The Secret of the Other Mansion

Part Three

Author’s note:

Last time we checked in at the “What Might Have Been” universe, Katie had taken Uncle James to the hospital, Trixie was baby-sitting Bobby while Moms went to the Garden Club meeting, and Honey and Matthew were finishing up their horseback ride. Trixie thought she saw people walking around Ten Acres, so she drags Bobby to investigate. Because of her impatience, Bobby barely misses getting bitten by the copperhead. What happens next? Well, let’s tune into the next chapters of “The Secret of the Other Mansion”…

Chapter 6

Matthew Wheeler was a patient man, but enough was enough. After returning from his horseback ride with his daughter, he wanted to relax a bit in the family room before attacking the mound of paperwork on his desk. However, as soon as he settled on the large sectional sofa in front of the fireplace, the young maid, Celia, sashayed in with her feather duster.

He rolled his eyes and tried to concentrate on the evening edition of the Sleepyside Sun, but found it was impossible. He was a firm believer in loving your job, but Celia took that to a new level. At least, he assumed the pretty maid’s giggling was attributed to the vast amount of fun she was having. Celia tittered and batted her eyes as she dusted each item carefully.

Hope she’s having fun now, he thought grimly as he scanned the editorials, because much more of this, and she’ll be out of a job. Remembering his promise to his daughter, Matthew gritted his teeth and turned to the want ads. Anybody looking for a position as a chauffeur?

Celia went behind the couch to dust the bookshelves. As she passed Matthew, her hand grazed his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Wheeler,” she said in a breathy voice, her eyelashes batting a mile a minute.

Matthew cleared his throat and shook his paper. “Quite all right, Celia.”

After completing that task, she moved on to the mammoth entertainment center. Though the family room was rather large, she decided to squeeze between Matthew and the large coffee table in front of him. While she passed, her shapely leg “inadvertently” brushed his knee.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Wheeler,” she repeated in a Marilyn Monroe-type voice.

“No problem, Celia,” he replied nervously. He thought about making a mad dash for his study, but decided against it. After all, this is my house. I’ll not be chased away by some flirty maid, he thought angrily.

Once again, Matthew looked at his newspaper, but his eyes strayed to curvaceous form across the room. Her back was turned to him, and she was reaching up to dust a picture on the wall. The short black skirt of her maid’s uniform was rising up, and he could almost…

“Celia, am I in your way?” Matthew squeaked. “I can leave if you’d like.”

The pretty young maid faced him and flashed him a winning smile. “You’re just fine, Mr. Wheeler. You aren’t bothering me at all.”

But you’re bothering me, he thought grimly. He hopped up from the sofa. “Well, I have a few things I need to do, anyway.” He practically ran out of the family room and into the kitchen.

Matthew glanced around for Rachel, the cook, but didn’t see her. Breathing a sigh of relief, he opened the refrigerator and searched for a bottle of water. He bent over to retrieve it, and when he turned around he was face to face with Celia.

“Looks like I’m bumping into you again, Mr. Wheeler,” she giggled. “I finished my dusting and came in to see if Rachel needed my help with the dinner preparations.” Taking advantage of their close proximity, Celia discreetly rubbed the top half of her body against Matthew’s chest.

“Sorry, but there’s no cook in here,” he exclaimed, jumping away. “I’ll be in my study if anybody asks.”

Matthew quickly entered his study and locked the door behind him. His heart was rapidly beating. Celia’s flirting had bothered him more than he cared to acknowledge. He felt like a fifteen-year-old boy who had snuck a peek at his father’s Playboy magazine.

He’d been married to Madeleine for almost fifteen years. Since the day he said “I do,” he’d never once strayed from his wedding vows. As a wealthy, attractive man, he had many beautiful young women attempt to seduce him. However, Matthew believed in being totally faithful to his wife, in spite of the fact that his wife lacked that same fidelity.

Through their years of marriage, Madeleine had affairs with a former executive at Wheeler Enterprises, her twenty-year-old tennis instructor, her male secretary, and several other gigolos. After each indiscretion, she tearfully apologized and begged Matthew to forgive her, for Honey’s sake. And after each indiscretion, Matthew pretended to believe the hollow promises and took her back.

