Amelia and the Secret of Stoney Manor (Amelia Series Book 1)

by Michelle Bradshaw

  “I will like what?” asked Grandmother gracefully as she entered the room, all appearance of dark circles and a bad attitude gone.

  “Matthew wants to paint the house,” I informed her.

  “Oh lovely,” she cheered, clasping her hands together.

  “I thought you said she was in a bad mood,” Matthew whispered, low enough that only myself and Luna could hear.

  Being afraid she would hear me, I just smiled and nodded. She was. Maybe we need Matthew here all the time, I concluded, laughing to myself.

  “It will take me about four to five days to do it,” he explained.

  “Well, let us get to it then, my lad,” she instructed dramatically, putting her hands in the air. “You will find everything you need in the shed in the back,” she said once again, nonchalantly waving her hand to point, but I knew what she was doing.

  We didn’t have a shed until two seconds ago, I thought, giggling under my breath. “Too bad I can’t get away with magic like that,” I blurted out without thinking.

  “What?” exclaimed Matthew, turning abruptly to me.

  Grandmother, shocked by what came out of my mouth, looked like she might faint before saying, “She means the magic it takes to paint a house this big so quickly.” She smiled.

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” said Matthew looking at her.

  Good one, Grandmother, I reflected. My mouth was going to get me into trouble one of these days if I didn’t watch it.

  “Guess I’ll be getting to it,” he announced, giving me a look as he turned and walked out the door to get started.

  “I’ll go show him where the shed is,” I said, shooting Grandmother an I-know-what-you-did look. She said nothing and turned to go back to the sitting room.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  AMELIA

  THE DEED IS DONE

  It was a bit chilly out, so Matthew gave me his jacket as we walked to our recently magically constructed shed. “I didn’t even know y’all had a shed, but I guess we haven’t been in the backyard much,” he said. I just smiled, afraid my mouth would give away our secret, again. “It will take me all day, but today I’ll pressure wash the house to clean it first.” I just nodded, hoping that the necessary equipment would be there.

  Nice job, Grandmother, I pondered, shocked to see such a lovely cottage looking shed. It had a Victorian style look about it with two big carriage doors on the front and one on the side. The windows had shudders with window boxes with beautiful orange flowers in them.

  “I guess I can paint the shed, too,” said Matthew, breaking me from my thoughts.

  “Yeah,” I responded, amazed that Grandmother had even matched the siding to the grey color the house currently had.

  “What color do you think will look best on all the shutters?” he asked.

  “I’ll let you be the judge of that,” I answered with a smile. My eye caught sight of something near the edge of the woods. Images of the terrible black wolf and the conversation I had with Grandmother as well as visions of the horrible nightmare flashed across my mind. I stood in a daze, frowning, thinking of the reality of all that could happen to Matthew because of me.

  “You okay?” he asked, pulling me to him.

  “What? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” I lied, even though I wasn’t pushing all the bad thoughts from my mind. I would have to confront my fears at some point and make a decision if it was safe for Matthew to even be around me, but not today. I felt sick to my stomach at the idea of not seeing him on a daily basis.

  “Well, I guess I better get to it,” he announced opening the big carriage doors to find all the necessary equipment needed for the project. “Ah, here is the pressure washer,” he noted almost to himself.

  Thank goodness, I thought, not knowing how we would have used magic on that one without any questions arising. “I guess I’ll leave you to it,” I said kissing his cheek and walked off to go inside. He just nodded and continued to look over everything, full of excitement.

  “That’s a nice looking ladder,” he mumbled as he continued to rummage through everything.

  “I guess I know what to get him for a gift,” I chuckled to myself as I reached the front door of the house, though sadness of the possibility of not having him in my life still plagued my mind like a broken record. Things had gotten so much better since he arrived at the Manor. What would they be like if he was gone? I didn’t like the answer to the question and once again pushed all worries from my mind and went in the house.

  “Grandmother!” I gasped as I rushed to help her from the floor in the hallway.

  “Do not mind me, child. I just fell.”

