Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition)) (2 page)

“Oh yeah, Emma has been following your
career for a few years now. You have her to thank, she was the one
who suggested you get the role in the film. She told the execs you
have talent, they listened, and here you are.” Daniel replied
matter-of-factly.

Daniel Davenport was 5’9”,
had short brown hair and crystal blue eyes. He had just celebrated
his 21
^st
birthday and had a genuine quality about him. He was truly a
friendly person, just like the driver had described the family. It
was easy to see beyond the familiar, celebrity face and just see a
kid who was dealt a tricky hand in life. Born into more wealth than
one could imagine only to have most of his family taken from him
during the peak of his career as a teen. But, his smile was still
true and bright.

“Emma will be back in a while, she had
to take a drive into Barrington, about 20 minutes from here. But,
Zachariah is here, you can meet him. Hey ZACH!” Daniel shouted so
loud it bounced off the cathedral-high walls.

Gracefully bounding down
the grand staircase was Zachariah Dancy, another Hollywood fixture.
He was better looking in person than he was on the big
screen—neatly-cut, golden brown hair and hazel eyes. His 6’1”
stature almost matched Todd’s, but his face and body were flawless.
Not in a “pretty boy” kind of way, but instead perfectly sculpted.
He had several films under his belt in just a few short years. He
was the added to the
Ticking Through
Time
flicks in the third installment,
which made him an overnight success. He was known in the tabloids
to be best friends with Daniel as well. He had boyish good looks
combined with an adult handsomeness that appealed to girls and
women of all ages.

He kept his hands in his jean pockets
and gave a quick nod to Todd, “Good to meet you.” His smile wasn’t
as big and welcoming as Daniel’s was, rather it was shy and perhaps
guarded.

Zachariah helped pick up Todd’s
luggage and they followed Daniel up the grand staircase, which went
up the center and then split to the left and right. They climbed up
the left side and walked down what seemed to be a never-ending
corridor. Todd recognized the interior as it had been used in a
ghostly horror film about ten years back. The walls were adorned
with paintings and photos, mostly of people who he assumed were
Davenport ancestors. Passing door after door down the grand
hallway, Todd noticed that each one had a cast member’s picture
hanging next to them.

“You’ll see that we hung a cast
member’s picture next to each of the doors,” Daniel pointed out.
“This hallway can get pretty confusing when you’re trying to find
someone, so this makes it a bit easier.”

“What about those that have the giant
portraits above them?” Todd asked, noticing there were a few
scattered about with beautifully painted portraits.

“Oh, there are four of those. Those
are the bedrooms of the original Davenports, the ones who built the
house. We are nothing, if not traditional here. We were always
taught to honor and respect our ancestors before us.”

Daniel would occasionally point out
who was staying in particular rooms. They stopped in front of a
door that had Todd’s most recent headshot hanging next to it. Todd
noticed that it had one of the Davenport portraits hanging above
it.

“Welcome!” Daniel boasted with a smile
as he opened the door with grandeur. “Emma wanted to make sure you
got one of the best rooms. Big bed, nice furnishings, not too
haunted…”

Todd gave him a sideways
look.

“Just kidding,” he said with a sly
wink. “Actually, this one once belonged to Elizabeth Davenport, one
of the daughters of William, the founder. That’s her portrait
hanging above the door.”

“This is amazing,” Todd said with awe
in his voice as he set down his bags. He walked around the room,
checking out all the furnishings and décor. Upon the wall was a
painting of a girl that looked to be a young teenager. She was
mounted on an elegantly decorated white horse.

“That’s Elizabeth,” Daniel said as he
came to stand next to Todd. “She’s my sixth-great aunt. Her
brother, Christopher, was my sixth-great grandfather.”

The bedroom had a four-post bed,
dressers, a bureau, antique furniture, and structural
embellishments. A chaise lounge was near the over-sized window that
overlooked a small field that led to the forest. He saw a pathway
leading in that lead out the back to another field.

