdered her?" Robert asked.
"Obviously her lover when she told him it was over! If she had only told me who he was, the constable might have tracked him down and found him guilty."
The old man was now quite upset, and Harold entered suggesting that they retire for the night. Robert waited, finishing his wine while Harold helped Lord William off to bed in the west wing.
When the butler returned, he took Sir Robert up to a beautiful second floor bedroom in the east wing. Robert asked if the east wing was always used for guests. Harold said that the east wing used to be where the grandchildren stayed, and now that they were gone, it was used for the few guests willing to visit these days.
"This room was William Jr.'s, his grandson, who passed away at the age of 20 after falling off his horse and fracturing his scull. Lord William had such great plans for him. It was quite a loss. The room next door was where Anna stayed. It has never been used since she drowned and Lord William never enters the east wing anymore."
"I see. I can tell he took her death quite hard. Do you have any idea who her lover was?"
Harold seemed not to hear the question and after showing Sir Robert the pull cord that would beckon him if he required anything, he simply said goodnight and left.
Robert slipped into his red pajamas and lay in bed reading some of the notes he had made while talking with Lord William.
Then he heard the noise. It sounded like someone moving around in the room next door. He got up and went to the door that connected the two rooms. He turned the knob, but it was locked . and the sound stopped. There had to be someone in Anna's old room. He remained at the door and listened for several minutes, but there were no more sounds. Maybe his imagination was playing tricks on him? He returned to the bed, remaining quiet to listen.
He awoke with a start several hours later, realizing that he had drifted off. There were sounds again, but this time quite different. The sounds of a woman whimpering. He rose quietly and moved to the door, this time never touching the door knob. There was no question of what he was hearing. The noises were those of a couple obviously making love. Yes. Her whimpers turned to moans, then to a sharp gasp, which was followed by a male groaning. Then the room seemed quiet for a while.
Robert tried to look through the keyhole, but it was blocked by a key from the other side. His curiosity drove him to his next move. He went out into the hall, then down to the door of the adjoining room. He peered through that keyhole into the room and first only saw the huge bed with it's red bedspread now laying on the floor. Then he saw the shadow of what appeared to be a young man. His eyes followed as the man seemed to float over to the closed window and without opening it, he walked right through it. Robert shook his head to clear his eyes. He could not believe what he had just seen.
And where was the woman? There appeared to be no one else in the room. He waited until his knees ached, then gave up and returned to his room. He lay there thinking, it must have just been a dream, and he drifted off to sleep again.
He was dreaming about a woman he had never seen before in his life. She was beautiful, . dark brown hair and a sad look on her face as she approached his bed. She was wearing only a sheer white dress that clung to her body; her nipples clearly erect. As she walked slowly closer, he could see the dark triangle between her thighs. But it was her eyes that were the most captivating. They had the look of a woman starving for sexual fulfillment.
At 37 years of age, Sir Robert had been with several women, including his wife who had died 5 years ago of pneumonia, but nothing like this dream. She slipped out of the dress and crawled up on the bed with him. He wanted her so badly he ached all over. When he tried to rise, she hushed him and made him lay back. It was like a fog enveloping him as she straddled his body. She seemed weightless, untouchable . but yet so real. His climax was earth shattering.
She whispered, " Buy me" then seemed to drift away, slipping back in the dress and to his astonishment, . she walked back through the door to the adjoining bedroom . without opening it.
The following morning Sir Robert asked to see Anna's room, since he was indeed considering buying the estate. Harold opened the door and there was the room, dusty and untouched.
He toured the vineyards, the winery and the storage caves. He offered full value to Lord William's surprise, with one stipulation. Sir Robert would remain in the house and Lord William would move to the village inn until all his clothing and personal belongings could be packed and shipped to where ever Lord William decided to spend his remaining years. All of the furnishings must remain intact.
Anna never grew older over the years that followed, constantly Sir Robert's night time companion, except for the one night a month when her young ghostly lover would return.
She told Sir Robert the whole grisly story of Lord Standish going into a rage when she refused him, and his holding her head under water till she drowned that night. Her young lover, a simple village lad, was overcome with grief and swam out in the sea until he could swim no more and drowned.
Do you believe in ghosts? Sir Robert does now.
The End