The Mansion
Carpooling, Peter, Elizabeth, Neal, and Mozzie took the lead car with Jones and Diana following behind with June. It was finally the weekend where they were driving out to see the estate. It wasn't a long drive which made the property accessible to the New Yorkers, but it was far beyond Neal's radius so the agency escort was required to be at least one agent.
When they reached their destination, Peter slowed down to allow Neal his first glimpse of the big metal gates with the lawns spanning away from the winding driveway beyond. Of course, it didn't hurt to give Neal the opportunity to get out, open the gate, and grant them access too.
With the driveway open, they drove slowly along taking in the expansive lawns and climbing up the hill until they reached the mansion perched at the top. It had a flare of Victorian design to it, but enough angles and details to conceal the exact size. They estimated three stories and maybe an attic, but it was tough to be sure.
Unloading in front, they paused to observe the old place.
"I think I saw someone?" Diana pointed to an empty window where a curtain appeared to be fluttering slightly.
Elizabeth shivered and leaned into Peter's side while he explained the statement away.
"The staff isn't present as they're waiting for Neal to settle and determine if he wants to rehire them or not, and no one is here but us. There must be a draft in that window causing the motion of the curtains." He gave a sideways glance to his agent discouraging more jokes of the kind. "Don't tease, Diana."
Smiling apologetically at Elizabeth, Diana confirmed she'd only joked about seeing someone and had chosen that window as the fluttering curtain loaned a realistic touch.
Shifting away from her husband slightly, Elizabeth expressed another fear. "I hope it doesn't storm, this is our first time here and the place seems rather large."
Giving her a sideways hug pulling her back, Peter attempted to reassure her. "The weather forecast was clear for the area this morning."
Holding his hand up to the air, Neal seemed to be testing for himself. "I hate to contradict your weatherman, but the air feels humid and the breeze smells like rain. My guess is we're in for a storm tonight."
Wasting no more time in observing the house from the outside, Neal pulled out his key and opened the main door giving his guest access into his abode.
"Nice place, Caffrey!" Jones commented on the stone entryway with the sweeping staircase carrying their eyes up to the next level.
Noting a tapestry hanging from the wall, Diana pointed at it wordlessly indicating that he had inherited masterpieces too.
Not knowing where anything was, Peter pulled out a flashlight and shone it around them. Then he suggested dividing out to find the necessities. "We need to find the kitchen, power source, more flashlights and candles, and the bedrooms. If a storm does hit, it's best to be prepared."
Agreeing with the practicality of the suggestion, they divided out to begin searching. June and Mozzie headed up the stairs, Jones and Diana found a basement entrance behind the stairs, Peter and Elizabeth proceeded down the side hall, and Neal went for the heart of the home alone.
As he walked, Neal noticed that the materials changed to wood instead of stone. The extravagance must have been intended to welcome and impress guests while keeping a warmer feeling for the rest of the space.
There were doors placed on both sides of the hallway often enough to indicate multiple entrances to a room or several rooms.
Turning a knob and opening one at random, Neal assumed it was an unused closet as the space went a few feet in before there was a wall.
When the next three doors garnered the same results, Neal began to suspect a hoax in play. The doors must have false walls hiding their true purpose and the staff must have set this up before their departure. Was it something they had been instructed to do to give him the full atmosphere of the place or was it an act of spite for the new owner?
Unable to answer, Neal chose to keep searching to see what he could find.
After a while though, he'd only found a masculine sitting room with a large fireplace and animals mounted on the wall, several closets or blank walls, and a few rooms that didn't appear to have been used in years.
Retracing his steps, Neal cut off down the hall after the Burkes.
Several doors had been left ajar so Neal proceeded past them. Glancing in two open ones, he saw the solarium and an office. Perhaps it was his uncle's office? Then there was another open door which led down a hallway.
Figuring the Burkes would investigate it, Neal chose to remain in his current hallway and continued to check doors.
After a few more closets, he discovered the kitchen. Turning the light on as a marker, he poked around in the side storage rooms to find candles and flashlights. With his basic goals covered there, he checked one more door which led out into a back maze of staff access points with a hallway and stairs leading both up and down.
Taking the downward stairs, he wound his way down to the basement level. Guessing, he went right and found a room with generators on his third try. It appeared to be self-sustaining with the ability to put excess power out onto the grid and get paid. That was a genius way to run the mansion and reduce costs.
