 
The Mystery of Wicklow Hall

Copywrite 2018 Sandra Maggs

Published by Sandra Maggs at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favourite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

About the Author

Contact

Oher books by Sandra Maggs

Prologue

"Someone died here," she whispered.

"Who was it?" Bess asked as she stared at the stranger.

"A student, she was about our age," the girl told her. "You're not from this time, you're like me."

"So you can travel through time too?"

"Yes, it's not very common though, I'm surprised to find someone else who can," she confessed.

"Why are you here? Where are we?" Bess asked her looking around. "Is this my dream or yours?"

"I think our dreams have connected in some way. We're in a type of school. I'm here to help solve a mystery. Is that the reason you're here?"

"I think so," Bess answered nodding. "That's usually what happens when I have these types of dreams. There's always a purpose to it and it normally involves some sort of mystery."

"If we're here for the same reason then perhaps we can work together," the girl said. "Oh no, I'm about to go. I must be waking up. Or maybe you are."

"Wait, don't go. I want to know more about you. What's your name?" Bess cried. "I have more questions."

"Another time," the girl whispered as she faded away.

Bess Hooper opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around in the darkness and recognised her own bedroom. "Oh crap, it's happening again," she said to herself.

Chapter One

The Wicklow Winter

By Herbert Brooks

Within the wintery Wicklow walls that shiver beneath the frozen glaze

Bound by snow and glistening white lace

The ghostly voices haunt and enchant

As eerie whispers echo in the silence

The spirits tremble with the icy blast

Invoking winters of the past

Lights from the north dance in the sky

Green and yellow they bewitch the mortal eye

Kissed by the cruel season's sting

Until the thaw of spring

Bess remembered the poem vividly. It had made her cousin's home the type of house people would pause outside of and take photos to prove they had been there. The well-known Wicklow Hall stood cosy in a blanket of snow illustrating the scene in the wintery verse. As the Hoopers pulled up outside, the feathery flakes began to fall from the dull evening sky once more and settled on the glistening white terrain adding to the powdery softness. Looking up at the inviting light shining through the windows of the building, Bess climbed from the car with the rest of her family and shivered as the cold blast hit her.

"It's freezing," she said pulling her coat closed. Her teeth began to chatter, as she folded her arms tight in front of her.

"You lot go in and I'll get the luggage," her father told them as he opened the boot of the car.

"I'll help Dad," Tom said and began removing the bags and cases.

Bess and her mother ran up the steps to the double doors which led into the house. They had stayed there on numerous occasions and they both felt as comfortable in the hall as they did in their own home. As they entered, the warmth from the crackling fire embraced them and Bess instantly removed her coat. A delicious aroma filled the air and she knew instantly the welcoming smell of Aunt Tanya's chicken soup. On the wall by the door just inside the entrance, the familiar poem written in faded calligraphy was framed in silver and Bess read it to herself just to refresh her memory.

"Bess, Aunt Yvonne!"

Bess turned towards the voice. "Clancy," she replied, thankful to see her favourite cousin. A year older than Bess, she had grown much taller than the last time they had met. "Look how tall you are now."

"I know, it sort of happened overnight," Clancy told her. "You're in the room across the hall from me. I'll help you with your stuff. Oh, here's Dad."

"Uncle John," Bess said, as her father's brother approached and kissed her on the cheek.

"It's good to see you've arrived safely, there's a blizzard on the way," he said to them. "Michael, let me help you with the luggage." Taking the cases from his brother, he put them down just inside the entrance and went out into the cold to help bring the rest in.

"This is mine," Bess told her cousin pulling up the handle and wheeling the suitcase along beside her. The noise from the small plastic casters on the wooden floorboards almost drowned out her voice. "Where's Simone?"

"She's at a chess tournament with Mum," Clancy explained. "Simone's sort of chess royalty these days. I don't understand why she likes it so much, but she does. None of us can beat her, she has the mind of a war strategist. We just hope she never starts one."

Bess followed her cousin along the corridor of the house and remembered Christmases of the past when her family had visited. Her Uncle John and Aunt Tanya had been teachers at Willow Valley Grammar School for as long as Bess could remember. Now her uncle was the principal. Originally the school had been established as a deportment and etiquette institute, for young ladies from wealthy backgrounds who were gifted in the arts. Now however, it was just a regular day school and all of the boarding halls had been turned into classrooms, except for Wicklow Hall. The Hoopers had bought the hall and turned it into their family home. Not much had been changed. The dark wooden décor was in keeping with the period in which it was built. Bess had always liked the warren of stairs and corridors that led to different parts of the building. She was sure there were rooms she still hadn't discovered and each time they visited, a little more about the hall was revealed.

"Here we are then," Clancy said, as she opened one of the many doors.

Bess stepped into the room with her case and for a moment she was taken somewhere else, but only for a moment. Instantly she knew the bedroom from a dream she had experienced not so long ago. Striped wallpaper and white wooden furniture. It was exactly as she remembered right down to the red patchwork quilt that was on the double bed. A solitary conversation with another time traveller was all that had occurred, but she recalled it vividly. The two were definitely connected in some way, the dream and the house. Bess had written down some notes on a piece of paper and put it in her journal for safekeeping. Later when she was alone, there would be time to read the notes to remind her of the conversation, but for now, she was here with her cousin.

"This isn't one of those haunted rooms is it?" Bess asked looking around as she unzipped her case and began to hang her clothes in the wardrobe.

"There are no ghosts here Bess," Clancy told her.

"Oh, but I remember you telling me the place was haunted by a girl who wandered the halls moaning," Bess reminded her. "Apparently she was dressed in a white dress and had an axe resting in her bloody skull."

"I did say that didn't I. Sorry if it freaked you out. I was just trying to scare you," Clancy admitted, remembering the stories she had told to frighten her younger cousin. At the time she had thought it was funny, but thinking about it now, she realised the torment she must have caused.

"It's alright, I didn't believe you anyway," Bess said. "Although, the thought of it was sort of creepy and I did find it difficult to sleep." She remembered lying awake listening to every sound wondering if it was the ghost of the girl, even though she was sure at the time the story was made up.

"So," Clancy said sitting on the bed and making herself comfortable. "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you for ages."

Sitting down with her cousin, Bess knew she couldn't tell Clancy everything. "Just the usual stuff. You know, school and friends." Going into too much detail would be dangerous. Her cousin would start asking more questions and Bess knew she wouldn't give up until she heard the truth, so she kept it as brief as possible.

"And solving crimes nobody else could?" Clancy asked.

"Yeah," Bess nodded trying to avoid the subject of the mysteries. "That and just hanging out with Eloise. I had a boyfriend for a while, but we broke up not so long ago."

"Oh, that's too bad," Clancy said. "I have my L's and I'm learning to drive. Mum's been giving me lessons, Dad sort of gets a little nervous when he's in the passenger seat. He clings to the seat and uses a pretend brake all of the time. It's really off-putting."

"I can't wait to get mine. I can imagine it will be the same with my dad," Bess said as she pictured her father sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed gripping the dashboard for dear life. "How's school going? Do you still play the cello?" Remembering the Christmas recitals she had attended at the local hall, she sort of hoped her cousin had quit the instrument.

"To be honest, I hate school and I hate the cello. I have no direction and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Mum and Dad are constantly on my back to make decisions that will affect me in the future and I'm totally clueless about all of it," Clancy explained.

Bess had always looked up to Clancy and thought her very level-headed and responsible, but now as she sat before her the tears welled in her cousin's eyes and Bess felt the pity building. "Clancy, don't get upset. I had no idea. We hardly ever see each other. Do your parents know about this? Have you told them how you feel?"

"Sort of," Clancy sniffed. Pulling a crumpled tissue from her pocket, she dabbed at the tears doing her best not to smudge her mascara. "I'm sorry, but I'm so overwhelmed with everything at the moment and it's stressing me out."

"Well, while I'm here let's see if I can help you sort something out, and if not, maybe we can come up with a way you can make your parents understand a little more," Bess said. "But aside from that, the last time I saw you, you had a crush on a boy called Aaron Anderson. I remember helping you plan the wedding and we also picked out some kids names. How did that work out?"

"Has it really been that long? Well, we didn't get married and have children, and we're not likely to. I got over him and I've had a long string of crushes since, but right now, there's nobody special. A boyfriend would just complicate my life even further." Clancy told her, smiling as she remembered the boy Bess was talking about. "Come on, you're probably hungry and I know there's chicken soup and some crusty bread smothered in butter for dinner. Sitting in here crying isn't going to solve any of my problems."

Leaving the bedroom, the two girls headed towards the aroma that was drifting up the stairs from the kitchen. As they made their way down the steps, the sound of excited chatter reached them, and it was obvious to both of them that Simone was home.

"Bess," she said, running up to them and hugging her. "See my trophy? I won the tournament."

Impressed by the trophy Simone flaunted, Bess had never won anything in her life and felt a pang of jealousy. Although she didn't play chess, she knew enough about the game to know she was looking at a giant gold coloured piece, possibly the king or queen. Simone, who had just turned ten, was quite possibly the genius of the entire Hooper clan and full of confidence. She reminded Bess of her friend Eloise. "It's lovely Simone, congratulations."

"Come on," her Uncle John said, "let's eat. The soup smells delicious."

Hot chicken soup with buttered crusty bread was the kind of meal Bess found very comforting and as the winter picked up outside and blasted the exterior of the building with its icy strength, inside the occupants were oblivious to the whipping the chilly winds enforced.

Chapter Two

Behind the closed door, within the privacy of the bedroom, Bess took out the secretive journal that was, so far, a work in progress. She had only written about the cornerstone and the trip to Smackleton and Kissing Gate Woods, in particular, Patrick. The kiss they had shared beneath the summer moon would never leave her memories. Now she began to write about the mystery she had solved with the help of Jack and Eloise at the riding school. At least she remembered the latest adventure a little more clearly. It seemed like it was only last week that she travelled to Stone Arches with Eloise, but as time ticked by, Bess began to forget the finer details. As each mystery was replaced with a new quest, the events began to get slightly muddled. So writing things down as soon as she could after the occurrence was important. Not just for Bess, but for whoever received the ability to time travel in the future.

Removing a folded piece of paper, the notes she had written about the dream she had experienced just before coming to the hall jogged her memory. Bess recalled the brief conversation with the other time traveller. The girl had been here in the very room where she was staying now. They had spoken about a death which had occurred in the school. Even though unusual things happened around her constantly, the dream was just plain weird. Bess wondered why she had dreamt about that girl and this room.

Looking around, she decided to check if there were any clues which might have been left behind for her to find so she could work out what had happened. If that were the case then she might be able to use them to sort it all out. But after hunting about and checking the room thoroughly, there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Her clothes were hung in the wardrobe which had been completely empty when she arrived. None of the drawers had contained anything at all, and there wasn't so much as a speck of dust under the bed. That was the extent of the furniture and although she knew there was a reason for the dream, right now, Bess couldn't even begin to try to solve anything.

All she knew was there had been a death, a girl around her age. The other traveller wouldn't have said anything about it if Bess wasn't meant to find out how or why. From what she remembered, the girl she met in her dream had thought she was waking up and Bess wondered what year she was waking up in. That was when it ended, but it was far too soon. There wasn't enough time for any more questions, they barely had time to talk at all. Perhaps if she went to sleep, she would travel again and meet up with the girl, or the girl would travel to her. It was strange to think their dreams could intertwine the way they had, but Bess was learning to expect the unexpected, however strange it was.

Changing into her pyjamas, she picked up the journal and continued to write. Remembering Jack Wescott with his blue eyes and nice smile, Bess knew she had a crush on him, but he was the cousin of her best friend and she didn't want to put any strain on that relationship. Eloise meant a lot to her. Jack's mates, Evan and Justin were included in the entry too. Even though she hadn't been keen on either of them, they were still an important part of the investigation. The most significant moments though, were the time travel and the visions of the boy Sebastian who had gone missing.

Through the open curtains, Bess could see out into the night and the snow was now falling steadily. It looked as though it was going to be a white Christmas this year. Putting on her slippers, she pulled on her dressing gown and headed out of the room and towards the kitchen to get a drink of water.

