Eleanor was unable to get much more information from the driver. In the end, she stopped trying. Instead, she jot down little notes about their trip and their drive. She wasn’t sure which direction the article was going to go in. She wasn’t sure if it was going to end up being more of a documentation of her time with the author, or if it would be a straight-out question and answer session.
The driver took the highway, then made a direct route out of the city. The scenery shifted gradually from high rise buildings, stores and office buildings to residential houses. The houses soon began to sit further and further apart, until the houses became miles apart. Before long it felt like they hadn’t seen a house in miles. Instead, Eleanor noticed that they were now on a two lane road, that winded around the landscape. They had gone from long, flat stretches of road to hills and valleys with mountains in the distance. The scenery was beautiful.
Jackson reached across the back seat and took Eleanor’s hand in his. He gave it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. “It’s going to be okay, we’ll be fine.” He said softly with a smile.
Eleanor nodded. “I’m just nervous.”
“I know.” He answered. “Try not to be.”
“Thanks for the wise advice.” Eleanor rolled her eyes.
The driver slowed, and turned off the road. At first Eleanor didn’t see the road that they were turning on, but it soon became clearer. It was nothing more than a path cut through the trees, barely big enough for two cars to pass side by side. The pavement had ended and they were now on a dirt road.
“You will arrive at your destination in about fifteen minutes.” The driver announced.
Eleanor shifted in her seat again. She wanted to be able to see out the front windshield so she could see their destination as they approached.
The driver slowed, expertly navigating between the trees and the walls of forest as if he had done it a million times. Eleanor assumed he probably had driven this stretch of road a million times.
It wasn’t long before the trees broke. The road changed from dirt to some sort of brick paver.
It was then that Eleanor saw the massive looming mansion, surrounded by threes on three sides. The house stood three stories high, with a high pitched roof. Huge windows spotted the front of the house. Off to the left was a four car garage, with four perfectly placed garage doors. The drive way was circular with a large, lush garden in the middle. The front door was a massive arched wooden doorway. In front of the door was a huge stone arch way porte cochere, large stone columns holding it up.
Standing demurely next to one of the columns was Corrine. Again she was dressed all in black, with her hair neatly pulled back in a twisted bun at the base of her neck. She was standing straightly, with her hands held together in front of her.
The driver pulled around to the front door, stopping the car in front of Corrine and shifting the car into park. “Here we are.” He announced, climbing out of the driver’s seat.
Jackson let out a low whistle. “Will you look at this place?”
“Holy shit.” Eleanor murmured, unfastening her seatbelt.
The driver opened Eleanor’s door and helped her from the vehicle. Eleanor looked around. The house was completely secluded, this made her slightly nervous. She moved quickly around the back of the SUV and reached Jackson’s side. Being next to him made her immediately feel safer.
“Hello, Mr. And Mrs. Walsh. Welcome to Emerald Manor.” Corrine said with a cheerful smile.
“Oh, call us by our first names.” Jackson said.
“Okay.” Corrine nodded. “Lets go inside. I’ll have another staff member bring your luggage to your rooms.”
Eleanor looked around to protest, but Jackson took her arm gently and followed Corrine into the huge house.
The entry hall was massive, and circular. The floors were an expensive, pristine marble, broken up by two circular, winding staircases on either side of the hall. Looking straight through the huge space between the stairs, Eleanor could see that the whole opposite wall was made almost entirely of windows. Huge windows that stretched from floor to ceiling to accentuate the stunning view of the lake below and the mountains just beyond.
Jackson cursed under his breath.
“I’ve been instructed to give you a brief tour of the grounds.” Corrine said, stopping in front of them, facing them both. “Miss Quinn wants you to treat the manor as if it is your own. She wants you to feel completely at home here. If you need anything, please feel free to ask. Right this way, please.” She said, turning on her heel. She began walking toward the left side of the house.
“This is the West wing. Here you will find the kitchen, the library, the games room, the movie theater and one of the sitting rooms.” Corrine explained. “I’m not expecting you to remember this, there are plenty of staff here to help you, there are phones in any room. If you press zero, you can reach me at any time. As I mentioned before, I’m head of staff so I can have your needs attended to.”
