A staff of cable experts arrived shortly after nine and spent the next few hours trying to figure out ways to run wires through walls of plaster and stone over a century old. By noon, flat-screen televisions were delivered and promptly set up in both of their rooms, and when Joanna handed her father the remote, explaining there were over four hundred channels at his fingertips, it was as if he had won the lottery. She left the room with a smile on her face, but it paled in comparison to the one he was displaying.

With nothing but time on her hands, Joanna aimlessly wandered the house, admiring the architecture, but for the most part, grimacing at the décor. The rooms in the east wing, courtesy of Evelyn and Noah, had been lightened by bedcovers in muted tones and modern designs, but all the rooms on the main floor seemed dark and old. The colors and patterns of upholstery and draperies reflected hues in the deepest tones or the most repulsive combinations, and the furnishings seemed to be a mixture of expensive antiques and clunky knockoffs. Accent tables of mahogany, oak, and rosewood were displayed throughout the house. Standing proudly on turned or tapered legs, the swirls of their grain were visible through the layers of polish that made them shine, but the chairs and sofas they bordered, were hefty and annoyingly masculine.

With the dense clouds blocking out the sun, the staff had been forced to turn on the interior lighting, but it only added to the gloom of the house. Bulbs trapped behind frosted globes and silk shades stained by the passage of time cast only minimal light, creating eerie shadows in the corners of the rooms and down the long hallways.

Joanna made her way to the library, and grabbing a book, she backtracked to what she decided was her favorite room in the house. It wasn’t because it was cheery and colorful, and it wasn’t because it was modern and well lit. It was simply because she thought it was amazing.

The parlor, as Evelyn had labeled it, was situated behind the grand staircase between the drawing room to its right and the kitchen to its left. Massive round columns, assisting in supporting the upper floor, flanked the openings on either side of the stairs, creating quite an impressive entrance feature, but the room itself created the awe. Larger than the foyer, the area could have easily been a small theater if it hadn’t been for a wall of stone dividing the room in half. A large hearth, accessible from either side of the wall, was centered in the rock and on the back side, reachable through two archways cut into the stone, was a modest sitting area.