In today’s episode we read Chapter 8 – Carnifex House - in which Magpie and Lucas finally reach their destination, and lay eyes on Carnifex House for the first time.
Brought to you by: Phaeton Starling Publishing and Things with Wings Productions.
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
Things with Wings Productions presents: Episode 8 of The Skylark Bell, Wingspan. I am your host, Melissa Oliveri.
In our previous episode, Magpie and Lucas encountered several of the residents of Pocaid who had strange reactions upon finding out the pair are planning to occupy Carnifex House.
In today’s episode we read Chapter 8 – Carnifex House - in which Magpie and Lucas finally reach their destination, and lay eyes on Carnifex House for the first time.
Now, it’s time to settle in… grab a blanket, and a warm drink… and let’s get started.
The driver carefully navigates the steep climb up the cliff behind the village of Pòcaid. Magpie watches in wonder as they pass the massive exterior stone walls of Goldcrest Manor, which is perched on the cliffside overlooking the ocean. Radiating from the South side of the manor is a vast, perfectly manicured garden stretching out as far as the eye can see.
They continue down a winding road, only lightly dotted with the odd house, for quite some time before turning onto a long, narrow dirt lane. Up ahead, Magpie can see the two-story house at the end of the path. Its exterior walls are made of stone, weathered by decades, maybe even centuries, of wind and cold sea air. Magpie feels a bit of unease and wonders if Lucas is also noting the similarities to Meadow Lane – which also had a long dusty path leading from the road to a weathered two-story house. She turns to look at him and he meets her glance with a smile and a wink.
As they work their way up the lane, Magpie swallows a lump in her throat. Coming into view behind the house she can see the ocean, stretching for miles, just like in the vision she had as she and her mom were packing. Rubbing her arms to tame the goosebumps that have risen, she tries to brush off the eerie sensation and put herself into a positive mindset. “This is a fresh start, a brand-new adventure. Be positive!” She tells herself.
“Hmm? Did you say something?” asks Lucas.
“I’m excited to start this new adventure!” she answers, smiling. “With you,” she adds, shyly. Lucas blushes slightly but holds onto her gaze. Magpie takes a deep breath, “Okay, let’s do this!” she says, opening the car door.
As Magpie and Lucas are stepping out of the car a tall slim woman in jeans and a light sweater makes her way toward them, her short dark hair blowing in the blustery Scottish wind. She gives them a warm smile before introducing herself. “Hello! I am Manon, Manon Sarcelle, my husband, Alfred, and I are the caretakers of Carnifex House. Welcome!” she says.
“It’s so nice to meet you! I am Margaret Phaeton, but everyone calls me Magpie, and this is my friend Lucas!” replies Magpie. “If you don’t mind my asking, your accent doesn’t sound Scottish, where are you from?” she asks.
The woman laughs warmly, “After all these years I thought my accent was gone, but no…” She chuckles again before continuing, “My husband and I are from France. Nearly 25 years ago we saw an advertisement in our local paper looking for caretakers for a remote property in Scotland. We were young and ready for adventure, very much like you!” she says, smiling at them both in a way that makes Magpie’s cheeks flush. “We packed our bags and never looked back; it was fate!” She heaves a nostalgic sigh before continuing, “Time feels different here, it goes by fast and slow all at once. It seems like yesterday our son, Julien, was only a little boy running along the beach, now he is in Paris to study… but he plans to return in a few years so we can retire and return to a place with warmer weather and more sun.” she says.
“That’s wonderful!” Says Magpie “It sounds like you’ve had many wonderful years here.”
A shadow passes briefly across the woman’s face, but she quickly regroups and claps her hands. “You are probably excited to take a look at the house, yes?!” she says, walking with purpose toward the front door, Magpie and Lucas following closely behind. “My husband and I live in the small cottage in the field over there,” she says, pointing behind the home with one hand as she is opening the door with the other. “Bienvenue…” she says to them as the door swings open.
Magpie and Lucas step into Carnifex House. Magpie isn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this. The interior walls of the house are composed of the same stone as the exterior. Large, ancient wooden beams stretch across the ceiling, hovering over the stone floor which has been covered with a variety of area rugs. Straight ahead of them is a staircase which presumably leads to the second story bedrooms. To their right is a large living room that stretches from the front to the back of the house and features a large stone fireplace with a heavy mantle on which several family photos are perched. There is a couch and two rocking chairs in the front part of the room, and an antique writing desk at the back of the room under the window which overlooks the back fields and, in the distance, the ocean.
