INTRO

A rusted VW Beetle, with yellow paint chips missing from its faded coat, pulled up the winding and uneven pebbled driveway towards the impressive three-story home in Derbshire, England. Although the Manor was only an hour outside of the bustling modernized city of London, upon arrival to the estate, one couldn't help but to be transported back to a time of courtship and pretense. You could say that it was that nostalgia for the past that drew Melinda Price to the Manor for the first time that misty afternoon. She'd recently acquired a taste for her heritage and all roads she crossed led her to Derbshire.

Melinda wasn't a particularly sentimental person; in fact, she'd lost touch with most of her "family" once she turned 18, the legal age of Adulthood in the United States. Growing up in an assortment of foster homes throughout the tri-state area, Melinda had long since given up on figuring out anything about her genetic family. That was, until she received a mysterious e-mail from her supposed uncle claiming he'd been searching for her for years and asking her to come to Derbshire. After a couple of long months, filled with her own research, Melinda concluded the man's legitimacy and accepted his invitation to reunite with family.
Ever since Melinda could comprehend what a family truly was, she'd contemplated what happened to hers. Melinda's foster mother in her second home was the first to tell her how she ended up in the system. Melinda was found in a rundown flat in the lower west side of New York City when she was just an infant. Her cries of abandonment alerted the neighbor and subsequently the superintendent of the building brought her to the police. The police found no trace of forced entry, or any signs of packing; both Melinda's and her mother's identification documents were in the apartment and everything seemed to be in place. There was no record of her father's identity in the apartment. Although the police found that Melinda's mother, Jacqueline Price, worked as a waitress at a small diner up the street from their apartment, none of her co-workers at the diner knew much about Jacqueline and they were even surprised to hear that she had a baby. After finding no insight into how she disappeared, Melinda's mother was declared a missing person by the State of New York in October of 1984. Now, after 23 years of uncertainty, Melinda was hoping to find some answers.

Melinda's silky auburn waves tangled in the wind as she made her way up to the black double doors marking the entrance to the Manor. As she tried to smooth her tresses before entering, Melinda rang the doorbell. Passed the door, Melinda heard bells chime and her stomach began to do flips. The dull clap of rubber soles against tile grew louder as someone came to the door; it seemed to inch open, each squeak of the hinge more deafening than the last.
The door opened to reveal a portly looking woman in a black dress and apron. Her warm rosy complexion contrasted with the sour expression she wore.

"May I help you?" The grey-haired woman asked through pursed lips as her eyes scanned Melinda's appearance.
"Oh, um…I'm looking for Dr. Stone." Melinda said in a shaky and unsure voice. "He's expecting me."

"And you are?" The woman asked.

"Melinda Price."
The woman's expression softened, "Oh, Miss Price, you're just in time for lunch." The woman rushed her inside, "Master Stone will be taking his lunch by the courtyard today, if you'll follow me to the patio."

"Alright, thank you, Ms…" Melinda hinted for an introduction.
"Falcone. I'm the head house keeper." She said matter-of-factly. "If you'd give me your car keys, I'll have someone fetch your things."

"Uh, sure. Thank you." Melinda handed Ms. Falcone the rental's keychain from her purse.

As she followed the elderly house-keeper through the foyer, Melinda admired her uncle's home. Twin marble staircases lined the entrance room, leading up to the second floor where you could see down to the foyer from the balcony-esque banister that outlined the beginnings of the second floor hallway. They passed through an archway to the right and into a dining room that held a beautiful eight seated mahogany dining table. They passed the table and through a door to the left into an over-sized living room area, complete with a cocktail bar, that contained two glass French doors leading to a patio with a large awning.

Sitting at a glass table, a man Melinda presumed to be Dr. Price hid behind a newspaper.

Ms. Falcone cleared her throat, "Miss Melinda Price." She said succinctly.

