Carlton House

by B. Groves

  Lily tossed and turned, thinking about her weird employer and kept waiting for more outside noises. That never happened. She wasn’t sure what time she finally drifted off, but she turned over and groaned from fatigue when the alarm on her phone chimed.

  Lily tossed the covers aside, sat up and stretched.

  She needed coffee. She would need more coffee later. Today was a busy day before she started her new job.

  No matter what transpired the night before, Lily would remain. She got up from the bed and stepped over to the window. This time she pulled the curtains and stared at the house.

  No lights. No movement in the window. Just the morning clouds reflecting off of the glass.

  Lily turned back and headed for the shower.

  Chapter 7

  Exploring

  Lily hauled her suitcases from the car and hung them up in the walk-in closet. A stacked washer and dryer sat in the corner near the bathroom. It was tiny and cheap, but much better than her former apartment where she had to use the community laundry room. Her clothes had been stolen twice and thrown on the floor although there had been enough machines available when that happened. After those incidents, she stayed with her clothes until they finished washing and drying.

  As she unpacked her car, her thoughts racing back and forth between venturing back to her old apartment to pick up the rest of her stuff and the silent house to her right every time she strolled back to her car.

  She tried to ignore the Porsche sitting in the driveway near her older model sedan. She didn’t know much about cars, but that thing was pricey and an older model from what she researched that morning on the internet.

  Lily tried not to stare at the house, but she gave in the one time that morning. The morning sunlight reflected off the windows, but no figure appeared and she was brushing off her experiences as paranoia and stress.

  Lily’s stomach growled by noon and she decided to buy lunch. She smiled thinking this would be the first she bought lunch in over a year and she looked forward to a big hoagie.

  She locked the door to the cottage and glanced at the house one more time wondering what Mr. Carlton was doing right now. She hadn’t seen him all morning, and he never came out of the house to greet her. She checked the windows for movement, but nothing caught her eye.

  The Porsche was still parked in the driveway. Did he work? She wondered. Did he work from home? She shrugged, thinking she’d find all this out in time.

  The nearest fast-food place was a convenience store that made specialty hoagies and sandwiches according to her GPS. It wasn’t far from the house. She estimated she’d return to the house in less than an hour depending on traffic.

  Lily pulled into the parking lot and figured she’d call Angela and tell her everything.

  “Hi, honey,” Angela said when she answered her phone.

  “Hi. How are you today?” Lily asked.

  “So much better. Getting around and doing things again,” Angela answered.

  Lily smiled. Her foster mother suffered from Crohn’s disease and when it flared up, Angela became incapacitated for weeks even months. Angela had been turning down surgery for many years, but recently said she might be ready to try it.

  “Oh, good. I’m so happy to hear that. Did you need any help? Are the kids okay?”

  Angela laughed. “The kids… are the kids. I’m fine. What’s going on with you?”

  “I got a new job,” Lily said with a grin.

  Angela hooted and hollered over the phone. “Oh, thank God. Where are you working? When do you start?”

  “Tomorrow and it’s cleaning for a private owner,” Lily answered.

  “Really? I hope that person is paying you well,” Angela said.

  “He is.”

  “Who is he?”

  Lily took a deep breath. She didn’t want to worry Angela, but it made her feel better knowing that someone had knowledge of her whereabouts.

  Lily told Angela about the house and Mr. Michael Carlton. She explained her new job without giving away too many details. She also told her about what happened with Jordan the night before. Lily’s eyes brimmed with tears but she blinked them back. She never wanted to speak or see Jordan again if she could help it. All she wanted were the rest of her possessions, and she could move on with her life.

  “Jesus,” Angela muttered as Lily explained.

  “I couldn’t believe it was going on. Jordan never acted like that before. He said he still loved me,” Angela said.

  “He doesn’t love you, honey. Loving you doesn’t mean he’s allowed to manipulate you.”

  Lily agreed.

  “I’m a little worried about you living at that house. Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure everything’s fine,” Lily said.

  “You can always come home…”

  Lily smiled. “I will if this doesn’t work out. I’m going to order lunch.”

  “I want you to call me this weekend. I want to make sure you’re safe. If you encounter any problems, call the police. Don’t hesitate,” Angela ordered.

  “I will. I love you,” Lily said.

  “I love you too, honey. Take care,” Angela said.

  Lily tapped the hang-up button and got out of her car to buy lunch. She knew she should do some grocery shopping but decided to wait until the weekend. She wanted to assess her money situation before she did that.

