Carrington

It was a really special day for me – you see it was my wedding day. Marie and I had been married that afternoon and this was the start of our honeymoon. The wedding reception had gone well with everyone seemingly enjoying themselves. It was still going strong when we slipped away 2 hours ago. We had had the option of staying in the hotel where the reception was being held but we opted for a small rural hotel – not small enough for us to be the only guests – but small enough to be intimate and cosy.

The management had sent up a bottle of champagne and a small basket of assorted chocolates. We had sat down in front of the fire not saying much – eyes twinkling, comfortable with each other and generally just enjoying the moment. We were in no hurry we wanted this evening to be special.

About an hour later – Marie yawned and we decided that it was now time to go to bed before it became any later. I went into the bathroom and changed into my pyjamas. Marie smiled as I opened the sheets and she herself slipped into the bathroom. I adjusted the lighting and climbed into bed. I glanced at a magazine as I heard the bath water running. Then something caught my eye. I saw a movement out the corner of my eye. There in front of the fire in of the seats was a man sitting – he looked as if he had just come from a fancy dress party as he was dressed in a period costume. He was holding a goblet which he raised to his mouth. I was speechless and before I could say anything, the door opened, and a woman walked / glided into the room. She approached the man and kissed him on the cheek and seemed to look straight at me, in a mocking way, whilst doing so. The man stood up and they embraced in front of the fire. Then I saw the woman fumbling and suddenly she produced a knife, she held it in her hand, which was behind her back, hidden from the gentleman. All of this was unfolding before me – it was as if I was watching a film - I was still in a state of shock. As I watched she suddenly stabbed the man repeatedly in the neck. I let out a gasp of horror as the man sank to the floor and the woman dropped the knife as she fled from the room.

Marie rushed out from the bathroom and took one look at me and asked me what had happened – I explained what I had witnessed and ended my story by ordering 2 glasses of whisky from room service. We both inspected the area in front of the fire and found absolutely nothing. The waiter who brought the drinks asked us if everything was alright and I proceeded to tell him my story. He listened and then told us that other people had claimed to have seen this same gentleman, Lord Carrington, and woman over the years. He offered to move us to another room but we declined the offer.

The next morning on the way down to breakfast I froze on the stairs and could barely tell Marie what was going on. There, right in front of me, was the portrait of the person that I had seen stabbed last night in our hotel room. The date, under the caption, on the painting said 1898 and yet I would have recognised him anywhere – the man that barged into my room on my honeymoon was Lord Carrington. We left the hotel without eating our breakfast.