The man dropped his paper on the table in front of him and hurriedly removed himself from his chair. Stepping in to shake her hand, Dr. Stone extended a jittery palm to Melinda, "Oh, it's so good to finally see you! Please, would you take a seat?" The man offered as he did the same. Ms. Falcone took this as her cue to leave.

"I'm sorry to have been so vague in our e-mail correspondence, but I thought it best we talk in person. Don't you agree?" The Dr. asked.

"Yes, of course. Thank you, by the way for inviting me for the summer; it was extremely generous to open up your home to me." Melinda praised.

"Oh, don't be silly. I've been waiting for this moment for years. I'm hoping you'll come to feel that this is a welcoming home. You will ask if you need anything, won't you?"

"I'm sure I'll be perfectly content, it's so beautiful here."

Ms. Falcone interrupted the two with a tray full of sandwiches, "Lunch is served. I'll be right out with some cucumber water."

As Dr. Stone reached for a sandwich, Melinda examined the lanky man. Dr. Stone was a tall man, but very slight in stature, Melinda thought he resembled a spider. His demeanor was quite jovial, from what Melinda could gather, but his body language and the way he moved was seemingly awkward and uncomfortable, add that he tended to end all of his thoughts in a question and Melinda thought he came off a bit eccentric. However, his welcoming smile and soft cooing voice put Melinda at ease

Ms. Falcone returned with a pitcher of iced water with floating slices of cucumber and two chilled glasses. The Dr. thanked her and waited until she was back inside before leaning forward in his chair towards Melinda, "So, let's get down to it, then. Yes?"

"Um, yes. Where should we start?" Melinda asked, not sure how to proceed. Coming to England, she had no idea what to expect or what she was hoping to find.

"How about you tell me what you know about our family?" The Dr. suggested.

"Well, I don't know much. Nothing about who my father is." Melinda's voice dropped low at the end. "I know my mother was a waitress and that her name was Jacqueline. I know that she's still considered a missing person and that her case is cold. However, I didn't know that she had a younger brother; though, to be honest, I never tried to find anyone else after I found that she was missing and had no known acquaintances."

"Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you who your father is. Your mother didn't become pregnant with you until after she left England for America. I was only 14 at the time. In truth, I'm not sure if I can give you any answers pertaining to the mystery around your mother's disappearance, it's all still quite new to me. You see, I've only just learned of this four years ago when my father passed."

"I'm sorry, Dr., but how is that possible?" Melinda questioned.

"Please, call me Miles." Dr. Stone insisted.

"Fine, then. Please, Miles, explain." Melinda waited with intrigue.

"Well, your mother is only my half sibling. Though, she never treated me as anything less than her brother. Her father was a Frenchman who died in Vietnam. Our mother was married to him before my father. When our mother passed while giving birth to me, my father was left to take care of us alone. Your mother was eighteen when I was born and only stayed to help my father care for me. Though, they never got along. When she left, my father threatened to disown her and keep the inheritance she was to receive from her mother's will when she turned 25. He was a man of his word. I scarcely heard from your mother after she left, news of her pregnancy was the last she'd written. I was fourteen then and by the time I was eighteen I'd accepted that your mother's silence meant that she wanted to forget our family. However, when my father was recently on his deathbed after suffering a third stroke, he divulged to me that he kept from me the better half of the letters your mother sent. When I found this out, I started my search for her, only to find you instead." Dr. Miles Stone finished his melancholy story.

"I'm very sorry to disappoint." Melinda said.

"On the contrary, you are the only living relative I have. I'm very pleased to find you." Miles smiled.

"I guess the same is true for me." Melinda agreed. "So, Miles, now that we've found each other, what should we do?"

"Well, I suppose you'll want to see London; am I correct?"
Melinda nodded profusely.

"Then perhaps you'd like to get settled and tonight we can get dinner in the city. We can catch up, as they say."

"That sounds wonderful." Melinda said.

Miles Stone buzzed an intercom and called for Ms. Falcone.