Silence filled the empty halls and the rest of the family were in bed. Tiptoeing along the dark passageway, Bess headed downstairs. In the large family area of Wicklow Hall, a six-foot Christmas tree stood covered in twinkling lights, glittering coloured baubles, and shiny silver and gold tinsel. As the icon commanded attention, at the very top, an angel looked down blessing the scene. Bess stopped and took it all in for a moment. In the darkness, she could just make out the shapes of the presents beneath its branches, and for a moment she felt like shaking each gift to see if she could guess what was in them. Continuing on to the kitchen, she snapped on the light and took a glass from the cupboard. There were a few bottles of water in the fridge and putting the glass back, she took one of the bottles instead and headed back to her room. Stopping to check out the Christmas tree one more time, Bess smiled to herself. She thought about her great aunt Lois and how she always knew what people were getting before they knew themselves. It must have been quite a surprise to the family when she guessed correctly every time.

As she walked along the hall, Bess thought she heard someone coughing somewhere. Accompanied with some groaning, it seemed to be coming from the bathroom. Knocking softly on the door, she listened to the noises creeping from within. Somebody was clearly unwell. "Hello," she whispered through the door. "Is everything all right?" Opening it slowly, the bathroom was empty and in darkness.

Another strange happening from another time and perhaps even a clue to the baffling mystery Bess had yet to discover. She would have to remember to add it to her journal.

Back in bed with the drink on the bedside table, Bess picked up the book and continued to write. Thankfully the old place wasn't drafty. Sitting up in bed, the warmth began to overcome her. Outside the wind picked up and as she began to drift off, it seemed to whisper, someone died in here.

Chapter Three

Orange flames licked away slowly at the dried logs throwing out their blistering heat and warming the living room. Clancy prodded the tiny inferno with the poker and carefully placed another log on top of the burning wood. Leisurely the flames crept over the dried fibres of the bark as they searched for food attempting to devour everything in their path. As the small blazes came together, they waltzed over the top crackling away creating their own burning melody.

Outside of Wicklow Hall, the snowflakes danced in circles in the wind as it howled as if in pain and lashed out in fury at anything in its path. Naked, the trees shivered, afraid that winter would never end as the snow that covered the branches turned to ice. Winter wildlife was hidden away avoiding the continuous icy blast, and inside the hall, Bess stared out into the white, whirling, wonder in dismay. Traditional to the time of the year, when she visited Wicklow Hall, she had always built a snowman with her brother and cousins. This year the weather was against them all and kept them captive like prisoners of comfort in their protective wrapping.

"Let's play hide and seek," Simone suggested. "Come on it might be a bit more fun than staring out the window at the snowstorm. That's just plain ridiculous."

"I'll play," Tom said, jumping up from where he was sitting. So bored, he had almost fallen asleep on the sofa. Rubbing his eyes, he stretched and prepared for the game.

Bess and Clancy looked at each other and shrugged. "I'm willing. It's better than sitting here wishing I was outside," Bess admitted, and her cousin agreed.

"I'll count first," Simone volunteered. "You lot go and hide, and I'll come and find you. I know all of the good hiding places, so it shouldn't take me too long to hunt you out."

Bess, Clancy and Tom took off in different directions to escape the counting girl. Although she had stayed on numerous occasions, Bess had no idea where to hide and headed along the hall towards the stairs that led upwards. Running up them, she took the corridor to the bedrooms but kept going along to another smaller staircase at the end of the house. Up she went, as each wooden step took her further away from her stalker, to the door at the top which opened up into a tiny storage room. Bess had brought her suitcase up on the previous evening with Clancy and knew there were a few hiding places there and a wall of boxes to crouch behind. Quietly she opened the door to the small dark room and stepping inside, closed it as quickly and quietly as she could.

"Who are you?" a voice asked.

Bess jumped, and her heart began to pound. Turning around, the storage room was completely different. Modest furniture from another era had replaced the stacks of boxes and cases which were no longer there. Sitting in a single bed a girl stared up at her. She looked as though she might be around twelve or thirteen.

"Um, I'm Bess," she answered. Shocked by what she saw, she did her best to remain calm. "I'm sorry to disturb you but I didn't realise anyone was in here."

"It's okay, are you real, or am I dreaming?" the girl asked as she put down some paper that she was holding.

"I'm real, but I was going to ask you the same question," Bess answered, wondering if this girl was somehow the key to the mystery or perhaps one of Clancy's ghosts.

"Are you from another time? Because if you are, you're not the first to come here," the girl told her.

"What year is this?" Bess asked. "And who are you?"

Footsteps sounded on the stairs outside and as the door handle turned, Bess took a step back expecting someone else from the past to appear.

"Found you," Simone said, as she entered the room interrupting the conversation. "You could have at least hidden behind something."

Bess looked around and once again saw the familiar cases and neatly stacked boxes she had seen prior to today's visit to the room. The girl in the bed and the bedroom furniture had been replaced with the present. Feeling disappointed by Simone's invasion, she figured if she had seen the girl once, she would see her again. Leaving the box room, they closed the door and headed downstairs as one by one, Simone found the others. Just as she had told them when the game began, she knew all of the good hiding places.

"Okay," Bess announced, "it's my turn to count and don't make it too hard. I don't live here remember, and if I can't find you then I'll give up looking and sulk, for an hour at least."

Sitting by the fire watching the flames as they continued to ravage the timber, she thought about what had happened that afternoon. It was bizarre, but all the same, a visit to another time for a reason and the girl had said Bess wasn't the first. It was odd to think that as soon as Simone entered the room, Bess had returned to the present. She wondered what year she had visited, and if she had managed to stay there, would Simone have seen the same room? Or would the box room have looked as it normally did? Remembering the wrought iron bed and the nightgown that the girl had been wearing, she figured it was the 1900's perhaps even earlier. Reaching her target number, quickly she ran back up the stairs and along the hall to the smaller flight that led up to the box room. Maybe she could go back again. As Bess reached the top step of the staircase she heard whispering coming from the other side of the door and turned the handle slowly. As she opened the door, Clancy, Tom and Simone jumped up from their hiding place. "Surprise," they all yelled.

"What are you doing?" Bess asked them and clutched her chest. "I nearly had a heart attack. You're supposed to hide, not scare people to death."

They stumbled out from behind the stacked boxes laughing and went back downstairs.

"It was Clancy's idea," Simone told her. "She said we had to pretend to be ghosts and we had to do as we were told because she's the oldest out of us."

"Come on, let's make some hot chocolate," Clancy suggested smiling at Bess. "Then you guys can hide, and I'll count. I too know all of the good hiding spots."

Clancy had worked hard perfecting her hot chocolate and poured four cups of milk into a saucepan to warm on the hob. Melting some chocolate in the microwave she smothered it over the inside of the cups. Breaking up some more chocolate, she placed it into a heatproof jug and waited for the milk to warm. Pouring the hot milk over the chocolate, she stirred until the milk was a rich chocolaty drink. Evenly she distributed it between the four of them. The rich hot drink was welcoming and satisfying, after which, hide and seek resumed.

Bess now had an opportunity to write in her journal and as soon as she finished her drink and the game was on again, she headed straight for her room and fished the book from the drawer she had put it in. Writing down the experience, she described the girl as having long flowing hair, which was light in colour, wearing a nightgown which had been white with long sleeves and a high neckline. Bess couldn't remember much more about the brief encounter, but she knew she wouldn't forget the pale face of the girl. Hearing footsteps in the hall, quickly she returned the book to it's hiding place and lay down on the floor beside the bed out of sight of anybody entering the room. The door opened and then closed. Slowly Bess looked up over the bed to see her cousin standing there.

"Sh," Clancy said holding a finger to her lips. "I was thinking we could just hang out together for a while without the other two."

"Okay," Bess agreed thankful for the suggestion and climbed up onto the bed. "You came in just at the right time, I have a question for you."

"Go on," Clancy urged as she sat down.

"Do you have any books on the history of the school or the hall?" Bess asked her, sitting cross-legged and leaning back against the pillows. She knew as soon as the words left her lips it was a strange request and wondered if her cousin would think so too.

"I think there could be one or two in the library here, but there's loads of stuff on the internet. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious really," Bess answered, not wanting to reveal the real reason.

"Really? I know you Bess Hooper. We might not see each other very often, but I know for you to be interested in the history of this place, there must have been something that sparked it to begin with. What is it you're not telling me? Maybe I can help you," Clancy insisted.

Could she reveal her time travel secret to her cousin? Bess didn't know. If she told her, Clancy would be a confidante, someone to share secrets with. She had told her cousin a lot of secrets over the years and knew this one would be well kept. Clancy wasn't a blabbermouth. "Um, I'm not sure where to start," Bess began and looked down trying to think of a suitable lie. Unable to find one, she made the quick decision to confide in her cousin. "There is something, but it's a secret. I couldn't bear for anyone else to know. So you have to promise me, no matter how odd it sounds, you won't tell anybody."

"I'll make you a promise right now. I won't tell a soul. Unless it becomes a danger to your health of course." She crossed her heart with her finger. "Go on, spit it out."

"Alright then, here goes. It's very strange and I didn't believe it myself to begin with, but I can travel to different times," Bess announced quietly. She studied the look of bewilderment on her cousin's face and waited for the questions to start.

"What? How do you mean? Are you making this up?" Clancy asked.

"No. I promise you, this is the truth. The mysteries I've solved, it's only because of the time travel. When I went to the box room here earlier, there was a girl in there in a bed. The stacks of suitcases and boxes were gone. The room was like a little bedroom Clancy. If you don't believe me, then tell me and we'll never speak of it again, but you can't tell anybody about this conversation," Bess instructed. "Not a soul."

"I don't understand, but I do believe you. I promise I won't tell anyone. But how does it happen, and why you?" Clancy asked. "When did this all start?"

"It started last spring. Look, the specifics are something I have to work on finding out myself. All I know is there have been others on Mum's side of the of the family who have also had this time travel ability. My nan knows all about it and she's promised to keep it to herself. I even have a journal Nan gave me. It belonged to my great aunt and she had the same gift," Bess explained. "But I have dreams where I visit other times, and something happened here in this house. I'm guessing that it was the early nineteen hundreds by the looks of the girl I spoke to in the box room."

"So you time travelled in our box room? That's so cool," Clancy said.

"It was either another time or some sort of haunting," Bess told her. "And you did say that there are no ghosts here."

"That's right, none that I know of anyway," Clancy concluded. "So, you're like a walking talking time machine. If I hold your hand can I come with you? Imagine the places we could see and the people we could meet."

"I've never tried, but there was an incident when I attempted to take Tom back in time with me to meet someone and it didn't work." Bess recalled the afternoon in Kissing Gate Woods when they had tried to visit the twins together and the cottage had been a shambles. "Plus I can't do it when I want to. I sort of have to wait until it happens."

"This is so exciting. Should I get my tablet?" her cousin asked her. "We can look up some stuff about the hall, and the school too. It might be helpful. That's if you'll let me help you."

"Would you? It would mean a lot to me if you could," Bess said. "Just having somebody to talk to about this whole thing makes it a lot easier for me. I love the fact I have this ability, but it sucks not being able to tell everyone. I don't want anyone to think I'm some sort of weirdo or something."

"I get it. We don't want the authorities to dissect your brain trying to work out why you can do this," Clancy said.

"That's a horrible thought," Bess admitted solemnly, unsure whether or not her cousin was joking. "Go get the tablet. I'll hide in here from the others. But be careful though, Simone could be lurking out there, ready to pounce."

"If we don't find anything that can help us, there are some books in the school library we can sneak off and get when everyone else is in bed." Clancy paused before she spoke again. Standing, she went to the door and stood beside it. Instantly it opened hiding her from Simone and Tom who were both in the hall.

"Have you seen Clancy?" Simone asked. "Because she was meant to come and find us, and it's been ages."

"Yes," Bess nodded truthfully. "She came in here and found me. I guess she's still looking for you both somewhere. Let me know when she finds you because it's my turn to count again."

