The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor (9 page)

I found Phyllis sitting at the kitchen table, wiping her eyes on her apron. Cora-Camille had been her boss, so I wondered if she was worrying about her job as well as mourning her gracious employer. She looked up as I came into the room and stood up to get me whatever I needed. But I told her to stay seated, instead pouring Ruby a glass of sweet tea from a pitcher in the refrigerator and reaching for a muffin from a plate on the table. I told Phyllis I was going up to Ruby's room, but that I would be back downstairs again soon.

I found Ruby lying on her bed, facing away from the door. She appeared to have cried herself to sleep, so I left the tea and muffin on her nightstand and tiptoed out. Sleep was the best thing for her.

When I went back downstairs, Phyllis was still at the table. I motioned to a chair. “Mind if I sit down?”

“Not at all.” Phyllis stared straight ahead for several moments. “I sure am going to miss Cora-Camille. She was such a nice lady.”

I nodded. “I didn't know her well, but I will miss her very much, too. And I know Lucy will be very sad.”

“Poor baby,” Phyllis replied.

“What happens next?”

“I don't know. I guess Graydon and Vivian will make the funeral arrangements and then we move on somehow. I don't even know if they'll want me to continue working here.”

I wanted to offer her some encouragement, but I wasn't sure, either. It sometimes appeared that Vivian was not fond of Phyllis and I didn't know if she would try to talk Graydon into letting Phyllis go. I actually wasn't sure they would want me to stay, either.

We sat in silence for several minutes, then my cell phone rang. It was Evie.

“Daddy and I are coming home,” she informed me, sounding hoarse and exhausted. “How's everyone?”

“Your mother went out for a walk, Phyllis and I are talking here in the kitchen, and Ruby finally fell asleep.”

“I'm worried about Ruby,” Evie confided.

“Me too.”

She sighed. “I called and had to leave messages for both Heath and Harlan. Heath is in court and Harlan wasn't answering his phone. They are going to be devastated.”

I hung up and helped myself to a glass of tea, then went into the dining room to take stock of what I might be able to accomplish in the next few days, with a funeral approaching and the house in upheaval. Even though I had received a text that the wallpaper had arrived at the store earlier than expected, I didn't feel up to hanging wallpaper. That could be a stressful job under the best of circumstances. Cora-Camille had so looked forward to seeing that special wallpaper hung. Hanging it would be both emotionally and logistically difficult. I decided to spend some time out in the garage painting the trim that would hang around the dining room door and windows. It was tedious work, but would keep me busy and my feelings at bay for a while. Besides, I still needed to talk to Graydon about whether he even wanted me to stay and continue the restoration.

Evie and Graydon returned a short while later and trudged into the house, Evie gripping her father's hand. I didn't stop them. They looked worn out. I had seen Vivian returning from her walk earlier, and I hoped that she would let Graydon be alone before she started talking to him about the house or Phyllis or anything else that seemed trivial right now.

After lunch I went upstairs to see Evie. She opened her door to me and held out her arms. I gave her a big hug while she cried softly on my shoulder.

“I can't believe she's gone. I wish we had taken her complaints more seriously,” she lamented. “They were probably the early signs of heart failure and we missed them. And she had a history of heart trouble! We should have been more attentive.”

I didn't know what to say. It was natural for Evie to blame herself. I felt terrible for her, though.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Not right now. What are you going to tell Lucy?”

“I don't know. I suppose I'll tell her that Cora-Camille has gone to heaven and we won't be able to see her for a very long time. I'm not sure what else to tell her.”

Evie was silent.

“I have to go pick her up from school. Do you want to ride into Charleston with me?”

Evie knew I was trying to give her an excuse to get out of the house for a while, and she smiled at me gratefully. “I'd better not. If Heath or Harlan returns my call, I want to be here to talk to them. If I'm in the car, I'll fall apart and I don't want to scare Lucy.”

“Okay. I won't be long.”

I felt a sharp pang of sadness when I picked up Lucy, who was smiling as usual when she climbed into her car seat. She chattered all the way back to Peppernell Manor about all the fun she had at school.

Her first act after getting home from school each afternoon was to go in search of Cora-Camille, so I knew I would have to talk to her before we reached the manor. I parked the car and turned around in my seat to look at her.

“Lucy, when you go inside today Miss Cora is not going to be there.” I paused and swallowed hard. “She has gone to heaven.”

“Heaven?”

“Yes. She has gone to live in heaven, and we will see her again someday. But not for a long time. It is very sad, and we will all miss her.”

She cocked her head and looked at me intently. “Where's heaven?”

“It's a place we can't see.”

“Can we visit?”

“No, I'm afraid not.”

“Will she be home for dinner?”

“No.”

“Will Ruby?”

“Maybe.”

“Is Ruby sad?”

“Yes. Very sad.”

“I want to find Ruby.”

“Okay, we'll try. But she may be asleep right now.”

“I'll be quiet.”

I smiled at her and took her hand and let her lead me into the house and up the staircase to Ruby's room. She knocked softly on Ruby's door. A muffled voice answered. “Who's there?”

“Lucy.”

“Come in.”

Lucy and I pushed the door open slowly and found Ruby sitting up on her bed. Her hair and clothes were unkempt and she looked like she had been sleeping. As if sensing exactly what Ruby needed, Lucy walked over to her and gave her a big hug that lasted a very long time. Ruby stroked Lucy's soft blond curls and closed her eyes. I think having Lucy with her was helpful.

I left them and waited for Lucy in my room. Evie came in to see me.

“Did you talk to your brothers?”

“Yes. They took it just like I thought they would. They'll be over in a little while.”

“I think I'll take Lucy out for dinner tonight. I don't want to intrude while the whole family is here.”

