chapter3

“Wellies?”

"It's all a bit marshy down there, and the drainage really needs to be worked on." I'll get you a pair of boots from the boot room. Avoid getting your feet wet."

"Thank you very much. Is there anything I should stay away from?"

"Perhaps the woods near the East Wing." It's said to be haunted. Not that I believe such things, but it is quite creepy; even john avoids it."

Lisa nodded and made a mental note of it. Put on your wellies. Avoid going into the woods. This was turning out to be far more of an adventure than she had anticipated.

***

"And you're all set," Mary said with a smile as she assessed her.

"Thank you; these are fantastic!" lisa said this while standing up and stomping in her new wellies. She'd never needed wellies before, but they made her feel like she belonged. That this house was truly hers. That this was, in fact, her life. She drew on her backpack, which was filled with treats that Mary had insisted she take with her, and made her way to the door.

As she walked away from the house, the breeze gently blew in her face, she smiled, thinking that for once, everything was going well for her. She walked down the lawn and towards the ornamental garden, noticing all the repairs and love that would be required to restore everything to its former glory. She didn't even know if she could afford it. Nobody had yet sat her down and told her how much money she had. She'd progressed from a poor orphan girl to lady of the manor, but she still didn't know how to be a lady of the manor. She laughed at the absurdity of it all. She had been so poor and so miserable and now suddenly she was rich enough to have this house. Rich enough to do what she wanted. And rich enough not to be bothered by anyone again.

She bent down and picked off a dark red rose from the bush in front of her. It smelled amazing as she brought it to her nose and breathed it in. Almost as if she was grounding herself to it and her surroundings.

"I SAW THAT," John said behind her, causing her to jump and drop the rose.

“john. "Hello," Lisa said, trying not to show how terrified she was of him.

“WITCH.” He yelled as he approached her, holding his gardening fork like a spear ready to launch. "YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT."

“john. It's only a rose, please." Lisa stammered in fear, but he did not stop. She realized he wasn't going to stop. He was rushing at her.

She turned in an instant and dashed as fast as she could. She ran back through the gardens and along the lawn, the whole time hearing his stomping feet behind her. She ran without thinking, further away, away from the house, away from John.

She came to a halt in the woods. I'm deep in it. She held her breath, waiting to hear if he was still chasing her, but she didn't hear anything. Not even the sounds of animals are audible. Nothing but silence.

She took a deep breath and sat down on a long-fallen-over tree trunk. Her heart was still pounding, and she couldn't comprehend what had just occurred.

He'd chased her, not just chased her, but chased her with a fork. And he referred to her as a witch. What an affront to be called a witch. She shook her head, half wishing to laugh, half wishing to cry. What the hell was she going to do about him now that she couldn't just ignore him?

Behind her, a twig snapped. It's not close, but it's also not far. She was back up and running in seconds. She wasn't about to take any chances that it wasn't him. The brambles were thick, and she kept tripping over them with her wellies, and only the proximity of a nearby tree kept her from faceplanting into a boggy patch. She continued on, intending to circle back through and around to the house.

A mist appeared around her, as if the water beneath her was somehow radiating steam upwards despite its cool temperature. But she kept pushing on because she was damned if john was going to get the better of her. She climbed up a hill with the mist slowly disintegrating around her and then she stopped dead at what she saw.

Ahead two men dressed in shirts and weird, old fashioned looking trousers and boots looked like they were prowling. They spotted her almost instantly and as she turned to run away another appeared behind her. He gave her a toothless grin as he nudged her down towards the other two.

“Who the hell are you?” lisa asked now thoroughly sick of being pushed around and chased by men.

“More like who are you? This is the Kings Land. You’ve no right to be here.” The fatter of the three said marking himself as the leader.

"Is this the King's Land?" Lisa snorted. "This is my property. It’s part of the Edward Estate.”

“The what?” The lankier one said screwing up his face.

“The Edward Estate. You know the house up over the hill.” She rolled her eyes. She wondered how they could have missed a house the size of Martri.

"There's not a house in sight for miles." This is hunting territory. "Who would put a house on it?"

"Look, I don't care who you are or what kind of strange cosplay you're all into, but I've had enough for one day." "I've already been chased by my gardener, and I'm not bloody well going to be pushed around by you," Lisa said, puffing up her chest and hoping to sound as tough as she felt.

“Cosplay? Cosplay? "What exactly is a cosplay?" Their leader pondered the word as if he'd never heard it before.

"You know what I mean. "I said enough, and I mean it," Lisa exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air. "I'm returning to my house." You must leave, and if I find you here again, I will contact the police." She made a threat before taking a step back.

"No, you don't, missy." We're going to let you go off on your own. You must answer to the King's men. You're trespassing, you're trespassing." Before nodding for the other two to grab her, their leader said.

“Ow. Get off of me. "What the hell are you doing?" Lisa yelled as they grabbed her arms and drew her in. As she struggled against their grip, she felt a surge of panic.