They closed the door and Clancy smiled. "That should give us another ten minutes at least. I love having a sister, but sometimes it exhausting," she whispered.

"Okay, let's get on the internet and start researching," Bess said. "Go get the tablet."

Clancy ran to her room to retrieve the coveted device and returned without a hiccup. Together, the teenagers sat looking through a universe of information for anything they could find about the school, the hall, and those who had lived there before. Page after page of material popped up. The school was quite renowned.

"So this girl, the one in the box room. Are you sure she wasn't a ghost?" Clancy asked teasing Bess just a little.

"Positive, there are no ghosts, remember?" Bess reminded her. "Oh, and I heard somebody coughing in the bathroom last night. It almost sounded as if they were throwing up, but when I opened the door the room was empty and in darkness."

"Ew, that's disgusting," Clancy said.

They sifted through loads of articles that afternoon, but there was nothing to help Bess with her sighting in the box room. She hadn't expected there to be, but it was always worth a try. Giving up wasn't an option. There was something about Wicklow Hall which for the moment eluded Bess, but she would keep looking until she found out what it was she was destined to find.
Chapter Four

One by one, pinpricks of light appeared in the inky darkness as they woke to greet the night. Accompanied by the stark light of the moon, they twinkled on the infinite horizon. The wind had subsided to a sharp breeze, and the chalky white snow glistened in the moonlight. Each tiny crystal that lay on the earth was a single jewel on the landscape and from the window of Wicklow Hall, Bess and Clancy gazed out in into the night upon the wonder that was winter. Untouched, the smooth surface waited for the brush of footsteps from human and animal alike to taint the virginal canvas.

After spending time hidden away for as long as they could, the girls had given up their reclusiveness in readiness for the evening meal and both had the same thought on their minds, escape. Not just into the night, but to the school library to help with their research. Although there had been a few discoveries, the books Clancy knew of held a lot of history and they had been written by those who had graced the halls of learning in the old place themselves. Lists of graduates and teachers were suspended in the written word and Bess was eager to get her hands on the text just to see if she could shed some light on the girl in the box room.

"Why didn't you come and find us, Clancy?" Simone asked. "We ended up looking for you and that's not how you play the game."

"Sorry, I had a headache and went to lie down for a while somewhere quiet," she lied. "Don't be upset, tomorrow we'll spend a lot more time together. Look at all the snow that's fallen Simone. There will be even more by the morning because it's supposed to start again later. We can build a snowman or two, and maybe even an igloo."

"Clancy, we can't build an igloo," Simone told her folding her arms in front of her chest. "Igloos are made from blocks of snow that has been compacted and we don't know how to do it."

"Well, if we use one of the snow drifts we might be able to," Tom suggested as he stared out of the window at the dark wintery scene. "The drifts are huge. We can just dig a tunnel into one. It might work."

Beside him, the three girls looked out into the night at the piles of snow up against walls and hedges. The cruel weather had handed them an opportunity on a plain white platter.

"It might Tom, but dinner's ready so let's go and eat something," Clancy insisted. "We can argue about igloos later. Right now, I'm hungry."

"I can't wait," Simone said. "Tomorrow will be Christmas and we'll wake up really early and open our presents, eat lots of yummy food and then play in the snow for the rest of the day. I don't know how I'm going to get to sleep tonight"

The other three looked at each other and followed the younger girl into the dining room where their parents were waiting. It was nice to eat as one big group and as the meal progressed, so did the conversation.

From somewhere, Bess heard the faint sound of carollers singing and wondered who would be out in the tail of the storm. It almost sounded as if it was coming from the inside of the room and for a moment, a misty vision of what looked like a choir appeared before her. Clearly, she was the only one seeing this spectacle. As her family chattered away around her, the vision once again faded to nothing, along with the singing. She wondered what it meant. The choir looked as though they had been from a later date than the girl Bess had met in the box room and the sight was confusing, but it had to be a clue of some sort. To what though?

After the past few encounters with time travel, Bess was getting good at carrying on as though nothing had happened and as the conversation flowed between those around her, she smiled and joined in. Thinking as she ate, she recalled the vision. One of the carollers had been familiar, and Bess suddenly remembered where she had seen the girl. It was in the dream, she was the time traveller who had told her about the girl who had died at the school.

Rushing through dessert wasn't an option, her parents hated bad table manners, so she nibbled politely away at the fruit and ice-cream. Finally, the meal was over and both Bess and Clancy made their excuses knowing they had a personal expedition planned for the very early hours of the morning. The girls agreed on a time and said their goodnights.

Bess quickly scribbled a few notes about the vision that had occurred during their meal and then climbed into bed fully clothed. Setting a silent alarm, she put her phone under her pillow and once again in anticipation of solving a mystery, forced herself to sleep.

Chapter Five

It was around four in the morning when Bess and Clancy left their bedrooms and met by the Christmas tree in the family room. There was always a set of keys for the main school building on the hook by the front door of the hall which Clancy grabbed on their way out. Although the wind had subsided completely, the night air stung like the prickly hair of nettles and even with a warm coat on Bess shivered a little as they walked across the freshly fallen snow to the nearby school. Sinking into the softness of the icy covering, small amounts clung to their boots and they kicked them against the outer wall of the building to remove all traces before entering the school. Looking back, Clancy wondered what to do about the prints they had left behind them. But tiny flakes were beginning to fall again getting bigger with each tick of the clock, and she hoped it would be enough to cover any tracks they might create on the way back too.

Unlocking the door of the school they stepped inside, and Clancy punched in a code to stop the alarm. "Come on," she whispered. "Follow me. We can't turn on the lights, but I've done this loads of times. It's sort of fun coming over here in the dark when the school is empty."

As they crept along the deserted corridors to the library, Bess noticed the trophies and plaques that had been won by the students. There were photos of teams and individuals, who had done their school and themselves proud, covering the walls. It was kind of cool and Bess thought it might be nice to be included in some sort of team that actually won a competition. But sport had never been something she was interested in. Following Clancy through a double doorway, Bess knew instantly they were in the library.

"Okay," Clancy said. "We don't really need to whisper, but as I said, we can't turn on the lights, so use the torch on your phone, but be careful. The school history section is over here."

They discovered books on each of the old boarding halls and a lot of the different sports that had been played by the school athletes. Bess found it all very interesting and as she pulled a book from the shelf with the title Wicklow Hall on the spine, she actually contemplated asking her parents if she could transfer from Endless Hiccup High School. It seemed as though the resources were infinite, but there would be no Eloise and she was the one resource Bess knew she couldn't do without.

"Can we take the books back to our bedrooms?" Bess asked as she picked out a few more.

Clancy nodded and grabbed two herself. "Come on, let's get going. Simone always wakes up really early on Christmas morning. I don't want to get caught out of bed with a pile of library books. It would be difficult to find an excuse. Not to mention the long boring lecture I'd receive about breaking into the school and setting a good example for my younger cousin."

Leaving the library they hurried back the way they came and as they left the building, Clancy reset the alarm and locked the door. Fresh snow had almost covered their tracks and it was still falling steadily. By the time it was daylight, they would hopefully be completely gone. The girls trekked the short distance to Wicklow Hall and once inside, returned to their individual rooms to rest a little more before morning arrived, along with Christmas Day.

But no sooner had Bess prepared herself for bed and closed her eyes when a noise from the hallway brought her from her rest.

"It's Christmas morning, everybody wake up."

The disturbing sound of her cousin Simone announcing the arrival of the special day seeped through the door into the room. "Oh my God," Bess said under her breath.

The door opened, and her younger cousin stood there. "Get up Bess, it's Christmas and time to open our presents."

Throwing back the covers, Bess grabbed her dressing gown and put on her slippers. Wishing she hadn't snuck off earlier in the morning, she yawned and headed towards the living room to gather with the others who had been dragged from their slumber by the ten-year-old. Clancy smiled at her and Bess noticed that she looked as tired as she felt herself.

They watched as Simone viciously tore at the nicely wrapped gifts as if she was possessed by demons, and after opening their own presents, Bess went back to her room and Clancy to hers. They both needed a few more hours in bed. Simone promised to wake them both up around nine for a breakfast of pigs in blankets and hot mince pies.

Yawning, Bess climbed under the covers and closed her eyes, they were sore from missing sleep earlier in the morning and then being disturbed by her cousin. The excitement was too much, and her mind churned with thoughts of Christmas and time travel as she slowly calmed it and relaxed into a deep sleep.

"Wake up," the voice whispered. "Wake up Bess."

When she opened her eyes, she expected to see her cousin Simone. The face before her was one she had seen before, but she didn't know the girl's name. "What? Who are you and why are you waking me up?" she asked.

"Don't you remember me from the dream? I'm a traveller too, just like you. Have you solved it yet?"

"I'm doing the best I can, but I'm not sure what it is I have to solve. How did you find me?"

"I was a student at this school. My mother sent me here because she thought I needed some lessons in acting like a lady," the girl said. "Oh no, sorry. I have to go," she said and promptly disappeared.

"Wait, you didn't tell me who you are," Bess said quietly. But it was too late, and she knew she was alone. As she lapsed back into her slumber, she wondered vaguely how the girl knew her name.

This time there were no interruptions, and sleep lasted until Clancy tapped her on the shoulder to wake her up for breakfast.

Chapter Six

Nobody from either family was sure whether or not Simone still believed in Father Christmas, but she definitely acted as though she did. When Bess and Clancy returned from their rooms later in the morning, the girl was still just as excited as she had been earlier that day. Simone raved about how she had received everything she had asked for and more, while she danced about the room showing off in a new dress.

Tuning out, Bess helped herself to the pigs in blankets and some warm mince pies with brandy butter. She felt much more alive than she had earlier in the day and after breakfast and a shower, put on some of the clothes she had been given for Christmas. Standing in front of the mirror, Bess admired the way she looked in the new jeans and top. A knock at the door interrupted her. "Come in," Bess called out.

"You look great," Clancy told her.

"So do you. I helped Mum choose that outfit. Do you like it?" Bess asked her.

"Are you kidding, I love it," Clancy said standing beside Bess and sharing the mirror. "It fits really well too."

They could have been sisters. Both had the same long brown hair and brown eyes, and the same slender build.

"We should join the others for Christmas dinner and when they're asleep later, we can have a look at the books we got from the library this morning," Bess said. "I'm sure the rest of our families will all want to take naps after the huge meal that's usually dished up. I just hope my new clothes still fit me afterwards. There's something I have to tell you later, remind me about the visitor I had this morning. I haven't written any of it down yet."

"Okay, we'll talk about it later," Clancy said as the girls left the room and headed off for the lavish lunch.

A traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings along with Christmas pudding and custard were served up. There was also a trifle and cake. It was the one day of the year when healthy diets went astray and all bets were off. Eating more than their fair share, both families laughed together enjoying not just the food, but pulling crackers and wearing ridiculous paper hats. Photos were taken and after what seemed like hours, one by one they curled up in armchairs and on sofas and fell asleep. All except for Clancy and Bess.

Looking around at the mess they had contributed to, the two girls started to prepare the dishes for the dishwasher. "Let's just get rid of some of this and then we'll hit the books," Clancy said. "You don't mind, do you? Our mums both worked so hard to put the meal together, they look exhausted. I know they said they would do it later, but they deserve a rest."

"I don't mind at all," Bess said. After such a decadent meal, it felt good to get up and move around a little. Although she had gone back to sleep that morning, sitting around would just make her tired and there were more important things to do than nod off again.

They managed to clear away all of the leftover food and get the dishwasher going in just under ten minutes, after which they went off to Clancy's room to read. Bess retrieved the books she had hidden away and took them across the hall with her.

Through the window, they could see the school building, and the tracks left in the night were covered with fresh snow. Bursts of tiny snowflakes continued to fall, and it was apparent by the sky, which was dull light grey in colour with no distinguishable breaks, that it would carry on throughout the afternoon into the evening.

"Tell me about what happened this morning," Clancy suddenly reminded her as she recalled the conversation she had with Bess earlier in the day.

Bess told her about the visit from the girl who travelled through time to find her. "The thing is, I'm not sure if it was a dream or whether the girl was really there in the room. But she knew my name. It's all very peculiar because I don't know who she is."

