The Master of Phoenix Hall by Jennifer Wilde Read Free Book Online Page A

behind the garden, damp and cool inside, with hams and bacon and salted meat hanging from pegs. In the metal cooler there were blocks of cheese and butter wrapped in wet white cloths, even a dozen or so eggs, light brown and speckled.
    â€œIt seems that we are well provided for,” Nan said.
    â€œMy aunt died so suddenly. All these things must have been here at the time of her death.”
    â€œThose hams look good. I will take one inside to cook.”
    â€œIsn’t this smell heavenly?” I remarked.
    Nan and I walked past the gardens and down a long slope to look at the deserted granite quarries Mr. Patterson had spoken about. They were an interlinking series of great cavities in the earth, all jagged and raw and ugly. They were deep and covered several acres with large, sharp rocks marking the walls and huge boulders littering the floors. If someone fell, it could mean instantaneous death. There had once been a wooden railing around the outer edges, but it had rotted away and collapsed in a heap of splintered slats. I kicked one of the slats with the tip of my shoe and sent it hurtling down into the quarry. It fell for a long time and then smashed on the rocks with a loud crash. Nan gripped my hand.
    â€œWe’ll want to stay away from here,” she said emphatically.
    â€œIt’s a good thing there are no children about,” I remarked.
    We went back inside and began the long process of unpacking. It would take a long time for us to settle in properly. We found linen in the hall closet, fine sheets scented with verbena, and we made up the beds. I wiped dust off the surfaces of furniture, eager to begin a thorough spring cleaning tomorrow morning.
    The sun was setting when Billy Johnson returned. He had a loaf of bread his mother had just baked, a pail of milk, some eggs and a small block of butter. Nan greeted him with enthusiasm and put him to work chopping wood for the fireplace. He came into the kitchen with a pile of small neat logs which he put into the wood box beside the fireplace. I had just made a pot of coffee.
    â€œWon’t you sit down and have a cup of coffee with us?” I asked.
    He smiled happily, pleased that he would be allowed to stay with us a little longer.
    â€œThis place already looks different,” he remarked. He straddled a chair, his arms resting on the back, his chin resting on his arms. He was watching Nan as she laid the fire, his penny colored eyes full of sparkle. His great size made the sturdy chair seem small.
    â€œHow do you like your new home, Miss Todd?” he asked me.
    â€œI think it is beautiful,” I replied, smiling.
    â€œIt’ll look nice after we clean up a bit,” Nan agreed. “I made a list of things I’ll need for tomorrow, and I want you to bring them first thing in the morning, Billy Johnson.” Her voice was bossy, but Billy liked it. I thought him rather like a very large Puppy.
    â€œIt is certainly quiet here,” I remarked. “So peaceful. I feel as though I were hundreds of miles away from everyone.”
    â€œI’d be a little happier if we weren’t quite so alone,” Nan said. “It gives me a funny feeling not knowing there is someone nearby, near enough to hear a scream, for instance.”
    â€œSurely you’re not frightened, Nan?” I said, laughing.
    â€œOf course not,” she snapped, though not convincingly. “I just don’t like being so isolated.”
    Billy grinned, seeing an opportunity to tease her.
    â€œYou could scream all you wanted,” he said, “and no one would hear you.”
    â€œWhy should I scream?” she asked. “Surely there aren’t prowlers about?”
    â€œSome say the highwaymen have their hideout in this area. Lights have been seen in the deserted quarries and in the woods, usually soon after there has been a holdup. A farmer looking for a lost calf in the woods one night claims to have seen a figure in