Hoaley Ill-Manored Read Online Free PDF

noose,” Maddy added, shuddering.
    Edgar dragged a shaky hand over his face.
“Good heavens. That’s shocking. I feel badly to have set you on
that path now.”
    She shook her head. “No, don’t. It was very
exciting and a little scary. I enjoyed it very much. I was just
curious about the flowers. That story you told us, about that man,
Jenks. That was a very long time ago. Do you suppose the noose and
the flowers were about that?”
    “That’s doubtful. Though he was found in one
of their cabins, no one ever blamed Jenks’ death on the slaves. It
could be symbolic I guess. The boy…Teddy…is convinced that slavery
never really ended for his family. He grew up under his father’s
angry influence. It drove his daddy to drink copious amounts of
alcohol I’m afraid. Even Lolly Worth, his gramma, couldn’t offset
his father’s anger.” Edgar looked at them as they stopped beside
the gazebo. “You remember I mentioned the suicide that happened
here, in the manor?”
    Maddy’s eyes grew wide. “Yes. Is that
related somehow?”
    Walter was inside the gazebo when they
arrived, snuffling at the floor. He started scratching as if trying
to dig a hole through the wood.
    “Walter! Stop that!” Adam shook his head.
“Moles. Walter’s been digging holes all around the lake trying to
get to them.”
    Edgar inclined his head, one hand reaching
to skim a reverent touch over the whitewashed wood of the
structure. “Lovely. You must have seen the painting?”
    “Painting? No. What painting?”
    Edgar looked surprised. “The local museum
has a painting of Bilsworth Manor in the late 1800s. There was a
gazebo that looked much like this beside the lake then.” Looking
around, Edgar nodded. “In just about this exact spot. It’s strange
that you placed this little building in exactly the same spot
without knowing.”
    Ice slipped through Adam’s
veins, lifting gooseflesh in its wake. Despite the bright heat of
the pounding sun, Adam suddenly felt as if an ominous shadow had
slipped over them. “That is strange. I admit it came to me out of nowhere. I
was standing beside the lake and realized a gazebo was exactly what
it needed.” He frowned and rubbed the raised skin on his
arms.
    They stood in silence for a moment, watching
Mike and Sue cutting elegant circles in the glassy surface of the
lake. Finally, Maddy’s curiosity got the better of her.
    “So, Edgar, you were telling us about the
suicide.”
    The old man blinked and turned to her. “Yes.
I was, wasn’t I? It was strange, that death. A pretty, young girl
falls in love with a kind, young man and, if not for the ugly
prejudice of the world they lived in, they would have lived a story
book life together. Instead, they discover they can never be
together and one of them succumbs to the sadness and hopelessness
of it and kills himself.” Edgar walked over to the bench inside the
gazebo and lowered himself carefully to its surface. He sighed and
pulled his old guy hat off. Reaching into his pants pocket, he drew
out an ancient, cloth handkerchief to wipe his brow with.
    “Can I assume, since the suicide happened in
the manor that it was one of the Bilsworth sons?”
    “Yes. Delf Bilsworth. He fell in love with
pretty Lolly and wanted to marry her. You see, Lolly’s family had
worked for the Bilsworth’s for nearly a century and, despite the
fact that her grandmamma received that parcel of land from old Mr.
Bilsworth as a gift, they continued to work at the manor and were a
welcome presence here. Until Delf fell for Lolly and presumably
killed himself in the attic. After that, Elizabeth Bilsworth,
Delf’s mama, threw Lolly out and declared that none of Lolly’s
current or future family would be welcome in the manor again.”
    Maddy frowned. “That seems harsh.”
    “She was grieving, child. It was
understandable. Especially given the history between the two
families.”
    “What history?” Adam remained outside the
gazebo, hoping the heat of the sun