It was all

Very strange.

Last October, when I was in the West Country, I looked in an old guide book and decided to visit a beautiful old country house called Compton Hall, dating back to the sixteenth century.

I arrived at the house quite late in the day and parked the car. I noticed that there weren’t any other cars in the park, but that didn’t seem strange because it collected late in the season. As I appeared towards the house, the front door suddenly opened and a young girl of about eighteen appeared .

‘Welcome to Compton hall,’ she called. ’I’m Clarissa Compton .Let me show you the house .’She showed me all the rooms in the house and explained it’s history. When we finished the tour , I photographed her in front of the door .’Here .Have this !It’s a present for you .’She slipped a small packet into my backpack and disappeared into the house. I retuned to my car and unwrapped the packet. Inside there was a small painting of the house. It was all very strange.

In the evening I checked in at a local hotel. Did you enjoy your day?’ the receptionist asked. ‘Yes , I did. I visited Compton Hall and Clarissa Compton showed me the whole place.’

The young man looked puzzled. ‘Compton Hall , sir? No , not Compton Hall. The old house burned to the ground five years ago.’ Last week I collected my photographs from the photo shop. When I looked at the photograph of Clarissa there was just a grey mist.