(Author's Note: My contribution to The_Weekend_Write-In prompt for the week, "quiet." This chapter was written while composing my ONC entry for this year, but not was not included in the story. Word count - 330)
Cornelia
The house was quiet. Nothing stirred, even the fire in the grate had burned down to coals and ash.
Soft lamplight filled the room, shining down on the dark head bent over the worktable, glinting off the brass fittings scattered across the surface and reflecting off the multitude of clock faces. Shadows were banished to the corners, lurking behind the curtains and under the furniture.
The clockmaker was lost deep in concentration, the tip of her tongue protruding as she worked, her hands poised, as carefully, oh so carefully, she slotted the tiny wheel into place. There, got it!
She rolled her shoulders and stretched. Behind her, the rustle of fabric was the merest whisper of sound, but it was enough to send her spinning around on her stool, her right eye grotesquely magnified by the loupe strapped to her forehead.
"Who's there? Is that you, Mara?"
Silence.
Fear began to flick at the edges of her mind. Her maid should have been in bed hours ago, it was after midnight, and the house was empty apart from the two of them. Her brother, Aron, was away in the City for the week, on business.
"Mara?"
The curtain twitched. Cornelia lunged toward the fireplace and snatched up the poker. She faced the curtain, brandishing her weapon and breathing hard.
"Come out! Whoever you are!" she demanded.
The bottom of the curtain bulged once more, and then a small black and white head emerged.
Cornelia let the poker fall to her side.
"Pierrot! What are you doing in here, you naughty cat? You gave me such a fright!" Laughing with relief, she swooped the cat up into her arms and buried her face in his soft fur. Pierrot wriggled in protest, but Cornelia didn't put him down.
"Come on, I think I'm finished here for the night. A saucer of milk for you, and bed for me."
Still holding the cat in a firm grip, Cornelia turned off the lamp.
YOU ARE READING
Dreams - (Short stories)
Short StoryShort stories, Including 1. My Lucky Day - a woman finds a lost journal on the train... (Chicklit) 2. Marianne - historical flash fiction - regency period 3. Hen Thief - humour / crime 4. Cliffhanger 5. A Writer's Nightmare - my entry for - 13 Day...