Now, after years of being trapped in a loveless marriage, he was free. After his wife’s death, several beautiful women made it no secret that they would be only too happy to provide companionship for the handsome, rich widower. Matthew was quite leery of their intentions, and decided to focus on rebuilding his family rather than having his physical needs met.

But it had been a long year…

Matthew took a long drink of his water and held the chilled bottle to his forehead in an attempt to cool down his thoughts. It would be so easy to call Celia into his study and let her work her magic on him. It wasn’t as if he would have to seduce her. He was no fool. He knew a willing woman when he saw one, and Celia was certainly one of the most willing he’d ever seen.

Many men Matthew knew had affairs with their maids, nannies, or secretaries. Some of them had flings with all three at the same time. However, he’d also seen many acquaintances fall prey to gold-diggers. An accidental pregnancy could deplete his fortune, not to mention ruin his carefully guarded reputation.

He tried to concentrate on the pile of spreadsheets, graphs, and figures on his desk, but the figure that dominated his thoughts was the one outside his study door. Finally, he threw his hands up in exasperation, put his stack of work back in his briefcase, and hurried out of his study. After making sure the coast was clear, Matthew bolted out the front door. He decided now was the perfect time to pay a visit to his neighbor’s.

Deciding the exercise would do him good, he walked to the large estate on the eastern hill. Halfway there, he wished he’d brought along his water. The sultry July heat certainly wasn’t cooling him down any.

Finally, he reached the Frayne estate and knocked on the front door. He patiently waited for someone to answer, but nobody did. He went over to the large barn and looked inside, but it appeared to be empty.

Matthew’s curiosity was now only exceeded by his determination to find something out about these neighbors. He went to the back and rapped on the screen door a few times. He decided that knocking on the screen door wasn’t loud enough, so he opened it and proceeded to rap on the actual door. When he knocked, it creaked open.

Somebody didn’t shut it properly, Matthew thought. He nervously scanned the driveway for any approaching vehicles. Not seeing any, he grinned and stepped inside. No harm in taking a little peek. I’ll just make sure there aren’t any intruders, and then I’ll leave. Why, it’s the neighborly thing to do. This is the country, after all.

Chapter 7

A few minutes earlier…

“OW!” Bobby yelped as Trixie pulled him up the path to Ten Acres. “Yer hurtin’ my arm, Trixie!”

“Then keep up with me!” she hissed. “I know you can walk faster than that.”

“But I don’t wanna go to Jim’s,” Bobby pouted. “I wanna go catch my snake. I coulda caughted him, too, if you woulda leaved me alone.”

“What would you do with a snake?” Trixie snorted. “Moms would never let you keep it.”

“I could keep him in my room in a box under my bed,” he informed her. “With all the spiders an’ bugs I gotted under there now.”

“Does Moms know you have that stuff under your bed?” she inquired sternly. Bobby would never convince her in a million years that Moms would allow him to keep such critters in the house.

Bobby grinned impishly. “How ‘bout it be our seecrud, Trixie?”

“How ‘bout you empty out that box when we get home before I tell Moms?”

Her answer made the scowl return to his chubby face.

“And you shouldn’t play with snakes, Bobby,” Trixie added. “What if it turned out to be a copperhead? You might make it angry. What would you do if it bit you right on the big toe?”

Bobby scratched his head thoughtfully. “I’d tell ya to call Dr. Ferris,” he retorted.

“What if Dr. Ferris was away on a house-call and couldn’t come?” she asked.

He thought for a moment, and then smiled sweetly. “I’d let ya suck all the poison outta my toe!”

“Eww!” Trixie groaned. “Do you think I’m actually going to get my mouth anywhere near your stinky feet? I’ve seen the kind of stuff you step in.”

“Aw, Trixie,” he giggled. “I know ya’d do it ‘cuz ya love me so much. Besides, I’d let ya wash ‘em first.”

“Gee, thanks.” She laughed as she ruffled his curls. “Now, be really quiet, Bobby. We’re getting close to the Fraynes’. If an intruder is in there, I want to sneak up on him and catch him red-handed.”

“Okey-dokey, Trixie,” Bobby whispered as best he could.

