WHAT THE WALLS KNOW by Skye Alexander

Author:Skye Alexander [Skye Alexander]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Level Best Books/Historia
Published: 2022-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.”

— William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Mrs. Beane, the stalwart housekeeper, met Lizzie when she entered the foyer with its gas-lit streetlamps and antique wooden choir stalls. “Mr. Fox asked me to intercept you when you arrived,” she said. “Would you kindly come with me, Miss Crane?”

“Of course.”

She followed the buxom, broad-hipped woman to the elevator and rode it to the third-floor ballroom. When they emerged, Mrs. Beane led Lizzie down the hall with its unadorned wooden floors to Duncan’s office. The housekeeper rapped lightly on the door and waited for her employer to admit them. After a few moments, the castle’s owner opened the door. He’d changed out of his black funeral suit into rumpled trousers and a tatty gray sweater that was missing a button. His wiry hair stood out as if he’d just received an electric shock. He removed his glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, and invited Lizzie in. Mrs. Beane, having delivered her charge, retreated to tend to other matters of the household, a formidable task under the best of circumstances, Lizzie realized, and these were hardly the best.

“Ah, Lizzie. So good of you to come,” Duncan said. “Entrez, s’ils vous plait.”

As she entered the spacious room with its overladen bookshelves, cluttered desk, and graceful Gothic Chippendale guest chairs, she saw that Sidney had preceded her to Duncan’s office and now sat waiting for her to arrive. Lizzie raised an eyebrow at her friend, as if to ask what’s this about?

“I wish, once again, to extend my condolences for your loss,” she said to her host.

“Yes, thank you.” Duncan nodded and gestured for her to sit. “That’s not why I asked you here, however. It’s my hope that you might once again help my friends and me to shuck off today’s sadness by performing uplifting music this evening.”

“Certainly,” Sidney said. “We are at your disposal.”

Duncan clapped his hands in a childlike manner, though without the enthusiasm he’d shown prior to Natalie’s death. “Good. Could you play some tunes made popular by that young sensation, Louis Armstrong?”

Sidney beamed. “And how! Our trumpet player, Bert, does Satchmo like nobody else. He’ll wow you and your guests.”

“Duncan,” Lizzie said, “are you sure your friends wouldn’t prefer something more subdued, considering the circumstances?”

“Dear Lizzie, I know most people perceive death as a frightful thing and dread it. But my friends and I have a different perspective. Tomorrow, at our Samhain celebration, you may come to understand more. Nonetheless, it’s been an unpleasant day and I’d like to end it on a cheerful note.” He chuckled at his bad pun.

Lizzie wanted to ask about Samhain, but sensed Sidney hoped to finish this meeting as quickly as possible. Duncan, too, seemed tired from the demands of the day.

“Your wish is our command,” Sidney said in the voice he used to cajole clients. “We’re here to please. I’m sure I speak for my

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