The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor Read Free Page B

Lucy and me.
    â€œPhyllis, I’d like you to meet Carleigh and Lucy Warner,” Cora-Camille stated.
    â€œNice to know you, Phyllis,” I said, smiling.
    â€œMy pleasure,” she replied in a soft, cultured tone.
    Phyllis was a thin woman, probably in her fifties, with flawless mocha skin and large, expressive black eyes. She had close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair. Her hands moved gracefully as she served the food.
    â€œI don’t know what we’d do without Phyllis. She is the best house manager we could ask for,” Cora-Camille said. “And she’s a great cook, too.” Phyllis smiled at her in reply, then went back into the kitchen.
    â€œPhyllis wasn’t here when you visited, but you might remember her mom,” Evie told me. “Phyllis lived here a long time ago when her mother was the house manager, then she left for college and worked in Charleston for years. When her mom passed away, we were lucky to have Phyllis come back to take her place to help manage the property. Her degree is in hospitality.”
    Ruby, who had been sitting silently all through dinner, nodded. “Phyllis is nice. I do the baking, but she does the rest of the cooking.” She lapsed back into silence.
    â€œAnd Ruby’s baking is delicious, too,” Cora-Camille acknowledged with a smile.
    When dinner was over, Lucy called Brad and told him all about the manor. Then she and Ruby and Cora-Camille went into the drawing room. Lucy had brought three dolls downstairs and the six of them were planning a tea party.
    Evie and I walked slowly through the rooms downstairs. I had already had a look at the drawing room earlier in the day. It needed painting, of course, and the plaster ceiling medallions and cornices needed attention. They appeared to be peeling, but I would have to examine them more closely from the top of a ladder or scaffold. The hardwood floors were scuffed and worn, so those might need to be completely replaced, or at the very least sanded and refinished. The withdrawing room, which was a small room accessed only through the drawing room, needed work, too. The walls, entirely paneled, were in need of refinishing. Many decades ago, the withdrawing room was a private space where gentlemen would gather after a dinner party to smoke, play cards, and imbibe fine spirits while the ladies stayed in the drawing room. Years of cigar and pipe smoke were visible on the withdrawing room walls.
    On the other side of the entry hall were a ballroom and a small sitting room, with the kitchen toward the back of the house. Though the ballroom and sitting room had obviously been magnificent at one time, age and climate conditions had taken their toll. It was hard to identify the true colors of the wallpaper in the ballroom because it had become so dingy and gray. And in the sitting room, the tattered wall coverings even appeared to harbor some mildew. The room smelled musty and unused. Evie confirmed this. “We only use these rooms about once a year,” she said sadly.
    â€œGive me some time, and people will want to use these rooms again,” I told her, smiling.
    Luckily, I found that I had little work to do in the kitchen. Since kitchens were not my specialty, I was glad to learn that the large, open space had recently been updated to make life easier for Phyllis and Ruby. Evie said I might be called upon to add a few cosmetic enhancements in the kitchen, but that was all.
    After we had completed our circuit through the rooms downstairs and I had taken notes on my highest priorities, we went back into the drawing room where Lucy was obviously enjoying being the center of attention.
    â€œTime for bed, sweetie,” I told her.
    â€œI want to play more.”
    â€œNot tonight. You’ve had a long day,” I told her.
    She sighed. “Time for bed, sweeties,” she told her dolls.
    Cora-Camille smiled at her. “We’ll play again tomorrow, okay?”
    Lucy yawned and