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» CHAPTER TWO: THE EAST WING «

Kevin woke up the next morning in a bed that was not his, in a room that was not his. Then he remembered where he was, the Halliwell Manor. There was a feeling about some areas of the house that would bring a chill to him. Sitting in that library last night gave him an uncomfortable feeling. He felt sick to his stomach that morning, and he wondered why. He got up and put on his slippers, the ground was very chilly and stung his feet on that gloomy morning. He wondered what he should do, if he should go try and find his wife-to-be or whether he should stay in his room a bit longer. He glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantle... 8:37. Soon there was a knock at the door, Kevin guessed it must be Brian and he told him to step in.

“I’m sorry did I wake you?” It was not Brian who peeped into the room. It was Melanie, already dressed and ready for the day.

“No, no, rather... I was just thinking that I should go find you,” Kevin stated, a bit embarrassed about standing there beside the bed, in his night clothes.

“I’m sorry, I would have sent Brian to come and fetch you, but I’m afraid he’s feeling a bit ill today.”

“Very sorry to hear that, I hope he is well soon...”

“Yes, I think it’s just a bad cold,” Melanie paused then said, “Breakfast is served. Come down whenever you’re ready.”

“Yes, I shall...” Kevin smiled.

Melanie closed the door and walked off. Kevin plopped down on the bed and shook his head at his strange behaviour. He felt so stupid, Melanie coming into his room and him, just awoken. He needed to see Geri. Geri made him feel as though nothing could ever go wrong, she was so absent-minded herself, it made him feel calm. He got ready in a flash and promptly began to walk down for breakfast, trying his best not to get lost in the large house. He took a left. Then a right. Then walked down a long hall. Then he took another left. He looked for the main stairs to find his way, but they were unfound. He wished Brian would pop out of nowhere, like he did quite often. Kevin sighed and continued looking. This part of the house he was in made him shiver. It was obviously not where the girls spent a lot of their time, it was cold and untended to. Half of the lights were not working making the halls look very dark and gloomy. It was so different from the welcoming sitting rooms where he had spent most of his time in that house. Finally, as Kevin continued running around, he found Brian.

“Thank the lord, Brian!” Kevin exclaimed when he saw him. Brian did have a sickly look on his face. He was very pale, no color to his face at all. He avoided looking into Kevin’s eyes as he said, “Do you need something Mr. Richardson?”

“Yes, yes please, Brian... I’m lost... I need to find the dining area... and where am I? This place is so, dark and gloomy...”

Brian nodded, “How’d you find this part of the house?”

“I’m not sure actually, I was lost.”

“Oh,” Brian paused and then said, “Don’t come here again, please, and don’t mention that you’ve been here to the girls, don’t tell them I was here. They might get upset, please... nothing ever happened... alright?”

“Yes, of course, but...”

“You didn’t go into any of the rooms did you?”

“No, I didn’t touch a thing... I told you, I was just--”

“This part of the manor has been unused for years, no one comes here... so please... don’t come here again.”

“I’m sorry, Brian, I didn’t mean--”

“Yes, that’s alright... I’ll show you to the dining area...” Brian went ahead of Kevin and cruised through the halls. Kevin was not only tense, he was frightened. Brian, meek little Brian had just scared him. Maybe what he said meant nothing, or maybe it did.

“Sorry I was so long...” Kevin said as he took a seat next to Geri and then kissed her on the cheek.

“That’s fine, darling,” Geri chuckled.

“I... I was distracted while I was getting ready, I hope I wasn’t too long.”

“It’s fine really Kevin,” Geri said.

“Yes, yes, I think it is...” Kevin said, his mind trailing off somewhere else.

“Kevin I’m very sorry about what happened today,” Brian said as he sat in the garden next to Kevin as they watched the girls playing croquet off in the distance. Kevin did not know exactly what to say. It wasn’t forgotten or alright what had happened, it was chilling.

“I don’t know what was wrong with me. I didn’t mean to be so forceful, I’m really not like that. I was just a bit curious, I hope you understand, Mr. Richardson.”

Kevin nodded as he saw the shy Brian starting to show through again, “I just was very disturbed, why is that forbidden?”

“It’s not forbidden sir, it’s just, like you said, very gloomy and untidy, I think the girls would prefer you not being there...”

“Yes, yes, I’ll try to avoid it,” Kevin nodded, beginning to understand a bit more.

“Thank you, and once again, I’m sorry, I hope we can become better friends, I think I shall be seeing you more often. By the way, congratulations, I’m sure you and Geri will be very happy together.”

“Thank you Brian. Yes I think we will be. She is a very nice girl isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’s very nice. I would know, I’ve lived here with her for years.”

“So, I’m guessing you’re quite a girl-charmer yourself?” Kevin joked, nudging Brian like a big brother.

“No, not at all. I’m courting no one at the moment. Women tend to stay away from me...”

“I would think the contrary! You seem to be a nice bloke.”

Brian blushed, not knowing what to say.

“Women are such funny things though. You can never tell exactly what they want, just like exotic birds. So beautiful, but so hard to keep and they fly away so easily.”

Brian silently agreed.

Kevin glanced at his watch, “Oh dear I think I must be off, so nice to chat with you. I must go say farewell to the girls.” Brian smiled politely and watched Kevin as he went over and kissed each of the girls goodbye.

“So you’ll be leaving the manor?” Brian asked Geri as they walked through the usual path in the little valley that led to the sea.

“Yes, Kevin and I would like a home of our own.”

Brian nodded, “I’ll miss you... we’ll all miss you.”

“Well, I’d have to leave sometime, I mean I can’t stay here all my life.”

“I’ll be here all my life...”

Geri didn’t know quite what Brian meant and decided it was better to change the subject, “Do you get on well with Kevin?”

“I guess so, he intimidates me a bit though, I don’t know why. It is nice to have another man to talk to once and awhile.”

“Oh so we aren’t good enough for you?” Geri laughed.

“No, no, not at all! I can tell you anything, Geri...”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Brian paused and then smiled, “Yes, I will miss you...”

Late that night Kevin tossed and turned in the bed that was not his own, something kept him awake. The images of Brian’s ghostly look when he was found in a strange part of the house. The way everyone tensed up when they were asked about Mr. Halliwell. Both these things haunted him, and caused him to become very restless. He got out of bed and felt a draft on his back, he put on his slippers and walked out of his room. Then he took a left. Then a right. Then walked down a long hall. Then he took another left.

¤ Chapter 3: The Letters ¤
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