They stealthily crept up the wooded path. When they were in sight of the house, they hid behind a large oak tree. Bobby yanked on Trixie’s arm and pointed to the big barn where Uncle James kept his tools and equipment.

“Look, Trixie,” he said softly, yet urgently. “A ‘truder! Somebody’s breakin’ in the barn!”

“Stay here,” she commanded. “I’m going to see what that man is doing.”

Bobby started to cry. “Don’t leave me! What if that man has a friend hidin’ out here in the woods? What if the bad man has a gun? You can’t squirt me with the hose if you get shooted with a gun!”

“Shhh!” she hissed. “I’m not going to leave you. As much as I want to go inside, Moms would kill me if I took you with me. And I’m not going to leave you here by yourself.”

Trixie chewed her lip and thought. Suddenly, she got up and hoisted her brother in an upright position. “C’mon, Bobby. We need to run home as fast as we can. Then, we’re going to make a phone call.”

“But I don’t got my shoes on,” he whimpered.

Trixie sighed. “Get on and wrap your arms around my neck,” she ordered as she leaned over so her brother could climb aboard. Thankfully, Bobby loved piggy-back rides and happily complied.

Back inside Ten Acres…

“Hello? Anybody home?” Matthew called out. He glanced around the clean, cozy kitchen. He inhaled deeply and took in the pleasant vanilla aroma. He spied a plate of cookies on the countertop. A fresh loaf of homemade bread sat beside the cookies.

The atmosphere of the cheerfully decorated kitchen was quite appealing. This is how home should feel, he thought, remembering his own childhood.

Matthew tiptoed through the kitchen and on past the dining room. He peeked in a luxurious study and admired a freshly restored antique roll-top desk. At last he came to a large living room. It looked as if it had been freshly painted and redecorated. Spying some photographs on a side table, he crept closer for a better look. The room was dark, and he searched for a lamp.

“What are you doing here?” an angry voice demanded, making Matthew jump from surprise. “You have no business in this house.”

He turned and saw a small form in the doorway. Because of the poor lighting, he couldn’t discern a face. However, the outline of a shotgun was quite obvious.

Matthew held up his hands in surrender. “Please don’t shoot. I just moved into to the house on the hill. I stopped by to introduce myself. Nobody was home, but I noticed the back door was open, so I—”

“Made yourself right at home,” the figure finished. “This place belongs to my husband’s uncle, whom I just took to the hospital. Luckily, I had to come home to get Uncle James’ insurance card. One of the neighbors met me in the driveway and told me she saw someone breaking in the house.”

Matthew noticed another person there, slightly smaller than the one holding the shotgun. “I really am sorry. When I knocked on the back door, I noticed it was open, and I just wanted to make sure that there weren’t any thieves in here. I was only trying to be neighborly. I thought folks did that sort of thing for each other in the country. Of course, I’m rather new at this, considering I just moved from New York City.”

The person with the gun hesitantly put it down and turned on a lamp. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the light, Matthew’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Katie?”

Katie Frayne curiously studied the “intruder”. Suddenly, her face lit up. “Matthew Wheeler! Is that really you?”

The two hesitantly embraced and exchanged pleasantries, while Trixie curiously watched.

“I wondered if some of Win’s family lived here,” Matthew explained. “My daughter and I were out riding today, and I saw the name ‘Frayne’ on the mailbox. I was hoping I’d see some familiar faces.”

“It’s so good to see you again,” Katie told him. She motioned for Trixie to come closer. The young girl nervously approached, and Katie put her arm around Trixie’s shoulders.

“Matthew, this is our neighbor, Trixie Belden. She lives in the white farmhouse surrounded by all the crabapple trees. Trixie, this is Matthew Wheeler.”

Matthew grinned and held out his hand for the young girl to shake. “Nice to meet you, Trixie.”

Trixie nervously wiped her hands on her jeans, and then shook Matthew’s hand. “Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Wheeler.”

“I have a daughter who’s just been dying to meet you,” he said.

“Really?” Trixie inquired, her china blue eyes wide with excitement. “Is she my age?”

“Honey’s thirteen,” Matthew answered. “She would love for you to stop by Manor House soon and introduce yourself.”