Having accomplished the important goals he turned back to the stairs and climbed up to the second level.
Choosing the right hallway again, he started checking doors. Everyone until his eighth try showed the closets or walls again. When he finally got something different, it was at the end of the hallway and opened to a tight winding little staircase. This wasn't intended to hall supplies, but maybe it acted as an emergency exit?
Walking down, Neal hit a wall directly below where he had entered so he turned around and climbed up with the same results. Either it wasn't an emergency exit after all, or it could be closed off to contain should a fire break out.
Exiting, he retraced his steps back to the large stairs before taking the left side.
This time, his first door opened to the great outdoors. It was his second shot before he opened a door and discovered the master suite.
Walking in, he noticed that most of it was antique furniture but in great condition. He could keep all of it in a new layout. Opening the closet door, he found his great-uncles clothing. Most of it would go, but there might be something to keep.
Knowing where he was going to sleep, he figured he had a good start and might as well check in with the others.
Returning to the kitchen, it didn't look like anyone else had found it.
Pulling out his phone, Neal dialed Peter and waited while the phone rang. It was about to go to voicemail when the agent picked up.
"Another closet. This place is a maze!" That was muttered as an aside before Peter talked into the phone. "Hey, Neal. Did you find anything?"
Smiling, Neal was glad they were just lost, he'd almost started worrying beforehand. "Yeah, I'm standing in the kitchen and there are flashlights in one of the storage closets along with candles. Then through a back door and down the stairs is a generator room. Oh, hey. I also found the master suite." Neal told them a little about the space.
"Figures, only a Caffrey can figure another Caffrey out." Peter laughed into the phone.
Grinning, Neal appreciated the compliment. "Why don't you two backtrack and I'll meet you at the entrance to the hallway you took. Did you find anything down there?"
"No, not unless you count a bunch of doors that open to blank walls or tiny closets," Peter grumbled.
"We did find a few storage rooms with covered furniture." Elizabeth piped in from the background.
Amused, Neal continued to have a general conversation about the spaces discovered while he waited for the Burkes to meet him. When they came out of the side hallway, Neal walked with them back to the entryway intending to meet the others there at the rendezvous point.
Finding the space empty, Neal was about to call Mozzie when he and June came out of the upstairs hallway on the opposite side they had previously disappeared into.
"Both wings of the house connect up here," June noted as she gracefully descended the stairs. Having easy access to spaces would be good for the staff and convenient for the guest.
"Also, there are three stories as there's another level above this one." Mozzie piped in from beside her. "There's no shortage of guest rooms or lounge spaces here. By the way, I'd like to move in." He added the announcement like it was natural.
Nodding, Neal wasn't surprised based on the size of the space. "Pick yourself a room to start with, and we'll discuss the rest of the details later." Neal agreed in general, but he was going to lay ground rules before giving his friend free rein. "Have you seen Jones or Diana since we split up?"
"No, we didn't run into anyone up here," June answered reaching the bottom of the stairs.
Calling Jones, Neal figured he'd have better luck with the more serious member of the duo. Since there wasn't an answer before it went to voicemail, he was about to dial Diana when they jumped out from behind the tapestry causing everyone to jump.
"Gotcha!" Diana crowed while laughing at their expressions.
Shrugging apologetically, Jones explained. "We went down to the basement, through an empty hallway, up a small set of stairs, and into a hallway full of doors. We tied strings on the doors we checked, but most of them went nowhere in particular."
"Then we found one that opened into a hallway. Following it, there was a backset of stairs that wound up into a small room with a secret entrance behind the tapestry there." Diana was too busy laughing to finish her explanation.
Picking it up to finish the story, Jones explained why he hadn't answered Neal's call. "We could hear your conversation and you calling us so Diana wanted to see if we could scare you. She had me mute my phone before you called. Then while you were doing that, we were finding the door and moving into position before jumping out while you were distracted.
Taking the scare, Neal was glad the group was back together and seemed to have accomplished their original intent, even if some had a little extra fun along the way.
Beginning the guided tour, Neal showed the way to the kitchen, supplies, and generator room alternating between leaving lights on or doors open to create a path for them to follow later if needed. Then he gave way to June and Mozzie as they showed the hallway of guest rooms in the other wing.
Walking along, the guests picked which rooms they wanted before returning to the entryway to retrieve their luggage. Dispersing, everyone went to settle in their rooms with the agreement to regroup in the kitchen shortly to prepare dinner.
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