The Lord of Bryn Du

Chapter 1

Endless fields, hills and a stray cow. The latter never failed to bring a smile to Helga's lips. So different than the scenery she had grown so used to in the big city. London had been great to her for the past twenty-seven years, but it had been time to move on.

Opening that newspaper back at the coffee shop she usually got her morning coffee at had not been as dull of an idea as she had initially thought. Break-ups sucked, losing your job on top of that was probably even worse. A job in the countryside, private tutor to a seven year old? Accommodation included? A contract for at least a year? Honestly, Helga had no idea why something like this was even posted in a bloody newspaper of all things.

Okay, the whole bus ride was even duller than the rest of the contents of that newspaper, but both lead her closer to a job that would take her away from one. practically everything that reminded her of her ex and the new fling he had left her for and two. the school that had to close only because London decided it was big enough of a city that a new subway station needed to be build. Right in the same spot where an elementary school had been located for at least sixty years already? How daft could they possibly be?

After reading the advertisement she had taken a photo of it, forgotten about it for a day or two before opening the gallery on her phone again. Without any kind of hope she had called the number that was on the advertisement, only to be answered by a voice that had wanted her to hang up immediately. Low, posh and so incredibly cold. Cold enough to sent an eerie chill down her spine almost immediately.

Rich families still had a butler nowadays, it seemed.

For some reason Helga had listened to his whole story after inquiring about the position, a little taken aback when she was asked about her credentials. She had never intended to tell him about her wish to study medicine when she had been a teen, but without having given it second thought the words had slipped past her lips.

Not a doctor. Instead she had started out as an elementary school teacher. A job she had enjoyed for five years after finishing her studies. That was until she was forced to quit. Nevertheless, it was enough experience, and apparently enough for the man to invite her for an interview.

The downside? The interview was all the way up in Wales, in a tiny village called Grenlae. Google could only tell her inhabited exactly 461 people.

The train ride to Cardiff wasn't even too bad, apart from incredibly expensive. The bus ride all the way up north was just tedious. Four long hours, wobbly roads and a phone battery threatening to die on her if not for the powerbank she had tucked away in the bottom of her bag. At least the tranquil sight of cows grazing in the fields were worth it, sort of.

The scenery slowly seemed to change again, large brick farms and picturesque houses coming into view. Was she finally there? A small nod from the bus driver was indeed enough for her to grab her bag and get off the bus the moment they arrived in what seemed the village's centre. Lots of brick, an old well and a pub. Straight out of a movie, Helga noted.

She again took a look at the address she had been given during the phone call. Or well, it was not exactly an address, more a name. Rich people truly could be old-fashioned.

Letting out a soft sigh Helga decided the best chance she had was to go and ask a local about the place. Hiring an Uber here was probably impossible, but for a few pounds someone was surely crazy enough to drive her towards her destination.

At least, she hoped.

Not the pub, she didn't need some afternoon drinker to drive them in a ditch somewhere later. The local super would probably do. Looking over her shoulder she was pleased to find it at the end of the road, one of the only modern looking buildings, in her opinion ruining the whole aesthetic the place had going on.