“Gleeps! That sounds great!” Trixie exclaimed. “It’ll be great having someone to hang around with since the boys are gone. I’ve been bored stiff!”

Matthew smiled, already fond of this pint-sized bundle of energy. “Come over any time. Do you like to ride horses?”

“I’ve never actually been on a horse, but I’ve just been dying to learn,” Trixie replied excitedly. “Do you think Honey might teach me?”

“I’m sure we could arrange something,” he chuckled.

“I think there’s someone else here that wants to say hello,” Katie announced. She and Trixie looked behind them. With a dramatic sigh, Trixie hurried out of the living room.

“C’mon!” Katie and Matthew heard her yell from the study. “Don’t you want to meet our new neighbor? He lives in that big house where we sleigh ride.”

“In that huge one? Daddy said nobody would ever be able to ‘ford that one ‘cuz it costed too much money,” a high-pitched voice said in a stage whisper.

“Well, if you’re rich you can afford it,” Trixie impatiently replied.

Katie and Matthew stifled laughs, knowing that Trixie didn’t realize they could hear every word.

“Hey! Quit spittin’ on yer hand an’ rubbin’ it on my face!” the high-pitched voice yelped. “Yer gonna rub all my skin off!”

“You’re all dirty,” Trixie hissed. “You can’t go calling on rich people looking like that!”

“Hey! Do I look all right now, Trixie? I wanna go callin’ on rich people!”

Trixie exhaled loud enough for Katie and Matthew to hear. “For heaven’s sake, Bobby, don’t tell Mr. Wheeler I said they were rich, and please try to stop yelling ‘Hey’ all the time.”

A few seconds later, Trixie came back into the living room, this time followed by a small boy with silky blond curls, big blue eyes, and a devilish grin.

“Bobby, this is our neighbor, Mr. Wheeler,” she politely introduced.

Matthew Wheeler gallantly bowed and held out his hand for the little boy to shake. “How do you do, Bobby,” he greeted in solemn voice.

“Hey, are you rich?” Bobby grinned up at Matthew as he shook his hand vigorously. “Hey! What’s it like to be rich?”

Trixie felt her cheeks flame hotly, but Matthew Wheeler shook with laughter. “You know, Bobby, it’s not half bad. Maybe when you grow up, you can get a good education, work hard, and find a good job, and maybe you can be rich, too.”

“When I grow up, I’m gonna be an entre-manure,” Bobby replied seriously.

Matthew’s mouth twitched. “A what?”

“An entre-manure,” Bobby slowly and loudly repeated, as if Matthew was hard of hearing. “You know, someone who has a buncha money but dudn’t do anything.”

Katie sweetly smiled, her lips twitching as if she was fighting a chuckle. “I think you mean an entrepreneur, Bobby.”

Bobby shrugged. “Yeah, mebbe I’ll be that, too.”

By this time, Trixie’s face was beet red. “I think we’d better go home, Bobby. Moms will be back soon from her Garden Club meeting. How’s Uncle James, Mrs. Frayne?”

Katie sighed sadly. “Dr. Ferris said he has a serious case of pneumonia. I’m afraid he’s in critical condition.”

“I’m sure he’ll be all right,” Trixie assured her. “Ever since you moved here, you’ve been taking good care of him.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Katie said, kissing the top of Trixie’s head.

“We’ll be seeing you,” Trixie said as she walked to the front door. She turned around to smile shyly at Matthew. “Sorry for thinking you were a criminal, Mr. Wheeler. It was nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Trixie,” Matthew replied. “And I’m glad to know that I have neighbors like you around. If you see anyone breaking in my house, you be sure and find me.”

“I sure will,” Trixie said, giggling.

“And stop by the house tomorrow. Honey would love to finally meet you.”

“I will,” she promised with a big grin.

“See ya later, alligator!” Bobby called out.

“Bye-bye!” Matthew answered.

“No,” the little boy corrected with a scowl. “Yer s’posed to say ‘After while, crocodile.’ ”

Matthew stifled another grin. “I’ll try to do better next time.”

“See ya!” Bobby yelled as Trixie dragged him out the front door.

Once Trixie and Bobby were out of earshot, both Katie and Matthew laughed until tears ran down their cheeks.

“What fun kids!” Matthew chuckled.