"Are you finished with lunch, sir?" The woman waddled out to the table.

"We are, Patty. And if you'd kindly show Miss Price to her quarters so she can settle in.

"Of course, Mr. Stone." Patty Falcone nodded, "If you'd follow me, Miss."

Melinda followed the woman back into the living room and to the right where there was doorway to a set of carpeted stairs that they embarked on. The two reached a plateau in the steps where another doorway lie before them and the stairs continued up to the third floor to the left of them. Melinda followed Ms. Falcone through the second floor door and down a hallway to the left where she opened the fourth door on her right.

"Your things are here by the bed," Ms. Falcone pointed to the suitcases as they walked in, "the bathroom is just through there," she directed Melinda to the left, "and there's a buzzer on the bedside table if you need any assistance. We'll take your laundry every Wednesday and Saturday and there will be a maid to turn down your room every day at 11 AM. If you don't wish to be disturbed, just tie this ribbon on the knob." Ms. Falcone pulled a white silk ribbon from her apron.

"Thank you, this feels like a hotel…" Melinda mused.

"Yes, well, if you don't need anything I'll leave you to yourself." Ms. Falcone excused herself and shut the door behind her.

The room was spacious, almost the size of Melinda's studio apartment back in New York. Afraid to dirty the crisp white rug, Melinda removed her shoes as she walked to the bedside table to set down the ribbon Ms. Falcone had given her. Sitting down on the four post bed, she took in the room. All of the furniture was a beautiful deep mahogany; there was a vanity on the far wall facing her bed and to the left of the bathroom door. On the right wall there was a large armoire with a chest of four drawers below a small cabinet with two full length cabinets on either side. To the right of that was a large cushioned window seat with a view of the garden. After unpacking her things into the armoire, Melinda decided to take a shower. Heading into the bathroom, she found a glass paneled shower and an old fashioned porcelain tub in front of her, porcelain sinks set in marble, and a door to the left most likely leading to the toilet.

Melinda wasn't one for dressing up and, as she looked through her wardrobe, she hoped that her uncle wouldn't mind a casual dress code. She finally settled on a pair of jeans and a light-weight pale mint sweater and decided to find her Uncle Miles. Walking down the hall and passed the twin staircase that lead to the front foyer, Melinda found a pair of tall wooden doors that were slightly ajar. She reasoned with herself that since the door was already open, it wouldn't be too invasive if she just had a peek inside. Being careful not to make any noise, Melinda inched the door open and peered inside. It was a library; bookshelves lined the walls while a table with chairs and a couch filled the floor space. Not seeing the harm in taking a look around, Melinda decided to check what was on the shelves; after all, books were meant to be read.

Looking at the titles on the spines of the old dusty books, Melinda searched for any signs of a familiar title: to no avail. All of the books had the most peculiar names, such as Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles and Beating the Bludgers – A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch. As Melinda decided between two books entitled Fowl of Foul? A Study of Hippogriff Brutality and Hogwarts: A History, someone called her name from the hall.

"Melinda? Are you decent?" It was her Uncle Miles knocking on her bedroom door.

Not knowing if it was okay to be in the library, Melinda was instantly regretting her bout of nosiness. As her anxiety over offending her new found family member grew, Melinda felt her stomach pull. The not in her stomach seemed to grow the more her uncle knocked and the more she wished she were back in her room. Just when she was sure that she was about to throw up, everything around her went black and the knot in her stomach twisted and pulled her through the dark abyss. Trying to search for some sort of light, Melinda heard a loud "CRACK!" and found that her wish had been granted. Melinda found herself standing at the door of her room holding the two books from the library.

"Melinda? What was that? Are you ok?" Her Uncle called on the other side of the door.

Melinda tossed the books onto the vanity and opened the door, "Yes, I'm fine."

"What's going on?" Her Uncle asked.

Melinda was wondering the same thing.