LITMIR.BIZ

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closing off the view to the dank fourth floor.

      We stepped out of the metal box.

      “After you’re rested, we’ll venture out to the grounds. It’s actually well-lit in the evening and quite beautiful.” Thomas escorted me to a set of white French doors with glass panes overlooking the vestibule and grand entrance.

      “The entrance to the house.” I might not get lost if I stayed on the first and second floors.

      “Here are your rooms. First door on the left at the top of the stairs. Not hard to find.” Looking pleased with himself, Thomas stepped back and clasped his hands at the hem of his suit jacket.

      I turned and stopped cold. I dropped my arm from his and held onto the doorframe for support.

      We’d stopped in front of a Queen’s quarters.

      I’d walked through bedrooms of grandly furnished houses on tours in school, but the thought of resting my head on a pillow in one of them…no way.

      “This was Ava’s favorite place in the house. Under her express instructions, you are to stay here. She said you’d grow to love the room.” Thomas adjusted his collar and looked both ways down the hall.

      “This is too much.” Just one night spent here would be a dream come true. I was afraid if I stepped in, the whole scene would fall away, and I’d wake up.

      The feminine curtains and bedcovering contrasted the dark, masculine furniture. Beautiful, yet melancholy.

      “Ava prided herself in being a great judge of character, God rest her soul.” Thomas bowed his head.

      Beautiful images of trees were carved into the four posters of the bed, and the satin bed covers were softer than the one silk scarf my mama owned.

      Four windows filled the opposing wall, spanning from floor to ceiling. Silver sashes scooped back white satin drapes, giving a commanding view of the property.

      Ten-inch crown molding bordered silver and white papered walls. A huge, darkly masculine four-poster bed covered in matching white satin blankets and pillows spanned the north wall.

      The bathroom was almost the same size as the bedroom with a walk-in closet overwhelmed with clothes. One of the black wrought iron wall decorations probably cost more than every piece of furniture in my apartment.

      “This room held special sentiment to the original owners. No one has slept here for over one hundred years.” Staying just outside the threshold, Thomas’s eyes were glued on the carpet.

      “She could have chosen any other room for me.” I turned to Thomas.

      He looked through the windows behind me. “What Ava wants, Ava gets.”

      Weird. She was dead, and they were still scared of her.

      The living quarters, other than modernized bathroom fixtures, were perfectly preserved in their original elegance.

      The mattress was so soft it had to be full of real feathers. “Whose room was it originally?”

      “The honeymoon suite of a young couple in 1879.” His smile fell, and his jaw went slack with a look of dismay. His pocket watch stole his attention. He huffed.

      A strikingly pretty female in a ridiculous black and white maid uniform rushed Thomas from the staircase. She pressed a tendril of pale blond hair behind a perfectly shaped ear and clasped her hands behind her back. Giving me a quick curtsy, she avoided eye contact with Thomas. “First of all, don’t freak out. I told Cole, and that’s the first thing he did, freak out. Of course, you know he’s going to freak out. That’s his reaction to everything.”

      “Kaitlyn, Allie Knowles. Miss Knowles, Kaitlyn, one of the housekeepers.” He regarded Kaitlyn with dark eyes. “What seems to be the problem, my dear?”

      “It seems we’ve…” The girl’s face pinched up, and she looked to the floor. “I cannot believe I’m saying this.”

      “What did you do?” Thomas leaned closer.

      “Not everything that goes wrong around here is my doing. Either way, it appears…” She paused. “We’ve lost the casket.”

      “Lost the—” Thomas’s face reddened, but he composed himself. “How do you lose a casket?”

      “It was in the parlor near the living room. You know, where the wake was being held.” She made eye contact with Thomas, wincing, waiting.

      “And?” His face went from red to purple.

      “And now it’s not?”

      Kaitlyn bit her bottom lip, staring at an interesting place on the carpet.

      “With all due respect, in the future, please speak with me about these matters in private. It’s terribly inappropriate to burden Miss Knowles with such morbid occurrences.” Thomas shook his head disdainfully. “Please excuse me. These tyrants need to put a leash on their kids. One of them must have rolled it—her—out of the parlor.”

      “Because that’s a good explanation. It doesn’t explain why the chairs weren’t moved to make way for it to be rolled through.” She followed behind Thomas who waddled down the hall.

      I leaned against the wrought iron banister.

      Down stairs, Kaitlyn and Thomas headed into a room Thomas hadn’t taken me into. Probably where the body was supposed to be.

      A few children ran through the vestibule, giggling and throwing dirt clods at one another. Any one of them could have rolled the casket into another room and moved the chairs back as a prank.

      Resolving to take a shower, and possibly get in a quick nap, I turned back to my ridiculously huge set of rooms. A happy couple in an embrace standing on freshly polished hardwood floors beside the large four-poster bed faded before my eyes.

      True love.

      It either existed in dreams or lived in times before I was born.

      Forgetting the story, I stepped into the bathroom. Mirrors formed the walls reflecting my flushed olive-toned cheeks. Despite the flowerbed ordeal, ghostly visions, and the lost dead body, my eyes sparkled. A week ago, I would have thrown my head back and horse-laughed if someone had told me I’d board a plane or ever spend the night in a house like this.

      Hot, steamy water in the huge clawfoot tub soaked away the day’s exhaustion.

      * * * *

      Scrubbed up and refreshed, I wrapped a blanket-sized white towel around me and rifled through my scant luggage. My spirits drooped. I had the wardrobe of a bum compared to my elegant jewel-ensconced surroundings. A pair of khaki capris and a creamy yellow sleeveless shirt were the best casual I had, so they had to do. I tossed them out of the suitcase and dried off.

      I called Mama.

      “Tell me everything. What’s it like? Is the house big? Are the people being nice to you? Did you make it through the plane ride okay? I mean, that was your first plane ride. I should have warned you that they can be bumpy.” Before Mama stopped talking, I’d forgotten her first question.

      “I’m fine, Mama. It was a short plane ride. And the head groundskeeper, Thomas Warren, has been wonderful. I did just get here, though.”

      “Well, good. I was worried you’d be all by yourself. So, have you found out why they asked you there?”

      “Not enough to matter. So far, I’ve been on a tour of a ridiculously huge old house. It’s like a museum. Slightly smaller than the Biltmore Estate, but not much.”

      “Oh, honey. You love houses like that.” Mama sighed happily. “At least if it is a mistake, it will be a nice vacation. You earned it.”

      “Yeah.” I paused. “Well, let me call you back after I find out more. Thomas expects me downstairs soon for an outside tour.”

      “Don’t

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