"That's bizarre. Why did she want you?"

"She asked me if I'd solved it yet and before I could get any more information, she was gone," Bess explained. "But there's something else, there were carol singers here, a faint vision of a choir appeared while we were eating our meal last night. I saw her in amongst the singers too. I'm not quite sure why she keeps showing up. I don't get to ask her very many questions at all. She just appears and then goes away. But she did tell me she was a student at this school." Picking up one of the books, Bess began to flick through the pages.

"That's really odd, but you have these visits and visions for a reason and the time travel always means something, doesn't it?" Clancy asked her.

"Yes and sometimes it takes a little longer to work it all out," Bess explained as she remembered the mysteries she had already solved. "This is just mind-boggling. I have no idea what any of it is about really. All I have to go on is someone dying and the girl in the box room. It might be her who died, but I'm not even sure about that."

Continuing to look through the books on the history of the school, both girls read snippets from passages. In the warmth of Clancy's room, they soon felt drowsy from reading, and the broken sleep and overeating was beginning to take its toll on them.

"I can't find anything about any of the students who boarded at the school," Clancy said yawning. "There's loads of stuff about the school itself and the subjects that were taught here, but not the kids who attended."

"Wouldn't there be records somewhere?" Bess asked her.

"Yes, in the records office, but I don't have access. Even if we did get in, I don't know any of the computer passwords to find out. Why don't you go back to the box room? You never know, you might just find her again," Clancy suggested to Bess.

"Okay. I wish I could take you with me, but I know if I'm not alone, nothing will happen," Bess explained. "I've learnt from experience. You wait here, I'll be back soon. Wish me luck."

Bess left Clancy and headed along the hallway towards the little staircase that would take her to the box room. Everybody else was still asleep. Bess could hear her father's loud snoring coming from the living room and it reminded her of distant thunder. Smiling to herself, she climbed the stairs and turned the doorknob. Opening the door slowly, she hoped to find the same girl in the room, but it only contained boxes and cases. Disappointed, she closed the door and hurried back to Clancy.

"The girl wasn't there. The room was just filled with the usual stuff," Bess said as she entered her cousin's room. "I wish I knew the reason behind all of this."

"I think I might have found something," Clancy told her excitedly. "It's about some girls who were sick with the flu, or influenza as it's written here. Apparently, an epidemic went through the school in the 1890's. One of them even died, but they used Wicklow Hall as a sort of hospital wing and the sick girls were cared for here."

"How interesting," Bess said, sitting down and looking at the paragraph Clancy was pointing to. "Perhaps the girl who was in the box room was sick. She sort of looked a bit on the pale side and she was in bed in the middle of the day. At least, it was the middle of the day here."

"If you are supposed to solve some sort of mystery then I'm guessing it's got something to do with this influenza outbreak," Clancy said. "But how? It's not like you're a doctor."

"I have no idea. It seems really ordinary. The flu is the flu, unless of course it wasn't," Bess said thinking out loud.

"I hear footsteps," Clancy said, and they quickly stashed the books under her bed.

The door to the room opened and in burst Simone. "Come on, let's go out and play in the snow. Remember Clancy, you said we would build snowmen and igloos."

"I did say that, didn't I. Alright then, come on Bess. Let's go and build a snowman, just like we always do when you come and stay for Christmas," Clancy said. Standing she nudged some enthusiasm into her cousin who would have much rather spent the afternoon in the warmth of the room searching for answers amongst the books they had found in the library earlier that morning.

"Yay," Bess cheered sarcastically, jumping up. "This is my favourite part of Christmas with you guys. Standing around in the freezing cold."

Clancy just smiled as they followed Simone from the bedroom.

Chapter Seven

Wearing coats hats and gloves, Bess and Clancy headed outside with the other two. Softly, the snow still fell, but the air was still and not so harsh as earlier in the morning. Together they gathered the powdery flakes to roll into balls to form the body and the head. Handful after handful was packed onto the large shape of the snowman. Taking a twig from a tree, Clancy began to carve what looked like arms folded in front of the chest area while the others continued to work on shaping a ball for the head.

"He needs a hat," Tom said. "Give me yours Bess."

"No, go and get one from inside," she told him, immediately holding her hat to her head.

"There's an old dress up box in the basement of our house. There might be something we can use in there," Simone suggested. "Come on Tom, let's go and get our snowman some clothes so he's not so naked."

"Put the head on," he called over his shoulder to his sister. "We'll be back soon."

They went racing off before Bess could blink and she carried on making the ball for the head. Rolling it along to the body, Clancy helped her lift the snowy sphere into place. Scattered on the ground beneath the tree, they found some small bits and pieces that had fallen with the snow and used them to make a face for their new icy friend.

"He's a bit grotesque but coming along really well. I wonder what's taking the others," Clancy said.

Right on cue, Tom and Simone appeared from the house waving a scarf and a hat they had found. Draping the floral fabric around the thick neck of the snowman, they placed the straw hat, decorated with a tiny bouquet of lilacs, on its head.

"Now come to life," Simone cried waving her hands at the snowman. "I command you. Be like Frosty. Dance about."

The other three looked at her and then at the snowman half expecting it to start dancing around in the snow. But the wintery magic dodged them completely, and they all secretly felt a hint of disappointment in their inanimate snowman.

"Well, it was worth a try," she said. "I wonder how they did it in the movie I watched."

"Simone, it was a cartoon," Clancy reminded her. "So I'm guessing they just used a little Hollywood magic. Plus, I think it had something to do with his hat and that thing you put on his head is definitely not magic. He looks like some sort of demonic cross-dresser."

Bess giggled at Clancy's remark. It certainly was a funny looking snowman and removing her mobile from her pocket, she took a picture. "You three get beside the snowman so I can get a photo," Bess instructed. Several minutes of trading places and posing later, they gathered to look at the pictures on the small screen. "These are going straight online."

"Let's start on the igloo," Tom insisted. "We can use that big snowdrift over there and burrow into it. Then we can sort of pat it from the inside to make the snow a bit firmer so the walls don't fall in on us."

Clancy and Simone agreed to the plan, but Bess was distracted. Something had caught her eye and as she stared up at the little window on the very top floor of the house, the girl waved to her. The same girl Bess had discovered when she was playing hide and seek, and she knew it was the window of the box room.

"Bess! Pay attention," Tom shouted at his sister. "What are you doing?" He followed her gaze to the window of the house and wondered if she was having one of her episodes.

"Nothing," she said changing her focus to her brother. Following the others over to the snowdrift, she glanced back at the window, but the face that had been there just minutes before was gone. Disappointed, Bess joined them to make the igloo and Clancy smiled at her showing her some secretive support as if she knew what had happened. Bess would fill her in later, right now they had to try to build a house made of snow.

Kneeling on the ground, Tom began to scoop out snow from the drift. He pushed it behind him and the others spread it out on the ground so there was room for him to get more out. Deeper and deeper he dug until the drift was beginning to hollow out quite nicely and started to resemble a wintery cave.

"I think I need something to scrape the sides out a bit," he said. "Some sort of stick or maybe even a shovel. My fingers are freezing, even with my gloves on."

Simone ran to a nearby tree and started jumping madly to try to reach a lower branch. Clancy laughed at her sister and lifted the younger girl up so she could snap off a few twigs for Tom. Using them to hack away at the inside of the snowdrift, he scooped out more and more snow until he could sit comfortably inside.

"Is there room for me too?" Simone asked peering into the opening.

"Sure," Tom answered. "Come in. It's not as cold as I thought it would be, but you might get a bit wet from sitting on the ground."

Climbing in beside her cousin, Simone wriggled around a little trying to sit cross-legged in the tiny icy cavern. There was only just enough room for the two of them, and as she squirmed about trying to get comfortable, the whole snow drift collapsed on them. Squealing with laughter, Simone stood up and shook off the snow and Bess pulled her brother to his feet. They stood brushing the snow off and laughing about it. While they were side-tracked, Bess took another look at the window where she had seen the face, but again, there was nothing.

"Come on, I think it's time to go inside and get warm," Clancy said leading the way back to the house. "I could do with a hot cup of tea and some of the Christmas cake that's left over. There's some shortbread and chocolates too. Besides, it's starting to get dark and a little chillier."

"This is the most fun I've had in a long time," Simone told them. "Chess is great, but it's very serious and although I'm really good at it, I like other stuff too. It's just that nobody seems to realise and sometimes I miss out."

Clancy put an understanding arm around her little sister as they walked towards the house. Bess imagined that in another six years, Simone would look exactly like the older girl.

Their parents were all awake now and had put together an afternoon tea of turkey and stuffing sandwiches along with the Christmas cake and other sweet treats Clancy had mentioned. The kettle had just been boiled and they were about to pour the tea.

Bess sat sipping the hot drink absently as her hands thawed and the heat spread through the rest of her body. Ignoring the conversation going on around her, her mind drifted to the face she had seen at the window. Once again, two different times had collided as they had with the vision of the choir. The girl had waved to her from the room, it wasn't her imagination. Bess was absolutely certain it was the same girl she had met during the game of hide and seek. She wondered what her name was and why she was in that tiny room by herself. There had to be a way to find out and she was sure Clancy could help her. They just needed a bit more time alone together.

Chapter Eight

Learning about the history of the school was perhaps the key to the elusive mystery. Clancy had already discovered the influenza outbreak, so on Boxing Day, Bess sat in her room reading from the early hours of the morning. She wanted to spend more time alone with her cousin, but it was difficult with Simone and Tom always hanging around, so waking up early was the only way to get away from them. Both her brother and her younger cousin had been up late the evening before playing some sort of computer game together, so Bess hoped they would sleep in and she contemplated knocking softly on Clancy's bedroom door to see if she was awake yet. They had arranged to get up before everybody else and do a little research together, but Bess didn't want to disturb her cousin just in case she wanted to sleep longer. As she sat looking through the book, the handle of her door turned. Expecting Clancy, Bess looked up, but the girl at the door was somebody she had never seen before.

"Are you feeling sick too?" she asked Bess.

"No," Bess answered shocked by the visitor. Realising what was going on, she stared at the girl who stood in the doorway. She wore the same type of nightgown the girl in the box room had worn. "Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"

"I shouldn't, I've been up most of the night with an upset stomach and my throat is sore from being sick. If you're not suffering from the same symptoms, I don't want you to catch anything from me," the girl explained. "But why are you staying in the hall if you're not ill?"

Bess noticed how pale the girl's face was. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and beneath them were the dark circles that were remnants from a sleepless night. "It's a long story."

"I have to go, someone's coming, and you know they don't like us to be out of bed when we're unwell," the girl explained. "I haven't got my slippers on either." Closing the door, she was gone.

"Wait," Bess called after her and jumped out of bed. She opened the door to find Clancy standing there. "Did you see her?" Bess asked, pulling her cousin into the room and looking both ways along the hallway. It was clear the girl was back in her own time and the two of them were alone in the present.

"See who?" Clancy asked looking out of the bedroom door.

"There was a girl here," Bess told her cousin closing the door. "She came to the room and was telling me about being up all night vomiting or something. She looked really unwell Clancy."

"Was it the girl from the box room?" Clancy asked taking another quick look up and down the hall before closing the bedroom door.

"No, this was someone I'd never seen before. She asked me why I was staying here if I wasn't sick," Bess answered. "She heard someone coming and had to go. Maybe it was you."

"But she couldn't have heard me in the hall, I'm from a completely different time than her," Clancy explained. "She didn't come here Bess, you're the time traveller."

"Sometimes the different eras sort of merge into one. Like yesterday when we were outside. I saw the girl in the window of the box room and she waved to me, and there's the other night with the vision of the choir while we were eating. I don't know how it all works and there doesn't seem to be any rules," Bess explained. "It's beginning to drive me crazy just thinking about it."

"I don't think you'll ever be able to work that out Bess. We should be focusing on what happened at that particular time, and the sick girls," Clancy told her. "I think that's the real mystery."