Eleanor wordlessly pointed out the view to Jackson who nodded.
Corrine caught the exchange, and led them both to one of the large windows. “This is Star lake. If you walk just past the courtyard here, there is an easy path down to the water. There is a dock with a boat, canoes, kayaks… anything you might want to use. There’s fishing equipment, and the water is wonderful and fresh. Though it might be a bit too cold to swim in at this time of year… You’re free to use them as you wish. If you don’t feel comfortable driving the boat, you can ask the driver Kennedy. He will gladly take you out.”
“Is the lake public?” Jackson asked. “I don’t see any other boats out there.” He mused.
“There won’t be any other boats out there.” Corrine explained. “The lake is private. The entire lake is owned by Miss Quinn, so no one else can use it, nor can they build a cottage or anything else.”
“Does she own the mountain too?” Jackson asked, with slight sarcasm in his voice.
“Not all of it.” Corrine answered flatly. She turned again and started down the hall.
They turned into the first room, Corrine pushing her way through the set of double doors. Jackson and Eleanor followed her into a kitchen that had to be at least twice the size of their entire condo. The kitchen was huge, with large gray cabinets that reached the ceiling. The counter tops were white marble, just a shade or two lighter than the marble on the floor. There was a large island in the middle with a sink. Two large fridges stood out against one wall. A massive restaurant sized stove served as the centerpiece on the opposite wall.
Around the island stood three other staff members.
“These are the other key staff members.” Corrine said. She motioned first to the man in the white chef’s jacket. “This is Chef Ashford. He is the head chef here at the manor. He is in charge of the menu as well as the two kitchen staff he has under him. If there is anything that you would like to eat while you are here, please feel free to ask. He has been instructed to accommodate you in an way possible. If you decide you want ice cream at three in the morning, please dial the kitchen and he will have it brought to you as soon as possible.” Corrine said evenly.
The chef nodded, at the two of them. He spoke in a slight French accent. “Do you have any dietary restrictions that I should be aware of?”
Eleanor shook her head silently, still in complete disbelief.
“Wonderful. Dinner is at seven, it will be served in the formal dining room.” He nodded again, and stepped back into line with the other staff members.
“Next is Marius,” Corrine continued. “He is head of security here at the manor. He is in charge of keeping us all safe. There are security cameras posted around the property, as well as alarms on all of the doors and windows of the main house. Should you have any questions or concerns, please ask and he will accommodate you to the best of his ability.”
Marius nodded. “I have three other guards that work with me. Two of them work the night shift, and myself and another guard in the day. If you have any security issues, please call. I can be reached by any of the phones in any room.” His voice was thick and deep, with a slight accent that Eleanor couldn’t quite place. “You will see us roaming the grounds frequently.”
Corine nodded. “And thirdly we have Miss Althea. She is head of housekeeping here at the manor. While you are here, you will not need to lift a finger. The housekeeping staff will pick up after you, bring you fresh sheets and towels daily. Should you need anything laundered or cleaned while you are here, Miss Althea and her team will take care of it.”
Althea nodded. She was a tiny, slight woman. She stood at barely over five feet tall and had the appearance of a yoga instructor; thin and lithe.
Corrine softly cleared her throat. “Okay, so that is the kitchen. You probably won’t have much of a need to go in here.” She gently ushered Eleanor and Jackson back into the hall. “If you need anything, please ask. But you won’t have need to even so much as make yourself a cup of coffee while you are here. Everything will be taken care of.”
Eleanor looked worriedly at Jackson who was grinning broadly.
“Is that all of the staff, then?” Eleanor asked curiously.
“No. There are some other staff members, but none that you should have to encounter. There is a gardener and a pool boy. There is a maintenance man as well, but you probably won’t require their services…” Corrine explained.
The three of them stopped outside of a large open dining room, with another exquisite view of the lake and the mountain. “This is the dining room. Your meals will be served here unless you request otherwise.” Corrine explained again.
“Will L. M. Quinn be dining with us?” Eleanor asked.