  Lily smiled at her foster mother’s concern, but her smile faltered when she thought of her biological mother and her missing father. Mom was in jail again, and dad was missing. It was so typical of those two. They may have made her but Angela would always be her real mother.

  Lily forced those thoughts aside as gazed at the menu. Her stomach rumbled, and she looked forward to a big hoagie.

  Lily pulled back into the driveway to Carlton House. Dread crept up her spine as she entered the code for the gate. The clanging noise and the scraping of the gate on the asphalt made goosebumps form on her arm.

  She drove slowly towards the house. Gray clouds blocked out the sun making the house seem more ominous.

  Lily tried not to stare at the headless statue as she passed by it on her way to park her car.

  You’re here. There’s no going back now.

  Lily pulled over to her spot and was surprised to see the Porsche was missing.

  Mr. Carlton must have gone out. Oh, well. Not my problem.

  Lily shrugged and parked the car and got out. She grabbed her sandwich and drink from the passenger side of the car and then locked the car.

  She kept her eyes straight ahead. The house seemed to take on a gloomier mood now that Mr. Carlton wasn’t there and Lily realized she was all alone on this property without another human in sight. The only sounds around her were the dead leaves blowing in the wind and the occasional crow squawking in the distance.

  Letting her paranoia override her rationale, Lily rushed to the cottage. She opened the door and closed it behind her, making double sure it was locked.

  Relief washed over her and she felt safe inside the cottage. She almost laughed at the ridiculous thoughts that continually invaded her mind as she thought about Carlton House.

  Lily took a step forward to place her bags on the table when she kicked something.

  She looked down to find a white envelope with her name on the front.

  Frowning, Lily placed the bags on the sofa and picked up the envelope off the floor. That sense of dread came back as she stared at the envelope.

  It wasn’t a sense of dread from the house this time, but from what Mr. Carlton had written to her.

  Lily swallowed and her paranoia hit her full force as thoughts ran through her mind.

  Did Mr. Carlton change his mind? Was he firing her? Did he see her observing him last night and decided he didn’t need her anymore?

  Open it and look, you moron, she scolded herself.

  Lily opened it to find a neatly folded piece of paper inside. Lily pulled it out but didn’t un
fold it.

  Sweat formed her brow and her heart pounded. She really needed this job. She hoped that Mr. Carlton still needed her help.

  Lily unfolded the note. Her hands were shaking so badly that she dropped the paper onto the floor before she could read it.

  She cursed and crouched down and plucked it off the floor. The words came rushing off the page but Lily still had to read it twice to make certain the words were sinking into her brain.

  Dear Ms. Evans,

  Please check the supplies when you have a moment today and leave me a note if you a require more than what is stored in the closet next to the kitchen.

  Sincerely,

  Mr. Michael Carlton

  Lily dropped the note to the floor and shook her head. She laughed but the same time she was disgusted with herself. She had never been this paranoid in her life, and she’d been through a lot in her short time on Earth.

  Lily turned and looked out the window to Carlton House. She didn’t know how long Mr. Carlton would be gone, but she would have the list ready for him right away.

  Lily’s eyes narrowed as she peered at the house. Paranoia turned to curiosity. Since Mr. Carlton wasn’t there, this would give her a chance to explore the house with no one else around.

  Lily hurried and put the sandwich in the refrigerator. She knew she should eat first, but she wanted to explore the house and get familiar with it.

  As she locked the cottage door behind her, Lily made a point to stop in the dining room to grab the notepad and make the list first, if she needed extra supplies.

  Lily looked up to the second floor where she spotted the silhouette the night before. There was no silhouette in the window. Not that she could see inside well since the clouds were reflecting off the windows.

  She climbed the stone steps up to the rear door. She opened the screen door and peeked inside the kitchen. No lights were on in the kitchen or the hallway.

  Lily snatched the keys from her pocket and fidgeted with them, trying to find the right one again. She knew she’d ultimately get familiar with which key went into its respective lock, but until then she would have to keep trying until she found the right one.

  She opened the door and cringed when squeaked open. Like she needed those kinds of sounds, she laughed to herself. She was paranoid enough as it was.

  Dust swirled around her as she stepped into the kitchen and closed the door behind her.

  Lily stood still, listening for signs of life. Only silence greeted her. Silence so overpowering it had the potential to drive a normal person insane.

  Lily’s eyes examined the kitchen. She couldn’t see it very well, so she turned on the light to get a better view. She walked over to the light switch and flicked it.

  She heard a crackling sound and a fluorescent light came to life above her.

  How old is this kitchen? It wasn’t like the stylish one inside the cottage at all.

