Strange Star Read Free Page A

Christabel carried the stranger inside, unlocking the huge front gate and staggering across the courtyard. The woman in her arms was so bloodless and weak, she began to wonder if what she’d brought in from the forest was, in fact, a dead …’
    Someone cried out.
    Felix jumped in alarm. The guests did too, gasping then laughing when they realised it was only Miss Clairmont.
    ‘Don’t mock me!’ she cried. ‘I know this tale won’t end well, I sense it in my bones.’
    So did Felix. His heart was already galloping. But taking a deep breath, he told himself not to be foolish. The story wasn’t that frightening. Yet.
    ‘… As they passed the family dog asleep in its kennel, the animal suddenly awoke. It leapt to its feet, teeth bared white in the moonlight. Christabel was horrified. This dog was known to be as soft as butter. She’d never before heard it so much as growl. Now, though, it snarled at the sleeping form in her arms. Terrified, Christabel hurried indoors.
    ‘In the safety of the house …’
    A great crash of thunder made his master stop. Felix glanced nervously at the rest of the group. The firelight made their faces look shadowy and hollowed-out. Mr Shelley was struggling to keep his knees still. Sat athis feet, Mrs Shelley held her chin in cupped hands. Next to her, Miss Clairmont’s eyes were very large and very dark. And in the chair opposite, Dr Polidori’s expression had frozen like a mask. Their fear hung heavy in the air, and it was catching. Felix felt his pulse quicken again.
    The thunder done, his master took a sip of water, ready to resume. But as he uttered the first word, the drawing-room door opened and a cap-topped head poked around it. Lord Byron’s arms fell heavily into his lap.
    ‘What on earth is it, Frau Moritz?’ he said, his irritation clear.
    Felix groaned inwardly. She’d come looking for him, hadn’t she? There was still work to be finished in the kitchens; he’d been up here far too long.
    Lord Byron stared at her. ‘Well? Out with it!’
    Frau Moritz shuffled into the room, wringing her hands. ‘My Agatha’s taken a poorly turn. I wondered if the doctor,’ she nodded at Dr Polidori, ‘could come and tell me what to do for her.’
    She was, Felix realised, not cross but upset . It alarmed him.
    But Lord Byron was looking thoroughly fed up. It was clear he wasn’t concerned for Agatha or Frau Moritz; he wanted only to get on with his story.
    He nodded to Felix. ‘Take him, would you?’
    Though badly wanting to stay and hear Christabel’s fate, Felix bowed his head. ‘Very good, my lord.’
    Down in the kitchen they found Agatha grey-faced and shivering by the stove. An hour ago, Felix would have got some small satisfaction from the sight of her. Now it unsettled him. Agatha was an irritating, lazy toad of a girl but she didn’t deserve to be scared witless.
    ‘Go back upstairs,’ Frau Moritz said to him, once he’d settled Dr Polidori in a nearby chair. ‘Someone still needs to attend the guests.’
    Felix was glad to be gone. He didn’t like it when people got sick. He’d seen too much of it in his life – in his own family – and he didn’t want to think of those memories tonight. As he fumbled his way along the dark hallway, he willed his mind to fill up once more with the Christabel story. Was the stranger a villain? A ghost? Would she kill poor Christabel, who in kindness had given her a bed for the night?
    He was too late.
    On entering the room, he realised the story was over. Lord Byron, slumped in his chair, looked as lifeless as a doll. His master often fasted for days at a time; today was probably such a day. Going to the table where thesupper still lay, Felix began putting food on a plate for him.
    Miss Clairmont screamed.
    Not just once – it went on and on. The plate in Felix’s hands trembled violently. He put it down for fear of dropping it and turned to see what was wrong.
    ‘There! At the glass! I saw it!’ Miss Clairmont cried.