Page 20 of Love At First Fright
“So I’m to blame for your not having a good night’s sleep?”
Yes, you keep haunting me,he wanted to say.
“Only your choice of reading material.”
“It’s not my fault you’re a wimp.”
Ellis barked out a laugh loud enough that Lance glanced his way. “I am not a wimp.”
“Oh yeah?” She tilted her head. “Prove it. Tell me what other scary things you’ve read, or watched. I’ll accept both movies and books at this time.”
“How gracious of you.When the Devil Takes Hold.”
“That doesn’t count and you know it.” She took a step closer and Ellis felt his hand twitch at his side; for a desperate moment he wanted to reach out to her.
“You caught me.” He leant close, close enough to see theblush rise in her cherry-stained lips. “I don’t really watch much horror, Rosemary. That’s my deep, dark secret.”
She looked like she was resisting the urge to swat him.
“You’re not serious.”
“Deathly, I’m afraid. Just never in the mood for it. More of a rom-com guy, myself.”
“What aboutThe Exorcist?”
“Nope.”
“But it’s a classic.” Rosemary looked like she was going to weep. “Event Horizon?The Thing? What aboutThe Shining?”
“Sorry, I’m a horror newbie.”
“If you’re going to play Alfred, you need to have watched the classics. I’m going to write you a list. Consider it research.”
“You want me to watch a load of horror movies while we’re staying in a big old house that may very well be haunted?”
“Scared, are you?”
“No, I don’t believe in ghosts, or whatever else.”
Rosemary stepped closer, an almost imperceptible grin pulling up the corners of her mouth. “You should.”
“And if I watch them, will that finally make you believe I’m the right choice for your movie?”
There she went, looking up at him with those piercing brown eyes again. Deep enough to drown in.
“I’ll consider it.”
—
Mrs. Fairfax took them tothe Gatehouse next, mostly because Jeremy was complaining about the chill of the country weather and he wanted to change clothes before the remainder of the tour around the—likely very draughty—old manor house.
The Gatehouse must have been a quarter of the size ofHallowvale Manor, and Ellis liked it all the more for that. Bathed in sunlight and standing in an open glade, the Gatehouse was where Ellis, Lance, Rosemary, Vincent, Jeremy, and a few other senior crew members would be staying during filming. He tried not to think about how Rosemary would be sleeping under the same roof, or why that even bothered him. He’d gathered from a brief chat with Lance that Rosemary’s film agent was a shark, and had negotiated for her to be fully part of the production, including staying with the senior cast and crew.
“It’s gorgeous,” Rosemary exhaled, and he agreed wholeheartedly. It almost looked like a large cottage, with a bright red wooden door, warm stone, and welcoming façade. Two tall evergreen trees stood on either side of the house, and Ellis could hear birds chirping merrily away. He was looking forwards to waking up with birdsong again after a night spent in the birdless London hotel.
“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Fairfax said, holding open the front door. Before bringing Fig inside, Ellis crouched down to check that Fig’s paws hadn’t accumulated any mud.
The entryway opened up to a curving staircase, with a tall window bathing the hall, and its black and white tiles, in buttery light.
