Scarlet and Rose took the two seats we’d saved for them on the other side of the aisle, and Scarlet lifted their bags up. Rose waved at us happily.
Finally Mrs Knight stepped on. “Are we all here?”
“Yes!” everyone chorused, somewhat pointlessly.
“Right, then! Off to Lake Seren we go!” She pumped her fist in the air and then climbed into the front seat beside Miss Bowler.
The driver looked back at her. “Can I finish my biscuit first?” he said.
We chugged along the country roads, past the miles of hedgerows and open fields and oak trees. The afternoon sun made the bus swelteringly hot, and I started to wish I had a drink.
At one point Nadia tried to begin a singalong, but Elsie swiftly told her to shut up. At least there was one thing we agreed upon.
I started telling Rose what I thought we’d get up to on the trip. “It’s a really grand hotel,” I said. “Incredibly posh. I imagine we’ll be drinking champagne and bathing in milk. Or is that the other way round?”
Rose giggled.
“And there will probably be dancing and lawn tennis and croquet,” I carried on. I was pretty sure that was the sort of thing they did at hotels.
“Will there be horses?” Rose asked quietly.
“Definitely,” I said, though I had no idea. “Probably with glass carriages and footmen.”
The bus carried on, and soon everyone had pulled open the tiny windows above the seats.
“It’s so hot,” Ivy moaned.
“I’m boiling,” Ariadne said, blowing away a lock of hair that kept trying to stick to her face.
I pointed out of the window. The sun was lower in the sky now, slipping behind the trees. “The sun will set soon. Then we’ll hopefully stop melting.” I was sticking to my seat.
Ariadne nodded and yawned. Moments later, she’d fallen asleep.
The landscape started to change around us. We passed through a town I didn’t recognise, all red brick and smoking chimneys. Then there was more countryside, dappled with houses here and there. The sunset washed the sky with orange and a deep blood red.
“Are we there yet?!” someone yelled, making everyone laugh. Ariadne awoke with a jolt and nearly hit Ivy in the face with a flailing arm.
“Miles to go before we sleep,” said Mrs Knight.
I sighed. Everyone had been quiet until that point, mostly just staring out at the darkening road. My excitement wasn’t draining; it was more like just … postponed. Being kept on hold for when we got there.
Twilight fell, and brought cooler air with it. I wondered where we were. The sloping hills of the countryside I knew were starting to look more like mountains. There were stone walls and pine trees and bubbling streams.
Some time later, the bus drove between two enormous rocks, and I spotted a waterfall cascading down the side of a cliff. I could hear the rushing water over the roar of the engine. “Rose, over there!” I nudged her, and she looked where I was pointing and smiled. We were quite high up, I realised, and as we rounded a corner I saw why. We were on the edge of the valley, overlooking the vast lake. “There it is!”
I glanced over at Ariadne and Ivy to see if they were awake. Ariadne looked like she had nodded off, but Ivy was staring out of the back window of the bus. I poked her arm. “What are you looking at?”
“There are headlamps behind us,” she said, a concerned expression on her face. “That car’s been there a long time, I swear it.”
“Never mind that,” I said. “Look at the lake!”
I spoke loudly enough that I not only woke Ariadne again, but several other people nearby snapped to attention and peered out at the lake.
It was getting dark, but the landscape was still visible. The lake was huge, and looked a deep navy blue against the black of the hills. “Is that a tower?” I said, pointing at a shadowy structure rising out of the water. Rose nodded. She looked fascinated.
“There’s lights,” said Ariadne, squinting out at the darkness. I wasn’t sure if she was entirely awake.
“What?” I said.
“Lights under the lake,” she replied. “Near the tower.”
I couldn’t see what she was talking about, and then, just for a moment, I thought I saw a flash of something.
“Hmm,” Ivy said.
We all watched the surface of the water as the bus descended the hill, but I couldn’t spot anything else. The road became bumpier as we went along and I was nearly jolted out of my seat.
As I righted myself, I heard Rose gasp. The bus was pulling out on to an enormous stone bridge. Everyone stood up to get a better look.
“Sit down, girls,” I heard Mrs Knight warn sleepily, but I didn’t listen to her. I saw the dark water spreading out in all directions around us.
“There’s the hotel!” Nadia cried, pointing.
I could see it, a big shadow on the landscape with flickering lights in the windows. “We’re almost there!”
The bus crossed the bridge, and the first few stars began to wink in the sky as I stared out. After what felt like an age, we reached the other side of the lake and the bus started climbing again, up to where the hotel stood.
“Right, everyone,” Mrs Knight called, sounding a little more alert. “We’re very close to the Shady Pines Hotel now.” I could see where it got its name. The pine trees surrounded us on all sides. “I’m sure they’ll give us a lovely, warm welcome!”
And then the bus slowly came to a halt. The car that had been following behind roared past us, making everyone jump.
We’d stopped next to a sign that I could just make out. It was peeling and cracked, and hung on a wooden pole with hinges that were creaking in the wind.
