Greenbriar Manor

Tea for One

Meanwhile, back in Vermont, the old woman in the apartment complex left one evening just before dusk, just like she arrived. Mabel watched as Brittney's grandma boarded a bus. She smiled and waved to her as she disappeared. She dreamed about a house full of pretty trinkets and a dark-haired woman with an apron crying in a worn wooden kitchen. The woman paced the land and stared at the large oak tree and the crushed piano in pensive rage. She woke up in a sweat. 

At the Grey property, something had shifted. The old angry woman (Alva) was dreadfully and finally alone. Where had those children gone? The old wailing woman stopped and turned around, but she looked past the fence in time to see a woman slowly getting off of a bus. The woman was young and beautiful. She looked at the woman sadly, glancing at the rolling pin in her hand like a weapon. The sun showed around her hair and face as she smiled at her and waved. She then laughed a huge belly laugh and walked off into the sunset. Vera had come home for the last time and left again. She would be young now forever and free. 

 Mabel was looking at a book she had gotten about horses from the library. The page she was on showed a huge onyx Arabian horse. It looked like pure velvet. She remembered her mother and Mack telling stories of a stallion at the Manor. She wondered if she would ever get to go there or if like all the other heirlooms they would be kept secret. Her mother had not answered her about going back with Mack for a few weeks. 

Mabel thought of Vee. She remembered Brittney talking about her mom and dad living in a tiny house long ago. Maybe that is where her grandma went. She had been kind, and her tea had always been a bit too bitter for her tastes. She hoped wherever the woman had gone that she would be happy. She remembered Ruth's face as she read the letter under the tea tray. Something that was said to them had rattled her mom's resolve. She almost made them all pack up in the middle of the night and leave. Their aunt's old house would be someone else's problem now. Mabel had been wondering when Mack was to go back home that evening. He had been strangely quiet and sleepy all day. 

Her mom and Fran had driven to a diner in a neighboring town for an early dinner. She had been dodging phone calls from the Manor all morning. She was not ready to go home yet. She did not realize how much she had missed her cousins. Mack was acting happier than he had in ages. Even this morning he seemed the creepy letter had been enough of a reason to stay longer. She knew that the Manor had secrets, but she was certain that all of that had been over long ago.  Until yesterday when the strange letter came and the tea cakes. Hopefully when they went home the wins Ingrim had these weeks would give them a positive welcome home. They discussed the happenings at the Grey house and determined that they would wait to go back after she had checked in with someone. Every time she looked at the phone she felt a sense of dread in her stomach. 

The phone rang P---RING! P---RING! Somehow, she knew before she answered it that the news would change the course of their trip. It was a very graining sound and Brooklyn's voice was scratchy and sounded far away  "Miss Fran. Everyone is gone. The horse broke free. It was so loud. So loud. Screaming and crying and pain. His heart couldn't take it. They all went away and left me here with Mari. We are scared. Please come home." The phone went static. CLICK! Her face went pale. What did he mean everyone was gone? Where was his mother and her boss and Ingrim. What had happened to Ingrim? Mack would never get be okay if his friend had been injured. She thought of Mari rubbing the horses' soft mane. Brooklyn in his cap being kind to her son when he was small. Then she thought of that strange woman who was keeping the house and the eery dream with that little girl at the piano. Something in that song made everything start coming apart. She feared for what she would find when she returned. They finished their food and returned to find the children asleep. The book Mabel was reading looked familiar. She picked it up and noticed a sepia picture taped to the back inside cover. S-- Grey 194... The horse looked almost exactly like the one Ingrim loved. Behind the picture was a note..." To whoever reads this book. Please be my friend. It has been so long since there have been children my age here. I lost my father, and cousin long ago. My brother disappears sometimes. Even my dog doesn't stay here all the time anymore. If you like horses and checkers come to the treehouse at dusk. Your Friend, M.G." Another shiny piece of paper was in the middle :You are cordially invited to a piano recital for Vera and Bridgette. Please reply cordially." Her eyes grew wide. What in the world was going on in the house. Who was MG? How did the invitation and the book from the library get here? The pictures looked the same and the horsehand. That had to be more than a coincidence. Chills ran up her spine as she thought of that piano in the middle of that collapsing Victorian manor. Music played by wind and ghosts. 

Meanwhile, at the manor, Fern had finished talking to Daniel. He had given her something to place in the mail. Some piece of business that others would not understand. Ruth would know exactly what to do when she came home. She was the one who looked after them all. Fern felt a strange kinship with Daniel. He talked about the horses and a stable boy that sounded alot like the man they had there now and Brooklyn. Maybe their services and friendship had always been part of that place--a family. As it neared sundown she had a strange eerie feeling. Fern said goodbye to her new friend and went back home. As she entered the gate she noticed the silence. Nobody was home. She checked the main house. It was dark but the library. was bright. Like a candle in the darkness. Daniel's light illuminating shadow. She shuddered what did Chessie write? She wandered by the door and noticed a chair moved against a far wall. Probably Mari looking at her horse books again. She thought of Ingrim's new ribbon and smiled. 

She walked slowly down to the treehouse. The door was open, but no one was up there. A green ribbon was mired in the dirt. She put it in her pocket for safe keeping maybe it was Mari's. She went into the barn. Surely someone was here. It seemed as if the family congregated with that horse. The stallion was kneeling on the ground. Grunting in pain or fury. There was no one in the stall or the barn to tend to him. She scanned the barn again to be sure she was alone. Then she saw it, Brooklyn's hat was laying on the side of the stall crumpled in a ball. She grabbed it. In all the time she had known him he never went anywhere without his hat. Where was her mother. She ran to their little house by the stream and slung open the door. Her mother was drinking tea and pacing. She knew immediately someone was gone. She started to ask what happened. Her mother's eyes filled with tears and rage. She grabbed Fern and made her sit down. In a stern voice she said four words. "There was an accident!" 

In Vermont: 

The next morning a piece of mail arrived for Fran and Mack opened it.  Green swirling filigree stationary was folded long ways. A familiar handwriting was on it but whose. It was clearly a man's handwriting. The letter looked old. It read. "To whom it may concern: If you are reading this you now live in my old house. I am the last Greene. Within the walls of my house there are a collection of stories and pictures that will give you a puzzle to finish. The house will change the people inside until all of our family are put back together. The first clue is under the pedal on the grand piano. The second is a key in the Counte of Monte Cristo. It is up to you to find what it goes too. You have already begun to see some of the things that make Green Briar special. Trust your instincts. But, do not let anyone know your intentions. Beware of dolls, dogs and strangers. Best of luck. 

Your Friend, 

Daniel.