"Why though? Why would I travel back in time to see a bunch of sick girls who have been quarantined in tiny bedrooms or moved into the hall here? I don't see the mystery. Unless," Bess paused thinking for a moment. "Is there anything else in the book about the epidemic?"

"I couldn't find anything, but I've been thinking about what you said, and I agree that we need to get into the records room," Clancy said. "Or, there are the books of school photos with the names of the girls who have attended Willow Valley before and after it became a grammar school. Maybe we can find your sick friend and the time traveller in there."

"What books of school photos? I didn't know there were other books that could help us."

"Wait one minute. I'll be right back."

Clancy ran quietly from the room and Bess wondered what she was up to. Upon her return, she was carrying several large volumes. Plonking them down on the floor by the bed, she picked one up from the pile and sat on down. "These are all of the class pictures from when the school first began until now," Clancy explained. "We were looking through them last week to see if there was anything that we could add to the school website. Luckily for us, Dad didn't have the chance to take them back to the library. Let's look for the girls. The epidemic was in the 1890s but there wasn't a year specified so we'll start with the year the school opened which was 1877. Surely we'll be able to find a picture of at least one of them."

"I was thinking about something else before," Bess said as they looked at the photos of past students. "What if it wasn't the flu."

"What do you mean?" Clancy asked looking up from the book which now rested in her lap. "Surely they would know if it wasn't the flu."

"Well, what if it was something else. It's the only explanation that I can think of. The reason I'm continuously meeting sick girls from that era must have something to do with some sort of crime or at least something that wasn't what it appeared to be," Bess said. "So perhaps it wasn't the flu, but something somebody was doing to make the girls get sick."

"That makes some sense I suppose," Clancy agreed. "Although I don't know why someone would do something to make a bunch of young girls get sick. Let's keep looking through these books. You really need to identify the girls you've seen so that we can find out what time you're visiting, at least that way we can look up the year and see what else was going on in the school then."

Flicking through the pages, they checked out the pictures that were originally in sepia but had been printed in the books in black and white. Some of them were a little hard to see the faces properly, but Bess would have recognised the girl from the box room even though the photographs weren't really clear. They read the names of the students printed below the pictures. A lot of their names were a little funny, but also quite repetitive. There didn't seem to have been many different names for girls back then and there were several that were the same. It was odd to think these students from the past might have actually stayed in the rooms they were sleeping in now. Bess wondered if the conversations ran along the same lines as the girls of today. Perhaps she would find out if she travelled back again. Page after page was turned as they looked at them one at a time and read about their pastimes and backgrounds.

"Move over, I have cold feet," Clancy told her cousin and Bess moved aside to share the bed and the covers.

"Don't put your cold feet on me. Wait," Bess said stopping her cousin. "That's the girl from the box room. Ellen Holdsworthy." Recognising the girl immediately, she pointed to the picture.

"She was a student here in 1893," Clancy said looking at the text below the photograph. "So we need to find out what happened in that year and maybe the year before and after, just to be sure."

They continued to look at the pictures in the books until they heard the others in the house stir. Both were tired from getting up early, but they had accomplished something and now had a name to go with the face of the girl in the box room. Finally, they were on the path to a resolution. Of what, Bess didn't know, but with the help of her cousin, she would work at finding out.

Chapter Nine

Travelling in time caused all sorts of problems in the mind of the novice. Where were the answers? What was the question? Bess had nothing except for the photograph and the name of the girl they had found in the schoolbook. The dreams, the visions, it was all linked somehow. They had to find out if anything apart from a flu outbreak had happened during that particular school year because that was the real mystery. Bess couldn't imagine she was invading history to administer cough medicine or hold somebody's hair while they leaned over the toilet. There had to be another reason for the original dream with the time traveller and the brief meetings with girls from other eras.

Deep in thought, Bess ate breakfast barely muttering a word to her family. All she wanted to do was find out what had happened that was important enough for her to meet different girls from different times. In the background music played, a cd that someone had put on and she wondered if it echoed through time to those who had stayed here all those years ago. It was a funny thought, but Bess knew anything was possible.

Later that morning, Simone and Tom were watching a movie, so Bess seized the opportunity to pursue the mystery with her cousin.

"Let's look for the year on the internet," Clancy suggested, as once again the two girls sat together in seclusion. "What year was the girl from?"

"The photo was taken in 1893," Bess said. "I don't think it will help though. I solved a mystery involving another school with Tom and there was nothing on the internet to help us except for a few pictures. I have to go back and talk to her again, but I don't know how. I'm finding the lack of knowledge increasingly frustrating."

"Well, how do you usually do it?" Clancy asked, curious about her cousin's ability.

"Normally it happens without me even realising," Bess admitted. "I just do it without even knowing most of the time, you know, by accident. But I have to try something."

"Why don't you try the box room again?" Clancy suggested, "and while you're looking in there, I'll get us a snack. Crisps and chocolate and maybe some soft drink."

Bess headed off to the little room where the girl had been resting in bed. Standing at the bottom of the small staircase, she crossed her fingers and took a deep breath. Taking the steps one by one, she turned the handle of the door. Opening it just a crack, Bess pushed it further until there was just enough of a gap to see in.

"Who's there?" a weak voice asked.

Snap, she thought. Opening the door fully, she stepped into the dimly lit room. "It's me, I saw you the other day," Bess told her. "Are you Ellen?"

"Yes," the girl answered. "Who are you and what's that you're wearing?"

"Listen, please don't be frightened, my name's Bess Hooper and the reason I'm dressed like this is because I'm not from this time. I know it might sound odd to you, but I'm from the future," she explained. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Bess looked at the pale face of the sick girl. There was definitely something wrong with her and she hoped it wasn't contagious. "I'm not sure why I'm here, but I sort of solve mysteries and I don't know what the mystery is this time? I was hoping that you could help me with it."

"I'm not frightened of you and I'll help if I can. I told you on your last visit that you're not the first to come here from another time. I don't know what the mystery you have to solve is. All I know is I'm dying. I can feel it Bess. They keep feeding me to help me to get stronger, but I can't keep anything down, and I know that my life will leave me soon. There are others here with the same condition. I heard the doctor talking about it and he's confused," Ellen explained. "There doesn't appear to be an explanation, so they're calling it influenza. But we're in quarantine and I've been staying in this room alone and working on my writing. I like the quiet."

Bess didn't know what to think. Perhaps the mystery had something to do with Ellen personally. "So what do you write about?" Bess asked her.

"I write poetry. It's a little difficult to get inspired in here, but every now and then I get up and look out of the window. Oh dear, I can hear someone coming. You have to go," Ellen urged. "We'll both be in trouble if they catch you in here. I'm supposed to be resting."

Bess stood and opened the door, turning to say goodbye, the girl was gone, and she was back in the box room of the present. She left the little room and ran back to the bedroom to find Clancy waiting for her with crisps, chocolate and two glasses of cola.

"Well?" Clancy asked. "What happened?"

"She was there, the girl Ellen, and she's very sick. It's not the flu though, they're just calling it that. Apparently, the doctor is unsure of what the illness is. All she said is she knows she's dying. She told me they keep feeding her to make her stronger, but she can't keep anything down." Bess relayed the conversation to her cousin who smiled.

"Bess, I think somebody is, or was, poisoning the girls," Clancy said to her. "Don't you agree?"

"It makes sense. Ellen keeps throwing up when she eats," Bess said. "But what can I do? I can't risk changing the past by telling them. You never know what might happen."

"Maybe there's another reason you're travelling back there," Clancy said. "Perhaps there's something else we're overlooking."

Thinking carefully about the situation and going over the clues in her head, Bess realised Clancy was most likely right. She remembered when she had been working on the first mystery she had solved with the help of her brother, and the steps they had taken to understand the sequence of the evidence. "There's always something I'm overlooking. We need to make a flow chart," Bess told Clancy. "I have a pen and some paper here, help me put together the facts in the order they happened. I'm not sure whether or not it will help, but considering what we know so far, it's the right thing to do."

"Alright, you think and talk, I'll write them down," Clancy said. "What happened first?"

Bess recalled the clues. "Well there was the girl in the box room," she said. "No wait, I had a dream before I got here. I dreamt of this room and I was talking to another girl. She knew I could travel in time and she told me she could too. That's when I found out someone had died here."

"This girl from your dreams, the time traveller, did she say when she was from or what her name was?" Clancy asked.

"No, but her clothing wasn't like the kind that we would wear, so I'm guessing that she's from another time too," Bess explained. "After the dream, there was coughing I heard in the bathroom when I got up to get some water the night we arrived here. Then I met Ellen, the girl in the box room. You know, the day we were playing hide and seek. She told me another time traveller had been to see her. After meeting her, I had that vision of the choir, that's where I saw the other time traveller again and then she came to visit me on Christmas morning. Since then I've seen the face of Ellen at the window, had a visit from another sick girl, and today I spoke to Ellen again."

"The other time traveller is sort of odd, maybe she's doing the same thing we're doing. You know, trying to solve the mystery."

"I don't know Clancy, but from those two encounters, it almost seems like it." Bess paused for a moment thinking. "Actually, you're right. I remember her saying in the first dream that she was helping to solve a mystery."

"What happened after that?" Clancy asked her. "Did she say anything about the sick girls when you had the second conversation with her?"

"She just asked me if I'd solved it yet."

"Okay, if you're not meant to do anything about the illness, there must be another mystery here," Clancy said.

"You know, the other time traveller told me she was a student here," Bess said, "and if that's the case, the mystery might have something to do with her. She would be in one of the photos in the books."

"Let's keep looking through them and see if you can find her picture," Clancy suggested. "What year do you think she might be from?"

"Um let's try the forties," Bess said. "She didn't look as though she was from the same time as the sick girls."

Together they flipped through the pages looking at class, individual, and photos of different groups to find the girl who seemed to be on the same case as Bess hoping it might give them a few more clues to the mystery. Although neither of them had much confidence in finding an answer, neither wanted to admit it.

Chapter Ten

Time was running out. She could hear every tick of the clock in her mind and noticed every minute that slipped by. Bess was no closer to finding the mystery, so no closer to finding any type of solution. In a few days, her family would leave Wicklow Hall with its secrets of the past and return to their everyday lives in Endless Hiccup. But solving these things couldn't be rushed, and Bess knew from her experiences that the solution would come if she persevered. She wished she had brought her aunt Lois's journal with her, so she could refer to different adventures. There were little hints in the stories she had noticed, and Bess thought they might come in handy along the way. Having Clancy to help her made all the difference, but she needed answers and had to find them quickly.

In order to spend a good amount of time on the mystery, Bess required time alone with her cousin, so when her mum and aunt said they were going shopping, it was the exact break both of the girls were waiting for.

"I'd love to come, but I have a terrible headache," Bess told them both regretfully. "I think I need to lie down." She contemplated going shopping for a moment thinking of the new clothes she could con her mum into buying, but the mystery held her back. Never before had she passed up a shopping trip, but an answer to the puzzle was more important, and Bess knew she could use the time to do a lot more undisturbed research.

"I'll stay home with Bess," Clancy offered knowing exactly what her cousin was up to. "She might need something and headaches can be brutal."

Bess knew it sounded lame, and even though their mothers seemed a little sceptical, they left them at home and went shopping taking Simone along, while their fathers went off to some sort of car swap thing and took Tom with them.

They had at least three hours alone together, so they could do some serious mystery work. Armed with cups of tea, the girls sat by the fire and looked through the photos together in search of the time traveller who seemed to be on the same trail.

"I think this is her," Bess said pointing to a photograph. "Oh my God, I don't believe it." Taking the book from Clancy she looked at the name of the girl.

"What is it? Who is she?"

"I think that this is my great aunt," Bess told her. "The name is Lois Greenwood, and I know my nan's maiden name was Greenwood. It has to be her." Even though she didn't know her grandmother when she was younger, she had seen pictures of her and the resemblance between Lois and her nan was uncanny. They were definitely sisters and Bess wondered why she hadn't realised before now.

"Wait, you told me about her, but you don't know much about your time travelling origin," Clancy said. "Maybe that's the mystery. Perhaps seeing the girls was just coincidental."

