Amelia and the Secret of Stoney Manor (Amelia Series Book 1)

by Michelle Bradshaw

  I got quiet as I passed a group of townspeople. They always seem to look at me odd when I talked to myself. “Finally reached the garden shop.” I could not help but utter to myself causing a lady dressed in a brown dress to stare at me and whisper to the lady next to her. I was not naive. I knew they were once again gossiping about me. I just smiled and walked passed them on into the shop.

  “Hello there, Ms. Matilda,” exclaimed Mr. Bartholomew, the shop owner.

  “Good morning, Mr. Bartholomew,” I responded smiling.

  “You know I asked you to call me Bart, Ms. Matilda,” he said smiling as he led me further inside his shop.

  “When you start calling me Matilda, I will call you Bart,” I answered with a laugh. Mr. Bartholomew had been a friend of the family for as long as I have known him. He was about the only one in town that really gave us the time of day. I have been around for quite some time now and can generally read a person, and I could tell from the beginning that Bart, as he would like me to call him, was a good soul.

  “Ms. Matilda, I would like you to meet my nephew Matthew. He is seventeen and just moved here to live with me. He is going to help me around the shop until he finds some work of his own.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ms. Matilda,” said Matthew quietly.

  “I’m sorry, he can be a little shy,” confessed Bart laughing a belly laugh as he gave Matthew a pat on the back. “He is one heck of a gardener though. Too bad no one around here will hire him.”

  “Why is that?” I asked astonished. He seemed to be quite a nice young man—very nice on the eyes if I may say so. Short, dark brown hair, nice smile, and broad shoulders. Except for the fact that Mr. Bart had dark black hair and was a bit portly around the belly, Matthew seemed to favor working out, I could see the family resemblance. Mr. Bart always had a smile for me, but Matthew seemed to have a lot of pain behind his blue eyes.

  “No one wants to hire me because I’m new here,” disclosed Matthew with a frown.

  “No one until me,” I said with a grin.

  “You would hire me?” asked Matthew a small smile spreading, “but you don’t know me either.”

  “I know Mr. Bart. I mean Bart,” I remarked with a wink, “and I can tell you are a nice young man.”

  “Thank you, oh thank you. You won’t regret this, Ms. Matilda,” proclaimed Matthew with excitement.

  “Ah, my dear Matilda. You are a bundle of surprises. I will give you a big discount on your flowers.” said Bart with a huge grin.

  “Thank you, kind sir.” I spoke smiling, “Matthew, can you start tomorrow morning?”

  “Yes ma’am. What time do you need me?”

  “The earlier the better. As soon as you can get there. I would like to get the gardens fixed up for my granddaughter’s birthday. It was nice to meet you, Matthew. Nice to see you again Mr., er, I mean Bart. I must be going. Have to get home to Amelia.” We all said our goodbyes and I headed for the Manor.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AMELIA

  HOW YOU YOU DO?

  Grandmother had been gone for what seemed like a lifetime. It was nearing bedtime, and I had already finished Pride and Prejudice for the hundredth time. I was getting a little worried. I didn’t want her coming home hurt again. “Luna, it is getting so late,” I said to Luna who didn’t make a sound, but just kept sitting at the window watching something as she had been doing all day.

  “I am home, Amelia,” announced Grandmother as she closed the door and I ran to her.

  “Are you okay, Grandmother? I was getting a little worried,” I said giving her a hug.

  “No need to fret, my dear. I might be old, but this old lady still has some fight left in her,” responded Grandmother with a laugh.

  “You’re in a good mood,” I exclaimed.

  “Yes, I am, my sweet Amelia. I just hired us a garden helper. It is Mr. Bart’s nephew. He just moved here and needed a job,” explained Grandmother with glee.

  “Grandmother, we don’t need someone else. I could have done whatever you needed,” I remarked with a frown.

  “Oh, do not worry, my dear. There will be plenty of work to go around. Maybe you can get out there and help Matthew. I assume he does not know anyone and could use a friend,” Grandmother said with a smile.

  Oh, I pondered to myself, this must be Grandmother’s attempt to help my social life. Maybe she has noticed how lonely I have been feeling lately.