“You have no idea,” Katie murmured. “That Bobby is a handful, but he’s a real cutie. And Trixie is a sweet young lady. A bit on the curious side, but that’s a good thing. With her around, there’s never a dull moment.”

“She’s a pretty little thing,” Matthew commented.

“She certainly is,” she agreed. “And if my motherly instincts are correct, my son thinks so, too.”

“Your son?” he repeated. “No kidding? How old is he?”

“Jim just turned fifteen,” Katie answered, pride evident in her voice. She picked up a photo of the husky redhead from the fireplace mantle. “He’s at camp right now with Trixie’s older brothers. They’re junior counselors.”

Matthew studied the picture. “Why, he’s the spitting image of Win! I can’t wait to see him again. It’s been what— over sixteen years since we saw each other? When will he be home?”

“Win died about six years ago,” Katie told him, her features etched with pain.

Shock filled Matthew’s face. “I’m so sorry, Katie. I hadn’t heard. What happened?”

“He had an aneurism. We were working outside when it happened. One minute he and Jim were talking, and the next he collapsed on the ground. It was so sudden.”

“So, your son was there with him?”

Katie nodded. “Yes. I’m glad Jim was with Win when he died, but it has been a difficult thing for Jim to go through. They were very close, so he misses his father greatly.”

Matthew gently touched her cheek, wiping a stray tear. “And you do, too, I’m sure.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I still think of him every single day.”

“You and Win certainly had a special kind of love.”

Katie’s eyes darkened as memories of the desperate days after her husband’s death flooded her soul. “Yes, Win and I were very close. After he died, my whole world fell apart. We had no money, so I had to sell our house, and we moved to some crummy apartment. I’d never had a job before, but I found work as a waitress. It wasn’t glamorous, but it did put food on the table. Unfortunately, the man who owned the diner where I worked sold it to someone else, and I lost my job.”

“What did you do then?”

“I almost made the biggest mistake of my life.” Katie laughed ruefully. “Thankfully, I wised up and moved to Sleepyside. This is Win’s uncle’s house. Uncle James’ wife died several years ago, and he was terribly lonely. Jim and I moved in with him, and it’s been good for all of us. We desperately needed each other.”

“I’m glad you found help,” Matthew replied. “If I had only known, I could’ve given you money, or—”

Katie placed her hand on his arm to interrupt him. “We ended up where we were supposed to. If I hadn’t moved to Sleepyside, who knows what would have happened to Uncle James? Dr. Ferris is optimistic about his recovery, but it’s only because of the care he’s received lately. If he’d gotten pneumonia when he lived alone, he might’ve lain here and died. He’d alienated himself from his other neighbors, so nobody would’ve noticed he was sick.”

Matthew placed the picture back on the mantle. “Well, I look forward to meeting Jim. I’d like to spend some time with him and tell him what a great friend his father was to me.”

“Jim would like that.” They sat silently for a few moments, but Katie spoke again. “Well, enough with the gloom and doom. What have you been up to these past sixteen years, Matt?”

“Oh, this and that,” he said with a grin. “After college, I worked my way up the ladder at a big corporation. I started out as a mail boy, and now I own that company and several others.”

“I seem to remember reading about you making your first million by your twenty-fifth birthday,” she commented.

Matthew nodded. “Yes, I’ve been successful. Well, in business, at least. I feel like a failure in other areas of my life.”

“I’m sure that isn’t true,” Katie said in a consoling tone.

He sighed deeply and rubbed his temples. “I’m afraid that it is true. That’s why we’re here. I’m trying to put my family back together.”

“As I recall, you married Madeleine Hart. Are you having marital trouble?” At Matthew’s pained expression, she continued, “I’m sorry, Matt. That’s none of my business.”

“Maddie died last year of a drug overdose,” he replied without any emotion. “She mixed her sleeping pills and vodka, which she’d been told countless times not to do. She died in her sleep.”

Katie gasped. “That’s terrible.”

“That isn’t the worst of it. We were having trouble, and had just talked about divorce.”

“Did she commit suicide?” she asked.