  “That’s not like you,” I claimed as I helped her into a chair. “I think it is the stone.”

  “I think you are right,” she confirmed solemnly. “We have to destroy it. I have not felt the same since I touched it.”

  “What about Matthew seeing something?” I asked, glancing to a window to see him on the ladder as he began his current project.

  “That is a chance we will have to take. The stone is too powerful. Maybe if we get rid of it, I can start to feel better.”

  “You seem to still be able to do magic. That was one heck of a storage shed, Grandmother,” I said with a smile, trying to ease the tension in the room.

  “Yes, but soon after you two went outside, I began to feel very faint and weak. Magic does not just do that. It has to be the stone.” She quickly raised her hands out to the left and right of her body, and it was as if a giant wind bursts from her fingertips closing all the curtains in an instant as she once again collapsed on the floor breathing heavily. “Oh!” she exclaimed, holding her chest.

  “Grandmother!” I panicked as I once again helped her to the chair. “Maybe we should wait until you rest.”

  “There is no time. We have to do this now.” With a flick of her hand, the stone came sailing from the kitchen, into the dining room, and landed on the table. “Come, child,” she instructed as steadied herself as we walked out of the hallway into the dining room. “Whatever you do, do not touch it,” she cautioned. “I want to conserve all my energy for this, so I need you to go get a glass vase from the kitchen.”

  “What do we need that for?” I asked.

  “Amelia,” she remarked. Knowing she meant business, I hurried off to the kitchen only to hear what sounded like a sonic boom as my grandmother screamed from the top of her lungs in agony.

  “Grandmother!” I shrieked as I raced to the dining room to find the doors locked. Another boom as she screamed again. “Please let me in! I can help! I can help!” I shouted as I shook the locked door handles. With one last boom and yet another scream from my grandmother, the doors flew open.

  “The deed is done,” she murmured as I rushed to her side to help her to a chair before she collapsed yet again.

  “You told me you needed a vase,” I said as calmly as I could.

  “That was just to get you out of the room. I knew you would not have willingly allowed me to touch it, and I could not risk your life much less your health.”

  “You had to touch it again?!” I hollered as a wide range of emotions surged through my body.

  “Amelia, remember who you are talking to,” she remarked, giving me a look.

  “Sorry,” I responded sheepishly.

  “I had to destroy it at all costs.”

  “What does that mean?” I probed.

  “There is give and take with magic. You pay a price to destroy such an evil thing,” she replied and continued. “It will take time to build my magic back up.”

  “You lost your magic!” I blurted out in a panic.

  “No, no.” she assured me patting my hand. “Think of it like the gasoline tank in Matthew’s vehicle. I am running close to empty. I do not know how much magic I can do for a while. I need time to fill back up, so to speak.”

  “What can I do to help?” I asked.

  “Well, you can open all the curtains,” she suggested with a weak smile.

 
“Grandmother,” I said.

  “You can go get Matthew as I need him to go to Bella Mia for something but open the curtains first so he does not ask questions.”

  “They can wait,” I countered impatiently.

  “Amelia,” she scolded with a stern but weakened voice.

  “All right,” I grumbled as I rushed around the house and then outside to get Matthew.

  “Grandmother needs you,” I informed him trying to hide my concern.

  “Oh, did she say what for?” he asked, climbing down the ladder and putting the equipment down.

  “Umm, she needs you to go the flower shop really quick.”

  “Sure,” he said following me into the house. Upon seeing Grandmother, he rushed to her side.

  “Ms. Matilda, are you all right?” he asked.

  “I am fine, lad. Will you please help me into the sitting room?”

  He gently took her by the hand as he wrapped one arm around her waist. “Watch your step,” he cautioned as he helped her hobble into the room. “What happened?”

  “You need not worry yourself with me,” she assured him.

  “Ms. Matilda,” he responded with a voice full of concern.

