My Story: The Winchester House [Completed]

34: Photograph

The children were with Madalynn as I waited on the train platform for Max. It was raining, but I stood there with my umbrella to wait for my husband. I was smiling, and my heart started pounding when Max's train pulled into the station.

"Max!" I yelled as I saw him get off the train. His head snapped my direction, and he smiled as he ran towards me. He picked me up, and spun me around.

"Samantha! You came to the station!" he said as he put me back down. I laughed as he picked up his briefcase again. 

"I missed you so much. There is so much I need to tell you but not enough time in a day to tell you," I told him as he took my arm to start walking to the carriage. 

"Well, start telling me about your week," he told me, and I took a deep breath. 

"We spent most of the week at my father's house. Brenton was in a factory accident," I told him, and he looked at me with a sad smile. 

"How is he doing?" he asked as he helped me up into the carriage. 

"He is doing well. His spirits are high, but the doctor doesn't think that he will go back to work," I shared, and Max took my hand as he sat next to me. I kept my umbrella over me, and Max just sat in the rain but his eyes never left me.

"May he have a speedy recovery," Max stated, and I smiled at him as his wet hand touched my cheek. 

~*~

"Welcome back Max. I really hate to do this but we need both of you. It's an emergency," one of the new butlers said as we walked into the main house. Max had already returned the briefcase, and we were coming back in from unpacking Max's trunk. We exchanged a look then followed him as he went up the stairs. 

"What is the matter?" I asked as we joined the small group that was together. 

"One of the gardeners took a picture of Mrs. Winchester in her carriage," Madalynn said. I gasped a little as they handed me a picture of Mrs. Winchester in her carriage. Mrs. Winchester refused to take any picture for anyone so the fact that we had a picture of her made me very uneasy. I looked at Max who was already deep in thought. 

"First, we are going to hide this picture from Mrs. Winchester, then slowly try to push the gardener out of the household so he can't do this again," Max said. I pulled out my new psychology book on narcissism to put the picture in the book, and I shut it before putting it in my apron. 

"No one here will ever talk about what we saw," I stated. The small group nodded, and I turned away to start walking to the laundry room. 

"Samantha, how do we know that you won't show her?" the new butler asked, and I looked at him. 

"I won't because I don't want her to destroy the picture. Now please don't doubt me again because I know this household better than you do," I told him, and he looked at me. Max gave him a look that made him nod quickly. 

"I apologise, Mrs. Jameson," he said, and I walked back down the stairs. I heard someone running down the stairs, and I turned around to see who was following me. Max grabbed my arm and kept walking outside, and I stumbled over my own feet as I tried to keep up with him. 

"Max, what is the matter?" I asked as he went straight to our house. 

"We are putting that in the safe and never taking it out until Mrs. Winchester dies," he told me as we entered the house. We ran up the stairs, and Max opened the safe for me to put the picture in. I opened my book to look at the picture one last time before locking it in the safe. 

"She is aging beautifully," I told him, and he nodded. 

"I know she is, Sam. However, we need to lock it away so she never destroys it," he told me. I took a deep breath as I nodded. I bent down and put the picture in the safe. Max shut it and it would remain shut until 1922. 

(ABOVE^^^^ is the actual picture and the only picture of Mrs. Winchester at the house.)