Eldritch Manor Read Online Free PDF Page B

the big leather chairs, her feet dangling. Horace pulled a volume from a shelf and flipped through the pages. He showed her a diagram of the same plant. “Gossiping hibiscus. Very rare.”
    â€œWhy is it called that?”
    Horace smiled. “Plants have all the patience in the world. The only thing they have to worry about is growing. This one, however, listens. It knows all our secrets and one day it might just tell all!”
    Willa was staring at him. “But plants can’t talk.”
    â€œIt called you in here, didn’t it? You heard it.”
    He replaced the book as Willa thought about the tapping leaves. And the other odd things in the house.
    â€œCan you tell me about the brownie?”
    â€œWhat do you want to know?”
    â€œI still don’t know why he left. And is he really a brownie?”
    Horace leaned on one elbow. “He certainly is. Brownies are very hard workers. That little fellow kept this whole place together. Worked day and night. Never complained and never took a day off. But brownies are also very secretive. If you try to see one, they pack up and leave forever.” He snapped his fingers. “And you’re left to wash your dishes yourself.”
    Willa thought this over. “When Miss Trang got so angry ...”
    Horace stopped her. “Willa, surely you’ve noticed there are some rather ... odd things about this place. Miss Trang is very worried about people out there finding out about us. She just wants to keep outsiders out. When she became so angry with you, she wanted to scare you into staying away.”
    â€œSo she wouldn’t really have hurt me?”
    Horace sighed. “Well, I can’t say that for sure. Miss Trang is full of surprises. None of us are entirely sure what it’s capable of.”
    â€œ It? ”
    Horace smiled. “I meant ‘she,’ of course. Now maybe you’d better scoot out of here before she gets back, hmm?”
    Willa nodded.
    On her way back down the hall she paused at the bathroom door. Belle loved her two- and three-hour baths, but it sure was a pain to mop up all the water she left on the floor. Willa had no idea how Belle managed to climb from the tub into her wheelchair on her own. She tapped gently on the door.
    â€œBelle? Are you going to be much longer? I need to clean in there.” No answer. “Do you need any help? Belle?” She put her ear to the door and to her horror heard a faint gurgling sound. Dropping the watering can she jerked the door open, but it caught on the chain. Through the crack she saw Belle sit up in the tub with a splash, hissing at her angrily: “GET OUT!!”
    â€œSorry!” Willa quickly retreated. She leaned against the closed door for a moment and shut her eyes. The scene flashed through her mind ... the silvery hair, the shiny white skin ... the green scales, the fins.
    Belle was a mermaid.

Chapter Four
    A weekend of worries and a very, very strange dinner
    W illa finished up her work in the kitchen, trembling and anxious. Above her she heard Belle roll out of the bathroom and down the hall into her room, slamming the door behind her. Willa left for home soon after, ducking out before Miss Trang came home. It was Friday, so she had all weekend to fret and worry. Would Belle tell on her? Willa figured the fact that Belle was a mermaid would be pretty high on the list of things Miss Trang didn’t want her to know about. She shivered every time she thought about Miss Trang getting angry. And every time she shut her eyes she saw the glimmering scales. At least now she knew why Belle wanted so badly to go to the ocean.
    The weekend crawled by. There was no distraction from her worries until Sunday night, when Grandpa came over for dinner.
    â€œWilla the Whisp!” he cackled as she ran up to give him a big hug. His ratty old sweater smelled of pipe smoke and salt air. His sunbeaten face was set in a perpetual grin, and his white