In Lord Shadow's House, part five
Read part one here
Read part three here
Read part four here
The street that
had always ended just past the second bend, didn’t. It continued on, going
closer to the river than Jarius was comfortable going, but his desire and
curiosity bid him onward.
The road began to look like one that may
have a Manor on it. It dipped and rose, and flourished with trees and other
flowering plants. Far in the distance, Jarius could make out a stream of smoke
drifting into the sky, as from a chimney.
Jarius began walking faster now, now that
he was convinced his walking wasn’t in vain. The grand house presented itself
on top of a hill Jarius had never seen before. It was the perfect placement of
a perfect house. It had neither too many windows, nor too few. It was entirely
lovely, a house of dreams.
Jarius traveled up the lone drive that cut
through the gardens, leading to the estate. There was no sign of life, at least
not as far as Jarius could see. None of the windows were open to let in the
summer breeze; the front door appeared quite unapproachable.
Jarius reached into his pocket and pulled
out the calling card he had received. His thumb ran alongside it, over it, as
he convinced himself he was indeed, most welcome.
Jarius knocked on
the door, a very feeble sounding knock that disappeared the moment his knuckles
ceased rapping. He waited for several seconds, convinced that no one had heard
him, and if they had, they weren’t coming.
Much to his surprise, the door swung open,
revealing the man who had been in his office just that morning.
“Mr. Taylor?” Jarius asked, astounded.
“Mr. Knigglesby,” the man responded, not
nearly as surprised as Jarius was.
“If this was your residence, than why did
you leave such a card with me?”
The man smiled. “But this is not my
residence, sir, not anymore. I am just leaving. The man you are looking for is
Lord Shadow. He will be most pleased to see you. Now, if you will follow me, I
will take you to him.”
A very perplexed Jarius followed behind
the broad back as it led deeper into the Manor. Now Jarius was not all that
perceptive, but he did note that as they were walking Mr. Taylor’s clothes
seemed to be changing. No longer did he appear to have a woolen coat, instead
it seemed to be a rather shabby muslin. Even the boots that Jarius had noted
before did not appear the same. They were scuffed and had several holes filled
in with newspaper.
When the man finally stopped and turned to
face Jarius, he was so completely altered that Jarius almost didn’t recognize
him. No longer did he look like new money or old money, or any money. He looked
as poor and as uncleanly as the beggars who hassled Jarius daily on his commute
to and from his place of business. But it was none of those things that stuck
with Jarius as the man pushed open the door. It was that he looked happy.
Jarius stepped past him through the open
door. He wanted his own happiness.
Come back next Monday for part six.
This is part three of your book series, correct? I need to go back and catch up on the others...
ReplyDeleteWhoa, I'm behind! I had to get caught up on the past installments. Looking great so far, and looking forward to part six.
ReplyDeleteI liked all the detail you had getting down the road and up to the house. That was great. It was like I was on the road too. Nice.
ReplyDeleteAh.... see I always knew it wasn't the clothes on a man's back that made him happy, it was the .... well I don't know...I shall have to come back next week and see what happens next :)
ReplyDeletePS: Thanks for helping out with the 50 States of Pray and I have you down for New York :)