  Already having his hand, she squeezed it and looked directly into his eyes. “I am fine, all right? However, I need you to go to your uncle and ask for the tea that he makes for me when I am feeling under the weather. No questions asked, all right?” She let go of his hand as he helped her into the chair by the window. He stood still for a moment as if trying to figure out what had just transpired. “Please hurry,” she urged gently.

  “Oh, yeah, okay. I’ll be back,” he said. Without a second look at me, he rushed for the front door.

  As I heard it slam shut, I proclaimed, “I guess your powers of persuasion are still working,” with a giggle to lighten to the mood.

  “I was not sure if they would, but I had to chance it,” she confessed with a giggle herself.

  “So, what is with the tea?” I probed. “Or were you just trying to get rid of him, too?”

  “His uncle just makes good tea, is all. He knows his plants,” she affirmed. “It will help me feel better, hopefully. Now, no more questions, Amelia, I need to rest,” and with that she closed her eyes as she laid her head back upon the chair.

  “Well, I’m going to do my studies down here with you,” I said and rushed off to get them.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  MATTHEW

  UNCLE BART’S SPECIAL TEA

  I know Ms. Matilda had told me not to worry, but panic began to pulse through my veins again as if a spell had held it at bay for but a moment. I pressed the gas pedal harder, making the engine roar louder. “Come on, you stupid truck!” I exclaimed as I threw the truck into a parking spot and ran to the entrance of the store, almost knocking over Ms. Toggleson and her son, Andrew. “Sorry,” I shouted, as she gave me an ugly look. I burst through the store to find Uncle Bart helping another customer with a floral arrangement.

  “I’m sure you wife will love these,” he said.

  “Yes, I’m sure she will,” agreed the man.

  “Uncle Bart,” I said. “I’ll be with you in a minute, Matthew. That’s my nephew there,” he explained to the man.

  “Oh, hi,” the man acknowledged, turning to shake my hand.

  “Hi,” I murmured as I shook his hand. Will you get out of here? I sulked, but kept my thoughts to myself.

  “Let me ring you up over here,” Uncle Bart instructed as he brushed past me. “That will be $21.50,” he said as the man handed him the money. “Tell Melinda I said hello, and happy anniversary to you both.”

  “All right, I’ll do that,” responded the man as he took the flowers and left the store.

  “I thought that you usually charged more for those,” I noted, forgetting for a moment why I had rushed there.

  “You have to have a heart for people and then business, son. That was Mr. McGregor. He lost his job earlier this month and things have been really tight for them. I tried to persuade him to get something smaller, but he was set on getting those for his wife for their anniversary, so I gave him a ‘discount,’ shall we say. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

  “Huh? Oh, yes. Ms. Matilda isn’t feeling well and needs some of your tea,” I informed him.

  “She does, huh?” he asked as worry flooded his face. “Will you please lock the door and pull down the shade? I’m going to take my lunch now and get you that tea.”

  “All right,” I said, doing what he asked as I quietly followed him into the back and down to the basement. “Make sure you don’t tell a soul what you are about to see,” he demanded as he unlocked the door.

  “Why?”

  “Oh, my competition would be all over me, you know, for my secret,” he remarked, nonchalantly. He opened the door as we walked into the most enchanting greenhouse I had ever seen. Flowers of every kind were everywhere, as far as the eye could see.

  “I guess you put a lot of money into this room. I can see why you wouldn’t want your competition knowing.” “What? Oh yeah I did,” he said. “Now, she will need some of this, and this, and this,” he mumbled, grabbing an array of herbs from the back corner. He rushed out of the greenhouse and proceeded to lock the door as I hurried out behind him. “Time is of the essence,” he proclaimed as we hurried to the kitchen. He quickly filled a pot with water and put it on the stove. He then rinsed the herbs off as the water came to a boil. He set the pot aside to cool as he placed the leaves in a teakettle and poured the hot water over the leaves. “Careful, it’s hot. Don’t let this spill,” he cautioned, handing me the kettle. “Now, it takes about four minutes to steep, but it should be done by the time you get to the Manor. All she will have to do is strain out the leaves. Tell her I hope this helps. Now be on your way, my lad,” he urged, almost pushing me out the door of the store to my truck.