"I think you might be on to something Clancy," Bess agreed. "But, I've had a few of these experiences and as a result, I don't believe in coincidence. Everything is relative. So perhaps there's more than one mystery here."

"Well then, we have to work it out," Clancy said. "Consider me your assistant. I'll make some notes if you like, it might help."

They continued looking through the books, while Clancy wrote down anything that might contribute to the puzzle, but it was no use. Bess didn't understand. Her great aunt Lois had been a student at the school and she was sure it was something to do with the mystery.

"Hey, check this out," Clancy said. "There's a passage from a newspaper article in this book. It tells about a cook who was poisoning the young ladies who were boarding here in the 1890s. The woman claims she was innocent of the crime, but the evidence was clear, and poison was found in the food that had been served to the children. Apparently one of the girls died and her name was Ellen Holdsworthy. So that's it, there was no mystery. It was the cook all along and the crime was solved at the time."

"Then why is all of this happening to me?" Bess asked. "I wish I could talk to Lois and find out a little bit more. She might actually know something we're overlooking. It was the dream with her in that started this to begin with. I'm so sorry I got you involved Clancy. There doesn't seem to be any point to it. It's all so wishy-washy round about."

"I'm not sorry Bess. When you arrived I told you I was confused about the future and I didn't feel as though I had any direction. But helping you with this has sparked my interest in history. It's such a broad topic and I think I want to pursue it," Clancy told her. "Either that or invent a time machine."

Pleased that she had helped Clancy to find her calling, Bess laughed and then continued looking through the books of photographs. She wasn't really sure it was over. There had to be something she was missing, something they were both missing, but what?

Chapter Eleven

Arriving home later in the afternoon, the chatter of their families flooded the house. The girls had already put the books away, although Bess wasn't completely sure there wasn't more to the whole thing. But at the moment she was sick and tired of running into dead ends and wished she had gone shopping instead.

Even though they hadn't attended the sales with their mums, there were still a few things for both of the girls and they rummaged through the bags excitedly. Ordinary was a comfort and for the moment, Bess and Clancy forgot about the mystery and concentrated on makeup and clothes.

"This is cool," Bess said as she checked out the makeup her aunt had bought for Clancy. "Let's do make over's. We'll give Simone one too. She'll love it."

Clancy agreed, and the two older girls sat the younger one down for an hour of pampering and pseudo salon treatment. Bess had always wanted a sister and Tom would never so much as let her comb his hair. But Simone was almost willing to let them try anything, and a facial and makeup session led to a manicure with hot pink nail polish. Then they curled her long brown hair, just for good measure. Just a trifle over the top for a ten-year-old, but all the same it took their minds off the disappointment of the dead-end mystery. After taking several selfies and posting them online, Simone ran off to show her parents.

"That was fun. She looks like one of those pageant kids," Bess said, as she applied some mascara to her own lashes. "I got some really good makeup for my birthday and I had a sleepover with a few of my friends. But sometimes, I wish I had a sister. Tom's a great brother, but with moments like this one, well, I sort of feel as though I'm missing out."

"Anytime you want to borrow Simone for a while just let us know. She will go through your wardrobe and try things on when you're not home of course, and sometimes she takes my jewellery. But if you want a sticky-fingered ten-year-old rummaging through your stuff, she's all yours."

Bess thought about it. "I guess not having a younger sister isn't so bad after all."

They continued with their own makeover session until they were called for a meal. Both happy with the transformations, they went to join their families as they sat around the table eating turkey curry made with the leftover Christmas bird.

"How's the headache?" Tom asked as they sat at the table eating. He eyed his sister sceptically as if to say, I'm onto you.

"It's much better," Bess told them all. "I had a few hours sleep and when I woke up, it was more or less gone."

"I just sat around reading," Clancy told them. "At least while Bess was asleep. So how was the car swap meet thing?"

"It was cool. We didn't swap anything, but they had some really wicked stuff and there were a few hot rods. At least that's what they called them," Tom explained, referring to his dad and uncle.

"It sounds as though you had a better afternoon than us," Bess said, "but we got to hang out together for a little while and Clancy is an excellent nurse. She even read to me."

After dinner, their parents talked them all into a game of charades and although none of the children were keen to begin with, they all had a good laugh. By the end of the evening it was clear that between the lot of them there were very few acting skills, and what they had was bad.

Heading off to bed, Bess said goodnight to everybody. Feeling exhausted from the continuous searching and reading, she felt as though she could sleep for a month and once beneath the covers, dozed off straight away. But once again, she was whisked away to another time.

"Hello, I wondered when our paths would cross again," the girl said to her.

"I met you in a dream," Bess said to the time traveller. "I know who you are, you're Lois Greenwood."

The girl looked at her and smiled. "That's right. I believe we're related Bess. Did you solve the mystery?" Lois asked her.

"Yes, there was a woman, a cook who had been poisoning them. Nobody really knew why though. It didn't prevent the girl from dying though," Bess told her. "So it wasn't a mystery after all."

"Are you sure about that Bess?"

Another enigmatic question was asked and once again doubt began to weave its web, spreading through her mind like a rumour would amongst her school friends.

"What do you mean? I don't get it. They were sick because of the poison."

"I think there's a little more to it than the cook poisoning her. Perhaps you should look further, dig deeper."

"Okay, I will. But can't you help me?"

"I'm not so sure about things myself," Lois answered honestly. "That's why you're here Bess. This mystery is for you, not me."

Bess couldn't believe what was happening. The girl before her had passed away and yet here she was in her teenage form having a conversation. Time travel was weird.

"Then why are you here?" Bess asked her.

"To help you with your own mystery," Lois explained.

"There's a story about a clock tower and I was just wondering if you had heard it before." Bess seized the opportunity to ask about the story thinking Lois might know more than her nan. "I want to know where this time travel all started and apparently the story tells it all."

"I remember my grandmother telling me the story, but I can't quite recall how it goes. I know that it started with, Once upon a time there was a clocktower, and there was something about a woman who counted seconds by the thousands, or similar words," Lois told her. "She had a secret too, one somebody else wanted, but she kept it to herself."

"Seconds by the thousands?" Bess asked. "What does that even mean, and what was the secret?"

"I think it had something to do with an invention that could carry her through time or a discovery of sorts, and there was an assistant who was evil and wanted it for herself, but that's all I can remember."

"I wish you could tell me more," Bess said. "But thank you for the information."

"I have a gift for you. I can trace you in time and put it somewhere only you will find it. Hopefully you can use the gift because I haven't been able to. But if you discover its secret Bess, you may come to rely on it," Lois said, and in a moment she was gone.

"Shit, why didn't I ask her more questions?" Bess asked herself as she lay in bed looking at the ceiling. Remembering the conversation, she sat up and turned on the lamp. Picking up a pen and paper, she wrote down all she could recall. She wondered what the gift was. Perhaps it was something to do with the original invention. But for now, she would have to be patient until she found it.

Lois had told her she needed to dig a little deeper, look further into the death of the girl, but how? Bess had to trust in her own private ability and she crossed her fingers hoping when the day began again she would have the chance to get the rest of the information to solve what they thought had already been solved.

Chapter Twelve

"There's more to it Clancy," Bess whispered that morning as they ate breakfast. "I had another dream last night. I'll tell you about it later."

Clancy looked up at her and Bess could see by the expression on her cousin's face she was definitely interested. As she tucked into her cornflakes, the events to date swirled in her mind, which was now filled with doubt. She did her best to put them into some sort of rational meaning. The dreams, the girl in the box room, the visit from the other sick girl, the coughing in the bathroom, none of it made much sense, but she would find the missing link and put it all together and solve it. Until then, she just had to keep searching and as Lois had encouraged her to do, dig a little deeper.

After the meal, Bess and Clancy made their excuses and declined an invitation to a snowball fight from the two younger siblings. Although, it might just have been the thing to help clear her head and think a little more rationally. Bess figured getting back to the job at hand was a more sensible option as time was running out.

"What happened, tell me," Clancy insisted as they sat in the living room together later in the morning. "How do you know there's more?"

Bess gazed out the window at her brother and cousin. Their fathers had joined the fight and were being pelted with snow. Smiling at the chaos, she stopped watching them and told Clancy the entire dream, along with the part about Lois telling her to dig a little deeper. "She was there to help me with my past, not the mystery here Clancy. She told me this mystery is for me to solve. It was really cryptic though and I still don't fully understand."

"At least you know why she kept turning up now. So back to the other mystery, we know Ellen Holdsworthy was poisoned, but we don't know why? Is that what it all means? Was there a more malevolent reason behind her death?" Clancy asked, trying to process the information out loud.

"I don't know," Bess answered truthfully, "But I intend to find out and if it means that I have to visit that box room every five minutes for the remainder of the time I'm here, then so be it. I need to speak to Ellen again. I'm sure she's the key to all of this."

"Well if that's what you have to do, then I'll cover for you. This is important to you Bess, and I want to know what happened to that girl," Clancy said. Her curiosity was overwhelming and she was just as keen to find an answer to the puzzle as her cousin.

"I keep wondering why she's in the box room. I mean it wasn't a box room back then, just a tiny bedroom at the top of the stairs. But it seems bizarre that someone would be in a room the size of a walk-in wardrobe. Especially when the entire hall was a sort of hospital wing and they were all suffering from the same illness."

"Perhaps there was something else wrong with her," Clancy suggested. "Maybe she really had something contagious. I know they were poisoned and that's how she died, but there could have been something else wrong with her, something that was never reported."

Bess was confused, but as she had already said to Clancy, she would be checking the box room on a regular basis and that's exactly what she did. Every ten minutes or so, Bess ran up the small staircase to check if Ellen was there. On about the fourteenth visit, Bess struck gold.

"I was wondering if I would see you again," Ellen told her from the bed where she rested. "Please sit down and stay a while."

Bess pulled up a wooden chair that was by the window and took a seat by the sick girl's bed. "I wanted to come back and ask you a question," she explained. "Why are you in this little room by yourself?"

Ellen shook her head as she pulled the patchwork quilt that covered the small single bed up a little and leaned back against the plump pillows. "I think they put me up here, so I can work on my poetry. I keep to myself a lot. When I began to get sick Mr Brooks said it might be more beneficial for me, so I was still able to work on my writing. He brings me all of my meals too. I like him, he's been very kind to me and he's very interested in my writing style. Apparently, I have quite a talent for it."

"There seems to be nothing I can do to help you," Bess told her feeling rather defeated. "I'm not quite sure why I keep coming here to this time and you. There has to be something else. Are you sure you have the same illness all of the others have?"

"I'm sure," Ellen told her. "I think mine is a little worse though. That could be another reason why I'm in this room alone. But I thought my isolation had more to do with writing my poetry."

"That's it then, I'm baffled by the whole thing," Bess told her. "I have no idea why I even met you."

"Just remember me," Ellen said. "Don't forget why I was in this room. The answer will present itself in good time Bess. My mother taught me that. But if you'll excuse me, I really need to rest. I'm not long for this world and I know it's only a matter of a week or so before I leave for good. I need to finish the poem I'm working on. I promised Mr Brooks I would."

"I understand and good luck with the writing. I'm sorry you're unwell. I just wish there was more I could do for you," Bess told Ellen. Leaving the box room, she returned to find her cousin waiting anxiously.

"You've been gone a little longer this time. I take it she was in there," Clancy said when her cousin finally showed up.

"Yes," Bess nodded and sat down on the bed. Slightly confused by the revelation of what she had just witnessed, she waited a while before speaking. "Ellen was writing poetry. She said that Mr Brooks, whoever he was, said it might be more beneficial for her to be in that little room alone so she could concentrate. She told me to remember why she was there and the answer would present itself in good time, but none of it makes sense."

"Perhaps, he knew how important it was to her. The poem Wicklow Winter was written by a man by the name of Herbert Brooks around that time. Perhaps he's her professor. I know he taught at the school. Maybe he realised how important her writing was being a poet himself," Clancy said. "I wonder when she died though. We need to find the information about the cook who was convicted. That might give us more of an idea of the date of Ellen's death. It wasn't written anywhere."

"Now who's solving the mysteries," Bess said smiling at her cousin.

