Across the benighted hills of Exmoor a storm was raging. Buildings lost their roofs, trees tumbled like matches and out on the barren tops of the high moor, the rain and wind ripped across the landscape like an express train. Lightning cut the darkness constantly and every living thing had taken cover from it's might. The standing stone that had recently been excavated by the moorland mapping team was buffeted and lashed until a random blast of lightning skidded across the stone, causing sparks to fly around it. For a second, it rang like a bell. If it had been possible, any observer of this scene would swear that they heard laughter. Not happy laughter either. It was the sort that mocks and derides and tears at the heart. In an instant, it was lost in the wind and the storm raged on, uncaring.
Kate and Sam sat in their warm sitting room listening to the wind howl around their chimney.
"I wouldn't like to be out in this one!" said Sam.
Kate looked up from her book. "Me neither! I hope our friends are all as snug as we are."
A mile across the fields, Laura and Mark, along with their new baby boy were also sitting around their own fire. They had called their son after Mark's father and their friend across the moor, so he was now officially Theodore Samuel Hannaford. After just a few months, he was already known to all as 'Young Theo' and he was the apple of his parent's eyes.
Meanwhile, the hotel on the edge of the moor was taking a battering and Mike and Saira Ellis had their work cut out to make sure that their home and business was holding together. Saira was inspecting the windows in the bedrooms and locking down anything that was even remotely loose, while Mike had rashly gone outside to take a look at the out buildings and now that he was sure that all was well, he sat in what he jokingly called The Control Room, scanning the security cameras that covered the hotel grounds. Ever since their encounter with the big cat out on the moor and especially since Amyus Conybeare's strange warning, Mike had kept everything in top shape and had increased the number of cameras and motion sensors facing the western edge of their property on Amyus' advice. Saira came in and put her arms loosely around his neck from behind.
"How is it all looking?" She asked. "Is the storm damaging anything crucial?"
"Not so far," Mike replied, "and I've checked the weather forecast for the rest of today. They say that this will blow itself out by first light."
"Then I'm going to bed," Saira stretched herself. "The children are already in our bed," She said, "It's the first big storm they've experienced out here and they are both a bit freaked out by it!"
"I'll come up later, love," Mike told her, "I just want to keep tabs on things here for a while. Sweet Dreams!"
"OK, Good Night, Don't stay up all night!" Saira kissed his head, stood up and went to their bedroom smiling. 'I'll bet he will still be sitting there in the morning!' she thought.
As daylight broke the weather forecast proved itself to be right. The storm was starting to blow itself out and Mike could see more detail from the cameras. He was surprised to see Amyus Conybeare hurrying up the drive through the rain and made his way downstairs to let him in.
"Good Morning Amyus", Mike smiled at the little man.
"Good Morning, good morning!" Amyus responded, "What a blow we are having!"
"Is your house all safe and sound?" Mike enquired.
"It would take more than a storm to collapse my old place," Amyus said, "But I thought I'd come over to see if anything had happened here in the night."
"What sort of thing?" Asked Mike, "I was watching the security cameras most of the night and everything looks fine to me."
"Good! That's very good!" Amyus smiled for the first time. "I was worried that your magnificent building would have suffered in the wind, d'y'see?"
By now, Mike was getting used to Amyus' odd ways and knew that he must really have been worried about something to come over here through the tail end of a gale!
After a short chat, Mike put together a breakfast for them both and soon Saira joined them, greeting Amyus and helping herself to some food. Amyus was a famous eater, so Mike had rustled up far more than the basics, which Saira now took full advantage of.
"The children are still asleep." She told them, "They hardly slept a wink until the wind dropped."
"Everything looks fine on the cameras" Said Mike, "And Amyus has come over to check that we haven't been blown away by the storm!"
"I just wanted to make sure that nothing major had happened," Amyus smiled, "It was a terrible night, right enough!"
The conversation wandered through several subjects as was usual, until Amyus took his leave and said that he wanted to look at the hotel boundary with the moor for himself. Mike and Saira had gone to the Control Room with coffee, so that Mike could show her how their estate was looking and as they checked various cameras, they saw him as he went off across the grounds to the western edge of the lawns. Then the monitor flickered a little and Amyus had disappeared. Mike tried all of the nearby cameras, but Amyus was nowhere to be seen!
"I keep saying it," said Mike, "But there's something damned funny about that man!"
"I'd believe that after the big cat incident on the moor, " Saira commented, "But he has shown himself to be a good man in the face of the unexpected, so I think we're lucky to have him as a friend!"
