Fettigrew Hall - The Biography of a House

Fettigrew Hall - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

In the morning Melody came to check up on her crew. She and Megan discussed the floor upstairs. Melody mentioned mice getting into the house. They had found fresh droppings and even seen a few scurrying mice in several rooms, including the kitchen. Directing her crew to the back room, Melody went with them to oversee.

Sometime before Megan had consulted a painting restorer about the paintings hanging in the Banqueting Hall. She wanted those away from the house while that room was being cleaned and wanted them clean before they were hung again. Most were in remarkably good shape from what she could see. Most were hanging too high and were too heavy for her to remove by herself and she thought it better to have the experts deal with them anyway. When they arrived, she stood out of the way and watched as four men carefully took them down. They were put inside crates with packing to prevent any damage during transit. As one portrait was taken down, a paper fluttered to the floor. Megan picked it up and went to see whose portrait it had fallen from. The name on the plate below the painting said, “Godfrey DeBois – 1752.” Megan had a vague feeling she had heard that name before but she couldn’t remember the circumstances.

Just then, Jamie came looking for her. “I’ve finished taking down all those uprooted trees. I think you will be able to use the wood for the fireplaces because it is mostly dry. I was wondering where you would like it stacked.”

As they passed through the kitchen, Megan put the paper on the top of the refrigerator. Outside they looked around the house for a place near a door but out of the way of the work being done in the garden. “You know, I’ve been thinking about the mice. You have stirred them up, and they are coming into the house now.”

“Sorry for that, but it was bound to happen. What you need is a litter of outside cats to deal with them.”

“You’re right. That would be better than dealing with traps and dead mice. Any ideas?”

“I might have. Let me ask around. Come take a look outside.” He said, as he led her through the gatehouse to the moat. I’ve pulled out all the downed trees and brush. Now look how nice this is going to be. I still want to trim up everything else, and I want to see what is impeding the flow.”

“Oh, Jamie. This is wonderful. I can see already that it will be beautiful.” As they were talking, the cleaning ladies were gathering their things together and preparing to leave. Melody reported that the floor was gleaming. Megan said goodbye to everyone and headed to the back room to see the floor.

When she arrived at the door it was closed. She struggled opening it. “Damnit,” she said aloud. “I’m half tempted to remove this damn door completely.” Finally she got the door open, looking again at the latch and handle. ‘I don’t understand what is with this thing,’ she thought again. The floor was shiny and had a beautiful oak patina. It was soft and smooth. Melody had left the windows cracked just a bit. As Megan walked around the room she began to hear “Waiting for you, waiting for you, waiting for you.” Thinking this was her imagination and probably the wind whistling through the windows again, she shut them. Then she heard very clearly, “I am waiting for you” in a raspy whisper. Megan stopped and looked around startled. Her heart was starting to pound. As she backed toward the door, she was overcome with a faintness. When she found that the door was closed again, she slumped against it and began pulling on the handle. It wouldn’t open, and she began to cry, as the whispering became louder and more distinct. “God help me!” she cried, weeping. Finally the door opened, almost by itself, and she ran from the room all the way to the kitchen, where she continued to cry.

She began wondering why she had ever come to the house and why she had ever thought to enter it that first day. What in God’s name was this strange compulsion with this house? She knew she would never have done something like this before. The house seemed to have cast a spell on her right from the start, and she seemed helpless to fight it. Then she realized she had not thought of Peter in several days. Her mind had been so busy with every project, she had just been consumed with it. This only made her feel worse, for she loved Peter and missed him terribly. Guilt and fear wracked her.

When Gray walked in she was weeping uncontrollably, shaking and hiccupping. He did not try to ask her what had upset her so. He pulled her up from the chair and held her. He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead and cheeks. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the tears. He could think of no comfortable place for them to lie down together except Megan’s bed. So, he got two glasses and a bottle of brandy. He asked her if she could hold the bottle, which she did, without saying anything. He led her to her room and had her lie down. He poured two brandies and crawled up onto the bed beside her. He fixed the pillows behind his back and pulled her toward him. He leaned forward and got one glass from the side table, which he gave to her and then got his own. Megan leaned against his chest and sipped the brandy as she started to calm down. Eventually she seemed to have fallen asleep. Gray removed the brandy glass from her hand and put it on the bedside table. This did not disturb her slumber.

He wondered what on earth had happened that upset her so badly. She was a very level headed person and not at all prone to hysteria. He wondered if she had heard bad news from her son. There was nothing to do but wait until Megan was able to talk to him. He dozed for a bit but woke with a start as Megan began to stir and say, “NO, NO, please don’t.” He decided to wake her.

She seemed dazed and unsure where she was. She was burning up with fever. Gray had his mobile in his pocket and called his mother. “Mom, something bad has happened to upset Megan, and now she is burning up with fever. I don’t know what upset her. Could you come and help me?” Bev said she would get there as quickly as she could. In the meantime Gray began to wonder what he could do. He got a wet cloth from the bathroom and wiped Megan’s face, neck, and arms. He pulled back the covers and put her on the sheets, trying to arrange her in a comfortable position. She was restless, occasionally saying “NO.” He kept going to the front windows to see if Bev had arrived yet. When he finally saw her, he opened the window and called to her that he was in the solar. He was afraid to leave Megan alone.

When Bev entered the bedroom, she was alarmed. She sent Gray to find a doctor, while she stripped off Megan’s clothes and began to wipe her down with the cold cloth. She seemed to be sleeping fitfully. She didn’t seem as flushed as she had been, and perhaps the fever was dropping. She covered her with the sheet, not wanting her to get chilled. She was going to the staircase to call after Gray when he came bounding up. He told her, “I couldn’t find anyone in at the surgery, so I asked Doctor Swithin if he would mind looking in. You, know, just to see what we should do.”

“Good thinking. Did he mind?”

“I don’t think so. He said he hadn’t seen a patient in three years and rather missed it. I’ll go down and wait for him.”

Though the doctor has retired he was quite active. He lived in the village and occasionally was still consulted by his long time patients. He didn’t really mind. After he had examined Megan he told them to watch for signs that she was getting feverish again, rashes or anything else that might develop. He said he would ring them in the morning if he hadn’t heard from them.

“Thank you for coming, Mom. I was a bit panicked. I’ll sleep in her chair over there. Are you going home or do you want to stay?”

“I think I’ll go home. I don’t think I can do anything else, and I’ll rest better there. Call me if anything develops, otherwise we’ll talk in the morning.” With that she left, leaving Gray to settle in the chair.

During the night Gray kept waking and checking on Megan. She seemed to be resting peacefully now, thank God.