“Most likely. Unless you request otherwise, or depending on how Miss Quinn feels.” Corrine nodded, but changed the subject quickly. “The games room is right this way.” She started down the hall again.
They stopped in a large carpeted room with a view of the driveway and the trees that surrounded the front of the house. Inside the room was a large pool table, a shuffleboard table, several arcade games, and a large bar with stools.
“Is there beer on tap?” Jackson asked eagerly.
“Yes, seven different kinds.” Corrine smiled.
“Sweet!” Jackson grinned.
“Next we have the movie theater.” Corrine led them into the next room. It was a large room, that was dark and didn’t have any windows. The one wall was a large white screen for showing movies. There were large lazy-boy chairs lined up in the room. A popcorn maker stood in the corner.
“Wow.” Jackson said.
“We have almost every movie, as well as full satellite channels and of course your standard streaming venues.” Corrine explained. She led them from the room. She showed them a large marble coated bathroom and a wine room. She showed them a formal sitting room, filled with plush, comfortable looking sofas.
She led them at last to the final room in the West Wing.
“This is perhaps one of the most impressive rooms in the manor.” She said, standing outside the double doors. “This is the library.”
She pushed the two doors open at the same time and let them both in.
Eleanor gasped.
The room was two stories high. Three walls were made of book shelves, stacked all the way to the ceiling with books. The fourth wall was on the side of the house that overlooked the lake and the mountains. This room had the nicest view of any they had seen so far. Two leather club chairs were sitting in the middle of the room, with a large, comfortable looking chaise lounge chair by the windows.
Eleanor walked into the room, circling the large wooden desk. She ran her fingers along it’s clean, sparkling surface. A lamp and an antique typewriter were sitting on top of the desk, as well as a small glass bowl filled with pens and pencils.
“Is this where L.M. Quinn writes her novels?” Eleanor asked.
“At times. She has another office upstairs in her private rooms that she uses quite a bit too. Of course she does not use the typewriter much, it’s more of a show piece. She bought it at auction, it once belonged to Hemingway.” Corrine said, folding her hands in front of her.
“Really? Wow.” Jackson mused, looking up at the stacks of books and the high ceiling.
Eleanor paused to run her fingers along the books neatly arranged on the bookshelf behind the desk. These were all books written by L.M. Quinn herself, prominently displayed, and in chronological order. “First editions?” Eleanor asked.
“I believe so yes.” Corrine answered. “Again, this room you can use as you wish, borrow any book, or just spend time in here…”
Jackson appeared beside Eleanor. “I had no idea that she had this many books.” He mused.
Eleanor could have easily stayed in the library forever, just looking around. But she knew that the day was nearly over, and she was eager to get through the tour of the house. She wanted to meet the illustrious L.M. Quinn, and she wanted to ask more questions.
“Where to next?” Eleanor asked.
“This way,” Corrine turned and led them from the library, back the same way they had come. They reached the entry hall. She pointed out a couple more bathrooms on the way as the three of them walked toward the East Wing of the Manor.
Eleanor found herself unable to concentrate on what she was being told. She was unable to do anything except glance around in complete awe of her surroundings. Everything was so perfect, so beautiful and so pristine. The house was immaculate and breathtaking.
“The East Wing is larger than the West,” Corrine was explaining. “Here is a television room, in case you want to watch something on a normal sized television.” She led them to an open arched doorway.
The far wall again was made up of windows to accent the view. Two plush chairs, a sofa and a love seat all upholstered in a soft grey material sat in the middle of the room. A large coffee table was positioned in the middle. The furniture all faced a massive stone wood burning fireplace, with a hearth big enough to fit a full grown adult inside.
“That is not a normal sized television!” Jackson pointed out. “What is that sixty… seventy inches?”
“I’m not sure the exact size,” Corrine answered apologetically. She walked into the room and crossed it in a few short strides. She opened the back doors out into the court yard.
Eleanor and Jackson followed her out into the stone court.
