EVEN THOUGH it was autumn, the rain was pouring down as if it was one of those summer storms back in the city. The road here wasn’t even made out of pavement, but some sort of gravel that stuck to the tires of the car and bounced Stacey around. Her nose was pressed against the passenger side window, as if she could make anything out.
“You alright?” Charlie asked next to her as he slowly rounded a corner.
Stacey cleared her throat. “Nervous.”
“You’ll be fine. It’ll be me that Dad will be flipping his shit over, not you.”
He sounded confident, which made sense since it was his father after all. Even so, Stacey couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding that was hanging over her. The storm only made her anxiety worse.
“I’m sure you’re right,” she finally replied, glancing over at him.
The sudden movement made her ring flicker up at her in the dim light. Stacey still wasn’t used to seeing it. She wasn’t used to what it represented either. She was engaged to Charlie. It had been two weeks since their engagement, but it still didn’t feel as if it had truly sunk in.
The night that he had decorated the greenhouse and proposed felt like a dream. She clung to the memory now to help her with her nerves. Sure, she had only heard horror stories about Charlie’s family. But he was here and would have her back. She had nothing to fear.
“Anyway, just let me handle most of the talking. Dad will be grumpy, but he’s always grumpy. He’s been that way ever since Mom died,” Charlie joked.
His mother. She was one person Charlie had spoken about at length the past couple of weeks. Stacey had never asked him about his mother, mostly because she always sensed that he hadn’t wanted to talk about her.
When he finally did, he told her how she had gotten very sick and died when Charlie was eight years old. Eric, his brother, could hardly recall her.
“Dad changed when that happened,” Charlie said to her. “It was as if she was the only driving force of good in him. He had always been able to juggle the company and family, but after Mom died… there was no family anymore. Just the company. Always the company.”
The words stuck in her head now as they turned onto a larger road. Charlie’s father was at their vacation home although it was so far out of state and in the country that it wasn’t what Stacey pictured when she heard the term. They had been driving for two hours since leaving the airport.
“We’re almost there,” Charlie said as if reading her mind. “Rain slowed us down a lot.”
“Didn’t know it rained like this out here.”
“Probably just because my dad is in the area.” At seeing her face, he cleared his throat. “That was a joke. Sorry. I’m making you more nervous, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but I get it. Joking to cope.” Stacey smiled weakly.
“One way of putting it,” he replied grimly.
Through the front window of the car, Stacey saw it. It was as if it appeared out of nowhere, conjured up by Charlie’s joke. Through each wipe of the windshield, she could see a magnificent house before them. It looked more like a manor than just a house.
“Wow,” Stacey breathed. “This looks like something I’d picture out of an old novel or something.”
“It isn’t haunted,” Charlie replied, and she looked at him. “What? Don’t those old books always have ghosts around the manors? Or the moors. Or something.”
“Did you sleep through your fancy English literature class back in college?” she quipped.
Charlie laughed. “Well, it still isn’t haunted. Dad just isn’t one for being subtle in any occasion. He had this place built after Mom died. Wanted it to look as if it could be dropped down in Scotland and fit right in.”
“Well, it definitely looks like that.”
They drove through the open iron gates. In the front of the house was a fountain that Stacey could just barely make out through the storm. She looked up to try to see the top of the house. It was decorated with what looked to be gargoyles which only added to the creepy vibe of the place.
Charlie drove around the circular gravel driveway and stopped in front of the manor. The heavy oak doors opened up and two men stepped out. The taller man was holding an umbrella. Together, they walked over to them. One of them opened the back doors of the car and began removing luggage. The other came over to the passenger door and opened it.
“Peter!” Charlie exclaimed, leaning over. “How are you?”
“Good, sir. I’ve brought an umbrella to escort your fiancée to the front door. Then I can come back to fetch you.”
“I’ll catch up with you,” Charlie said to Stacey.
She nodded and clutched her purse, feeling oddly nervous. She stepped out of the car and was staring at Peter. He was an older-looking man. His hair had gone completely grey and he was slightly hunched over. She reached for the umbrella, but he shook his head once and then turned around to lead her to the front door.
Stacey hurried after him, not wanting to get wet. At the front doors, he ushered her inside. A quick glance showed that the other man was behind her, holding all their luggage. The rain didn’t seem to affect him at all. Even so, she felt badly for him.
