The next time Charlie awoke it was when she felt the sun shinning on her face as it peaked in from the window. The view that she saw that morning took her very breath away. The rich, green sycamore trees and tall grass, the crystal clear water of the creek which the light shimmered off of, the lovely magnolias full in bloom, she had never seen a more beautiful landscape. She opened the window and slightly leaned out to have a better experience. She could smell the perfume of the magnolias and hear the finches sing. One definitely could not wake to a sight like this back in Chicago.
Knock-knock!
"One moment."
She put on her robe and answered the door. There was Niffty holding a basket of various liquid-filled bottles.
"Good morning Miss Morningstar." She greeted.
"Good morning Niffty."
"I just came up to tell you that breakfast will be ready in two hours and I wanted to give you these. Special compliments of the house."
She handed Charlie the basket. The basket contained special bath and essential oils.
"Thank you." She said. "But this is too much. I couldn't accept."
"Think nothing of it. We'll be delivering special gifts to your friends as well. We take Southern hospitality very seriously here." She said. "Now the bathroom is conjoined to your room, and you'll find everything you need in the bathroom closet. If you need anything just call."
"I will. Thank you."
After Niffty left, Charlie stepped into the Victorian style bathroom which was complete with a claw foot-tub, and she looked through the gift basket she had been given. It had quite a selection. Rose water, Lavender oil, Essence of Jasmine, and several perfumes of Honey-Suckle, Chamomile, and Lily of the Valley.
"Not sure what I should use." She said.
She first took her time smelling the scents of all the oils and perfumes. They were all wonderful but she decided to bathe with the Lavender oil this morning. She drew her bath, poured in the oil, grabbed a bar of soap from the closet along with a towel and cloth, changed out of her clothes, and slowly eased herself into the tub. The hot water felt like liquid splendor and the scent of Lavender made her mood especially good. It brought back memories of when she was a very small child and she would take bubble baths with her mother.
Her tiny hands excitedly playing with all the bubbles as her mother washed and then condition her hair. The instant warmth she felt when her mother would wrap her tiny wet body up in a towel. The smell of Lavender would be all around because it was her mother's favorite fragrance. Oh how she cherished memories like that.
When she was scrubbed and rinsed off she dried her body with the towel, put her robe back on, and stepped back into the bedroom. Charlie pulled the curtains over the window and fished an outfit from her bag which she changed into. She brushed her long blonde hair and styled it into a braid, brushed her teeth over the sink, and finally left her room to go down to the dining hall for breakfast.
Niffty had made eggs hussarde and pain perdu with raspberry jam which was mouth-watering to see and smell. Though the taste was even better. She couldn't remember a time she ever had a breakfast like this. Neither one of her parents cooked much so growing up her breakfast was usually easy to make meals like toast or cereal or yogurt with fruit. When she moved in with Vaggie she tried to make a big breakfast once to show her appreciation for her new best friend but Charlie never really learned to cook anything and that morning ended with the kitchen being a huge mess.
"What would you all like to drink with your meal?" Niffty asked. "Coffee? Tea? Milk? Juice?"
"Juice." The guests answered.
"Orange or apple?"
"Orange." Angel and Vaggie said.
"Apple." Charlie said.
Niffty briefly left the dining hall and came back with two pitchers of juice.
"Do you need any help with that?" Charlie offered.
"Oh no, I've got it." Niffty said. "I've been doing this by myself for years."
"And we have always been grateful for your hard efforts in serving culinary." Rosie said taking a sip from her tea cup. "No one makes tea better than you."
"Thank you ma'am."
"I have to tell you Niffty, these eggs hussarde is Heaven on my taste buds." Angel said.
"Thank you. The eggs and meat are all fresh."
"I didn't know you had a farm." Charlie said.
"We don't but this bayou has plenty ducks and wild hogs who build their habitat in this bayou."
"What does that mean?" Angel asked.
"I didn't use chicken eggs, I used duck eggs that were nested in the reeds and the bacon and sausage comes from a wild hog I killed yesterday."
Everyone save for Rosie looked at Niffty completely shocked. Niffty you see was a very short woman. Very short and very frail looking. Her appearance made those who didn't know her assume that she would shatter like glass if she ever did anything rough, let alone violent.
