William waited until they were out of earshot. ‘We learnt that Laura had a baby. Her father forced her to give the child away when it was just a few days old. The doctor believes that those unhappy events corroded her sanity.’
Thomas saw a figure step out from the woods. ‘Isn’t that the boy she was going to marry?’
William nodded. ‘Ah … Jake. We’ve had to explain to him that his sweetheart will never recover, and that it is best for both of them if he continues his life without her. Jake’s here to say his final farewell.’
Inspector Abberline took the path back to the house. Thomas and William walked with him. A few minutes later they opened the door and went inside. The sun fell on the hills, and Mount Snowdon shone white in its coat of ice. It looked like a ghost mountain – a mountain, from a different world, or from a different time – or perhaps even from a spirit’s dream.
By the same author
Midnight Bizarre – A Secret Arcade of Strange and Eerie Tales
Ghost Monster
The Gravedigger’s Tale: Fables of Fear
© Simon Clarke 2014
ISBN 978 0 7198 1597 3 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7198 1598 0 (mobi)
ISBN 978 0 7198 1084 8 (print)
Robert Hale Limited
Clerkenwell House
Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
The right of Simon Clarke to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988