For the third time that evening, Frank Nightingale opened the door but, this time, Callie could see he was ready to give whoever it was who was disturbing their peace a good ticking off if need be.

As the light from the hallway fell on the interloper, they saw it was a tall, thin man with a pale face. He was wearing a woolly hat with a great fat bobble on the top and he looked anxious.

‘Sorry to disturb you,’ he began. ‘I’m Mr Parker. I’ve been lookin’ for Emily Parker’s cottage. She’s my sister.’

Eleanor came forward. ‘You mean Honeysuckle Cottage? That’s just along the road here. You’re not far from it. About another mile.’

‘Oh, dear,’ Mr Parker said. ‘I’ve been goin’ round in circles for hours on these country lanes. Then Felix kept whining so I let him out and he ran off afta somethin’.’

‘Felix?’ Frank asked.

‘My dog.’

‘Would that happen to be a big black dog?’ Grandpa Joe asked, coming forward.

‘A black collie, aye. He just took off. I was chasing him round your garden, I’m sorry to say.’

‘It was you who knocked on the door earlier?’ Frank asked.

‘Aye, but then I caught sight of Felix and ran to get him.’

Grandpa Joe started to chuckle. ‘You gave us a bit of a start,’ he told Mr Parker. ‘We’d been reading ghost stories and we imagined Black Shuck was stalking our shrubbery.’

‘Oh, dear! Oh, dear!’ Mr Parker said, shaking his head. ‘I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I didn’t knock at first because I was scared of disturbing you, what with it being Christmas Eve and everything, but then I was gettin’ a bit desperate.’

‘Where’s Felix now?’ Polly asked.

‘Safe in the car with his blanket.’

‘Where are you parked?’ Frank asked.

‘Just down the lane.’

‘Why don’t you come in and get warm for a moment?’ Eleanor said. ‘You could have frozen to death out there.’

‘I thought I had at one point,’ Mr Parker said, clapping his hands together as he came into the hallway. ‘You sure I’m not disturbing you any?’

‘No, no!’ everyone insisted.

‘Cup of tea?’ Polly asked him as Eleanor offered to take his coat and hat.

‘Very kind of you.’

Polly went to the kitchen to make the tea and everyone else went through to the living room with Mr Parker.

‘Have a seat by the fire,’ Eleanor said and Mr Parker sat down on the sofa.

‘Where’ve you come from?’ Frank asked as he put a couple more logs onto the fire.

‘Yorkshire. Wensleydale’

‘A fair old drive,’ Frank said, returning to the sofa next to his guest.

‘It is that.’

‘Beautiful,’ Eleanor said. ‘We’ve had quite a few holidays in the Yorkshire Dales.’

‘Aye, it’s a popular spot,’ Mr Parker said. ‘Quiet at this time of year, mind. Not much in the way of tourists.’

‘How’s the weather been up there?’ Grandpa Joe asked.

‘We’ve had snow on and off since October.’

‘Goodness!’ Eleanor said. ‘We’re having our first little flurry tonight.’

‘The perfect night to be sat around a fire,’ Mr Parker observed.

‘So, as Grandpa Joe was saying, we were just telling a few ghost stories,’ Frank said. ‘It’s a bit of a tradition at Christmas by the fire.’

‘And you mentioned Black Shuck,’ Mr Parker said. ‘Can I ask what that is?’

Grandpa Joe leaned forward in his chair, happy to have an ear as he told their guest about the legendary black hairy dog which rampaged the East Anglian countryside.

‘And you thought my Felix might be-’

‘Yes, I’m afraid we did,’ Frank said with a laugh, now that it was safe to laugh.

‘We have our own big dog legend in the north. Gytrash,’ Mr Parker said.

‘Oooo!’ Lara cried. ‘Doesn’t he get a mention in Jane Eyre?’

‘That’s right,’ Sam said. ‘The scene where Jane spooks Rochester’s horse.’

‘I wonder what is it about big black dogs that captures the imagination in legends?’ Callie asked.

‘Well, Gytrash is often thought to be a horse,’ Mr Parker said.

‘Really?’ Callie said.

‘He’s sometimes thought to be feared, sometimes thought to be gentle. He can lead people away from a footpath or guide them to one from the moors. There are so many stories, it’s hard to know what to believe.’

Polly came in with a teapot and mugs on a tray. Eleanor poured, giving a mug to Mr Parker first and then passing the others around to the family.

‘So, have you had any experience of Gytrash yourself?’ Grandpa Joe asked.

Mr Parker took a sip of his tea. ‘Well, no.’

‘Do you believe in him?’ Lara asked.

‘Now here’s an interesting thing,’ Mr Parker said. ‘There was one point in me life when I would’ve said no to that question and answered it so quickly as to suggest there was no room for doubt. But now? Well, things ain’t that simple.’

‘How so?’ Josh asked.

Mr Parker shifted a little on the sofa and took another sip of tea.

‘I live in a house about a half mile from the nearest village. It’s a modest-sized house built of the local stone. Lived there all me life. Like me parents and their parents afore ’em. Couldn’t live anywhere else now.’

His gaze drifted towards the fire where a log crackled and spat fat flames and Callie wondered what he was thinking of and what he was about to tell them. It was, she realised, that delicious moment when you know you’re going to be told a story and you’re just waiting for it to begin.