“Growing up in this house had to be
awesome, a kid could get lost in here!”

Daniel laughed, “It was great. My
sister and I used to play hide-and-seek and it would be the longest
game ever; so many places to hide! We used to rollerblade down the
hallways and our parents would get so mad!”

Todd gave him a sly grin, “So, do you
still rollerblade through the halls?”

Zachariah heartily
laughed, “When
don’t
we rollerblade through the halls?” Todd jumped, Zachariah had
swooped in to the room so quietly with his baggage, he didn’t even
know he was there.

Daniel added, “We tend to race when we
have nothing better to do. So, if you don’t have blades we could
always go into town and pick up some.”

“Hello!?” A woman’s voice echoed from
downstairs. “Dan, Zach, are you guys here?”

“That’s Emma,” Daniel told Todd. “Come
on, she’s dying to meet you. She’s probably your biggest
fan!”

Zachariah swiftly led the way out of
the bedroom and back downstairs to where Emma waited. Todd took one
look at her and felt his stomach go into a flip flop. She was
stunning by every definition of the word. She had raven hair down
to her waist, emerald green eyes, and curvy in all the right
places. She was wearing a fitted, purple cashmere sweater and tight
jeans that were tucked into her knee-high boots. Her porcelain skin
was contrasted by blood red lips and a million-watt smile. Emma
Davenport took Todd’s breath away the moment he saw her. He could
easily forget about his heartbreak back home while living under the
same roof as this beauty.

“Hey there! I’m so glad to meet you
Todd, I’m such a huge fan of yours!” she said with a grin and
reached up to him for a hug. “I have to say I’m a bit star-struck
right now!”

The electricity he felt with such
immediate close contact sent a surge of tingling straight up his
spine. He hugged her back tightly and lightly rubbed her back,
savoring the touch of her. She smelled of Burberry perfume and he
inhaled it as discreetly as he could.

During their introductions and small
talk, Todd noticed that the glare he was receiving from Zachariah
was less-than-friendly. It wasn’t entirely hostile, but almost as
if he was sending out a warning. Perhaps he was just as smitten
with Emma and was jealous that she was a fan? Todd couldn’t be sure
of what Zachariah’s problem was. He wasn’t big on confrontations,
so he decided to just ignore the negative vibes rolling off of him
and still try to be cordial. He didn’t want tension since they were
going to be living and working in such close proximity for the next
three months.

“You must be exhausted after your
flight,” Emma said. “I know it’ll take a day or two to adjust to
the time difference.”

“Yeah,” Todd replied while looking at
his watch. “It’s 6:00 here, so it must be midnight back home. I
think I’ll have dinner and then hit the sack early. Is that lame or
what?” He laughed.

“Totally understandable,” Emma agreed.
“In the morning, if you like, I can take you on a tour of the
property since you have a few more days until you start filming.
Now might be the only chance before you all get busy.”

“I’d really like that! I’m still in
utter amazement that I’m actually here,” he exclaimed while raising
his arms wide. “I also saw the Chicago skyline while descending—on
one of my days off from filming I’d really like to go
downtown.”

“
We can definitely make
that happen for you. I love going downtown! We’ll give you the full
Chicago experience while you’re here. I suggest we go during
Christmas-time, they decorate the windows at Macy’s a different
theme every year. They’re really awesome to see.”

Zachariah spoke up, “We should all go
to the Christkindlmarket. I have always enjoyed that.”

Todd asked, “What’s the
Christkindlmarket?”

Zachariah replied, “It’s this big,
outdoor market that is all German fare. They also have the Chicago
tree lighting ceremony there. It’s right by Macy’s, so we could all
make an evening out of it.”

This was all up Todd’s alley, he
didn’t know how he was going to wait two more months until December
to do all of it.

“
So, will I see you at
dinner?” he asked Emma, hoping he would get a chance to get to know
her better as soon as possible.