The door closed behind her and Stacey looked around. They were in what seemed to be an entrance hallway. There was nothing modern about this place. Everything looked old-fashioned as if from an old horror movie set. The hallway was narrow, and the floors were made of hard wood. There was a staircase next to her. Not even one of those spiraling staircases she had been seeing so often lately but a cramped one that reminded her a little of the one on Tony’s yacht.
The walls were decorated with paintings, mostly landscapes. The place smelled faintly of mothballs. This was not what Stacey had been expecting. This looked like a place someone who came from old money would live in, not a place that someone would intentionally build.
The front door opened again and Charlie came in. He was soaking wet and holding some of the luggage.
“Sir, I was going to come back for you,” Peter said.
“I’m fine, thanks. I didn’t want to leave Warren with all the luggage,” Charlie replied.
Warren, who looked even older than Peter, smiled a toothy grin. “I’ll dry these off and bring them to your rooms.”
“Thanks. Wait, uh, rooms?” Charlie asked.
Warren’s eyes flicked over to Peter, who spoke up, “Yes, sir. Master Terrence has requested you two sleep in separate rooms since you are not married. It would be improper.”
I really have stumbled into some sort of time machine, haven’t I? Stacey thought glumly. She looked over at Charlie to see if he was going to say anything. He had said before arriving here that he was going to have to pick his battles, especially with his news. Separate rooms would be weird, but it didn’t seem like something to kick a fuss over.
Charlie’s lips pressed together in a thin line but he nodded his head in agreement. Stacey relaxed a little. Better not to start things off with a fight about bedrooms. Peter moved past Stacey and began to walk up the stairs.
“This way, please,” he said to the two of them without looking back.
Stacey shot Charlie a look but all he did was wiggle his eyebrows in an attempt to make her laugh. They walked up the staircase. The first floor had the same décor as the one below. Paintings along the walls. A carpet that was full of dull colors. The windows were opened, showing the pouring rain outside. All the doors were closed. They stopped at one near the end of the hallway.
“This is your room, sir,” Peter said to Charlie, opening it for him.
Stacey peered inside. It was a large room with its own bathroom. The bed was huge and could have easily fit the two of them. There was a couch and a bookshelf on the other wall with a table in front of it.
“Warren will bring your bags up once they’re cleaned off, sir.”
“Great, thanks. Stacey is going to be next to me?” Charlie asked.
“No, sir. Master Terrence has put Stacey on the fifth floor.”
“The fifth floor?” Charlie and Stacey exclaimed in unison.
Peter’s face didn’t change. All he did was nod. She glanced over at Charlie who looked as if he was about to open his mouth and tell Peter off. Stacey rested her hand on his arm.
“It’s fine. It’s just a big house, right? Not the end of the world to be on the fifth floor.”
“The fifth floor is reserved for guests, ma’am, while these rooms are for family. Nothing personal,” Peter said to her.
“Of course. Not a problem. I’ll see you later.” She directed this to Charlie who still looked furious but nodded in reply.
Stacey followed Peter down the hallway. It wasn’t that she liked being shoved up to the fifth floor. It was more that she knew Charlie’s announcement of leaving the company was going to go off like an atom bomb. She didn’t want him to lose his patience early over small things like this.
They went up the flights of stairs to Stacey’s guest room. When they stepped into this hallway, Stacey found it hard to believe that it was just for guests. Since it was closest to the roof, it was more cramped than the other hallways. Some of the doors here were open, showing off small rooms filled with mostly clutter. At the end of the hallway was a window that overlooked the gardens. A closet was next to it filled with supplies.
It was the door next to the supply closet that Peter unlocked. The fact it could be locked from the outside was alarming. He opened the door.
“Here you are, ma’am. Master Terrence will see you at dinner. Thank you.”
Before she could ask anything, he turned and walked down the hallway. Stacey watched him go and then looked at her own room.
It was a pale comparison to Charlie’s room. The room was slanted due to the roof and was cramped. There was a twin bed shoved against the wall and a dresser in the other corner. A rug had been tossed down onto the floor. That was it. Stacey wasn’t even sure where the bathroom was on this floor.
She went over and gingerly sat at the edge of the bed which squeaked. It was obvious what Charlie’s father meant by this. Putting her up on the fifth floor meant she didn’t matter. Putting her in what was basically a broom closet said that he had already made up his mind about her.
“Great,” she mumbled to herself.