She, on the other hand, got what information she could out of the cook, which wasn't terribly much. Strangely enough, thinking you were about to be squashed by some unknown force didn't do much for recollection, perception, or even decent sentence structure.

But she did get 'shabby gentleman', 'something wrong', and 'upstairs.'

She told the cook to climb out the window to safety before turning her attention to where the machine had been - to find nothing. Had it retreated, or...fallen, somehow? A mystery that could best be solved by finding its controller.

She quietly worked her way up the stairs from the cellar, wincing at the creak of the door opening as she gently pushed it.