“This is one of the most used areas of the manor. As you can see there are tables and chairs out here, if you wish to sit out here, you can of course dine out here if you like and take advantage of the view…”
Outside, the sun was warm. It was warm enough to be outside without a jacket, but the wind was slightly cool. The trees were swaying slightly in the breeze and there was a faint ripple across the lake below.
Jackson crossed to the glass railing, and leaned his good arm on it. He looked down over the sloping yard and trees to the water. “This is truly a beautiful spot. I can count the stones at the bottom of the lake from here, the water is so clear.” He mused.
Eleanor joined him at the railing. She surveyed the land below for a moment, made note of the stairway to the sandy shore and the gardens below. Of course there was a gardener on staff, even with fall at their doorstep, the gardens were pristine and perfectly in bloom.
Eleanor turned and looked around at the court yard. She looked up, her eyes following the expansive stone outer shell of the manor. Above them was a large balcony, bordered with the same glass railing.
“What’s up there?” Eleanor asked curiously.
“That is Miss Quinn’s balcony.” Corrine explained quickly. “The balcony is directly off her private rooms.”
“How many bedrooms are in this place?” Jackson asked, scratching at his growing beard with his good hand.
“Seventeen.” Corrine answered. “Eleven bathrooms.”
Eleanor was sure that for a very brief moment she had seen a flash of relief in Corrine’s face. It only registered for a moment, but it gave Eleanor the impression that Corrine did not want to talk about her boss if it could be avoided. The journalist in Eleanor made a mental note to ask more questions later.
“We should go back in.” Corrine said, holding the doors open for the two of them. Once the three were all inside, Corrine resumed the tour. She led them to another sitting room, then an indoor gym.
“Lastly, we have the pool.” Corrine pulled open a heavy glass door and led Jackson and Eleanor inside. “Salt water, and Olympic sized. It can be used at any time, day or night. Fresh towels will be provided by the housekeeping staff at your request. There is also a full sized sauna at the back, showers, and the hot tub.” Corrine walked along the short side of the pool toward the wall of windows that overlooked the incredible view. The heels of her ballet flats clicked on the tile and echoed throughout the room. “The pool is heated, but can be adjusted to your chosen temperature.”
“I told you,” Jackson whispered with a grin. “Rich people have pools.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes.
“These doors are on sliders.” Corrine was explaining. They can be opened and pushed back all the way so you can enjoy the view, or you can look up at the skylights and appreciate the stars.”
Eleanor blinked up at the ceiling, still feeling the shock of all of the things they had seen so far. She knew she’d never be able to remember it all.
Corrine crossed the room again, and led them back into the hall. She pointed out a meeting room which contained a long, wooden table surrounded by office chairs and explained that rather than having to travel to see literary agents, editors and the marketing team, L. M. Quinn would have them come to the manor for meetings.
They took the elevator up to the second floor, where Corrine gave them a tour of the upper East wing. She showed them seven bedrooms, and five more bathrooms, before bringing them to a stop in the middle of the manor, in the same round entrance hall as before. They stood at the railing between the two curved staircases.
Jackson asked questions about when the manor had been built, how long the author had owned it and other polite inquiries.
Eleanor found herself staring at the heavy wooden double doors that lead to the upper West Wing.
“Will you be showing us the West Wing up here?” Eleanor asked, interrupting the polite conversation between her husband and Corrine.
“I’m afraid not. Those are Miss Quinn’s private rooms. Very few people have been inside those doors, only a handful of staff. She does most of her best work in those rooms, and maintains it as a sanctuary of her own personal space. I have been asked not to show you those rooms, and I am doubtful that Miss Quinn will show you those rooms on her own.” Corrine explained softly.
“That’s okay. She needs her space.” Jackson shrugged, moving his good arm around Eleanor.
Before Eleanor could say anything, Corrine’s phone vibrated audibly in her pocket. The phone was in her hand in a split second and she was reading the screen. “Well, it is six-thirty. Dinner is in half an hour… How about I get you two down to the dining room? You can have a drink before your meal.” She smiled warmly.
Eleanor could feel that they were being rushed. There was something in that text message that was telling Corrine she needed to hurry up with the tour.