Page 10 of The Mad Marchams

Colin opened one of the doors and Mabel was surprised to see a huge water heater. “There are hot towels in the airing cupboard, so if you want a bath before you sleep, go ahead.”

“Airing cupboard.”

He turned to her, a concerned expression on his face. “You sound desperately tired.”

“We don’t have airing cupboards in California, because we have to keep our water heaters in safe places on the ground because of the earthquakes.”

“Makes sense.”

Nothing made sense. She was babbling again. She looked up at the high ceiling, which was white and decorated with an elaborate plaster pattern.

“This doesn’t feel like a farmhouse.”

He came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, his blue gaze steady. “It isn’t a farm. It’s a dower house. I’ll show you around properly in the morning.”

“Okay.” She yawned and covered her mouth. “I’m too tired to argue with you.”

“We were going to have our first argument? Over what?”

“Over…” She stared at him and then yawned again. “The proportions of this room are all wrong.”

“I know.” He cupped her face and gently kissed her before leading her back into the bedroom. “It wasn’t originally built as a bathroom, but a dressing room. I think it was my great grandmother Matilda who had it converted.”

“Okay.”

He helped her out of her hoodie and crouched down to undo her shoes. When she was in her bra and panties, she went back into the strange bathroom to pee and then brushed her teeth. She returned to the bedroom and discovered the bed was high enough off the ground that had to climb into it, which made her feel like the princess and the pea… or was that the princess who had to pee?

She didn’t hear Colin join her as the silence wove its spell and she slept.

Mabel woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing and a beam of light on her face from the partially open drapes. Colin was still sleeping. Moving carefully out of his arms, she went to the bathroom and got dressed in the same clothes she’d worn the day before. Not that she wanted to be wearing them after all that traveling, but she didn’t want to wake Colin until she’d done some exploring.

The stairs creaked as she crept down them, her shoes in her hand, and headed for the door they’d used the night before. Outside was a little cobblestoned courtyard with a high brick wall surrounding it and an arched entrance way. The awful smell came from the right, so she chose to go left and out under the archway. Some kind of flowering plant trailed down over the wall, its bright yellow flowers already attracting the bees.

She put on her shoes and turned in a slow circle, considering where to go next. She glanced up at the house she’d just left and saw it was a fairly substantial size and had a slate roof and mellow red and yellow brick walls.

What had Colin called it? A dower house? She had a vague sense of what that meant from reading historical romances and watching PBS. Curious enough to google the term, she retrieved her phone from her pocket and then winced when she glanced at the screen. She’d forgotten to tell her cell phone provider that she was traveling outside the USA. Would her phone even work? Hard to tell, because apparently there was no reception.

The gravel driveway looped away from her in both directions. There were large trees planted on either side of it and many smaller ones, which looked like replacements. Tucking her cell back in her pocket, she walked on toward a small, grassy rise and came to an abrupt stop.

“Holy shit!” she whispered.

“Mabel!”

She didn’t turn around to face Colin, because her attention was fixed on the fantastic sight in front of her. He stopped beside her, his breathing erratic, and he took her hand.

“What is that?” She pointed accusingly at the massive building nestled in the curve of the hillside.

“That’s Marcham Hall.”

“That’s your house?”

“Good God, no!” He paused. “It’s my father’s house.”

She turned to look at him, and he shrugged. “As I said, I live in the dower house.”

“But—”

“Mabel.” He cupped her face with his hands. “I know this is something of a shock, but, really, it’s just the place I grew up in.”