  “All right, Amelia. Let us turn in. We have an early morning,” noted Grandmother as she marched off to her bedroom.

  “Good night, Grandmother. Come on, Luna. Let’s go to bed,” I mumbled as I turned to walk up the stairs. Luna, taking one last gaze outside, finally came running out of the sitting room and followed me to bed.

  Night went by fast. No dreams; only the faint sound of something tapping at my bedroom window. “It’s only the wind blowing the branch against the glass,” I assured myself still half asleep and thought no more of it.

  It was morning before I knew it. Before the robins even had a chance to rise and sing, Grandmother was in my room. “It is time to get up, Amelia. Get dressed quickly, and we will have breakfast early. Matthew will be here soon.”

  Ugh, I sulked, though I would never say that to Grandmother. Normally, I was up with the sun, but today I just felt like sleeping in. Maybe I was just feeling nervous about meeting Matthew. “Yes, Grandmother,” I finally muttered as I rolled out of bed.

  “Quickly, child. He will be here soon,” Grandmother cheered as she scurried out of the room to make breakfast.

  “Come on, Luna,” I grumbled sleepily. “Let’s get this day going.” Luna stretched and yawned before finally jumping off the bed. I grabbed my clothes, showered, and was down stairs at the table for breakfast within fifteen minutes. Grandmother surprised me with pancakes again. Boy, she must be in a good mood today, I noticed, muffling a giggle. It was nice not to have oatmeal for a change.

  Ding dong rang the front door bell. “Oh dear. Matthew must be early,” panicked Grandmother rushing from the table almost spilling her tea. For a second I hoped she was going to let me stay behind at the table. Nope. “Come, come, Amelia. We must greet our guest,” Grandmother urged with a grin. We hurried to the door, stopped to collect ourselves, and slowly opened it.

  “Good morning, Ms. Matilda,” spoke Matthew. “Uncle Bart asked me to give you these chrysanthemums.”

  “Good morning to you also and thank you. Tell him I said they are lovely,” said Grandmother as I hid behind her, my shy side showing. As I peeked around her, Matthew looked cute, making me all the more nervous since I had never really been around kids my own age, much less a boy. Grandmother stepped aside, catching me off guard. “This is my granddaughter, Amelia. Amelia, this is Matthew.”

  “Nice to meet you, Amelia,” said Matthew with a grin and a small wave of his hand.

  “How you you do?” I uttered fumbling my words. Ugh, I grimaced. “I mean, how do you do?” I added trying to fix my folly.

  He could have laughed at me, but being a gentleman he just smiled and replied, “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” A hush fell upon the group.

  Grandmother finally broke the silence and mentioned, “We have plenty of breakfast if you would like to join us, Matthew.” Please join us, I pleaded to myself, feeling things I had never felt before.

  “Thank you for the invitation, but if you don’t mind, I would like to go ahead and unload the truck,” said Matthew.

  “Suit yourself,” proclaimed Grandmother. “We will eat and be out there shortly. Come, Amelia,” announced Grandmother turning to go to the table. I stood a minute longer watching as Matthew walked to the truck. Not really being around a boy before, I didn’t understand all the emotions rushing through my body. “Amelia!” repeated Grandmother a little more stern this time.

  “Coming,” I answered and quickly followed. Breakfast was quietly and quickly eaten. My thoughts weren’t so quiet. I kept thinking about Matthew’s dark, brown hair, blue eyes that sp
arkled, and his nice smile.

  “Amelia, I asked if you were done eating?” reiterated Grandmother.

  “Sorry, Grandmother. Yes, I’m done.”

  “Child, your head is in the clouds today. This is not like you. Are you feeling ill?”

  “No, Grandmother. I’ve never felt better. Never felt this way before to be honest.”

  “Oh dear,” she said “Is this about the boy, Matthew?”

  I hesitated to answer. “Yes. It’s just I’ve never been around boys before, and he seems nice and is cute.”

  “I suspected you would approve of him, Amelia, but he is here to help with the garden and could make a nice friend, not a suitor. After all, he is a year older than you,” clarified Grandmother as gracefully as she could.

