by Sweet
"Couldn't we sell it and use the money to help us buy something here?"
"I guess. With the location and the state of the real estate market, it's a long shot to sell right now, though. My mother suggested I hold on to it for at least a few years before trying to sell it." He swiveled in his chair and pressed the power button on his computer monitor. "Here. She said the lawyer was going to email me some information."
He clicked through to his email and downloaded a folder containing several legal documents and a few image files. He promptly double-clicked the image files, and they both gasped softly when the first photo of the house loaded on the screen. It was a large old three story house that was bigger than the small apartment complex they currently lived in. Large oak trees blocked some of the view, but it was clear that this old house was more of a mansion than the simple cottage or farmhouse they'd imagined.
"Maybe we should at least consider moving in," said Bayley, trying to contain her excitement.
"It wouldn't hurt to go take a look at it."
"I'll call Erica and ask if we can borrow her car. They mostly use James' car when they go out, and she's offered it to me before. I'm sure she won't mind under the circumstances."
Shane clicked through the photos. Each room was lavishly appointed with furniture and decorations that looked to be about a hundred years old. They'd want to update several of the pieces, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about trying to furnish such a large house with the meager possessions they currently owned.
"Bayley, this place has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. The kitchen alone is bigger than our entire apartment."
"Erica said we could borrow the car any time. When do you want to go?"
Clicking away from the photos, Shane opened his calendar and scrolled through the next week of deadlines and appointments. "I've got a few days before my next major push. Should we go today? If we leave after lunch, we can be there before it gets dark out."
"I don't see why not. I don't have any assignments right now, so we might as well just go look at it."
Bayley reached over Shane and hit the keyboard combination to tab back to the photos. Clicking through each of the shots depicting the interior, she began to giggle. "I'm sorry, I know you just lost a family member, but this place is incredible! Can you believe it's ours?"
A smile spread across Shane's lips. "It is pretty amazing. I'd be more upset about losing my great-aunt, but honestly, I barely knew she existed, and I can't believe she wanted me to have this place."
"We'd better pack if we're going to leave in a few hours. I'll fix us some lunch and tell Erica we'll be by to pick up the car at one. Does that work for you?"
Shane mumbled a confirmation and scrolled through the photos one last time. Their relationship had been tested on an almost daily basis by their lack of money and the strain of sharing such a small space, and now, for something like this to have happened just seemed too incredible to believe. A knot of excited tension formed in his stomach, and he went to throw some clothes into an overnight bag. This could be the break we both desperately need, he thought to himself as he pulled a few shirts out of his drawer. It could finally be a way to start moving forward instead of barely getting by.
Chapter Four
IT TOOK THEM nearly six hours to drive to the house, and only twenty minutes of that could be blamed on the heavy traffic they experienced as they left the city. Driving mostly on small state highways and passing through successively smaller towns, they eventually reached Cedarglen, population eighty-four. They almost drove past the entrance to the driveway, so overgrown were the hedges that surrounded the old iron gates. Shane got out of the car to push them open so they could proceed.
On the other side of the gates was a gravel road lined with tall trees. Between the sturdy trunks of those trees, they could see flickers of tall grass grown out of control. As they drove, they tried to make out property boundaries by peering at the rough hedge that seemed to surround the grounds. There was no clear indication of exactly where the front lawn ended. The property covered at least a few acres, that much was clear.
The gravel road opened up into a large oval, and Shane pulled up beside the house. It was a little more run-down than the photos had indicated, and some of the windows had been boarded up, but it looked significantly larger now that they were standing in front of it.
"Can you believe this place?" asked Bayley, leaning on the car and staring up at the large double doors at the top of the front stairway.
"It's like something out of an old movie."
"Yeah, a black and white film at that. Do you think it's structurally sound? I mean, I never considered that it might not even be safe to live in."
Shane took the front stairs two at a time and Bayley hurried to follow.
"The appraisal in the paperwork the lawyer sent me indicated that the house was in great shape despite it having a few cosmetic issues." He reached out and twisted the front door handle. Rewarded with a soft click, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Keep an eye out for an envelope. There's supposedly a note in there from my great-aunt. A set of keys should be with it."
Bayley could only nod as she entered the big house and wandered around the entrance hall. Built in the manor house style, it wasn't quite as large as a great billionaire's estate, but it was grander than anything she'd ever imagined living in. It was old and dusty, and desperately needed new wallpaper, but it was a stunning piece of turn-of-the-century architecture. Thick regal drapes hung over windows, large rugs covered a dark hardwood floor, and everything was wood and antique upholstery.
"Oh, Shane, it's wonderful!" Bayley breathed.
She giggled and ran through the entrance way, into the dining room, and then into the back kitchen. The large space was flooded with natural light.
It was Shane who spotted the envelope on the old wooden table that took up a large portion of the room. He took out its contents and began to read.