“Come this way, I will show you the kitchen, you are probably hungry after all that travel!” says Manon, leading them through a doorway on the left. They step into the dining room, which also has a large stone fireplace, a round dining table, and an antique hutch showcasing a set of dishes decorated with a delicate floral pattern. They cross the room and step through another door into the kitchen. To their left is an antique stove, much like the one at Magpie’s house in Pocket. Across from the doorway is a large porcelain farmhouse sink placed under a window that looks out at the rolling hills behind the house, and the ocean beyond. To their right is a small refrigerator, and tiny two-person breakfast table. Tucked away in the corner under the stairs is a tiny bathroom. “Shall I make you some sandwiches, and perhaps heat up some soup? My husband Alfred went to town this morning to get some provisions, we thought you might want to rest once you arrived,” she says kindly.
“How very thoughtful of him, and yes that sounds wonderful,” says Lucas as he pulls out a chair for Magpie at the tiny table.
“So, when is the last time anyone actually lived here?” asks Magpie, gently lowering herself into the small wooden chair.
“Ah it has been decades, I think it was in the 1960s or 1970s, long before we came here,” replies Manon, pouring soup into a pot and grabbing a cutting board on which to slice the bread. “Sometimes we have family come to visit, or the house gets rented out to tourists, but mostly it’s just us,” she says, speaking a little more loudly above the sound of the knife slicing through the thick crust. “I picked these tomatoes from our greenhouse this morning, this will be a very good lunch for you.” she says, focused on her task.
“If you don’t mind my asking, who has been paying your salary all these years?” asks Magpie, a little confused.
“The house was left in a trust, and everything is handled by the lawyers here in Pòcaid,” she says. “The Carnifex family were very successful businesspeople on the mainland, this was a vacation home,” she adds, ladling hot soup into two bowls. “My understanding is they planned for the care for this house until it came back into the possession of a descendent of theirs. I believe they thought it would happen much sooner… but no matter, you are here, now,” she turns, smiling, two plates in hand, each boasting a large sandwich of freshly baked bread and juicy red tomatoes.
Magpie and Lucas eat voraciously. “I didn’t realise how hungry I was!” exclaims Magpie.
Lucas leans back in his chair; his plate and bowl empty save for a few breadcrumbs. “That is hands-down the most delicious sandwich I’ve ever had. Thank you so much!” he says.
“You are most welcome! Now that you have eaten, perhaps a short walk outside before I leave you?” asks Manon as she is gathering their plates.
“That sounds lovely,” says Magpie, excited to take in the view from the back of the house. They step through the back door of the kitchen onto a small stone patio. Magpie closes her eyes and breathes in the cool, fragrant sea air, then opens them again to take in the view. Behind the house are rolling fields. In the distance, off to her left, she can see the caretaker’s cottage, a small white building with a thatched roof that looks like it is from a different century. Beyond that she can see the ocean bay below, and across from it the mountains in the distance. The scene is lush, and vast, and new, and Magpie can’t believe she is actually standing here.
“I was speechless the first time too,” says Manon, staring off into the distance with a look on her face that tells Magpie she’s reminiscing about her arrival at Carnifex House a quarter century ago.
A loud horse whinny makes Magpie and Lucas jump. “Are there horses around here?” asks Magpie.
“There is one horse,” replies Manon. “Years ago, there were many, but now he is the last one.” She turns to them with a sad smile. “Would you like to meet him?”
Lucas and Magpie nod and they set off away from the house. They are getting closer to the paddock when they hear a man’s voice echo across the field calling Manon’s name. “Oh, that is my husband Alfred, he will need help unloading the supplies. You can go ahead to the paddock and the horse will come to you,” she says, as she is walking away toward the caretaker’s cottage. She turns to look over her shoulder and adds, “his name is Cormorant!”
Magpie and Lucas, almost at the paddock gate, stop in their tracks and look at each other, wide eyed.
“Cormorant… that was the name of Marius Corbeau’s horse! What are the odds?!” Says Lucas in a stunned voice.
Just then a gigantic beast comes up to the gate where it stops abruptly, letting the cloud dust it kicked up billow away on the breeze. Magpie and Lucas stare at the huge animal, their mouths hanging open in shock. Cormorant stands behind the gate, staring back at them, the wind ruffling his white mane and tail as his black coat shimmers in the sunlight.
Thank you so much for listening. Join me next week for Wingspan chapter 9, The Lark Festival, in which Magpie and Lucas explore the local Lark festival of Skye.
Before I go, I’d like to thank Phaeton Starling Publishing for this fantastically eerie story, as well as Cannelle for composing eerie, mood-setting music for this podcast.
If you are enjoying this story, please consider leaving a rating or a review, they’re both greatly appreciated. You can also support my work through a donation via your podcast provider or by subscribing to my Patreon where you get early access to episodes as well as MP3 downloads of the music, artwork, writing, recipes, and more! Checks the show notes for links.
Thank you