"You killed a hog?" Vaggie said, her tone skeptical.
"Yep. Killed it and gutted it myself. A rather difficult creature but no match for my carving knife. He was finished after one thrust."
"Niffty please, don't frighten the guests." Rosie giggled. "At least not when they're trying to eat. You'll spoil their appetite and they'll need plenty of nourishment for today."
"Why? What's happening today?" Vaggie asked.
"Did you forget? I was going to give you all a grand tour of Davenport today and after the tour Charlie, you and I can look over that manuscript of yours."
"Sounds like a good plan." Charlie said.
"But what are we supposed to do while you two are writing?" Angel asked. "There's literally nothing to do around here."
"Angel." Charlie warned.
"No that's alright." Rosie chuckled. "There's plenty to do in Davenport. When the tour is finished I can drop you two off at the square, let you amuse yourselves among the tourist attractions and come back for you later."
"Actually you can drop Angel off." Vaggie said. "I'll stay with Charlie."
"Very well. Mimzy would you locate Husk and ask him to bring the car upfront?"
"Oui Madame." The other maid answered.
"Thank you."
"Hey speaking of Husk." Angel said recalling what he had seen last night. "I saw him digging around in the cemetery last night and your butler said that it was part of his job."
"It is." Rosie said. "You'd be surprised how hard it is to manage your own family cemetery."
"But he was doing it so late. Even if being a graveyard at night doesn't spook him, isn't hard for him to see what he's doing out there."
"Not really."
"But what about that whole no going outside after dark rule?" Vaggie asked.
"That only applies to you all because you're not familiar with the surroundings here. Also I seriously doubt any of you have successfully killed an alligator with your bare hands like he has."
"He killed an alligator with his bare hands?"
"Crazy but true. Now is everyone finished eating?"
They all nodded.
"Excellent. I'll go wait for the car and you all just go get anything you may want to bring along with you. Jackets, hand-bags, ect."
Rosie lightly tapped her mouth with a napkin and silently slid out of her seat, exiting the room in perfect grace and leaving Niffty to clear the table.
"Here let me help you carry those." Charlie said when Niffty's arms became heavy with dirty dishes.
"No. I wouldn't dream of letting a guest carry dishes." Niffty protested.
"It's no trouble. Besides you look like you're about to topple over."
Charlie took half the plates from Niffty and followed her into the kitchen.
"I'd be happy to help you wash them." Charlie offfered.
"No you've done enough. I can take it from here." Niffty assured her. "Besides you have to be somewhere in a few minutes. I don't want to keep you."
"Well alright. Thank you again for the wonderful breakfast Niffty."
"You're very welcome."
Niffty watched Charlie leave with a touched look upon her face.
"So kind and thoughtful." She sighed to herself as she began to wash the dishes. "Just like she was."
"Where's Alastor?"
Niffty looked up from the sink to see that Mimzy had entered from the back door.
"Oh Mimzy you scared me." Niffty said. "You're almost getting as bad as Mr. Pentious."
"Where is Alastor?" She asked again.
"Oh didn't Rosie tell you? He had to leave for work really early."
"So he's not here?"
"No."
"Good. Then I can talk to you about this without fear."
"Talk to me about what?"
"About this guest staying with us. Do you really think what he's doing is a good idea?"
"Well if Rosie wants to help her fan write her own story, who are we to object?"
"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it. You know this whole thing has nothing to do with book writing. You know what Alastor's been thinking from the very moment he saw that girl's picture. I'm worried that having her and those other two so close, might expose some of our secrets."
"I wouldn't worry about that. You know he's always been careful about our little secret."
"Even so, that's not the only thing I'm worried about. I'm worried about what this girl might do to his psyche. Holding on to his mental stability has been a struggle for him for years. This plan of his, this girl, might break him entirely."
"Your concern is understandable Mimzy but unwarranted. If this plan really posed any threat to ourselves or him, Rosie would have gone out of her way to talk him out of it. You know that she's always been his voice of reason. So if she's not worried, I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be worried either."
"Still I think I want to him about this. Figure out what is exact goal is."
"Be my guest but don't expect him to listen. He is very persistent."
"So am I."
And with that said, she left the kitchen to continue with her usual chores.