Orville seemed to be thinking, then smiled. “Yes, it’s a room that’s not been used for a long time. It’s also rather small, but it’s a safe room where the original owner’s children would play. Come, I’ll show you.”
We followed Orville back down to the first floor and into the library. “He bent down and pointed at a copy of C.S. Lewis’sThe Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
“Please tug that book out,” he said to Owen. Owen complied, and when he did, the entire wall slid open.
The room was indeed small and dusty. However, it was bigger than my bedroom in my apartment. Luckily, there was a dusty window in the wall as well. “This has potential, huh?” I asked, and Owen stared at the space.
“It’s a secret room off the library,” he said, his mouth agape.
“That’s a good thing, right?” I asked.
He narrowed his eyes at Orville. “How many ghosts use this room?” he asked.
Orville winked at him. “None that I know of. We prefer a furnished place as much as any other, and as I told you before, we prefer to dwell in the basement. I can ban them from bothering you in this room. However, if I do that, they’ll all want to see it, of course.”
Owen managed a laugh. “Curiosity doesn’t change once we die, it seems.”
“Most certainly not. If anything, it makes us more curious. Will this do, Mr. Lloyd?” he asked.
“This is perfect, but it has to be cleaned, and I’ll need a bed. Can we do more magic?” Owen asked.
“No,” I said, “I think we’ve exhausted the magic for now. Orville, the bed I had in the attic last night felt new. What happened to it?”
“I don’t know, sir. We aren’t privy to the knowledge of your predecessor, but I watched him enough to know he could often use what had already been created, even when he needed rest. Maybe if the bed is in the ether, you can just summon it back? Emma,” he called, and the ghost appeared before him. “Can you and Alice clean this room? I will take Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Richards to the kitchen to prepare lunch for them. I’m sure they are rather famished by now.”
Her eyes grew large when she saw the room. “Shall I ask cook to prepare something, sir?” she asked without looking away from the hidden space.
“No, cook will be plenty busy in the coming months. For now, I hope sandwiches will do?” he asked, turning toward Owen and me.
Both of us nodded and followed Orville out of the room. He closed the door behind him, and then the music room door closed as well. Apparently, ghosts didn’t like to be watched when they cleaned.
Oh well, if it kept me from dusting and cleaning the old space, then so be it. We ate ham and cheese sandwiches while Orville explained how he’d seen the old wizard bring things in and out of the ether. “I understand you will develop a sixth sense, an intuition about your magic, so I would encourage you to do so. If the items already exist, I am sure they aren’t disposed of just because of the spells he cast to redecorate the home.”
I knew what he was saying was correct. When Emma and Alice appeared, rather dusty and exhausted, I stopped and stared at them. “Listen, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. You too, Orville. You don’t owe me anything, certainly not cleaning my home, but thank you for yourwillingness, especially with Owen being tricked into moving here.”
Both women smiled, then looked down. “Thank you, sir,” they said simultaneously and disappeared.
Orville was smiling but quickly hid it when I turned back toward him. “Come, sir, let's go see the space, and then you can try to bring the furniture back that you remember.”
Chapter eighteen
Owen
Iwas all upin my head. I hadn’t meant to move in. I’m not even sure Damian asked, but why would he? I was already here, like it or not.
It’s not like I loved my apartment. It was small, musty, and often smelled like a dead mouse, but it was all I’d been able to afford. Now, I was in a mansion, and my bedroom, although Orville had called it small, was anything but. I mean, yeah, compared to the rest of the house, it was small, but compared to my dinky apartment, it was gigantic.
I looked over as the two female spirits came in, signaling they’d finished cleaning, and my heart clicked a bit more when Damian thanked them for cleaning the room. I wondered if the old wizard from before had done that too. The smile and blush on their faces made me think probably not.
Damian earned some respect from me for that. “Treat everyone like a CEO, be that the janitor or the boss himself,and you’ll go far,” my grandfather had told me throughout my childhood.
Apparently, that applied to ghosts too.
The room was spotless when we pulled the CS Lewis book again and peered inside the room. Even the window appeared brand new. I needed to figure out what ghosts liked and get a gift for Emma and Alice as a thank-you.
“Last night,” Damian told me, “I slept on a really comfortable bed. I’m going to try to bring it back along with some of the furniture I remember from the room. If you hate it, we can redecorate it when my magic energies level out again. Is that okay?” he asked, and of course, I nodded.
He closed his eyes, and I saw his body blur slightly. When I glanced around, the small room was full of furniture. The twin bed sat on the far wall, away from the window. There was an old chest of drawers and an armoire that would’ve made C.S. Lewis proud his book had been used to gain entry. It sat on the wall next to the entrance.
