Where the Action Is

Chapter 1 - The Grey House

Jacynth Irving sat on the cliffs above the bay, thinking her own thoughts. She was sixteen, tall for her age, blonde and pretty. Her clothes were latest fashion. She had beside her a radio, blaring the latest records, for she was an ardent fan of Radio Madeleine, which was situated on a lonely offshore fort, just visible on the horizon, its mast rising nearly three hundred feet above the waves.

Then a girl came running up, followed by a young boy. These were her sister, Imogene (aged fourteen), and her brother Max (aged eleven). As they drew near she called to them,

‘Hey, Impie, Max, over here, quick!’

They ran to her, laughing.

‘What is it, Jack?’

‘Sit down and I’ll tell you.’

The others sat down on the grass. Jacynth turned the radio down.

‘We, Adrian Leslie, on Radio Madeleine, is running a competition. If you win, you and three others can visit the fort. How about entering?’

Her brother and sister were violently enthusiastic.

‘Come on, let’s go in, and write off to them,’ said Jacynth, whose nickname was ‘Jack’.

The family had come down to the town of Thelstone St Felix to stay with their Aunt Greer and Uncle Graham Blaire. Their relatives lived in Grey House, on the cliffs above St Felix Bay, just outside the town. Grey House was near Thelstone Manor House, and both houses were old; parts dated back to the fifteenth century. The town of Thelstone was as old as these houses, if not older, and St Felix had had an abbey there, on an island in the bay, but the abbey was now in ruins. The town was on the North Sea coast, in the county of Stoweshire. Jack and her family lived in Elchester, in the same county, but their parents had gone abroad on business for three months, leaving the children with their Aunt and Uncle.

They loved Grey House, with its outlook over St Felix Bay; from it there could be seen ships and the lights on the towers and mast of Radio Madeleine, reflected by the waters of the North Sea. Nearer the coast was another fort, White Sands Fort, unused for many years; this too could be seen from Grey House. There was supposed to be a secret passage from the garden of Grey House to the Manor House, and every time they went to Grey House the children had looked for it, but in vain.

Grey House had a large garden, which stretched down to the cliffs on one side, and Lord Thelstone’s ground on the other. The children would play in the garden for hours at a time, or go out onto the cliffs and look at the sea.

The house itself was large, with three storeys, the upper storey consisting of low-ceilinged, oak-panelled rooms – most of the rooms were oak-panelled, except the servants’ quarters and kitchens. The house was built of brick, with the upper parts of it timbered. There was a small round tower with a turret on it at one side of the central gable. This was the oldest part of the house. The windows were diamond-paned and leaded, although those in the tower were not - some of these were narrow slits, with no glass at all in them. Inside the house there were some small corridors, and a narrow staircase led to the servants’ quarters and kitchens, which were cut of from the house by a baize-covered door. There were large comfortable rooms as well, two sitting rooms with large fireplaces, which were always comfortable, warm and inviting. Often there were large fires in the grates, except in midsummer, when it was hot. Some of the tiles in the floors were painted, mostly in the tower, which had four storeys and a winding staircase. Each storey consisted of one smallish, round room. The tower could have been used as a look-out tower long ago, and unlike the rest of the house, was of stone. Grey House was a large house, some rooms were not used. The tower was not lived in, but the upper room in it was furnished with seats and a rug on the floor, because people liked to sit and admire the view, from the now enlarged window, which had no leaded lights, but was plain glass, and could be opened.

There was a maid, Joanna, called Jo, and a comfortably fat housekeeper, Mrs Webster, and a cook, Mrs Blundell. Mrs Webster, a widow, lived at the house, the cook did also, with her husband, but Jo came in the mornings to do the housework.

Lord and Lady Thelstone were quite friendly with the Blaires and Jack was friendly with their son and daughter. Clarence was 20, and Juliett was 17. Sometimes Jack was invited to tea at the Manor, when she stayed with her Aunt, and sometimes even Max and Impie were invited. There were many valuable paintings at the Manor, silver and jewels as well, and Jack was lucky, they showed her some of it. The silver and jewels were kept in a safe in the wall, but not the paintings, they were hung in a gallery.

This time that Jack had come to stay, she and Juliett had arranged to go out together. They were the best of friends. Juliett too liked Radio Madeleine, and Adrian Leslie, who was Jack’s favourite too. So did Clarence, who was Lord Thelstone’s eldest son and heir. There was a younger son, but he was not at Thelstone Manor, he was staying in London this summer. Jack also went out with Clarence, sometimes.