Standing at the foot of the stairs, Evelyn silently thanked God that Addison never came home during the day. By shortly after nine that morning, a cleaning crew of over a dozen people, complete with steam machines for the drapes and rugs, had shown up, followed by a plumber, a chimney sweep and finally, a crew of men to fix the lift. Chauffeurs carried out mattresses and rearranged furniture, and maids scrubbed bathrooms like they had never been scrubbed before. The janitorial service washed every wall, ceiling, and floor until the last remnant of grime had been eliminated, and the men hired to fix the lift worked feverishly to remove the broken, grease-covered parts of the antique vertical transport. Replacing everything with new, they tested and retested until the lift earned their seal of approval. The fireplaces were cleaned and the gas lines checked, and every fixture in the bathrooms, although still quite antiquated, was guaranteed to be leak-free.

Expecting casualties, Evelyn took each in stride. When one set of drapes and two area rugs basically disintegrated during the cleaning process, she merely had her staff swap them for the best that remained. Flaps of wallpaper that had drooped when water was applied to their design, were glued and taped back into place as discreetly as possible, and stains which refused to disappear from walls were hidden behind carefully placed furniture.

It had been a long, hard day, but not one member of Evelyn’s staff had complained. When given the position of house manager, she had taken her time in choosing her personnel, making sure each knew their place and understood that Addison Kane’s privacy came first. At seven that morning, standing in the kitchen, she had told them what was about to happen, and while all of their jaws had dropped in unison, not one had asked a question. It wasn’t their place. Theirs was to do as asked and do it, they did. They had remained cheerful throughout the day, enjoying the fact a part of the house that had been hidden for so long would finally see life. While Evelyn knew Addison was dreading what was about to happen, she could tell that her staff was not. They were looking forward to finally earning the hefty pay packets they took home every week. Yes, she had chosen them wisely.

Hearing the sound of a car horn, Evelyn walked over and opened the front door, immediately smiling at the sight of Noah’s red Vauxhall Corsa coming up the driveway, followed by three taxis in close pursuit. As he came to a stop directly in front of the stairs leading to the house, Noah scrambled to get out of his car. “Can I tell you how much fun I had today!”