Read Online The Dead of Winter by Jane A. Adams - Free Book Online

up. What did it run for? Ten years, twelve?’
    â€˜Eleven series,’ Rina told him. ‘And three films, but it had run its course by the time it was finally axed. You know, there was a twelfth series commissioned?’
    â€˜No, I didn’t realize that. What happened?’
    â€˜Oh, change of mind at the top. Some new executives drafted in wanted to modernize, and apparently Lydia Marchant was too old-fashioned for them. Every so often someone will talk about a revival – I’ve even had a couple of meetings about it – but I doubt anything will ever happen.’
    Terry Beal had looked keenly at her. ‘Would you want to?’
    â€˜I wouldn’t say no. It could be fun.’
    â€˜It could indeed.’ He flashed a smile and leaned across the table. ‘Leave it with me,’ he said, and Rina had smiled back, trying to ignore the frisson of excitement at the thought that he might in fact be able to do something. It would be fun, she thought, after all this time.
    Rina arrived at the final landing and, on impulse, turned off the light so that she could see out of the large window. The rain had ceased, the sky cleared and she could now see the two wings leading back from the main body of the house and the outbuildings Melissa had told her had been the stables and accommodation for live-in outdoor staff. There was a yard beyond, but Rina’s view of this was blocked by the tall, pitched roof of the carriage house. All of this, Melissa had told her, was to be converted into guest accommodation for the conferences she hoped to host. The space between the wings was grassed, skirted by paths, and beyond that was a larger expanse of lawn, which stopped at a line of trees. Aikensthorpe wood was out of sight on the other side of the house, but Rina assumed that this line of tall trees must be an outcropping from it; they looked too densely packed to be merely a field boundary. She released the catches on the sash window and eased it up, glad to find that it had not been painted closed as so often happened with these old windows. Cold, damp air flooded on to the landing, taking her breath. There’s snow on that wind, she thought. It might not be there in the morning, but it wouldn’t be long after. Checking the latch was secured and she was not about to be decapitated by a falling sash, she leaned out and looked towards the unlit windows of the seance room. Melissa had shown her the pictures she had taken when it had been unsealed. When she had entered the room that afternoon, Rina had assumed it was windowless, but now she knew that close fitting shutters, matching the wall panelling, had been fastened tight over them.
    â€˜They drew the shutters that night and they were never opened again,’ Melissa had said. ‘The room was closed and locked and that was that.’
    Robin had been accurate in his description of the room’s contents, but in addition to the remains of roses still in a silver bowl, Rina had noticed a single glove left on a chair, a lady’s paisley shawl draped across the back. It was these small items that spoke so eloquently to Rina. Something had frightened the participants so much that they had departed in haste and sealed the memory inside, not even venturing back to retrieve their possessions.
    She started to close the window, glancing first at the still lighted windows of the dining room and the little anteroom where they had gathered before dinner. The curtains had not been fully drawn, and a shaft of light that fell on to the paving stones and the sodden grass was momentarily broken as someone passed between light and window. She had left Tim and Jay Statham deep in conversation with Rav, and Joy playing poker with Edwin and Gail. Rina, having seen Joy play before, felt sorry for the other two.
    A slight movement attracted her attention, and she looked towards the rear of the stable block. Now her eyes had become accustomed to the light,