Chapter 2: Arrival

“Well, this is it, isn’t it?” Emily said a bit shakily. “Today we start a new chapter in our lives that only God knows how long it will be,” she said as the three children put their suitcases on the ground next to them as a light drizzle started to come down on them.

The group looked around at their surroundings in the increasing darkness. From what they could tell, it was a dismal building. Paint peeled off the walls and the wooden chairs were covered with moss. The rain dampened their clothes as it started to pour down harder. Soon they were becoming wetter and wetter as the rain bucketed down from the heavens.

Looking around, they saw a small girl, who was obviously distressed, crying and calling for her mother, shooting fervent glances into the sheets of rain that was encasing them like a cloak of tears. A prim looking, stern woman came to the girl, checked her tag and grabbed her roughly by the scruff of her neck and hauled her off to a nearby motorcar, the engine of which was the only sound, apart from the ceaseless pounding drum of the rain.

Zanna, who loved the rain started dancing to the erratic rhythm of the raindrops hitting the ground. She danced around in circles, her arms thrown out to her side, enjoying the feeling of the glorious rain soaking her. She enjoyed every drop of refreshing water that fell upon her. She had become so soaked that her hair was plastered to her face and her clothes hung limply from her small frame.

“What on earth are you doing, child?!” a voice rang out above the rain. “Get over here at once and let me check your tag!”

A horse whinnied and the group whirled round to see a rickety pony trap coming to a stop near to them, a formidable looking woman sat in the driver’s seat. She looked very stern. She got down from the seat and went over to each child, checking their tags in turn. The woman nodded approvingly as she passed Emily and James, as they were both dry. Evidently they had had the sense to seek cover. As she came to Zanna, who was soaked to the bone, she pursed her lips and looked her up and down.

“So you’re the Blackett girl. I’ve heard many stories about you,” she said, pausing to look at Zanna, who could tell by the look on her face, that none of said stories were good and they were probably all true. Zanna had a knack for mischief, but she didn’t have a knack for not getting caught, which was a big problem for her. The disapproving woman strode back to the pony trap, not turning to face the children as she addressed them again.

“Right, you’ll be coming with me, then,” she said as she got back into the driver’s seat and took the reigns of the horse.

“Watcha Nanny!” grinning, James bowed his head and smiled cheekily, getting no such informality in return, except a high-pitched shrieking noise as she addressed them again.

“Now you all better those rear ends or yourn in this cart before I make you walk the whole way,” she spat. She turned to James “And you boy, just because you’re a regular visitor, I'll be giving you no exceptions to the rules, no special treatment. Do you hear me?”

James grinned “Thanks Nanny” he said turning around to the others and rolled his eyes so everyone could see, except Nanny.

Then they heard “I see that boy. Get in the cart or I'll make you walk like last year,” and with that James hurried up and got Emily and Zanna to hurry up too, assuring the other two that when Nanny had to come out in the dark, cold and wet, she wasn’t in the best of moods and she often carried out the threats when in such a mood.

“Don’t worry, though. She’s normally nicer. But, for now, watch yourselves and don’t say anything that may sound impudent.

Emily and Zanna clambered into the cart, tripping slightly on the uneven wooden floor. Emily sat down next to James and pushed her suitcase underneath her seat to make room for the others’ suitcases. She looked straight ahead, straining to look at the beautiful black horse that would take them to their new home. The horse was male, and he had a gorgeous, kind face that was dominated by a thick white stripe that started between his ears and finished at his nose. His mane was long and sleek, as black as the hair on his body. He was truly magnificent. Emily leaned forward and tapped Nanny on the shoulder.

“What's your horse's name, Nanny? He's beautiful,” Emily saw Nanny's stern face soften slightly at the mention of her horse.

“His name is Franklin,” She said, softly. “I’ve had him for many years, since I was quite young, actually, but not as young as you lot.” The soft side of Nanny that the children had momentarily seen was suddenly taken over by her bad mood once more. Quite suddenly regaining her scary composure she then said, “Not as if it's any business of yourn!” She spat. But Emily probed further, determined to find out more about the horse, and find out if Nanny actually cared about anything.

“How old is he? Where did you get him?” She fired the questions quickly at Nanny, like a gun firing bullets, before she could turn and smack her or something along those lines, as Emily suspected was common when you were around Nanny.

