The Curse of Salamander Street by G.P. Taylor Page B

me.’
    â€˜Then we share the same journey. I too search for someone. My sister went to the city on business and has not been heard of since.’ Her voice trembled slightly. ‘Some with whom I have shared the journey have not been the politest of company.’ She nodded towards Bragg, who continued to fill his face and chomp upon the minced liver as if the meal would be his last. ‘He joined the coach with me at Lindisfarne and has been an oaf of a companion along every winding road.’
    â€˜Then I will make you my ward for the coach and tell you of the world and all of its complications,’ Barghast jested as he held out his hand and smiled benignly.
    â€˜That would be a fine thing, Mister Barghast, at least to Peveril. They say that since the sky-quake the coach to London has been stopped as the horses all went mad in the city and had to be shot. I don’t know if we shall have a coach to take us on from there.’
    â€˜Then I will walk with you all the way and my cloak shall bea bridge to whatever we have to cross.’ Barghast smiled again.
    â€˜Mister Barghast, I am weary of beer and wonder if you would bring me some milk?’ she asked quickly as she coughed.
    â€˜A fine pleasure, warmed like a mother cat?’ he asked as he stood from the table and walked to the kitchen, scowling at Bragg as he went by.
    The woman leant forward and spoke quickly. ‘Don’t travel with this man. I heard Mister Bragg speak of him this morning and he is not what he appears to be. I have heard much of him and he’s not to be trusted.’
    â€˜And you are?’ Raphah asked.
    â€˜More than you may think. My name is Lady Tanville Chilnham.’
    With that, Beadle appeared muttering to himself. ‘ He sent me with some milk. He said I had to bring it. Beadle do this now, he said … Take it to Raphah, he said, I’m off to pack, he said …’ Beadle scoffed loudly as he came to the table clutching a pot jug of steaming milk. ‘Gone off to pack, he said, and thrusts this in my hand for the Lady …’ Beadle stopped and stared, his eyes darting back and forth from the cloaked figure to Raphah. ‘It’s you,’ he said without thinking, believing her to be the nocturnal visitor to the kitchen.
    â€˜Yes, it is I … Have we met before?’ Tanville asked as she smiled. ‘Perhaps you were asleep and you dreamt of me. It would not be the first time that such a thing has happened. When I was a child I once dreamt that my great aunt leapt from her painting upon the wall and her ghost gamed with us all night. I awoke in the morning to find my room was strewn with everything from the cupboards and her picture upon the floor. Was it a ghost or just a dream? Do you believe in such things?’
    Beadle was silent. He looked at Tanville’s hands and the soft black cotton shroud in which she was wrapped.
    â€˜Do you still think you have met me before, Beadle? It isBeadle?’ she said wistfully, her skin glistening like gold in the candlelight.
    â€˜Perhaps it was a dream and one in which I thought I was awake,’ Beadle said slowly as he stepped away from the table. ‘Coach is ready, my friend. Barghast has booked us a seat on top with a double rug and an oiled skin. We’ll be snug all the way to Peveril. Barghast travels inside and he’s booked on to London. From what I’ve heard we’d have to wait a night at Peveril before we can go on. Word is that all the horses went mad when the comet struck, only five carriages left in the whole of the country.’
    Beadle turned from the table and walked away, giving neither Raphah nor Tanville any courtesy of his going. He seemed to be in another world, his mind weighted down with concerns for the morrow as he rubbed his temple and pulled nervously upon the hairs of his brow.
    â€˜Your companion thinks much of you,’ Tanville said as she poured herself a tip of