  “But Grandmother, I—”

  “None of that now. I will not stand in the way if it is destiny. Get to know him a little first though. Let fate play its cards and we will see what happens,” advised Grandmother with a look of true compassion on her face. “Now, let us clean up quickly. I am sure Matthew will be aching to get started soon. Bart spoke so highly of him and his green thumb. He will have plenty to cultivate here.”

  I quickly gathered the dishes, almost dropping them in my haste, and washed them. I was nearly rushing to the door when Grandmother scolded, “Amelia, slow down child. Ladies do not rush. Do not worry, for he will still be there when you get outside.”

  “Yes, Grandmother,” I said as we slowly, and I mean slowly, walked outside. Luna followed behind.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  AMELIA

  EMERALD EYES, APPLE PIES, AND ROMEO & JULIET

  “Are you all set, Matthew?” asked Grandmother as we walked up to the gardens.

  “Yes, ma’am. Got everything you ordered off the truck as well as the tools needed,” replied Matthew as he put his work gloves on preparing to start the day.

  “Good, lad. I suggest we all start in the front and work toward the back,” Grandmother said as she put on some very frilly gardening gloves.

  “Sounds good,” responded Matthew. “I think we should start by weeding the place and getting rid of what is dead.”

  “Oh make sure you do not mistake something that just needs a gentle touch for death. For you see those bushes there are Moonflowers. A good pruning would bring them back to life.”

  “Moonflowers?” exclaimed Matthew his excitement showing. “They are not even native to the area.”

  “You know your plants well,” remarked Grandmother grinning. “Your Uncle Bart had them flown in for me a long while ago. I would bring Amelia out here when she was a baby, and we would watch them bloom under the light of the moon.” Grandmother gazed upon me as if I were young again as she uttered the words.

  “I had forgotten that,” I confessed.

  “You were only a little thing. It is understandable why you would not remember,” she assured me as she hugged me. “Oh enough reminiscing. We have work to do. Let us get to it,” announced Grandmother walking to pick up some gardening tools to get started. She seemed to hesitate for a moment and whisper something to Luna while Matthew wasn’t looking. I didn’t think twice about it. That was my grandmother for you. She was always doing things like that.

  “So, your grandmother told me you have lived with her all your life,” said Matthew as we began to pull weeds.

  “Yes, I don’t really remember my life before the Manor. I was too little,” I clarified as I yanked at the foreign invaders who had taken over what was once a beautiful garden.

  “Do you remember what your parents look like?” asked Matthew who seemed curious of my background.

  “No. Don’t tell Grandmother. I would never want to hurt her, but I’ve often dreamed of what it would be like to have my parents here: what they look like, how they smell, what we would do together as a family. What are your parents like?” I asked sadly.

  “I promise I won’t tell. Actually the reason I moved here is because …”

  “Amelia, could you come here a minute please?” shouted Grandmother from the other end of the garden.

  “Yes, Grandmother. I’ll be right there. Please finish what you were going to say, Matthew,” I requested turning to him.

  “No, you go help Ms. Matilda. I can wait to tell you later. I need to go grab the hoe anyway. These weeds are more difficult than I had anticipated,” he spoke with pain in his eyes as he walked back to his truck. I stood there watching as he grabbed the hoe from his truck and turned to come back.

  Right as I was about to go find Grandmother to help her, a giant, black snake with glowing, green eyes slithered out of nowhere and began to come toward me hissing, Hiss.

  “Aaaahhhh!!” I screamed as I tried to scurry backwards tripping over a rock.

  “Amelia!” shouted Grandmother. Right as the snake was about to make a snack of my leg, Matthew rushed over and chopped its head off with his hoe. I was nearly shaking as Grandmother rushed to me and both Grandmother and Matthew helped me up. “What happened? Are you okay, Amelia?” panicked Grandmother hugging me tight now.

  “Matthew saved me from this giant, black snake,” I answered, still shaking.

  “You did? Our hero, Matthew. Where is the snake now?” probed Grandmother half releasing her hold on me and turning to praise Matthew.

  Pride taking over the place of nerves, Matthew turned to point to the snake that he killed but it was gone. “It was right here a minute ago. I chopped its head off. Wait. What? Where did these ashes come from? I don’t understand,” uttered Matthew with a look of confusion on his face.