“Probably not, but Daniel will be
there and some of the cast and crew that have already arrived. Your
bedroom is right across from mine, so come knock on my door when
you get up in the morning, okay? You go ahead and get yourself
settled for now.”

Todd nodded, feeling a tad
disappointed that she wouldn’t be there. He gave her arm a quick
touch before parting ways for the evening, stealing a chance for
physical contact once again. Zachariah gave a slight bow of his
head and he had seemed to relax a bit as he joined Emma into the
grand parlor across from the foyer.

Todd slowly climbed the staircase,
taking in the beauty and intricate details of his surroundings. He
still couldn’t believe his luck that he was here. Daniel’s sister
was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever laid eyes on and as
his fortune would have it, she was a fan.

Chapter 2

The next morning Todd woke up at 8:00
and realized he had slept for 12 hours. He climbed out of bed and
scuttled into the bathroom that was attached to his room. The
bathroom was about as big as his living room back home. It was
adorned with intricate accents, a large, clawfoot tub with a
shower, and fresh flowers. He stepped into the shower to freshen
up; he wanted to look his very best for his personal tour of the
property with Emma.

He took one final look in the mirror,
fixed his hair, splashed on some cologne, and made his way across
the hallway to her bedroom door. He lightly knocked on it, hoping
it wasn’t too early in the morning. The door opened and she was
just as ready as he was.

“Well, good morning, handsome!” She
said brightly.

“Good morning,” he replied with a
surprised smile. “Have you had breakfast? I haven’t eaten yet, so I
figured we could go down and have a quick bite.”

She chuckled to herself as if she
heard an inside joke and said, “I’m good. But, why don’t you go and
get something to eat and meet me in the grand parlor in a half an
hour. Sound good?”

Todd headed downstairs and Emma turned
back into her room and closed the door behind her. She looked at
Zachariah who was kicked back on the chaise lounge by the window
reading through his script.

“You’re leading him on, you know. I
think everyone in the house heard his heart pounding when he met
you,” Zachariah said as he set the script on his lap and looked up
at her.

“I know, I don’t mean to though,” she
replied with a hint of regret in her voice. “He’s good looking; he
caught my eye when I saw him in his first film. Okay…yes…I guess I
have a little crush on him, but you know that’s as far as it can
and will ever go.”

“How much are you going to tell him
about the property’s history?”

“Need to know basis only, of course,”
she said as she spritzed on some Burberry perfume, her signature
scent.

“I don’t know why you use that stuff,
it’s so strong,” he laughed while scrunching his nose.

“
Oh, Mr. Sensitive Nose,
everything is too strong for you!”

He stood up, sauntered over to her,
slid his hands around her waist, and pulled her close to him. “You
don’t need perfume, you smell sweet enough without it,” he said
quietly. He gently sniffed her cheek and snuck a kiss on her lips.
“Just be careful,” he added as he backed away to let her
go.

“
It’ll be fine, don’t
worry,” she replied and gave him one more quick kiss before walking
out of the room.

Hopping down the grand staircase with
a kick in her step, she headed into the grand parlor where Todd was
already waiting.

With a smile she said, “All set? I’m
going to take you around the interior first, is that
cool?”

“
Absolutely!” Todd
couldn’t wait to start exploring the Manor with Emma.

“
Well, this is the grand
parlor, which is basically our living room. If you ever want to
watch TV or relax, make yourself at home here.”

The grand parlor had several couches,
chairs, and chaise lounges throughout the area. There was a
flatscreen TV on the interior wall and a surround sound system
throughout the room. A large fireplace was in the center of the
exterior wall that was so big Todd could have stood up straight
inside it.

“
This fireplace is so big
because back when the house was built it was their only means of
heat in the winter. Luckily, the house has been upgraded to central
heat and cooling, so you don’t have to worry about being chilly at
night! We also have movie nights in here where everyone will come
down with blankets, pillows, and just sprawl all over the
room.”