The Cardinal's Slippers (standard:mystery, 1348 words)
Author: Gibbon	Added: Jan 21 2003	Views/Reads: 3716/2333	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A humourous mystery set in an old English castle. The Lord of the manner gets an unexpected surprise when he opens a box that has been locked for many years.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


'Luckily' Mrs Hinckley had grabbed a torch on her way out so they could
see where they were putting there feet, or more importantly where Lord 
Postlethwaite was putting his feet. Then, as the slippers loosened 
their grip and set poor Lord Postlethwaite's lower body free; the 
flickering light of the torch came to rest on yet another mysterious 
box. This one was made at out of cast iron and was so rusty and covered 
with barnacles that it was almost impossible to find a way in. The 
bedraggled trio decided to take the box back to the castle before 
opening it, only to find it took two of them to carry the thing. Once 
back in the library, in front of a warm fire with a hot cup of cocoa, 
Lord Postlethwaite started to prize the metal box open. It took over an 
hour to loosen this latch enough to pull back the lid, but Lord and 
Lady Postlethwaite and Mrs Hinckley were now determined to find an 
explanation for these most peculiar goings on. 

The sight that faced their astonished eyes was more wonderful than they
could ever have imagined. Gold and jewels sparkled, not dulled by the 
years. The whole box was filled to the brim with the most incredible 
bounty the adventurers had ever seen. Lady Postlethwaite adorned 
herself in priceless jewellery, allowing Mrs Hinckley to wear a 
diamond-encrusted tiara (just for a little while anyway). Lord 
Postlethwaite just stared; slack jawed and praised the heavens for the 
ludicrous slipper episode. After the initial shock of discovering they 
were about 10 times wealthier than they had been the previous evening, 
Lord and Lady Postlethwaite noticed a curious cut of slate that bared 
yet more words, this time, thankfully in English (Lord Postlethwaite 
had remembered why he never listened in class) that read: 

'I, the esteemed and God fearing Cardinal Beeton congratulate thee on
your find. Enjoy your newfound wealth, but never forget how it came 
about. I will be watching thee for the rest of your human lives, and 
should you disrespect my heritage by leaving this place then your years 
on this earth will be cursed with a terrible plague. 

Sincerely, Cardinal Beeton. 

Lord and Lady Postlethwaite were too engrossed with their incredible
find to take heed of this warning. They had no reason to leave the 
castle now they were so rich, until one day they decided to venture to 
London to show off their opulence. Unfortunately Lady Postlethwaite's 
hair began to fall out as soon as they passed the gate, and Lord 
Postlethwaite was rather alarmed by the running sores that began to 
cover his entire body. As soon as they returned to the castle grounds, 
their symptoms seemed to instantly disappear (although Lady 
Postlethwaite had a little less hair than before). After experiencing 
the exact same phenomenon each of the five times they tried to leave, 
the penny dropped. The Cardinal's wealth had come with a cost; the 
finder could never leave the confines of the castle ground. As the full 
horror of the situation set in, Lord and Lady Postlethwaite thought 
they heard damning laughter coming from deep within their prison. 

The moral of the story? Never try on somebody else's slippers. 

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