Lady Arabella

By W. H. Cann

Dr.s William and Eloise Cairnby embark on an historical research visit to Bouchart abbey, hoping to uncover more of the truth behind its demise. Following a freak storm lasting two days, a forgotten large communal grave situated in the abbey grounds was uncovered by a landslide. After helping to recover the skeletal remains of countless bodies, William ventures into the abbey and encounters Lady Arabella, who takes him somewhere he thought it was impossible to go. Can he survive the shock and fulfil Lady Arabella’s hopes for eternal rest?

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. H. Cann
• Release date: Dec 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311485250

W. H. Cann

I am an indie author of science fiction and fantasy novels. I live in Pembrokeshire, Wales, am married with two children, and three grandchildren.I have served with the Royal Air Force as a dual trade aircraft engineer after completing a 3 year apprenticeship, run my own business for several years until a back injury prevented me from continuing, and then entered the world of finance. I am currently employed as a Local Government Finance Officer.I have been a passionate reader since early childhood, but was introduced to the fantasy genre at the age of 10 when my father gave me some Conan books and the Thongor of Lemuria series by Lin Carter. I did not actually start writing until my mid thirties, after injuring my back and was off work for a while. It was then that I first penned the drafts of the Science Fiction series The Guardians, followed by the fantasy series The Chronicles of Ferantiana.My favourite activities other than writing are walking, reading, researching family history, watching classic British Sitcoms, good dramas and films, and listening to music.W. H. Cann

Book preview

Lady Arabella

W. H. Cann

W.H. Cann asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

Copyright 2005 W.H. Cann

Published by W.H. Cann

This Edition December 2014

Originally Published under the Pen Name Sam Clark

Cover Illustration W.H. Cann

Copyright 2013 W.H. Cann

All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, or organisations are entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Title

Copyright

Contents

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter One

Two people stood in the guest house porch while they pulled their hoods up and tightened the cords around their necks. The man nodded to his wife and they rushed down the garden path, across the road and headed for the ‘Abbey Inn’. It was only a relatively short distance, but the couple were still drenched by the time they entered the front porch.

They removed their hoods, shook their coats, and when they entered the main bar they were greeted by the distinct aroma of burning wood, which they found both pleasant and welcoming. It always reminded William of the times he stayed at his uncle’s farm as a young child, and had often thought of becoming a farmer when he grew up, but by the time he was sixteen, his ambitions had changed.

William made his way to the bar while his wife found an empty table near the hearth where she could get warm and dry off quickly. Eloise removed her coat trying not to splash the people seated nearby, and hung it on the free standing coat hanger in the corner. She then sat on the cushioned bench fixed to the wall, crossed her legs, and gazed around distractedly, admiring the paintings and the interior of the inn.

The ‘Abbey Inn’ was over four hundred years old, had three-foot thick walls, small windows and exposed beams. The inn had been extended to the rear, but little else had been done to alter the building in any way. Eloise adored it, regarding it as the perfect ‘Inn’. She hated seeing old buildings modernised, believing the character and essence of the place was destroyed in the process. Fortunately, her husband, William, felt the same.

Sitting in the corner of the ‘Abbey Inn’ reminded her of the first time she met William; it brought a smile to her face.

Eloise was eating lunch in a sixteenth century inn in a small Yorkshire village, having arrived a day early for an archaeological dig being undertaken at the nearby abbey. She had met the other archaeologists and volunteers who had arrived, and was keen to meet the two who had not: Joseph Stevens and especially William Cairnby, whom she heard specialised in the history of English abbeys, which was also a particular interest of hers.

She glanced up and saw a good looking man enter the inn, then overheard him ordering a ploughman’s lunch. When she looked up a second time, he seemed to have disappeared. She sighed lightly, sipped her drink, and decided to visit the ladies’. When she returned to the bar, she literally bumped into the man almost spilling his drink.

"I am sorry, Miss, I wasn’t looking where I was going," he said smiling, his voice kind and mellow.

Eloise looked into his eyes and was captivated. No, no, it was my fault, she stammered. When she realised she was staring at him, she lowered her gaze quickly and felt her cheeks warming.

"Well, no harm was done, he said putting his drink on the bar and wiping his hands, so let’s forget about it."

She smiled warmly, lost for words.

William saw the sparkle in her eye, but also saw beauty and intelligence. Her full lips slightly parted in a bright smile added to that beauty. It was then that he recognised who she was.

She looked at him curiously