  Lily tried to place the decade of the kitchen design. The sixties? The seventies?

  The walls were yellowed, and some corners had water stains. The cabinets had been painted a gaudy yellow and some of it peeled off the cabinets to reveal an original maroon color underneath.

  Wicker baskets hung over the window and sat on top of the cabinets, but they looked empty. No plants. No fruits. Nothing. Not even those tacky plastic ones that Angela loved to place on her dining room table when she had guests over.

  Lily moved to the stove and found it old-fashioned with just knobs, gas burners and an oven. Nothing digital or any displays.

  She opened the refrigerator. It worked because the inside light came on. She placed her hand inside and found it cool but empty. No food or drinks just dust and some dead bugs.

  That’s bizarre, she thought. Doesn’t Mr. Carlton use his appliances? Was he using the cottage appliances or something? Hell, was there another kitchen upstairs? The house was massive enough for another one.

  Her last thought was crazy, but one never knew with rich people. Some requests she received while she cleaned the high roller suites in the casino bordered on outrageous.

  On the other side of the entrance to the hallway, Lily identified the closet that Mr. Carlton must have been referring to with the supplies.

  Lily walked over to the closet. She hesitated to turn the knob and open the door.

  Why?

  Open the damn thing!

  Lily turned the doorknob. The door groaned on hinges that did not get enough use. She blinked trying to adjust her eyesight into the shadowy room. She stepped back expecting something to jump out at her.

  That never happened. Lily felt around the wall until she discovered another light switch and flicked it on.

  A dim yellow bulb illuminated the closet.

  You couldn’t call this room a closet since it looked bigger than a regular bedroom. Inside were all kinds of supplies for Lily to use and as she inspected the cleaning products, she found they were all brand new even the two mops had their tags still attached to the handle. Lily also found three brand new brooms.

  All the bottled cleaners were full and never used.

  I’m not surprised. This house hadn’t been cleaned in ages.

  She found plenty of rags, buckets, and spray bottles.

  There were more than enough supplies for Lily to her job thoroughly. As she inspected each product, she couldn’t think of anything that she might need. When she reached the dining room, she would leave that in her note to Mr. Carlton.

  At the back of the closet sat a full-sized washer and dryer. Lily pressed the button the washer and watched for a few seconds while the tub filled with clean water to make sure it worked. Satisfied, she turned it off and left the closet.

  Lily never had so much equipment at her disposal. Mr. Carlton looked prepared to bring a breath of fresh air back into this old house.

  Lily backed out of the closet and closed the door. She was prepared to walk over to the dining room when another small hallway caught her eye to the right of the closet.

  She didn’t recall noticing the tiny hallway last night when she walked over the cottage, but she figured she’d been tired and nervous, it would have been easy to miss it.

  The dark hallway looked like it went underneath the grand staircase.

  Lily took a few steps into the hallway. She searched for a light switch but no luck this time.

  A tiny window with only muted light spilled onto the wall and the floor.

  Lily made her way down the tiny hallway. It seemed so oppressive in this part of the house. She found a door to her left and carefully opened it. Again, she stepped back thinking something might jump out at her. Nothing. She felt around the wall for a light switch but didn’t find one. As her eyes adapted to the darkened room, all she saw was a table and some chairs scattered around the room.

  She closed the door and wandered further down. She pushed open another door and found another closet, but it looked empty.

  There were double doors at the end of the hallway. She stood in front of them wondering if these doors opened into the ballroom.

  She looked back and realized she passed underneath the grand staircase.

  This had to be the ballroom she saw when she first arrived at Carlton House.

  Lily turned both knobs. They squeaked but turned easily. They swung open and Lily smiled. She’d been right. She opened the doors to the ballroom.

  It had been a magnificent room once, Lily thought as her gaze shifted up to the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. Cobwebs covered the chandeliers.

  The drapes that once hung on the windows were torn and discolored, some were ripped, others were chewed through by moths.

  The windows were grimy and muted the afternoon sunlight. The checkered floor had pieces missing in the corners.

  Lily stared at the walls. “Wow,” she breathed when she spotted portraits of people long dead dressed in dated clothing hanging on the walls.

  Lily walked over to an elderly woman with silvery hair pulled ba
ck in a tight bun. Her stunning blue gown softly fell off her shoulders with delicate lace surrounding the sleeves, bodice, and skirt.

  Lily found something strange about the painting. It didn’t look damaged like the rest of the room. In fact, it looked well taken care of. She couldn’t find any damage or any fading of the painting.