“Emily, stop bothering Nanny and come back here,” Zanna said, laughing lightly as she pulled Emily back to the seat. She then turned to James and tugged his shirt to get his attention. “Is Nanny her real name, James? And is she always this grumpy with children? I know you said that it’s the being out in the cold and all, but I can’t really see her mood improving much…”

Nanny heard the question and grinned to herself, spurring the horse on, taking the cart with him.

James glanced back at Nanny then at Zanna. “No, Nanny’s not her real name. And she’s not as mean as she seems, she just has a…special way of treating children. She wants to make sure we're not too spoiled. She's actually pretty great once you get to know her, even if she's a bit...scary at times.” he said, chuckling slightly to himself.
The group was quiet as Nanny and the horse took them to the Manor House. Zanna was looking all around, her eyes wide in awe at the surroundings, James was leaning back in his seat, relaxing, and Emily was staring at Franklin, the horse, dying to pester Nanny to tell her more about him.

The horse’s hooves started to crunch on gravel as the pony trap drew into the driveway of the big mansion belonging to Mr. George Meredith. As they turned a corner, golden light flowed over the cart, illuminating the small trio and the formidable form of Nanny. The horse came to a stop and Nanny jumped down from the pony trap, and the children followed her. Zanna descended from the trap and walked slowly up to the big double doors to the mansion. Nanny pulled out a ring of keys and inserted a key into the lock and the door swung open, flooding the small group with light.

In the new light of the house, Zanna noticed just how big the place was. From what James had told her on the train, George Meredith was a recluse and the only people who lived with him were the maids and Nanny. Zanna leaned over to Emily and whispered to her out of the corner of her mouth.

“Do you reckon Mr. Meredith is compensating for something?” she said, cheekily. Emily had evidently been thinking the same thing and burst into a fit of suppressed laughter at Zanna’s comment. A stern glare from Nanny made the two immediately stop giggling, but they swapped glances with each other, both knowing that the other was still mentally laughing about the joke. Zanna looked around and saw James shuddering with silent mirth, and she guessed that he too had understood their joke. The three children’s faces were going bright red as they held back their laughter as they went into the house.

“Wow…” the three breathed as one as they saw the inside of the house, their laughter instantly dissolving. The foyer was huge and had many opulent decorations on the walls. There was a wall that held only portraits, most of them oil paintings hung in ornate, golden frames with austere looking people, who looked like they had been long dead, staring out from the canvas on which they were painted, each wearing the same expression on their gaunt faces.

The floors were made of black marble and each footstep echoed eerily around the enormous room with its high, domed ceiling, from which an enormous, crystal chandelier hung, candles flickering ominously within. Every small breeze from outside the doors caused the chandelier to swing from side to side, threatening to fall.

Zanna barely dared to move as she looked around, knowing that if she was to trip, something bad could happen to the portraits or to the chandelier, and she knew that if this did happen, something as equally bad would happen to her, too.

A loud bang from behind the trio made them all jump and turn around to see what the cause of the noise was. Nanny closing the doors quickly had been the cause of the bang. The children breathed a sigh of relief when they realized that nothing had fallen.

Zanna looked over to James, who, as she knew, had been to the house many times before, and he too seemed to wear a look of evident unease at the thought of breaking something.

“Welcome to Meredith Manor, children. There are a few basic rules for you to follow, especially in the foyer and hall. No running around at any time. We wouldn’t want anything to break now, would we? Now. Follow me, children.”

With that, Nanny set off at a brisk pace towards a large staircase, which, Zanna noticed, had two magnificently carved ivory Lions at the base of the banisters, with intricate patterns winding their way up the banister. The children climbed the stairs, each step they took echoing multiple times throughout the foyer.

The small group soon came to a floor, with a long, dark corridor leading off from the stairs with several rooms along the walls. It was dimly lit, with dark wallpaper covering the walls. The corridor was mysterious in every sense of the word and even though it ended after a few meters, it seemed to stretch on forever in an eternal darkness.

Zanna felt a distinct change in Nanny’s behaviour; she looked over at James questioningly, hoping he would have an answer.

