"Rebecca": Ch 6 (part 4)

[wanda1969]

Rebecca- Chapter 6 (part 4)

With Myfanwy curled against his side on top of the duvet, Ianto had drifted into a relieved and happy sleep in his room after taking Jack’s telephone call. It was sometime around midnight when he heard Myfanwy scratching against the bedroom door.

 

“What is it, girl?” he said rubbing at his eyes. He could hear the muffled creaking of floorboards on the landing outside, and then the creak of a door somewhere in the distance. It surely couldn’t be Jack; he would have come straight into their bedroom. He threw back the duvet, pulled himself out of bed and walked over to the chair where he’d left a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He quickly got dressed, slipped on a pair of baseball boots and opened the bedroom door.

 

The spaniel ran out of the room, tail wagging, and along the landing. “Myfanwy...come back here.”

 

His eyes followed her as she ran along the landing. At the other end of the landing the double doors to Rebecca’s room were wide open, and a faint glow came from inside.

 

He approached the doors and heard clattering within.

 

“Myfanwy!” he repeated under his breath as he looked inside.

 

Mrs Cooper stepped into the doorway. “I didn’t think it would be long before I saw you.”

 

“Mrs Cooper. I- I was just fetching Myfanwy,” he said jumping slightly.

 

“I suppose you think you’ve won now? You think you’ve got it all now, don’t you? Him, this house? Her husband, her house.”

 

“It’s not like that Mrs Cooper...” he trailed off.

 

“No, no it’s not. You’ll never be master of this house. You’re not fit to have her house!” Her voice rose hysterically. “And you won’t have it! Neither of you will!”

 

Behind her the faint glow was becoming brighter, more orange, and there was a sickening crackling sound. Just then he saw the fine fabric hung in the archway beyond burst into flames.

 

“Oh God! Myfanwy!” he shouted. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the fire took hold. There was a hushed yelping as the spaniel ran towards him. Ianto reached down and gathered her in his arms and then turned to run back along the landing. He paused briefly at the top of the stairs. “Cooper- you’ve got to get out NOW!”

 

Mrs Cooper stared back at him with wide eyes and then turned and walked calmly back into Rebecca’s rooms.

 

***

 

Owen Harper had driven Jack and Kathy Swanson back to Cornwall at breakneck speed, dropping the Detective Inspector off at the police station before the two men headed back to Manderley.

 

“Jesus, Owen, has it taken us that long to drive back? I must have lost track of time. The sun’s coming up,” Jack said.

 

Owen glanced at the dashboard clock. “It’s only half one in the morning.”

 

“Well, what the hell is that, then? The northern lights?”

 

“We’re too far south for the northern lights, Jack,” Owen said as he turned to look in the same direction as Jack.

 

“Fuck, Owen! It’s Manderley! It’s on fire. God...Ianto...”

 

***

 

The two men arrived at the front of the house. Three fire engines stood on the drive way, pumping water out of the fishpond in the centre of the lawn. All about them, people milled around, desperately filling buckets from the fish pond. It was futile; flames flickered at the windows and through the roof.

 

Jack ran, pushing his way through the crowd. It was late at night- if Ianto had been asleep he couldn’t have got out of there before the fire had taken hold. He wouldn’t have stood a chance.

 

“Ianto! Ianto!”

 

It seemed as if he had been searching, been shouting, for hours and then he heard his name. He turned. Ianto stood there, Myfanwy wrapped in his arms. For a moment he stood there as the young man bent to place the dog on the ground.

 

“Jack...”

 

“Jesus! Ianto...I thought I’d lost you. After everything...” Jack whispered, wrapping his arms around him, kissing him desperately. He pulled away slightly and moved a hand to stroke Ianto’s hair. “Cariad, what happened?”

                                                                                                                                                            

“Mrs Cooper...I think she just went insane. I found her in Rebecca’s room...I think she set fire to it. She said we’d never have Rebecca’s house...” he said turning to look at the West Wing. A figure on the balcony of Rebecca’s room was just visible through the smoke and flames.

“God- she’s still there, Jack. They’ve got to get her out.”

 

Jack turned to look, and they both started to run towards one of the fire engines. It was too late.

As they looked up once again, the West Wing collapsed, falling onto the balcony and into the bedroom. It was the last time that they saw Mrs Cooper.

 

***

 

Chapter List:
http://wanda1969.dreamwidth.org/17042.html