Nancy Drew and The Mystery Of The Ghost Maiden

Chapter Seven

The next room they entered, turned out to be an old office with just an old heavy desk, chair, and half-empty bookcases.

"What do we do now?" asked George as she leaned against a paneled wall.

"First we'll go get something quick to eat, rest a little bit, and then we'll have a little heart to heart with my aunt Betty. If we have enough time later, we'll examine these bookcases in detail for a hidden entrance," answered Nancy before they left the bedroom and headed down the stairs.

Turkey sandwiches on rye, granny smith apple slices, walnut brownies, and a tall cold glass of milk, awaited the girls when they entered the dining room this time. As Nancy glanced around the room she noticed that her aunt was not there.

When the butler came to check on them Nancy asked, "Where is my aunt? I would like to see her."

"She left an hour ago to go to a doctor's appointment in River Heights. She should be back in two to three hours at the most." the butler replied as he began to clean up the kitchen.

"I sure hope that she gets home soon by the look of those storm clouds," added George as it started to rain outside. The three girls ate their lunch quietly as they waited to question Nancy's great -aunt. The house felt strange and eerie to them during the storm. The wind whistled and blew tree limbs which created hunting shadows throughout the home. They were almost scared to death when they heard the phone ring in the sitting parlor.

Nancy raced into the room to pick up the phone, "Hello there, this is Nancy Drew."

"Nancy! This is Aunt Betty, I'm so sorry but I'm going to have to come home tomorrow, the storm is just too strong for traveling right now. I tried to make it home but had to turn back an hour ago. Some of the roads are flooded and others are blocked by fallen trees."

"I'm so glad you're all right but where will you stay?" asked Nancy.

"I happened to stumble upon a quaint little inn, so we're going to stay at it for the night. I'll be home sometime tomorrow." replied her aunt.

"Alright, thanks for calling, we were so worried," Nancy stated.

"That's understandable, but I must go someone else is waiting to use the phone. I love you, Nancy, be safe."

"Love you too, bye," said Nancy as she hung up the phone.

"My aunt is going to have to stay at an inn for the night. She said the storm was just too bad to drive home." worried Nancy.

"That's good to hear, at least she's alright," replied Bess as George nodded in agreement.

The girls head up to Nancy's room where they played cards for a while. They also talked about the cute boys they had seen when they drove through town. Bess had taken quite a fancy to a young guy with curly blonde hair she had seen standing outside a small cafe. "I sure do hope to run into him again. He's so darn cute he made my knees shake." Bess said and then sighed as she thought of him.

"Leave it you to find a new crush on the very first day of the trip. You are so boy crazy." added in George as she rolled her eyes.

"Now, I saw you staring at that tall, brown-eyed, well-built guy at the gas station where we made a pit stop at," Bess replied, as George blushed. Then they all started giggling until their tummies started to hurt. Just then the lights flicker a few times as if the power was as about to go out and leave them in the dark. It wasn't long before the girls could hear it pouring outside and thundering loudly. They tried the old television, but it couldn't even get a signal with all the wind howling outside.

"We're safe inside, here right?" asked Bess as she pulled a warm throw blanket around her small frame.

"I'm sure we are, this old house has been here for a hundred years and still stands strong. I'm also sure my aunt wouldn't live in an unsafe house," answered Nancy as she looked out the window it looked even darker outside, but she could still make out the top of the trees that seemed to be swirling from the strong gusts of wind.

"To get our minds off this storm and keep our sanity why don't we go investigate that office now? We have nothing better to do anyway," suggested George to her friends.

"Great idea but first let me go get my flashlight out of my suitcase, just in case we need it. I don't want to get lost in this house if the power goes out!" answered Nancy. "Yeah, it's creepy enough here with the lights on during this storm," Bess said as they went to Nancy's room.

It didn't take Nancy long to find her trusty flashlight that was on the nightstand. Then they went into the office, George and Nancy looked through the old books. They turned out to be mostly just old law books, but they kept trying to see if pulling on one would trigger a door to open. Unfortunately, all the dust on the books kept making George sneeze as she searched.

Bess slowly went through the wooden desk to find piles of old bills from almost thirty years before. "What a mess. This stuff is useless." She continued to go through the drawers and noticed something shiny under the desk. So, she crawled underneath it to find that it was just a shiny chewing gum wrapper. Just then a there was a loud crack of thunder and a flash of lighting that made Bess jump up and hit her head on the desk. When her friends heard the cry out in pain they came to see what had happened.

"I'm fine just bumped my head. I'll be alight," said Bess, as she rubbed the bump on her head.

"Look there's a piece of the desk sticking out." pointed out Nancy, when she touched it seemed to move slightly. So, she pulled gently on it to reveal a hidden drawer.

At first, it looked like there was nothing in the drawer but a thin layer of dust. Nancy checked it out thoroughly and found what looked like a few old yellowed letters and some scraps of lace. When she opened the letters, most of the ink had faded badly with time but they were mostly unreadable. however, she could still read some parts of the letters.

"These must be old love letters because they are addressed to, "My sweet Heather", "Heather, my love", and "Dearest love". Wow! These are ancient! Look right here at the top! These are dated way back from 1843 through 1845!" Nancy exclaimed loudly to her friends showing excitement.

"That's just over a hundred years ago!" exclaimed George.

"That is so romantic, the very last thing I expected to find in there. I was just thinking more old books or more candy wrappers would be in there," added Bess as she grabbed a few letters to look at.

"But why would old love letters be hidden away in a secret drawer in the first place?" Nancy asked her friends.

"Perhaps it was a forbidden love like Romeo and Juliet, or maybe even an affair!" said Bess.

"Maybe but I think there is more to this than something as simple as that. I really need to ask my aunt about this." Nancy replied.

"It seems to get pretty late. My watch reads eight o'clock." pointed out George to her friends.

"Hey, listen, girls, it sounds like the storm is also calming down." cut in Bess, as her stomach growled very loudly.

"That must be the idea to check on our dinner. It should be done cooking soon. I'll go through these letters to bed." said Nancy, before she went into her room to put the letters on the nightstand. It was a good thing that the girls did not have to wait long for dinner that night. It consisted of wonderful tasting beef stew, softy buttery rolls, and a fresh green salad.

By the time they had finished eating, the storm had died down to just a drizzle. The sound of the light rain helps both Bess and George fall asleep quickly. Nancy had decided to stay up and try to make some sense of the letters and write notes in her blue notebook. She was almost finished reading the letters around midnight, when a piano started to play, faintly in the background.