The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor (24 page)

S
hreds of wallpaper hung in long strips from the walls. In some places the paper had been torn off completely and lay in ribboned heaps on the floor. I let out a cry of dismay.

“What happened? I was just in here and everything looked perfect!”

Phyllis looked around in alarm, then turned and ran to the next cabin. Her face was grim when she emerged.

“No. Don't say it,” I told her.

Together we looked inside the remaining two cabins. The walls had all suffered the same fate.

“I don't understand how this could have happened!” I cried. “I was only in the manor house for a short time!”

“Did you see or hear anything unusual?” Phyllis asked.

“No. It was quiet out here.”

“Maybe we should have a look around,” Phyllis suggested.

“Okay,” I replied miserably. “But I doubt we're going to find anything. Or anyone.”

I was right. We looked around the outsides of the cabins and in the surrounding wooded area, but there was no one to be seen. I groaned. “I'm going to have to repaper those walls. I don't have enough paper, so I'll have to wait until more can be made.”

Phyllis looked at me sympathetically. “I'm sorry this happened, Carleigh. I know I've been the voice of doom about this project, but I think you've done a good job and done it respectfully. I hate to see this.”

“Thanks, Phyllis.”

“I think even Sarah will like it once she sees the care you've put into the job. I don't want her to see it like this, though,” Phyllis said.

“I don't either.”

“I'll keep her away. Don't worry,” Phyllis assured me.

I wondered yet again about Phyllis's odd relationship with the long-dead Sarah.

“Do you mind if I speak frankly?” Phyllis asked.

“Please do.”

“You remember what I told you about that dog of Heath's. You have to admit that bad things continue to happen around here since she came around. To be honest, I don't think they're going to stop until that dog goes away.”

“Please, Phyllis—” I began.

“No,” she interrupted, holding up her hand for silence. “Don't say anything. I know how you feel about my superstitions. But there's some truth to what I've said, isn't there?” She left the cabin and walked toward the manor.

I didn't answer. It was ridiculous that she still felt that way about Addie. Of course things had been difficult at Peppernell Manor since Addie's arrival, but it had nothing to do with her. I wished I could get Phyllis to understand that.

I walked forlornly back to the manor, where I placed a call to the shop where I had ordered the wallpaper for the cabins. The owner was shocked to learn what had happened, and assured me that she would put a rush on the replacement order. It would still take some time, though, so over the next several days I would work on the basement. I dreaded telling Graydon and Vivian and Ruby about the cabins. We spoke at dinner, and they were very concerned about who had vandalized the property. Graydon suggested immediately that I call the police.

But I wasn't ready to involve the police just yet. I was coming to grips with the probable identity of the culprit. I tried calling Heath to talk about it with him, but he was working late in his office and I could tell from his voice that he was feeling overwhelmed. I didn't want to add to his stress.

Certainly it had not been committed by anyone at Peppernell Manor. Graydon and Vivian and Ruby would have to pay for the wallpaper to be replaced, so I was sure it wasn't any of them. It wasn't Phyllis, since she was out cutting flowers when I left the cabins in search of her. It wasn't Heath. It couldn't have been Evie; I was sure she would never have done such a thing. That left someone outside of Peppernell Manor.

That left Brad.

Why would he do something so stupid? Though I didn't want the police involved, I needed to find out why Brad was tormenting me. I planned to pay him a visit at his new apartment the following day and demand payment on the Peppernells' behalf for the replacement wallpaper. I didn't care that the police had warned me to stay away from him; I was going to talk to him.

But by the next day I had lost some of my bravado. I called him and asked him to meet me at a coffee shop near his apartment. He agreed and when we met, the conversation went exactly the way I had assumed it would.

“I have no idea what you're talking about, Carleigh,” he informed me shortly.

“Brad, just stop it. I'm not here to argue about whether you did it. I know you did it. What I want is for you to pay for the replacement wallpaper.”

“That's crazy! I'm not doing it!”

I was fed up and furious with him. “Brad, don't make me go to the police about this.”

“I'm not making you do anything. I'm not paying for something I didn't do.”

I pushed back my chair and turned to leave, but I wheeled around to face him again. “You can't possibly think this bodes well for you seeing Lucy anytime soon,” I told him.

“Maybe I'll go to the police myself and have you arrested for harassment,” he spat.

I left in a rage.

I went to Heath's office, hoping to find him there so he could take a walk with me; I needed to calm down. Luckily he was in.

“What's wrong?” he asked when he saw my harried face.

“I just had a row with Brad. He defaced the slave cabins and now he's denying it and refusing to pay for the wallpaper that has to be replaced,” I answered furiously.

“Okay, let's take it slow,” he said. “What happened?”

I related the story of the previous day's events.

“Why didn't you tell me this last night?”

“You sounded so busy and hassled that I didn't want to bother you with it,” I admitted.

“Anything that happens to you, I want to know about it. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“Now, let's get back to the vandalism. You think Brad did it?”

“Absolutely.”

“Why?”

“Because he's mad at me. He's trying to get back at me for taking Lucy away from him while he's in legal hot water. He's still stalking me!”

“Okay,” Heath said gently. “Have you talked to the police?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Are you going to?”

“I guess I'll have to. Will you go with me?”

“You know I will.”

We went that afternoon. The police said they would look into it. It was a thoroughly unsatisfying response, but it was unfair of me to expect anything else. Of course they couldn't go right out and arrest Brad without looking into the incident first.

“I hate to drag you into this,” I told Heath as we were leaving the police station.

“I'd rather be dragged into it than see you facing it yourself,” he replied, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Want to go to a movie tonight? Maybe it'll help you forget your troubles for a while.”