Matthew chuckled wryly. “Not likely. Maddie didn’t love me any more than I loved her. I’m sure her biggest concern about getting a divorce would have been finding the wealthiest, best looking lawyer she could to defend her. Maddie would’ve chosen to live a long life so I would have to pay alimony until my dying day.”

“I’m sorry you had such a miserable marriage, Matt,” Katie replied softly.

He attempted a grin. “Well, at least I have a beautiful daughter to show for it.” He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and flipped it open to a picture of Honey.

“She’s lovely,” Katie told him, as she leaned in closer to see the picture. “She’s just as beautiful as her mother was.”

He closed his eyes and deeply took in the sweet smell of Katie’s perfume. A stray curl brushed against his cheek, and his heart began pounding furiously. He nervously cleared his throat, and tried to focus on his daughter’s picture.

“She may look like Maddie, but thankfully she’s tempered liked the Wheelers,” he managed to croak.

Katie rolled her eyes jokingly. “You mean she has that infamous redheaded temper that got you and Win into so much trouble?”

Matthew heartily chuckled. “No, thankfully that passed her by, as well. You know, Katie, it might be nice if we—”

The phone rang, startling both Katie and Matthew. She hurried to answer it.

“Frayne residence,” she greeted. “Oh, hello, Dr. Ferris… Oh, my goodness! I forgot all about it. I’ll get it and bring it to the hospital immediately… I’m sure he is… Tell him I’ll be right there…Goodbye.”

Katie hung up the phone. “I forgot all about getting Uncle James’ insurance card.”

“Surely, you could take it to them tomorrow,” Matthew suggested hopefully. It had been on the tip of his tongue to invite her to the Manor House for dinner. Just to talk about old times, he tried to convince himself.

Katie laughed. “Dr. Ferris is more concerned about Uncle James than the insurance card. That old coot keeps insisting that he’s well enough to come home, although he isn’t. He’s driving the nurses crazy. I need to go and soothe his ruffled feathers. Maybe I can convince him to behave.”

“Do you need help finding it?” Matthew offered.

Katie shook her head. “No, it should be right here.” She found the card in a little basket by the phone and held it up. “Yep, here it is. I’ll just grab a few things for Uncle James, and then I’ll go back to the hospital.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll wait for you and then walk you to your car.”

“That would be nice,” she said with a shy smile.

It didn’t take long for Katie to pack a small bag for James. After she locked up the house, Matthew took her by the elbow and led her to her sedan. He opened the driver’s side door for her and helped her inside. After she got in and was buckled up, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“It was good to see you again, Katie,” he murmured. “I’ll be in touch.”

Katie hoped the blush on her face wasn’t apparent. “I’m glad you dropped by.”

“Be careful,” he replied as he shut the door. He watched the car pull out of the driveway, never taking his eyes off the back of the driver’s head. As he headed back to the Manor House, he whistled a merry tune. For the first time in a long time, he was genuinely happy. It looked like he’d been given a second chance at love.

However will I be able to thank that little Trixie Belden? he wondered with a dopey grin.

Credits:

First of all, I’ve blatantly swiped these characters from RH, and I’m proud of it! Am I worried? Naahhh! Smoochies to you, RH!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my lovely editors, Kaye and Kathy! You ladies are the best! I ‘dore you both!

First of all, I do not blame Celia one iota for her exuberant flirting. I woulda done it, too! I mean, hello! The guy is loaded, extremely fine, and single. Case closed. J

I stole some things from the late, great Julie Campbell. Did you ever wonder about Rachel, the original cook of the Manor House? I did. I can’t help it. I’m nosy.

I had a lot of fun with Bobby again. That kid is a riot! I love the little monster. I couldn’t resist putting in the stuff about the snakebite. Like I mentioned on the MB, I was always worried about Trixie sucking on Bobby’s dirty toe. Yes, I would have cleaned it first. I’m just that anal.

I tried to copy some details from the various descriptions of Ten Acres. If I’ve totally screwed it up, please forgive me!

Did you recognize any of the dialogue during the meeting scene? I’m trying to incorporate some of the original things in the story, but with a twist. You know, plagiarism but a little more original.

Again, I stole a lot of JC’s ideas in Chapter Seven. Bobby’s little grubby face, ‘heys’, and ‘what’s it like to be rich’ comments were just too cute for me to pass up.