"My dearest Shane," he read aloud. "I regret that we did not have the sort of relationship I would have liked for us to have, but out of all my relatives, I wanted you and your fiancée to have this house. It is very dear to me, and I've spent the better part of my life living here. I want this place to be filled with love and family, not sold or torn down. I do hope that you and your Bayley will see that it is preserved. It saddens me that I've not been able to know you all these years, but I hope that this small gesture can bring you some happiness."
"It sounds like she really didn't want us to sell it," Bayley said. "I can't say that I blame her.”
"I don't think we should rush into any decisions. Let's spend a few days here," Shane suggested, "And see how we feel about it."
"Okay." She put on her best classy English accent and added, "Shall we take a stroll on the grounds?"
Shane laughed and held out his elbow in invitation. "Too right, my dear lady. Let's."
Arm in arm, they left from the rear of the manse and were surprised to discover a pool and a changing house large enough to be considered a decent-sized upgrade to their apartment. Moving on, they were happy to see that the exterior of the house was in good shape. Very little work would need to be done, and only a few of the many windows needed replacement.
The long grass would need to be cut at some point, but if the garage was as well appointed as the rest of the house, Shane was sure that he'd be able to find a mower or tools to help him do the job himself. He hadn't had to cut lawn grass since he was a kid living in the suburbs, but on a sunny day like today, it was easy to daydream about that sort of thing. It was a pleasant distraction from the demands his work life placed on him. He went into the garage to poke around and see if he might be able to find something he could use to get the yard into shape.
Bayley remained outside, and as she continued her walk around the house, she saw a rope swing hanging from one of the oak trees that surrounded the mansion. The ropes looked like they'd been there for some time, but they seemed sturdy enough
. She sat on the well-worn wooden seat and pushed off the ground gently to set herself swinging. She kicked her shoes off as she went.
Staring at the house, she noticed an odd protrusion on one side of the house's top floor. It was difficult to see from this angle, but it seemed like there was a rounded section of wall jutting out at the intersection of two roof angles. Retrieving her shoes, she walked out past the trees to get a better view of it, and resumed her trip around the house, trying to figure out what that odd shape might be. It really didn't fit into the style or shape of the house, but there was no angle she could view it from that wasn't obstructed by trees or the house itself.
"Strange," she said to herself. "I'm going to figure out what that is. I bet it'd make a perfect writing room."
Determined to find the mysterious round room and to claim it as her own, she set off back to the house to let Shane know that she wholeheartedly supported their moving in. The house was a dream come true, and from everything she'd seen, there was no reason not to take advantage of this amazing gift that had fallen into their lives.
Chapter Five
THE HOUSE HAD been too dusty for them to consider spending the night, so they'd returned to Cedarglen and taken a room at a small bread and breakfast. Over a generous serving of bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast and several different types of homemade jam, they discussed the pros and cons of picking up and moving their lives so far away from everything they knew.
"Sorry, hon. Couldn't help but overhear," said the woman who ran the B&B. "Are you talking about the Chatham place up the road?"
"Yes. It was my great-aunt's place and I've just inherited it," answered Shane.
"Oh, well I can't say as if I knew your great-aunt at all. Don't think many folks around here could claim such a thing, but Cedarglen is a real nice place to live if you're thinking about staying. I know it seems small, but people are friendly, and our school is pretty good for when you have kids. A lot of the surrounding townships bus their kids to school here, and all the cheap land and local wilderness areas keep the good teachers happy. They won't be hieing off to big schools in the city any time soon. There's also great year-round local produce at the market and plenty of farms for meat and poultry. A bunch of it's even organic, if you're into that sort of thing."
"Thanks for the advice," replied Bayley, "But we don't have kids yet."
"No, but a lovely young couple like you will probably want to fill up such a big old home once you settle in there." She winked and nudged some sausage links off her skillet and onto Shane's plate. "Trust me on that one."
"See Shane? It's perfect. I think we should move in right away."
"Well, I guess it's settled then." He raised his coffee mug and offered it out to Bayley as a toast. "Here's to us and our new home!"
She laughed and clinked her mug against his. "So we'll have to call someone to get the electricity switched on up there, I guess."
"And Internet. Something tells me we won't be able to get cable or DSL, so we'll have to set up a satellite connection."
"Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to start exploring. I think I even know exactly which room I want as my office. Promise me you'll give me first pick?"
"Well, I don't know. Which room is it?"
"I wasn't exactly able to find it yesterday, but I saw it from the outside and I think it will be the perfect place for me to work on my novel. You know how I've been longing to have a dedicated writing space, and if this room is what I think it is, it'll be just perfect."
"Okay," he laughed. "You can have whatever room you so desire."
"Great, now let's hit the road. The sooner we can get back to our apartment, the sooner we can pack everything up and get out of there."