  “Thanks,” I yelled as I threw the truck into reverse and headed for the Manor.

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  AMELIA

  LUNA’S BABIES

  “Where is that Matthew?” I said pacing the sitting room.

  “Amelia, that will not make him get back any faster, dear,” said Grandmother soothingly.

  “I know. I’m just concerned for you. Grandmother, can I ask you something? It’s kind of been bugging me.”

  “Amelia, you know you can talk to me about anything,” she reassured me with a smile.

  “Well, how come you didn’t care if Matthew heard you? I was surprised he didn’t fall off the ladder with how loud that noise was.”

  “Remember, I told you there is an enchantment on the house, and it keeps the sound in,” she reminded me sweetly.

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot,” I confessed and all was quiet for a moment.

  “I’m back,” announced Matthew from the front of the house, bringing me back to reality.

  “It’s about time,” I retorted.

  “Amelia,” scolded Grandmother.

  “Sorry,” I responded as I rushed out of the room to greet Matthew.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked, handing me the kettle.

  “Fine. What do I do with this?” I asked, not being one for drinking tea. “Is it ready for her to drink? Grandmother is the tea drinker in the house,” I said, trying to laugh to lighten the mood, but to no avail.

  Matthew cleared his throat, “I don’t know much about tea, but Uncle Bart explained we just have to strain the leaves out, and it will be ready to drink.” I nodded my head and followed him into the kitchen. “Do you know where your grandmother keeps her … never mind, here it is.” He carefully began to strain the leaves out as delicately as a craftsman at work. It was truly no act. He really did love my grandmother which made me love him even more. I hugged him, catching him off guard. “What was that for?” he smiled.

  “Can’t a girl hug her boyfriend?” I winked and continued, “Thank you for being you. Don’t ever stop.” He stopped what he was doing and hugged me back an
d, for a moment, we just held each other.

  “Well, I guess we need to get this to your grandmother,” he acknowledged, letting me go.

  “Okay, I’ll get her a cup and saucer,” I remarked as I grabbed them, and we walked back to the sitting room and sat with Grandmother as she sipped her tea.

  “Yummy, I can taste honey. This is good,” she said. “Tell your uncle I said thank you.”

  “I will,” promised Matthew.

  “Are you feeling better yet?” we both asked in unison, getting everyone tickled, including Luna who was sitting in Grandmother’s lap—but of course Matthew couldn’t hear anything but meows.

  “Your cat is being talkative again today. Too bad someone doesn’t create a way so that we can understand her,” said Matthew, making Grandmother and I both burst into laughter.

  Matthew shook his head and snorted, “Maybe one day I’ll understand the inside jokes y’all share, but until then, I’ve come to terms with not knowing.” We all chuckled again and spent the rest of the day sharing stories of times past and enjoying the time together. I hoped it wasn’t all in my mind, but Grandmother seemed to be doing better already. Maybe the tea was really working.

  “Well, as much as I hate to cut this short, I really do need to get out there and cleanup for the day before it gets too dark,” said Matthew.

  “All right. I’ll help you.” I chimed in.

  “Good night, Ms. Matilda. Hope you feel better soon,” he said, hugging her, and she just smiled. “Bye, kitty,” he said, rubbing Luna’s head a little too hard again, making her growl.

  “I’d like to rub his head like that and see how he liked it,” she hissed. I had to bite my lip so as not to laugh again.

  We quietly walked, hand in hand, to the front door. “Ladies first,” he insisted smiling.

  “Oh, thank you, kind sir,” I teased with a dramatic, impromptu curtsy, making us both giggle.

  “I really do love my life now,” he divulged as we walked outside to get the ladder and equipment and put them back in the shed. “It would honestly suck without you and your grandmother.” Thoughts began to dance upon my brain that I had laid to rest, and I truly hoped for his sake, even more than my own, that that day would never come. “You okay?” he asked as we closed the big carriage doors of the shed.