  “It has been a long, tiring day,” said Grandmother. “I am sure it is around here. You are probably just hungry because we skipped lunch. I think we should go in for some dinner and call it a day. Maybe Amelia could favor us with some piano,” Grandmother suggested as she ushered us back to the house.

  “Maybe I am tired,” exclaimed Matthew. “I know I killed it right there. Some food would do me good,” he mumbled to himself.

  “Welcome to my world, Matthew,” I whispered mainly to myself, not being sure if he heard me or not. If he were to remain here, he would have to get used to the unexplained happenings that went on around Stoney Manor.

  “So, you two clean up, and I will get some dinner going,” instructed Grandmother as she walked off to the kitchen. Since Matthew had never been inside the Manor before, I felt the need to show him where the downstairs bathroom was. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to the bathroom,” I said timidly and began to lead the way. Matthew just nodded and followed quietly. “Here it is,” I announced making myself think, Duh, Amelia. He can see it’s the bathroom. “There are the soap and hand towels,” I explained as I pointed to them. Duh, duh, duh. Gah, I felt like a lummox. He has eyes. He can see where everything is, I pondered to myself, wishing the giant butterflies would quit doing back flips in my stomach.

  “Well, I think I got it from here,” said Matthew smiling, tearing me from my thoughts.

  “Oh, r-r-right,” I stuttered as I turned to leave the room.

  “Thank you for showing me though,” added Matthew, still smiling as my arm brushed against his as I walked out into the hallway. I felt something I had never felt before—a surge of energy when my arm touched his. Brushing it off, I hurried down the hallway and up the stairs to my own room to change for dinner.

  Fifteen minutes later, we all sat around the dinner table enjoying Grandmother’s delicious beef stew. “This is really good,” said Matthew in-between bites. “Thank you for having me over.”

  Grandmother wiped her mouth with her cloth napkin before speaking, “It is our pleasure. Not only have you done a lovely job on the gardens today, but you saved my dear Amelia from that awful snake.”

  “Speaking of the snake, I still can’t get over where it went,” said Matthew nonchalantly as he took a sip of his lemonade.

  “Let us not think of that dreadful snake. I am sure the birds have gotten it by now. I am just glad you were here to
save the day,” affirmed Grandmother quickly, but gracefully. “If everyone has finished their stew, then we shall move on to dessert. In honor of our hero we shall have some apple pie.”

  “Oh, apple pie is my favorite,” blurted out Matthew.

  “Oh is it now?” responded Grandmother with a smile.

  “Yes it is. I could eat apple pie every day,” admitted Matthew before a look of sadness filled his eyes.

  “Are you all right lad?” asked Grandmother out of concern.

  “Oh yes, sorry. I was just thinking about something,” Matthew assured her shaking his head as if to clear it. “Do you need help getting the pie?”

  “No. You are our guest tonight.” proclaimed Grandmother smiling. “Amelia, would you mind getting it? It is on the counter near the window in the kitchen.”

  “Sure,” I said and quickly hurried off to get it. The kitchen was cloaked in darkness. It had never felt like this before. It normally had a welcoming feeling to it, but not at this moment. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and it scared me, so I hurried over to the counter to grab the pie. As I reached for it, a big, black raven with beady red eyes stared at me from the window. At first I stared back because I’d never seen a bird, at least not a raven, so large and especially not one with red eyes. As I moved to take a closer look, its eyes flashed a green glow and it cawed before tapping the window hard and flying away. I screamed and jumped making me drop the apple pie to floor. As the pie and the plate shattered into a million pieces, Grandmother and Matthew came rushing in both yelling, “Are you all right?”

  Taking a moment to clear my head. “Oh, yes. A bird frightened me. I’m all right. I can’t say the same for the pie though,” I said as I bent down to clean it up.

  Grandmother hurried over and said, “Do not fret about that, my dear. Accidents happen. I will take care of it. Today, I actually made two pies because I was going to send one home with you, Matthew, for you and your uncle. Amelia, you take Matthew in the sitting room and entertain him with your piano playing while I clean up. Then we can have some pie.”