* * *
TEN DAYS LATER, they were back in the large mansion, happy to have found the electricity switched on when they arrived. The satellite installation company was due any day, and for a few days at least, they'd be able to enjoy a break from their digital lives. With all the work that needed to be done to get the place up to a livable standard, they'd need the time to clean and prepare a space for each of them to work. It would take months to figure out what to do with all the extra space they wouldn't be using, and it didn't make sense to clean those rooms, so they focused on cleaning out a bedroom, the kitchen, and the hallways that connected them.
Shane had found a room on the first floor that he planned to convert into his office. After cleaning up the shared areas, he began setting up his computer and making room on the bookshelves for his art and design books. The room had previously been a study, so Shane decided to keep the high-backed leather chairs and ornate wooden desk as they were, changing only the chair behind the desk for his more ergonomic work chair. As comfortable as the leather chairs were, they were definitely not designed for long hours spent in front of a computer.
For all the house's antiquated charms, Bayley was excited to find that someone had upgraded the laundry room with a relatively new industrial washer-dryer set. The machines would be overkill in most homes, but with the amount of linens in a house this size, she had to run several loads just to get their bedroom ready to sleep in. With all the windows open, she'd had to run the vacuum through everything several times to deal with the dust that had accumulated in the short time the place had been unoccupied.
Thankfully, Shane was a modern man who didn't expect his woman to do all the housework while he sat around reading and smoking a pipe. After setting up his office, he got to work on the kitchen, scrubbing the floors and sorting out the dishes and cookware.
Bayley popped her head in to check on him and was happy to see him absorbed in scouring the counter, giving her a chance to explore the upper levels of the house. They'd taken only a brief look since moving, in and had decided that it was better to leave most of the rooms untouched while they focused on those they needed to get through their daily lives. Still, she was curious about the round room, and there were a few doors they hadn't yet had time to open.
An hour later, she'd been through every doorway she could find. Some led to bedrooms, others to bathrooms or closets. She'd found a trapdoor in the ceiling that must have led to the attic, but it was on the wrong side of the house. It didn't match up with where she'd seen the round room she was looking for.
The light filtering through the windows grew weaker, and she decided to put off the search for another day. Her stomach was rumbling and she could smell food wafting up from the kitchen. Shane must have finished cleaning and started cooking for them. She went down to help him prepare their dinner.
"So have you found your mysterious writing room?" Shane asked, when she entered the kitchen.
"No." She brought two plates and some cutlery to the table. "It's weird. I swear I saw a round room, like a small tower but now I can't find it anywhere."
"Can't you just figure out where it is from outside?"
"It's really hard to see from most angles. Besides, it's too dark now. I'll try again tomorrow."
"Well, I hope you find it. My new office is incredible. I feel like a millionaire tycoon from the Twenties in there. I'm going to have to spend a small fortune for scotch and bourbon."
Bayley laughed and helped herself from the dish of pasta he'd placed on the table. "Hey now, if you get a liquor allowance, then I get to pick out the new wallpaper. This place could really use a bit of an update."
"Now that's something we can both agree on. As soon as we get some extra money after all the taxes and bills on this place, I say we start making it our own."
"Until the Internet guy gets here, I don't have much of anything to do, so I'm going to take another look around tomorrow. I just know I must have missed a door or something."
"Maybe you need to twist the lion's head on the chimney mantle to unlock the secret passage to your magical room," he said, with a mischievous smile.
"I know you're only joking, but I wouldn't be surprised to find a hidden passageway or two in here. This place is old enough and big enough for
this sort of thing. I'm almost sure the builders did just that."
"You think this house was a stop along the underground railroad, or a bootlegger's mansion?"
"Or just the playground of a wealthy eccentric." She laughed and sipped at her wine. "Seriously though, do you think there could really be hidden passageways in here?"
"I guess time will tell."
Chapter Six
MORNING SUNLIGHT ILLUMINATED the top floor hallway, casting long shadows and shining almost directly into Bayley's eyes as she checked every depression or protrusion for evidence of a switch that would open a hidden doorway. She tugged on light fixtures and ran her fingers along doorframes, looking for a catch or a latch hidden from sight. Reaching the end of the hallway and having found nothing, she sat on the windowsill and stared back down the hall, trying to figure out a new plan of attack.
The round room was on the south side of the house, so from where she sat, it would have to be on the left side of the hallway. It seemed as though it was more in line with the roof of the house than with the third floor, so she deduced that she would need to climb up any entrance if it left from the hallway. Taking this into account, she checked each room, pacing off the distance from the doorway to each wall and comparing that to what she measured in the outside hallway walls.
After checking all four rooms on the south side of the hall, she determined that the wall seemed just a little too thick between two of the rooms. She'd need a measuring tape to be sure, but something about that wall just seemed out of sync with the rest of the house.
Back in the hallway, she ran her hands over the wallpaper, trying to feel for some indication that there was a doorway here. As she looked to the side nearest the window, her face just inches from the wall, she saw the shadow of a slight dimple running up and down the surface of the wallpaper. Tracing it with her fingers she discovered that it formed a perfect rectangle; it exactly matched the shape of the other doors in the hallway.
