A Tour of the Mansion

Angela appeared in the kitchen soon after Virginia placed her plate in the sink.

Virginia hadn't heard Angela come back in, so she was startled when Angela spoke.

"Now that you've eaten, I am to give you a tour of the house. You'll need to be familiar with it."

Even when Angela spoke matter-of-factly or when she was giving direction, her voice was soft and light and kind. It made Virginia feel a bit more at ease.

Virginia nodded and began to follow Angela out of the kitchen.

The first floor contained what Angela referred to as "the Great Hall" that went through the center of the house from the foyer to the other end of the house, where the garage was. There was a bend in the hall so that you could not see straight from one end of the mansion to the other. It was wide and spacious, and, of course, it was filled with the horrific paintings Virginia had seen upon her arrival. And in the foyer, above the living room, was the staircase and the banister.

On one side of the hall, were the dining and living rooms, and across from them was a gigantic family room. Each room was filled with lavish furniture, and the drapes and carpets were made from the most expensive fabrics. The design was timeless and clean, and it reminded Virginia a bit of her great aunt's vacation home in Europe.

Around the bend in the hall, they passed the kitchen and dining rooms and the breakfast nook. She was already familiar with these rooms, aside from the breakfast nook, which she quite liked. It was a much smaller, circular room with a round table in the center. It had many large windows which looked out to the east. It had a similar view to her new room on the second floor.

They passed two bathrooms and a large closet-like supply room. At the end of the hall was the entrance to the garage. Angela told Virginia she probably wouldn't need to go in there often, for they had a mechanic and a different caretaker for the cars. But she opened the doors and allowed Virginia to take a look inside.

Virginia's father owned a couple of nice, new cars, but the Princes owned about ten.

Aside from a couple of standard-though costly-cars, which Virginia identified as the type she and Charles had taken from her house to the mansion, there were several luxury sports cars, both vintage and brand new.

There was another small staircase at this end of the mansion, which they took up to the second floor. As they ascended Virginia thought she heard men's voices coming from down the hall. One sounded like Charles, though his voice was lighter and not as threatening.

She casually tried to peek down the hall to see him, but Angela was already several stairs ahead of her, so she had to turn back to catch up.

They came up at the end of the west wing.

"These are the guest rooms, two of which are currently occupied by ... current residents," Angela said.

The way Angela described the rooms seemed strange, but Virginia didn't dwell on it. As they made their way towards the East side of the house, where Virginia knew the servants' quarters to be located, Angela opened a door in the middle of the hall. It was the library.

The library was massive and housed thousands of books. It looked similar to Meridian Valley's Private Academy's library in that each section of shelves was labeled with a genre and alphabet.

"Wow," Virginia exclaimed aloud. "This is amazing."

Angela let Virginia stare into the library for several minutes. She just stood there and watched with a small smile on her lips.

Virginia breathed in deep the smell of old paper and leather and dust. She wondered what kind of books were in there. Probably a lot of horror and history.

Even still, Virginia was happy that the library was on the same floor as her room. She made a mental note to try and make it back to the library soon so she could take a closer look at it.

Maybe, even if she wasn't able to go in there to read, she would be able to pass by and appreciate it often.

As they continued the tour, they passed a giant balcony on the other side of the library and more closets and bathrooms. Just down the hall from her room and Angela's room, there were a couple more bedrooms Angela said were for other staff members.

Virginia wondered how many people lived in the house.

They continued up the stairs to the third floor. They came up on the east end. The first two rooms were closed behind thick, oak doors. Angela walked past them and just before she opened a door to a different room, she turned back.

"Those are Mr. Prince's rooms. Never go through there," she said.

Virginia's heart quickened for a moment at the serious sound of Angela's voice. She nodded to show that she understood.

Angela nodded towards the door to the left of the door she had her hand on. "That's the main study. It's usually occupied by Charles."

About the time Angela began to open the door of the room in the middle of the hall, the door swung abruptly inward. A pretty young woman about Virginia's age stood in the opening. She was rather petite, thinner than Virginia, and a good four inches shorter. Her hair was dark brown, not quite black, and was full of short ringlets. She had a pouty mouth and a small nose. Her skin was light, nearly the same kind of pale as Angela's. And her eyes were a deep gray.

She reminded Virginia a bit of Charles in that her beauty contrasted with her demeanor. She was pretty, but there was something dark and catty about the look in her eyes.

She seemed to dislike everything she set her eyes on. Especially Virginia.

Angela rested a cool hand on Virginia's back. "Virginia, this is Eliza Edwards. She's staying here on the second floor in the guest rooms."

Virginia shook off her shock and tried to be polite. "Hello, Eliza, I'm Virginia Downing."

She reached out her hand for a handshake.

Eliza simply stared at her hand. She looked back up at Virginia with disgust. "What are you doing here?" Eliza asked. Her voice was high and haughty.

Virginia was taken aback by her rudeness.

She dropped her hand back to her side and straightened her posture. "I've come here to keep my family safe," Virginia said.

That was the conclusion she had come to. Though she didn't fully understand the deal her father made with the Princes, it seemed they were determined to collect their debt. And leaving her family, and making sure it was her to go and not her sister felt a lot like protecting them.

Eliza scoffed. "Well, YOU'RE definitely not safe, little girl."

Virginia furrowed her brows in confusion. She turned to Angela, who looked more annoyed than anything.

"Just stay away from Charlie," Eliza spat before taking off down the hall.

Virginia watched her stomp away, then she looked back at Angela. "Charlie as in Charles?"

Angela nodded slowly. A thin strand of her red hair fell from her loose ponytail.

"Why'd she say that about Mr. Prince?"

Virginia asked. She wondered what had warranted Eliza's anger. She'd only just met Virginia and was already bossing her to stay away from Charles.

Angela sighed and stared down the hall where Eliza had gone. "She and Charles used to be an item."

So Eliza was being possessive. She was trying to mark her territory. A lump of jealousy lodged itself in Virginia's throat.

"It's been over for quite some time, however," she explained. "Not that Eliza has any plans to give it up." Angela rolled her eyes.

Virginia was relatively new to feelings of jealousy. It was kind of a nasty, heavy feeling that started in her throat and hung down in her chest.

"Well, anyway," Angela started back up, "this is the music room. The theater is on the other side of the hall."

Virginia tried to snap out of it. She nodded and peeked into the room. There was a piano in the middle of the room and a few stringed instruments hung up on the wall.

She wondered which Eliza could play.

Maybe she could play several. Maybe she could play them all.

Virginia had never learned to play any instrument, but she had taken singing lessons until she was about eighteen. She preferred reading to listening to music, so she had told her father she wanted to quit lessons.

Angela turned down the hall towards the west end.

She gestured to two more closed doors.

"The other Mr. Prince's rooms."

Virginia wondered why one man needed four rooms, but she didn't question it aloud, especially not since Angela's warning to never go in there.

"Finally, there's the lower level," Angela said, as they began to descend the stairs again. "But you don't need to go there either."

Virginia was starting to feel nauseated from the emotions swirling inside her. She was afraid. She was curious. She was sad. She was excited. But mostly, she was feeling green.

The jealousy that Eliza had sparked within her twisted up in her throat. It stretched its tendrils down into her chest and rooted itself there.