“This is Mr. Meredith’s floor,” he whispered over to her as Nanny walked down the corridor, telling them to wait by the stairs for her. “This is where Mr. Meredith has his office, bedroom, personal dining room and bathroom,” he said as he gestured to the multiple doors. He then pointed to a room with a door that looked like it hadn’t been opened in years. “That used to be his wife’s room. She died a decade ago from influenza. It broke Mr. Meredith’s heart when it happened and since then he hasn’t set foot out of the House. He used to be a socialite of the highest degree, but now, most people around here would think he was dead if it wasn’t for the 16 pints of milk that are delivered here each week,” he said to Zanna and Emily. Zanna resumed staring around in wonder at the dark corridor with the dim lighting, feeling terrible for Mr. Meredith’s loss. Emily, who had let out a slight whimper when she had heard of Mrs. Meredith’s death, was now staring at the door that led to his bedroom.

“The poor thing,” she sighed. “I can only imagine what it feels like to lose someone that you hold so dear. Let’s pray that we don’t have to experience that during the war…” she trailed off as she saw Nanny walking briskly back down the corridor.

Without a second glance at the children, she began to climb the staircase again, taking the children up to the top level of the house, where it looked much lighter than the depressing corridor in which Mr. Meredith lived.

“This, children, will be where you will sleep. You two,” she said, pointing at Zanna and Emily, “Will share that room,” she said, jabbing her thumb at the door behind her. “You,” she said to James, “Will have your usual room,” she said as she eyed the group. “The rules of the house are as follows,” she said, glaring at each child individually. “No noise making is permitted in the house at any time. No eating between meals. I expect you to be clean and presentable at mealtimes, that means clean faces, clothes and especially clean hands. You are allowed to do whatever you wish out on the grounds as long as you don’t disturb Mr. Meredith, myself, or any of the staff. No running along the corridors and lights out at eight. Are we all clear? Good. Now, be ready for dinner. I expect you to be down in the dining room in ten minutes, so get yourself washed up and changed,” she said as she descended the staircase at a fast pace, not looking back.

“What an old grump,” Zanna whispered to Emily.

“She’s not that old…” Emily whispered back to Zanna, in defence of Nanny.

“Yeah, but she is a grump!” James chipped in before Zanna could open her mouth to protest. This last statement had the little group in fits of laughter again.

Red faced and still laughing, Zanna tried to calm down to go into her room. She picked up her battered suitcase and her crushed Gas-Mask box and opened the door.

“See you in a tick, James,” Zanna said to James as she went into the room. She gasped slightly at the sight of the room, making the others follow her. James, who already knew what the house was like, wasn’t shocked in the slightest. Emily looked around the room in awe.

“This place is huge!” Emily said, her eyes still traveling round the room. “It’s more like the biggest room in the biggest hotel in London, than a bedroom! I thought we were being evacuated, but it seems more like we’re on holiday!” she said as she went over to her bed and dropped her suitcase on the floor.

Zanna looked over her shoulder and then at James and then at Emily and her trademark lopsided grin spread over her face as she looked at her bed.

“That sure looks springy!” she said to James, whose face revealed that he had no idea what she was talking about. Never mind, thought Zanna. He’ll see in a second anyway… she thought as she slowly put her suitcase down at her feet and then ran over to her bed, kicking her shoes off as she ran and sprang onto the bed, which she promptly sunk into.

“Oh blast. It’s not a springy mattress! I can’t jump on it… oh well, this is pretty comfortable anyway,” she said as she nuzzled her head down into the pillows, practically disappearing in the mountain of pillows.

“I’ll see you girls in a tick. My room’s two doors down to the right on the other side of the hall. You better get yourselves washed up and ready, though, Nanny is tough and she hates mess of any kind. So, go and get yourselves ready for dinner,” he said as he went off to his own room.

“Zanna, you look like a right plonker with just your feet sticking out from under those pillows!” Emily laughed as Zanna fought her way out of the attacking pillows. With a thud, she fell from the bed and onto the floor, not a single pillow on the ground to cushion the fall.

“Typical, isn’t it?!” she said as she got up, dusting herself down. “A mountain of pillows envelopes me on the bed and then, when I fall off of the bed, not a single pillow comes down. It is a liberty, that’s what it is! Humph.”

The two girls got ready and met James by the staircase, who was getting slightly impatient.

“How long does it take for two girls to get ready?” he asked, teasingly, but seriously too. “I mean, for me, all I had to do was wash my face, brush my hair and wash my hands. Surely that’s the same for a girl? Isn’t it?”