“That's probably a good idea. Not that you aren't welcome to be here, but you'd be uncomfortable. Especially if Heath or Harlan gets emotional.”

I nodded. Lucy came in to get Cottontail to take to Ruby. Evie smiled at her retreating back. “I think it will help having Lucy around. How can anyone act sad when that adorable little girl is smiling?”

A short time later Lucy and I walked out the front door to head into Charleston for dinner. She was excited. It was a rare treat to have dinner at a real restaurant. As we walked toward my car, Heath drove up in front of the house. He got out and looked away, saying as he did so, “Evening, Carleigh and Lucy.”

I looked after him sadly. He had been close to Cora-Camille. This was going to be hard on him.

Lucy and I managed to spend several hours away from the house. When we returned, I hustled her upstairs for a bath and a story before bed. She got into bed with little fuss, almost as if she sensed the air of sadness in the manor. I went downstairs and found Evie in the drawing room with a glass of wine. I poured one for myself.

“How did everything go at dinner?” I asked.

“It was awful, just like I expected. No one said anything and Ruby cried the whole time and wouldn't eat. I am so worried about her. She'll be lost without Gran. Daddy feels a responsibility for Ruby, but he doesn't exactly know what to do around her. And when she cries . . .” She trailed off.

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Not right this minute. I guess we'll need help when it comes time for the funeral and having guests here. Good thing the drawing room walls are done, since there will be a lot of people through here over the next few days.”

Evie was right. Once word got around that Cora-Camille Chadwick-Peppernell had passed away, the visitors started coming in droves. All the ladies brought casseroles, and there was enough food to feed all of Charleston. I wasn't sure what to do with myself during that time. I didn't know whether I should start any new projects or whether Graydon would want to halt the restoration. Luckily, he approached me a couple days after Cora-Camille's death.

“Carleigh,” he said, “I want you to know that even though Mother has passed, we'd like you to continue your work here. She wanted the restoration completed, so we want to honor her memory by continuing the work she wanted done.”

I was relieved. It would have been so sad to leave Peppernell Manor behind with only a portion of the restoration completed.

Lucy and I were staying.

Cora-Camille had chosen to be cremated, so there was a memorial service several days after her passing. Since the service took place on a weekday, Lucy was at school and I didn't have to worry about finding a babysitter for her or explaining what a funeral was.

It was a somber affair, the church filled to overflowing with friends and neighbors and farm employees who had come to say good-bye to Cora-Camille. The family was overwhelmed by the outpouring of grief and love at the funeral.

When I picked up Lucy from school that afternoon, it occurred to me that Brad would be visiting the next day. I had almost forgotten about him. I reminded Lucy that he was coming, and she was very excited to see him.

We were walking into the house when Evie came running down the staircase. Her eyes were wide and worried.

“Carleigh! Thank goodness you're home. I have to talk to you,” she said in a rush.

I turned to Lucy. “Why don't you go see if Phyllis is in the kitchen? Maybe she can fix you a snack.”

“Okay.”

She trotted off and I turned to Evie. “What's going on?”

She took my hand and led me into the drawing room. “You're not going to believe this. The coroner called here today to talk to Daddy and he said that Gran had thallium in her system when she died.”

I looked at her for a moment. She obviously expected me to know what thallium was.

“I've never heard of that. Is it bad?”

“I'd never heard of it either, until today. It's a substance that is poisonous if it's in a high enough dose. And the coroner said it was.” Her voice had risen; she was wringing her hands furiously.

I gasped. “Is that what she died from?”

“No. The coroner said she actually died of heart failure. But he said that the thallium would have killed her very soon.” She started to cry. I held her hand for a moment before continuing, letting her compose herself.

“How did it get into her body?”

“I don't know. Daddy and Mother are at the coroner's office right now trying to get more information.”

“I don't know anything about thallium, but if it's a kind of poison, it seems to me it had to get in through something she ate or drank.”

“But she ate and drank the same things that the rest of us were eating and drinking, and none of us are sick. Oh my gosh, that must be why she's been so sick.” She looked stricken.

“Don't jump to conclusions just yet. We don't know what caused her illness or what caused her heart to fail. Why don't we wait and see what your mom and dad find out from the coroner?”

She agreed and went upstairs again while I went looking for Lucy. She was laughing with Phyllis in the kitchen. It was amazing that she, without even knowing it, had the power to make people smile even in the midst of their sadness.

She and I were playing a game in the drawing room when Graydon and Vivian came home. Graydon went straight upstairs without a word and Vivian stood in the drawing room doorway, wiping her eyes with the corner of a hankie.

“Carleigh, I'm sure Evie is going to want to talk to you. We found out some rather unsettling information at our appointment this afternoon.”

Vivian's words sent a chill up my spine. Looking at her, I inclined my head slightly toward Lucy to indicate that I couldn't discuss anything with my little girl around. Vivian nodded, saying, “I'm sure you and Evie can talk later on this evening.”

Dinner was quiet. Both Heath and Harlan were there, but they didn't say much. Evie chatted quietly with Lucy. Ruby still did not feel like eating and declined to join us, despite Evie's pleas. Neither Graydon nor Vivian ate much, and I found myself becoming anxious to talk to Evie about her parents' meeting with the coroner earlier in the day.

After dinner Lucy and I packed a backpack with a few books and games that she had chosen to take with her to see Brad. She was going to take the backpack to school with her in the morning. After a bath and a book, she fell asleep quickly and I went downstairs where I knew I would find Evie in the drawing room. She greeted me with:

“You won't believe what Mother and Daddy found out.”

“What?”

“The coroner said that Gran was being poisoned.” Her tears started to fall again and she swallowed hard. “I can't believe it! They weighed her ashes and found thallium in an amount higher than what should have been there.”

“What does thallium do?”