He tried to turn the lights on but nothing happened, so he stumbled through the grand sitting room, bumping into furniture in his haste, and made his way down to the bedroom.
‘Sylvie?’
Still no response and his heart thudded with dread. He shivered violently, his head ringing with the heavy silence. He groped around on the dresser where he knew there were candles and matches. His cold hands fumbled with the box and he dropped it, the matchsticks spilling on the dark floor. He knelt and grabbed one, managing at last to light it. It flared, blinding him, then extinguished itself.
‘Sylvie!’ he called, louder this time. ‘Sylvie, it’s me – I’ve come back. Where are you?’
He lit another match and this time succeeded in lighting the wick of the candle. The flame bloomed and steadied, and Yul held the candlestick away from him to look around. The bed was empty and unslept in. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe Sylvie hadn’t come back to the Hall after all. Perhaps she’d remained in the Village – gone to see if the children were alright in the Nursery and then stayed there. Which meant that he was now alone in these apartments. The thought made him shudder again.
Shielding the candle’s fragile flame, he retraced his steps back through the empty bathroom and children’s playroom and into the enormous sitting room. The flame did little to illuminate the vast area, dazzling his eyes and making the shadows even blacker.
‘Sylvie?’ he called softly, wanting more than anything the reassurance of her voice. The flame flickered and Yul’s heart lurched as he saw her cloak lying across the back of the chair. So she was here – but where had she gone? Cursing the power cut and wishing the candle was more effective, he crossed the room to the fireplace. On the mantelpiece under the gigantic mirror was a candelabra. Carefully Yul started to light the candles but then a movement in the mirror caught his eye and his skin erupted into bristling terror as in the reflection before him, something sprang up behind him in the darkness and screamed and screamed.
Yul spun round, the candle-flame in his hand almost extinguishing, to see Sylvie standing by the window, her hands to her cheeks and her eyes and mouth gaping wide in absolute horror. The screams poured from her and as quickly as the flame allowed, Yul hurried across the room to comfort her. She was beside herself, her body convulsing and hair rippling as she shook, her hands clamped to her face and the nails digging into her cheeks. Juggling the candle and trying to put his arm round her was impossible, but then suddenly the power came back on and the room was flooded with light.
Blowing out the flame Yul took Sylvie in his arms and held her tight, waiting until the terror subsided. She could barely speak but shivered compulsively, shaking her head and apologising, clinging to him and crying softly.
‘Did you smell it?’ she whispered.
‘Smell what?’
‘When you came in here first, did you smell anything?’
‘No,’ Yul shook his head, ‘no I didn’t. What was it?’
‘Why did you say you’d come back? Why did you keep saying that?’
‘Because I had come back,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand. Why were you so upset?’
But she wouldn’t answer and after calming her down a little more, he ran a hot bath. An hour later they were both in bed, warm and dry and sipping tea. Sylvie couldn’t tell him what had scared her so much and he was loath to push it – whatever it was had now gone. She was reluctant to turn the light off and Yul teased her gently about this, getting out of bed to put a light on in the bathroom and leaving the door ajar, so their bedroom was softly lit.
‘Silly old thing,’ he murmured into her hair as at last they stretched out, lying in each other’s arms. ‘It’s me that’s usually spooked at Samhain, not you.’
‘I was so frightened when you were stumbling about in the dark,’ she mumbled, almost asleep. ‘And you said that you’d come back …’
They both drifted off to sleep, exhausted from their earlier fear and the long day, but during the night Yul awoke and reached for her. She smiled sleepily, drowsy but welcoming, and pulled him towards her. Propped on an elbow and half asleep himself, Yul kissed her deeply while he caressed her, knowing her so well. Soon she was gasping,