Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

and family, as this stage of the pr egnancy often pr oved most difficult; and, God
for bid, the chances of miscar r iage w er e higher at that time.
Emily was conscientious and w ould have entir ely heeded the physician?s advice,
but it was I w ho per sisted in ur ging her to tell her mother. ?Just your mother,?I
badger ed. And, inevitably, she had given in, although she r eally did not take too
much per suading...?
The gener al mur mur of conver sation continued in the oak-panelled r oom. On the
far side, a small, thin, bespectacled gentleman was being given his cape, hat and
cane, by a door man. Even fr om w her e I sat, as the door opened I felt the icy blast of
the w inter w ind per meate the r oom. A few unmistakable bar s of O Christmas Tree,
wafted in on the shar p br eeze; the Salvation Ar my band r aised many a pr etty
penny fr om the lubr icated gentlemen, as they depar ted the Club, making dow n
payments for their seats in Heaven? A glance at one of the lar ge w indow s r evealed
a lar ge oak, thr ashing w ildly in the huge gusts. It was in contr ast w ith the Nor way
Spr uce, pine-fr esh and peaceful in the cocoon of this r oom; and unlike the r estful
boughs of the tr ees that had bor der ed Old Coach Road that day. How ever , tr ees in
any for m commanded a special place in my hear t; I felt such an affinity for them,
such empathy w ith them. After all, like me, those tr ees w er e helpless w itnesses to
the atr ocities of that evening.
The fir e emitted a loud popping sound, as a knotty piece of w ood exploded in a
show er of spar ks. ?Bainbr idge,? Whitlock gr uffly spoke, ?The hour is gr ow ing late.
Please ? pr oceed.?
It was clear that I had him gr ipped. Did I detect the slightest tr emor of uncer tainty
in his voice? ?Of cour se, for give me, sir. As I said, coaches w er e r ar e on Old Coach
Road, but not unhear d of, even in these moder n times. Emily and I hear d the
appr oach of the w heels long befor e w e saw them. It caused us no concer n; w e w er e
too w r apped up in our happiness. It became appar ent, how ever ,
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