Lord Melvedere's Ghost by Rebecca King Page B

ma’am?”
    Cecily
laughed shakily and nodded. “Just my wayward imagination,” she
sighed, eyeing the bedding the maid was carrying.
    “ The master said I could show you around,” Doreen replied with
a smile of satisfaction as they tugged the last of the covers over
the bed once Cecily was dressed. “Seeing as we are upstairs, I will
show you the top floor and then we can work out way down. Melvedere
looks a bit confusing at first glance, but it is really easy to
find your way around once you get your bearings.”
    “ Wonderful,” Cecily replied, glad to be getting out of the room
at last. Although it was a fine, elegant room that was full of
luxurious comfort, she was looking forward to seeing what else
Melvedere had to offer, and meeting the rest of the residents and
staff.
    They
moved rapidly down the rather nondescript upper corridor toward a
small door at the far end.
    “ This takes you up to the tower,” Doreen announced, pushing the
door open and moving into the circular staircase. “It takes you up
to the old servants’ quarters. It is mostly used for storage these
days, and has fallen into a bit of disrepair, but I will show you
up here anyway.”
    Cecily
wandered between the long row of doors on the upper floor,
listening to the winds howling through the eaves. The contrast
between the cob-webbed walls, and peeling paint was stark against
the lavish, brightly decorated guest room she was in. She wondered
why Jamie had never bothered to maintain it properly. It seemed a
shame that so much space, so many rooms, remained barren and
empty.
    It is none of your business really, Cecily reminded herself, closing the door at the far end of
the corridor with a sigh of relief. The air was stuffy and dank,
and held a faint scent of mustiness that made her think of the
stuffed animals on her father’s study wall. With a shiver she
turned away from the upper floor, glad to be able to move away from
it.
    “ We are now at the far end of the second floor, in the west
wing.” Doreen pointed out of the side window. “That is the driveway
you came down last night. The stables are over there and the rose
gardens alongside it. There are mostly guest rooms on this side of
the house, eight of them in total, and the master’s suite of rooms
is on the other side. In the olden days, these rooms were used by
the lady of the house, but they were converted into guest rooms by
the old master before he passed.”
    Cecily
glanced around at the austere elegance. Tiny flowers randomly
dotted the wallpaper giving the room a cheery yet homely feel. The
dark, yet highly polished furniture and bright draperies were
delightful and bespoke of an understated wealth that was welcoming
rather than forbidding.
    Each
room they passed through had a different colour scheme and,
unsurprisingly, each room was called after the colour scheme
within. The blue room, the rose room, the yellow room were all very
much alike except for the colour. Highly polished windows gleamed
in the early afternoon sunshine and gave a clear view of the
emerald greenery that seemed to surround the vast
property.
    Cecily
suddenly longed to be outside, breathing in the gusty winds and
bathing in the glorious sunshine. She didn’t know what it was about
the house but something left her feeling slightly off-kilter.
Although each room was rather nondescript yet elegant, she couldn’t
quite shake of the feeling that she was being watched. As though
someone was expecting something, only she didn’t know what, or
who.
    Shaking
her head at her own wayward imagination, Cecily hurried after
Doreen, oblivious to the long empty corridor behind her and the
growing chill that permeated the still air. She barely glanced at
the door to the master’s suite as they passed. Doreen made no
attempt to show Cecily inside, and Cecily made no request to see
the room, hurrying behind the maid as they descended the huge stone
staircase.
    They
swept through the cavernous hallway, lined from