‘I’ve never married, never had children,’ he went on, ‘and yet I’ve never been alone in that house.’

Callie swallowed hard and glanced across the room at Eleanor who was looking at Mr Parker with an anxious expression on her face.

‘Never alone?’ Lara repeated, her face rapt.

Mr Parker nodded. ‘That’s right. Not with Elizabeth there.’ He paused and then gave a little smile.

‘Who’s Elizabeth?’ Grandma Nell asked. Callie looked up. She’d thought Nell had been dozing but, even though she had her eyes closed, it was obvious she hadn’t missed a thing.

‘Elizabeth,’ Mr Parker said. ‘She was the sister of my great-grandfather. She only lived to be nine years old before drowning in the river.’

‘You mean she’s a ghost?’ Lara asked.

‘Oh, aye. I remember the first time I saw ’er. It weren’t until I was in me early twenties. Both my parents had died by then. Perhaps she didn’t want me to be alone. Anyways, she was standing in front the fire one cold November evening and I remember bein’ able to see the flames right through her. And the funny thing was, I wasn’t afraid. I just stood and watched her to see what she’d do.’

‘And what did she do?’

‘She turned around and looked right at me,’ Mr Parker said. ‘I think she was warming herself up. Her dress looked wet see.’

‘And you really weren’t you scared of her?’ Bryony asked.

‘Nowt to be scared of,’ Mr Parker insisted. ‘She just sort of roams about a bit and then vanishes. It’s kind of comforting in a way. Sometimes, she can be the only person I see all day.’ He gave a little smile at that. ‘She seems to favour the house, standing by the fire or near radiators as if to keep warm. But I’ve seen ’er in the garden too. I don’t have much of a garden – it’s just a bit o’ rough grass with a potato patch and a raised bed for me greens. But I’ve seen her out there by the old apple tree, her pale hair blowing as she looks down the valley towards the river that took her life.’

‘Do you talk to her?’ Eleanor asked.

‘Oh, aye. I tell her a bit about me day.’

‘And does she ever talk back?’ Lara dared to ask.

‘Not with words,’ Mr Parker said, ‘but her eyes seem to speak to me. I do believe she hears me. There was one time a couple of summers ago. I had to have one o’ me best dogs put to sleep. Heartbreaking day that. Had ’im for fifteen years. Picked him out from his litter and he was by me side every day since. Felt like I’d ’ad me heart ripped out that day.’

‘Oh, we all know what it’s like to lose a dog,’ Grandpa Joe said. ‘Terrible, terrible pain.’

‘Aye, it is. And it was as if Elizabeth knew for she stayed with me that day. She was never far from me and her presence was a comfort, I have to say. Ghost or not. She was there for me.’

Callie could feel that her eyes were swimming with tears now and she did her best to blink them away, giving a little sniff and hoping she wouldn’t betray herself. She could see that Eleanor and Bryony were equally moved by Mr Parker’s story. Lara, however, was simply rapt.

‘And does she always wear that same dress?’ Lara asked him.

Mr Parker nodded. ‘The dress that looks wet? Aye, she does. She never changes, never ages. She’s the one constant thing in me life. I can always rely on Elizabeth.’

‘That’s the spookiest thing I’ve ever heard,’ Lara said. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met someone whose house is haunted.’

‘Come an’ visit,’ Mr Parker said.

‘Would she show herself to me?’ Lara asked.

‘Well, I couldn’t make any promises. She’s a bit shy when it comes to strangers.’

‘Actually, I think I’d be the shy one,’ Lara said. ‘I’ve always thought I’d like a Wuthering Heights-type experience with the supernatural but it would probably really freak me out!’

‘I don’t know how you can live there,’ Eleanor said.

‘You get used to it,’ Mr Parker said matter-of-factly. ‘After all, it was ’er home afore it were mine.’

‘That’s a very interesting way of looking at it,’ Sam said.

‘It’s the only way as far as I’m concerned.’

There was a pause as everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts and then Mr Parker stood up.

‘I’d best be off,’ he said. ‘Thank you for the tea. I’m all warmed up now!’

‘Would you like me to give Emily a call and let her know you’re on your way – put her mind at rest,’ Eleanor asked him.

‘Aye, very kind of you,’ Mr Parker said. ‘I’m afraid me mobile isn’t working. Mind you, I don’t think it was working when I left home. I’m not very good with these modern gadgets.’

‘I know how you feel,’ Grandpa Joe said. ‘I don’t believe in mobiles myself. When I’m out of the house, I’m out of the house and, if anyone wants to talk to me, they can wait until I get back home.’

Mr Parker nodded in agreement. ‘Well, thanking you again,’ he said, pulling on his coat and bobbly hat. ‘And sorry for disturbing you.’

‘Not at all,’ Eleanor said.

‘You’ve made Christmas Eve all the more entertaining,’ Frank told him.

‘Do you want us to see you back safely to your car?’ Sam asked.

‘I can manage,’ Mr Parker said.’ I’m used to the dark where I live.’

‘Goodnight, then,’ Frank said.

They all stood in the hallway, watching Mr Parker as he disappeared into the lane and was swallowed up by the dark night.