"I have to admit, this has been a lot of fun. Thanks Bess," Clancy said. "I'm going to miss it all when you go home. Promise me you'll keep looking into your past and continue writing it down. I'd love to read it all when it's finished."

"I will. I want to know about it just as much as you do. Maybe you can come and stay at our place for half term. You never know, I might be working on something then," Bess suggested. "You'd be able to help me again.

"Even if you're not, I'd still have a good time," Clancy told her.

Silence invaded again as they both continued to think about the girl in the box room. Outside the icy war continued. The amount of snow that had fallen over the past few days had made the perfect wicklow winter and Bess recalled the poem. "You know, I was just wondering what Ellen was writing about," Bess said absently. "I wonder if anything was ever published after she died. It looked as though she had a few different pages of poetry and if she was talented enough for the professor to give her a room of her own, then there might be something somewhere."

"We have loads of poetry books, let's go and have a look. Meanwhile, you should probably still try to visit her to find out a little more," Clancy suggested. "Maybe she'll let you read some of her work."

Bess agreed.

Clancy was right about the number of poetry books. There was an entire bookcase devoted to the storage of poetry with the oldest of the books being held on the top shelf to keep them away from sticky-fingered children. Looking through the books on the lower shelves dedicated to the era once again led to a dead end. There was nothing in any of them under the name Ellen Holdsworthy. They found several poems by Herbert Brooks though.

"He must have been her mentor," Clancy said after reading a few of his poems silently. "His writing is quite good and if he was passionate about poetry then it's understandable he would want Ellen to pursue it if she had talent."

"I've been reading about Herbert Brooks on your tablet here. It appears all of his poetry was published in the one year and he never wrote anything before or after 1894," Bess told her cousin. "There doesn't seem to be any information at all about Ellen though. I don't get it. If she was so talented and he wanted her to write, what happened to it all?"

"Maybe it was rubbish. Perhaps he was just trying to boost her confidence knowing how sick she was," Clancy said. "I know teachers at the school here who will tell kids anything to encourage them. Herbert Brooks may have been that type of guy."

"You could be right," Bess agreed.

"It's all a little odd though. I wonder why he stopped writing, he lived until 1923." Clancy read over it feeling a little puzzled. "You would think that if somebody wrote a poem like Wicklow Winter, they would keep writing. I know I would. I would have written one about each of the seasons, so I had a full set. And in keeping with the activities of the era, I would have embroidered them as samplers."

Bess smiled to herself. It did seem a little odd. Suddenly, a thought hit her, and things began to get a little clearer. "What if he never wrote any of it Clancy. I think I need to find out exactly what Ellen was working on," Bess explained, applying logic to the situation. "It might be that this Herbert Brooks bloke never even put pen to paper and it was all the work of Ellen Holdsworthy. That could be the reason he kept her in that little room and encouraged her to write, and also the reason he only published the work we found. Perhaps he ran out of material."

"So you're suggesting the great poet Herbert Brooks may have been a fraud?" Clancy asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. But until I find out for sure, let's not jump to too many conclusions. I could be wrong," Bess admitted. "But Ellen did tell me he brought all of her meals to the room. Perhaps the cook was innocent after all. He could have added the poison to the food after it left the kitchen."

"But why more than one girl? Why not just poison her?" Clancy asked. "Unless he wanted it to look as though it was something contagious. In the article I read about the cook, they didn't discover the poison until Ellen's autopsy. Maybe the others being sick was just a smoke screen. You know to take the focus off Ellen, sort of like a red herring."

"I agree," Bess said. "Perhaps Herbert Brooks recognised Ellen Holdsworthy had a special talent and then came up with the idea. Her death may have been planned and he just poisoned other girls so it didn't look suspicious. That way it wouldn't look as though she was being targeted. I guess he would have found her body and taken her work before anybody else had the chance to see it. That's if we're right of course."

"Go back to the box room. Quick before we get stuck hanging out with Simone and Tom again," Clancy urged. "See if she's there. You need to find out for sure."

Bess ran off to see if she could once again skip through the years to the past. It made sense to her, but she could be wrong. That's why this visit was important. She needed to read the poetry that was being written in the box room. Her family would leave Wicklow Hall in two days and Bess knew there wouldn't be another opportunity like this one. Even if they returned in a week's time, there was no guarantee she would be able to visit any other era. The passage or portal could be closed, never to be opened again. Once again she approached the door gingerly and turned the knob slowly. Luck appeared to be on her side.

"You came back," Ellen said as she smiled weakly at Bess.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Bess took the hand of the sick girl in hers. "Ellen, I have an idea. I was just wondering if you could show me the poetry you're currently working on."

"I'd be honoured to show you Bess. You're obviously very special if you can travel through time," Ellen told her and handed over the pages of handwritten text. "This one is called Wicklow Winter. It's not quite finished though, that's a rough draft. I plan to finish it before I move on. It's very important that I do."

Bess smiled to herself. The verse on the page was the reason she had been able to visit the dying girl. It was the very same poem that hung by the entrance to her cousin's home, but with the name of another as the poet. Bess had no idea what to do about it, but she couldn't keep it to herself. "I think this is the reason why I was able to come to see you. This poem is quite well known in my time, but the name of the author is Herbert Brooks," Bess explained.

"But that's the name of our English professor. He's the reason I'm in this room alone. You know Bess, I had a hunch there was something of this sort going on when I began to get sick. Mr Brooks is so keen for me to finish and I know he likes my work, but I wanted to believe he was just being nice to me. Are you sure this is the same poem you read in your time?"

"I'm positive, and he might have been nice to you, but there was clearly a plan in his mind," Bess said. "I need you to do something for me Ellen. I need you to write your name and the date on the top of each page and when it's finished put copies of it all in one of the books downstairs on the shelves. That way, when I go back to my time, we can find the poetry and sort this mess out. You need to be given the credit you deserve. Are you strong enough to get down to the bookcases?"

Ellen nodded. "I'll try to finish the poem today and I'll get them all into something tonight. I always write more than one copy out because sometimes I give them to other girls in the school. They like my work too. I haven't been able to share my work with anyone for quite some time. I'm a little shaky on my legs, but I know I can get downstairs to the library and back. I can't believe he stole my work. He just seems far too kind to do something of the sort. Should I tackle him about it?"

"I don't know Herbert Brooks, but a kind person wouldn't take something you put your heart and soul into and make it their own Ellen. Keep quiet about it and let me do the rest. I have to go now, I think I've done everything I came here to do, so if I don't see you again, it was very nice to meet you, and you can be certain I'll make sure everybody knows you wrote the poetry. Your name will continue forever as the author of Wicklow Winter. I promise."

Ellen reached out to Bess and hugged her. "Thank you," she whispered.

Leaving the room, Bess hurried back to Clancy. "Come on, we need to look through the books to find some handwritten pages. He didn't write the poetry, Ellen did. I'd say Herbert Brooks definitely had something to do with the poison too, but I can't prove that. We have to find her work though Clancy. I promised her, and she said she would hide her work in one of the books in the library here. I'm guessing it would be some sort of poetry book."

"Well then, we should start with the very top shelf because some of those books haven't been looked at for decades. They were here when our family moved in," Clancy said. "This ladder moves on a track." Demonstrating she moved it back and forth a few times with ease.

"Wicked, let me climb it. We don't have one of these at home," Bess said excitedly stepping onto the bottom rung of the ladder. "It keeps moving, can you hold it still please?"

With both hands on the ladder, Clancy held it steady while Bess climbed up a few rungs to reach the dusty books on the top shelf. Passing them down one at a time, they made a stack on the floor and sat down to look for the poems and also look at the literature. The antique books were delicate, and some were held together by the tiniest threads, so the girls handled them carefully as they searched for the words written by the poet from another time.

"This is a book of poetry by a guy called Henry Kendall," Clancy told her cousin. "He was Australian, and I quite like his work. My parents got my name from a poem by an Australian. Not this bloke though. It was another guy, I think he played the banjo." As she opened the book, something fell to the floor and they both knew exactly what it was. "So this book of poetry is sort of like a time capsule."

"I never thought of it that way," Bess said. Grabbing the pages, she looked at the faded words. "This is it. This is proof Ellen wrote the poetry. Come on let's get this lot cleaned up and then we'll work out what to do."

Each and every one the fragile volumes were returned to the shelf, minus the papers that had fallen from their hiding place. Sitting down together, the girls read through the pages that held the reason why Ellen had been kept alone at the top of the building. One by one the poems the murder victim had written were matched up with the published works of Herbert Brooks.

"What do we do with this?" Clancy asked. "We can't just ignore it. Clearly, the poetry was stolen, and he passed it off as his own. Let's tell my dad, he'll know what to do."

Bess agreed. "That sounds like a good idea. But you have to keep my secret Clancy. Nobody can know about the time travel."

"I will, I promise."

Chapter Thirteen

Bess never went back to the box room to try to travel back in time after that moment. She would have liked to let Ellen know everything was being sorted out, but it was clear the mystery had been solved and there was nothing else to learn. The only thing that would be waiting for her in the tiny room that had been the poet's prison cell, were boxes and suitcases and Bess knew the travelling had come to an end, for now.

Giving the poetry to her uncle was the right thing to do and after explaining they found it by accident and looked into the history of the school and the girl. He seemed to believe them. Bess had done her part once again and left the rest up to the adults to sort out. All she had left to do was enjoy the last few days with Clancy and Simone.

"I'm just wondering if that Ellen girl is buried in the little graveyard at the church down the lane," Clancy said. "There are a few graves there and it sort of makes sense she might be considering she died here in the school."

"What little graveyard at the church?" Bess asked her curious to know more. "Can we go and check it out?"

"Sure, it's daylight," Clancy said. "Maybe we can escape without Tom and Simone noticing."

Both of them were eager to check out the gravestones in the churchyard to see if Ellen Holdsworthy was buried there. Quickly and quietly, they rugged up before stepping out into the snow. The weather had taken a turn for the better and the bare branches dripped with the melting winter offering. Their snowman had been reduced to a pile of molten slush adorned with a few soggy accessories.

Along the well-trodden pathway to the church, the footprints from others had become one long dark line and it led the way to the little graveyard. Following it, Bess crossed her fingers hoping they would be rewarded at the end of the short journey.

Surrounding the churchyard was a low stone wall capped with the winter frosting and the girls entered the sanctified grounds through the old lychgate. Behind the Holy Trinity, they found the gravesites of those few who were buried there. Topped with a thick white layer, each of the gravestones stood up like soldiers guarding the resting places. There was something very peaceful about the little cemetery. As they walked amongst the few markers, the sound of the snow crunching beneath their feet interrupted the solitude. Somewhere nearby, the fragrant aroma of home cooking filled the winter air, and the faint sound of music drifted along on the chilly breeze attempting to make it just a fraction more enjoyable.

"Here it is," Clancy said as they stopped and looked at the small stone with the girl's name etched into it. "She was born in 1880 and died in 1893." The stone was weathered and worn, but not enough to hide the name and the dates.

"So she was thirteen years old when she passed away," Bess said. "That's younger than me. What a waste of an amazing talent."

"It does seem a little unfair, doesn't it," Clancy remarked as she brushed the layer of snow from the top of the headstone with a gloved hand, and watched as it fell to the ground.

Looking around, Bess walked across the yard to a holly bush growing just outside of the grounds. Carefully she picked a small sprig of prickly leaves from a branch that hung over the wall and then returned to the graveside. Placing it on the snowy ground before the memorial she said a silent prayer for the young girl she had met in the box room. "Don't worry," she whispered. "I won't forget you Ellen and others will know what you did."

Clancy stood by watching her cousin. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"It's just so final," Bess said with tears in her eyes. "Even though I only met her a few times. She hugged me and thanked me. I feel as though she was a close friend and I didn't really get to say goodbye properly. I hope she knows Clancy. I hope she knows exactly what we did for her."

"Me too Bess, and although what happened to her was cruel, you figured it out. So now the poetry she worked very hard on will be credited to her," Clancy said, trying her best to comfort her cousin. "You've done something amazing Bess and others will finally know the truth. There's only one more thing left for us to do."