Emily looked at Zanna who was now looking slightly sheepish. She hadn’t so much as bothered to brush her hair and her face had a little dirt left from the train.

“We did get ready,” Emily began. “It’s just that Zanna was attacked by a mountain of soft, poofy pillows, and she had to fight like a tiger to free herself from the horror,” Emily said smiling and laughing. She started going down the stairs and looked over her shoulder, “She was quite brave, actually. The pillows were so terrified of her after that, that they refused to be on the floor with her when she fell off the bed afterwards.”

The three children went down several flights of stairs, taking care not to run, however, Zanna was sorely tempted to slide down the banisters, but restrained herself from doing. They slowed their quick-paced nearly-a-run-but-possibly-fast-walk to a slow walk as the came to the dining room where a proper meal was in store for them, as opposed to the past three meals they had had on the train, consisting of sandwiches and more sandwiches.

Zanna seated herself where Nanny had told her to and she was to be sat next with Emily on her right and James on her left. When Emily sat down, James pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in once she had sat down. Emily blushed slightly at the formality.

A maid came in with a soup tureen and filled the children’s bowls with soup. Zanna’s mouth watered at the beautiful smell of the soup.

“Nanny, this is Leek and Onion soup, isn’t it?” James asked.

“Yes, it was your mother’s favourite,” Nanny replied softly.

At the end of the meal, each of the children felt like they would explode should they eat any more food. Nanny dismissed them and they all went back upstairs. The girls went into their room, leaving James to his own devices as they unpacked the rest of the things in their small suitcases.

Right at the bottom of her suitcase, Zanna found a little tin in which she kept all sorts of things. Inside was her brother’s old penknife, a bit of string, a wooden catapult and ammo and a small harmonica. She looked around the room and saw that Emily was by the door, hanging something up on the hooks on the back. Zanna scrumpled up a piece of paper and loaded it into her cattie, whirled around and fired. By this point, Emily had already moved away, leaving the door open, through which James was now walking. The ball of paper hit him in the nose, leaving him looking very shocked.

Seeing the look on James’ face, the two girls fell around laughing.

“I’m s-s-so s-s-sorry!” Zanna managed to gasp out between fits of giggles. “But you’ve got to admit, that was a pretty good shot!” she said as she collapsed into another fit of giggles.

“C’mon James, it was only a paper ball, not a bomb,” Emily said as she regained her composure and stood up, smoothing out her skirt. “Oh,” Emily said as her face fell. “A bomb… forget I ever said that, James,” Emily said, putting a hand on his shoulder. In that moment of laughter, Emily had forgot what James had told them in the train, about how he feared being bombed in the air-raids, which was a perfectly rational fear, but it was how his Father dealt with the fear that hurt James, and so he didn’t like bombs being talked about so lightly.

James smiled half-heartedly and walked out of the room, back into his room, an envelope in his hand. Zanna and Emily followed him to see what was wrong. They stood in the corridor, not sure whether to go in or not. Zanna peeked behind the door and saw that James’ eyes were red and he was crying. The letter he had been holding had fallen to the floor at the door and it was close enough for Zanna to be able to read. She quickly scanned the letter with her eyes and went back to Emily.

“Emily, come back to the room with me, I need to tell you something,” she said as she pulled Emily back to their room. Zanna sat down on her bed and told Emily what she had seen in James’ room. “I saw that letter that he had been holding and I read what it said. The long and short of the story is that his mother has died, killed in an air-raid” Zanna said quietly.

Emily gasped and her hands went up to her mouth. “Oh how tragic. That is terrible. Poor James, he must be feeling absolutely rotten now. He needs cheering up, Zanna.”

Emily rose from her bed and went to the door when Nanny promptly came in and told them that it was now bedtime and the children were to be in bed in ten minutes.

When Nanny left, Zanna and Emily took no time in getting ready for bed, looking forward to sleeping in warm, comfortable beds after so long traveling. In no more time than it took for Zanna to prepare her catapult, aim and fire the ammo at a target, the two were in their nighties, curling up in their new beds, nearly sound asleep.

“’Night, Emily,” Zanna whispered over to her friend. “See you in the morning.” But Zanna got no reply, for Emily was too busy choking back tears from homesickness.