“I can't go unless it's rated G. I don't want to go anywhere without Lucy until everything is settled with Brad.”

When I had picked up Lucy and returned to Peppernell Manor, Vivian asked me to help Phyllis in the ballroom. The open house was only two days away, and Vivian was both giddy and frenzied by the preparations.

“Carleigh, would you mind taking a break from your work in the basement and helping Phyllis get the floor coverings in place? They're bulky and I want them just right. Phyllis can show you where they go. I would help but I have to run over to the florist to make sure they have everything in order.” Without waiting for an answer, she swept out the front door and hurried to her car, now repaired from the damage she had done to it during the hurricane.

Lucy and I walked into the ballroom where Phyllis was tugging at a rolled-up white carpet.

“Do you need my help with that?” I asked her.

She grunted in reply. I took one end of the carpet and we started unrolling it between the brick edging that snaked through the ballroom. When we finished that roll, I helped her get another one from the corridor between the kitchen and her apartment. We unrolled the second one, then a third and a fourth before all the “snowy walkway” was in place. We worked for a while positioning the carpet exactly between the bricks so no hardwood floor would be visible beneath it, and it looked just right when we were done.

The room was beautiful. Lucy was playing hide-and-seek among the snow-flocked trees and the lights twinkled above our heads. Phyllis had discreetly set up wireless speakers in some of the trees to pipe Christmas music through the huge room.

“Where does all the food go?” I asked her.

“The food will be set up, buffet-style, in the dining room,” she replied. “That way people can enjoy their hors d'oeuvres in the ballroom or in the drawing room or wherever they want to sit.”

“You do this
every
year?” I asked again. It seemed to be an incredible amount of work for one open house.

She smiled. “It's actually fun. It breaks up some of the monotony around here. I love doing the décor for the party. And as I mentioned before, I don't remember the ballroom ever looking this good, so it's actually been easier for me this year than usual. In past years I've had to dress up the walls with garland and wreaths and all kinds of decorations so people didn't notice how bad the rooms looked.”

“You're certainly very good at it.”

“Thank you.”

Lucy came twirling up to us. “When is the party?” she squealed.

Phyllis laughed. “Very soon.”

The next two days flew by in a flurry of activity and preparations. Phyllis and Vivian kept me and Evie busy, and Lucy trailed after me every minute. She didn't get a nap either day, which explained why she was miserable and cranky in the evenings. Graydon was smart enough to stay holed up in his office and Ruby stayed in the kitchen, preparing tray after tray of beautiful sweets. Apparently Vivian had decided to let Ruby cook something for the affair, after all.

The morning of the party dawned gusty and dark. Vivian fretted that the weather would keep people home, but Graydon told her in no uncertain terms that he was sick of hearing about the open house and he hoped no one would show up. She clucked at him and tried everything to keep him quiet; eventually she ordered him back up to his office along with a glass of whiskey to calm his nerves. Phyllis stayed in the kitchen issuing instructions to the assembled staff that had been hired to keep champagne glasses filled, butler around trays of finger foods, clear tables, and generally see to the guests' needs. Ruby, too, stayed in the kitchen, arranging silver trays of bite-size desserts and sending them out one after another in the capable hands of the staff.

She was dressed becomingly in a tea-length pink chiffon frock, with long sashes tied at the back of her waist in a big bow. She had an apron over her dress and looked out of place in the kitchen, but I wondered if she felt more comfortable there than in the ballroom or one of the other rooms with the guests.

Boone had surprised Evie by flying in for the occasion. He showed up in a dark gray suit with a Santa tie. Evie shrieked with delight when she saw him and he caught her and swung her around in his arms while Graydon and Vivian looked on happily. The whiskey had evidently done the trick and Graydon seemed back in his element, greeting guests as they arrived and directing them to the food and drink.

Evie looked marvelous in a dark blue dress with thin straps and a flare at the knees. Her very high heels brought her almost to Boone's chin.

I wore a 1950s-style dark green satin knee-length dress with a wide sash at the waist and puckered skirt. The V-neck accentuated a long strand of costume pearls I wore in a knot. My hair was up in a French twist and I felt dressed up and fancy. But Lucy stole the show in a tiny black-and-red plaid satin dress with white tights and sparkly black shoes.

I waited anxiously for Heath to arrive. When he finally got to the party, I was proud of just how good he looked in his blue suit and red tie. He held my hand and introduced me to many of the family friends who had arrived. I felt like a princess.

Lucy and I made the rounds with Heath and met lots of people. Lucy charmed everyone. Her sweet smile and adorable mannerisms immediately drew people to her. The guests all fawned over her dutifully and she was happy to be the center of attention. I thought more than once of how Cora-Camille and Harlan would have loved the party. I guessed Ruby was thinking the same thing—when she finally made her way out of the kitchen and greeted guests, she looked a little lost and forlorn.

Lucy and I helped ourselves to small plates of food and I took her to one of the benches in the ballroom to enjoy our meal. She was thrilled to be sitting under the snowy trees, pointing out the small birds perched on the branches as she ate. She swung her legs and talked incessantly about the birds and the decorations. She was having a grand time.

It wasn't long before Evie came by looking for us.

“Carleigh, can I borrow Lucy for a while? I've been telling some old family friends all about her and they haven't met her yet. I'll bring her right back.”

I smiled at her and Lucy. “Want to go with Evie?”

“Yes!”

I shooed them away and thought back fondly to our arrival at Peppernell Manor, when Lucy was scared to even go near Evie. They had become great friends.

I sat for a while by myself, enjoying the soft Christmas music playing in the background and the murmur of guests' voices as they enjoyed the company and the delectable food and the festive holiday atmosphere. Heath came over and sat down next to me after several minutes.