"What's that?" Bess asked sniffing, in an attempt to stop her nose from running.

"We have to sneak the books back to the library tonight when everybody else is asleep," Clancy told her handing her a tissue from a small packet she carried in her coat pocket. "That way, there are no loose ends."

Smiling, Bess wiped her eyes and nodded. The girls left the gravesite now adorned with the shiny green holly and the name of a true poet.

Chapter Fourteen

"Bess," the voice whispered, interrupting yet another night's sleep.

Groaning, she opened her eyes. In the dimness of the moonlight that filled the room, she could just make out a figure in white. Sitting up, she switched on the bedside lamp. Before her stood Ellen Holdsworthy, but Bess had a feeling that she was still in the present and the girl had come to her from the afterlife.

"I wanted to thank you again," Ellen said.

"Are you a ghost?" Bess asked feeling a little scared. Although she had met the girl on several occasions, each one of those had been a passage to the past when Ellen was alive.

"I think so, yes. But don't be frightened. I've only come here to let you know I appreciate everything you did for me. My work was important and although I didn't live to see it published, you took it upon yourself to make sure the problem was righted. That means a lot to me Bess," Ellen told her. "Thank you."

It was perhaps the most bizarre encounter Bess had experienced to date. The girl standing beside her bed looked as though she were alive. The sickly pallor had vanished, and Ellen seemed alright now and almost had a healthy glow about her. "I've seen ghosts before, but not like you. What was it like, you know, dying? People say there's a light. Did you see a light?"

"I saw several lights Bess. They all took different shapes and forms and I went towards the light that I knew would be the most comforting to me at the time. Now I spend most of my afterlife with my grandmother. It's not so bad. I know I was robbed of my health, but you gave me a gift, and that gift will help me to live in print forever. I'm in your debt Bess," Ellen told her.

"It's what I do now. These mysteries, they keep finding me. I'm pleased to think that I could be of assistance," Bess said, still in disbelief.

"Don't ever stop searching. I know you want to learn about your past. There are whispers that go around amongst those who are like me, and you will find the answers you are looking for. All you have to do is just keep trying. With each adventure a little more will be revealed to you," Ellen explained. "I must go. I can't stay in this form for too long, it uses too much of our energy and there are others who have missions like this one. Take care Bess Hooper and have faith."

"Wait, for just one minute," Bess said. It was too late though. Ellen was gone and with her went the secrets she shared from beyond the grave.

Chapter Fifteen

Returning home to Endless Hiccup after her Christmas away, Bess instantly contacted Eloise. She felt as though she had neglected her best friend over the few days break. Receiving a message back, they arranged to meet later at their favourite cafe, and Bess commenced with the unpacking.

New clothes she had received for Christmas were put away neatly while she perused her wardrobe wondering what she could get rid of to free up a little space. There were a few items of clothing she had grown out of. Bess removed them from the hangers and folded them neatly to take to the local charity shop. She could drop them off on her way to meet Eloise.

Opening the top drawer of her dresser Bess found a parcel and guessed it was the gift from her great aunt. After closing the door to her room, she made herself comfortable and opened the package to find a silver fob watch. Pressing a small button where the chain was attached, the ornamental case flew open. After a quick glance, it appeared to be broken. Bess put the watch down and picked up an envelope with a note inside from a departed ancestor.

Dear Bess

It seems odd to be able to write to you in the future from the past, but that's the way time travel works. This watch was given to me by my grandmother. It appears as though she had the same gift we do. So I'm passing it on to you, just as it was given to me.

You asked me about the story of the clocktower and I remember this fob watch being a part of it. I wish I'd written it all down now, perhaps it's not too late though. The problem I had was I didn't understand how to get the watch to work. I never received any instructions. There is a part in the story about a woman who invents a two-faced watch with no hands that would take her anywhere. I'm assuming this is the watch, and it's obvious there's a lot more to the story, which hopefully you discover on your travels.

Meeting you might just be a blessing for our family and our legacy, and I have faith you will continue the search you're on to discover the secrets of our past.

Take care Bess and good luck with all of your adventures. Oh and I'm sure you have already started making your own journal to pass along in time. Hopefully, I'll be able to read it one day.

Lois

It was slightly bizarre to receive a letter from the grave so to speak, and Bess wondered how on earth somebody who was legally dead would be able to read something that wasn't written yet. It was too complicated to think about. Lois had passed away three years ago. She had hoped for a little more information about the past, but any was better than none at all. Bess didn't fully understand how time travel worked, but as she continued along the path, more would be revealed. It was all very strange and looking at the watch confused her even more because it had no hands and only one face. So there was a note and a broken watch and nothing else to tell her what to do or how any of this came about.

Scribbling a few lines about the clocktower and the maker of the watch on another piece of paper, Bess put the note and gift back in the drawer and headed off to meet Eloise.

As they normally had on numerous occasions, the girls sat in their favourite café drinking lattes and chatting.

"How was Christmas at Wicklow Hall?" Eloise asked. "There was something in the news about some stolen poetry or something,"

Bess sipped her hot coffee and pondered the question. "Yes, it's all been very interesting, there's so much history there and it was great to spend time with Clancy and Simone. We found the poetry in an old book my cousins had. It appears there was a girl who died in the hall and she was the true author," Bess answered. "What about your Christmas, you went to Stone Arches. How are Jack and Amelia?"

"They're good. Amelia doesn't shoplift any more, but she's taken up the clarinet and it's awful. We had to sit through half an hour of her playing Christmas carols and none of them sounded like they should have. Jack thinks it's just another attention seeking ploy because she only seems to play it to annoy everyone. He said to say hello to you though," Eloise told her.

"That's nice," Bess said. She didn't know what else to say.

"Christmas day was massive. I ate so much processed sugary food, I had to lie down for a few hours just to let my stomach settle. Mum was a bit cross with me, but it's only Christmas once a year and she soon got over it. Oh and remember Janet Vardy? Well she came over and we all spent time together and I got some really cool stuff. It's nice living in the lap of luxury, but I missed you Bess," Eloise admitted.

"Aw, you're so sweet," Bess giggled. "Do you know any gossip? What's been happening here?"

"Well," Eloise began. "It seems that Mia's parents are getting a divorce and they're selling their home and she's moving into a cottage near the school with her mum and her brother. Apparently, Dylan's home from rehab and he's cleaned up his act. Anyway, it's one of the houses that backs on to that open area where all of those cows are. I don't know what her dad's doing or where he's going, but Mia seems okay about it. Oh, and my cousin Holly who lives in Cornwall is coming to stay for a while. Mum said she's a bit of handful and into some weird stuff, so she'll be staying with us for a few months and going to school here too. Mum's just doing it to help out."

"Wow, I guess that's good news. It will be like having a sister. But Mia's parents, that's terrible. I suppose it happens to loads of families though," Bess said. "So your cousin Holly from Cornwall, I don't think I've ever met her. When does she arrive?"

"Next week," Eloise said. "She's our age and we don't really see each other very often. Are you going to the New Year's Eve fireworks on the green tomorrow night?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it. What should we do beforehand?" Bess asked as she finished her coffee. "I don't fancy spending the evening at home with my parents."

"Come over to my place, I live closest to the green. Mum and Dad are going to a party. So we can just hang out at home until about eleven and then go over to the green and meet up with Mia and her brother. They're going to be there too," Eloise explained. "I think there's some sort of lame free concert in the lead up to midnight. It could be okay though. You can stay the night and go home next year."

"Sounds good to me," Bess said.

They talked for a while longer before going their separate ways and Bess felt as though she was once again well informed about what was going on in Endless Hiccup. She longed to tell her best friend more about her latest adventure but knew Eloise would never be able to keep it a secret. Imaging the photos of herself in the local paper labelled as some sort of witch, made her shudder. Although it would more likely be a case of sitting in a padded room somewhere being observed through a little window. Smiling to herself, Bess knew there may come a day when she announced her time travel secret to the world, but it wasn't going to be that afternoon.

Chapter Sixteen

If the mystery had been confusing, then piecing together the bits of the clocktower story she had heard so far was even more puzzling.

Sitting by the bedroom window, Bess stared out into the back yard at the white frosted garden and watched as the snow melted and drops fell to the ground from the branches and leaves. It looked as though the snowfall was over for now, and the faint sound of birds twittering somewhere made its way into her room as she noticed two robins sitting on the garden wall. Bess smiled to herself as she listened to their duet.

Twiddling the pen that was in her hand, she thought about the story so far. Writing down what she knew, which wasn't much at all, was the best thing to do. Like Lois had told her, they would meet again and perhaps there would be other time travellers in the family who might just cross her path.

A brand new year had begun. Bess wasn't one for resolutions. She had made countless over the past few years and never stuck to them anyway. But this year she planned to find out more about her past. Although, there was no clear way to go about it. She was still no closer to working out where it had all started and it was slightly disappointing, but the story about the clocktower was slowly coming together in tiny increments. Maybe after a few more mysteries, she would be able to solve her own.

Bess took out the family tree again and traced it back. Not only did she know Lois was a time traveller, but her grandmother before her had been too. She looked at the name, Lottie Carmichael. At least Bess knew if she ever bumped into another traveller by that name, it would be one of her ancestors possibly on one of their own missions, and Lottie knew the whole story from the sounds of things. That's when Bess would find out where it all began.

Once again, she opened the watch with no hands and looked at the clock face. There was definitely only one and it was just so baffling. In her letter, Lois had mentioned a clock with two faces. Clicking the silver ornamental case closed, she ran her fingers over the embellishment. Two faces back to back looking in opposite directions along with a filigree border decorated the cover, and Bess stared at it wondering what it meant. There was nobody to help her and nobody to talk to about it except for Clancy, and she wouldn't be able to give her any instructions on the watch even if Bess did contact her. It was just one more item to add to her collection and hopefully along the way she would be able to find out how it worked.

Climbing into bed that evening, Bess turned out the lamp and lay wide-eyed staring into the darkness. Each time she solved a mystery, another clue about her ancestors popped up and she was anxious to find out where it all began and how the watch worked. She wished someone had written it all down and published it like Ellen's poetry. For now though, at least she had a few things to go on and although Bess knew the road ahead was a long one, time was definitely on her side.

About the Author

Born in a library, I was raised on literature and fed off the great and masterful writers of classic fiction. Now it's my turn.

After several attempts to have my work published, I'm doing it myself. Residing in the UK, I spend most of my waking hours researching and writing. This is my life and the characters I create are the imaginary world that hooks me in for hours at a time.

This series is just a subsection of my work and although I love fantasy and time travel, I'm delving into other genres. Primarily I prefer young adults or early teens literature, but there's always room for growth.

I hope you enjoyed my book as much as I enjoyed writing it, and it would only take a moment of your precious time to leave a rating and a comment on the website you found the book on.

Meanwhile, keep on reading!

Sandra Maggs

Contact

Friend me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sandra.maggs.7

Connect on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-maggs-b6517532/

Visit my Website - https://www.sandramaggs.com/

The Mystery of the Vanishing Lake

With my mind and all I am, I call upon the power to free. Remove the veils which cloak my eyes and give me sight so I can see.

In this, the fifth book in The Hooper Mysteries, Bess meets Holland Meganty, the cousin of her best friend, and Holland has a secret of her own. After a strange sighting at an afternoon tea, Bess and Holland find they have a lot more in common than Eloise and join forces to investigate a crime from the past which was never solved. Together they work at finding the clues and uncovering the truth.  
As there has been in past episodes, a little more about her time travel and the past is revealed to Bess and although the pieces don't quite fit into place, she's one step closer to finding the reason for her gift.

Other books by Sandra Maggs

The Hooper Mysteries

The Mystery of the Cornerstone

The Mystery of Kissing Gate woods

The Mystery of the Stone Arches

The Mystery of the Vanishing Lake

The Mystery of the Cracked Wall

The Mystery of the Clock Tower

The Landowner's Secret

The Musician's Betrayal

The Bee Line

Jacqueline & Other Stories

Hettie Hackwood's Magical Miracle Potion

Scavenger

Ravenous

