Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

cabinets, along w ith the book that had fir st caught Lily?s eye. And as Lily, tr ying her
best not to br eathe in the scent, appr oached the odd-hued book w ith stifled
excitement, she noticed how silent the bookstor e had become. Even the w ood
seemed to have hushed its cr eaking. It was as if the w hole shop was holding its
br eath, waiting for something.
"Good mor ning, Lily."
Lily let out a little shr iek. She spun ar ound, br eathing a sigh of r elief at the old
man leaning against the black door. A long pur ple suit jacket flow ed fr om his
shoulder s to his bur gundy tr ouser s, hiding a shir t that was decor ated w ith pleated
cuffs and a few delicate r uffles. A cr avat sur r ounded his neck and r esting on his
head was a flamboyant top hat. The man looked as though he was tr ying his
har dest not to belong in this centur y.
"Goodness, you fr ightened me!" gasped Lily. She collected her self, shaking off the
shock. "I assume you?r e Mister Gr egor y?"
"Pr esume my dear , not assume."
"Oh, r ight. I pr esume you ar e Mister Gr egor y?"
"I am indeed, and I pr esume you?r e Lily. Did w e not agr ee you w er e to star t at 9
this mor ning?"
"Yes, but I wanted to show a good impr ession you see. Punctuality is key, Mum
always said."
"A-ha, w ell consider me impr essed at your punctuality. I see you?r e admir ing my
collection."
"Oh yes, it's magnificent!"
"Well, please, continue to admir e. You?ll be the fir st one in quite a w hile to, this
little tow n seems to have lost inter est in this place."
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