The House of Seven Mabels

of the old schools she’d attended.
    “Jane, are you taking a nap or what?“
    “Just smelling the house,“ Jane said as she opened her eyes, but didn’t explain.
    The front hall had suffered a great deal of damage as well. It was vast, with a pair of curving staircases ascending upstairs on both sides. They, too, had rails missing, but the treads must have been made of some impervious material, because when Jane tested out walking up a few of them, they felt sturdy. Remnants of striped wallpaper in blue and cream were in tatters. The fancy molding, egg-and-dart pattern (one of the few decorating terms Jane knew) around the room, though coated with dust and grime, seemed to be mostly intact.
    “This is going to be the reception area,“ Bitsy said, appearing from one of the many beat-up doors that opened onto the front hall. “Come along and see the rest of the house.“
    Bitsy was back to being the perky sort of woman she’d been when she wanted PTA volunteers to ante up money for crepe paper, colored chalk, decorated plastic cups and plates, and far too much of their free time.
    They followed her around the ground floor first. Between and behind the pair of curving staircases, they passed through a door to the back half of the house and came out into what must have once been a kitchen, it seemed. Whatever kind of appliances were once there were gone, and dusty wires and stubbed-out pipes gaped out of the walls.
    “It’s too small, of course,“ Bitsy said. “I have the chef from Michelle’s Bistro coming later in the week to advise us on how much space we need and how to arrange the counters.“
    “A woman, I assume?“ Jane said blandly.
    “Of course. There was a pantry off the north side, and what must have been the cook’s quarters and a dank little hallway to the basement door. We’re taking out the walls and using that space as part of the kitchen. Or we might go the other direction, keeping the pantry and turning the cook’s quarters into rest rooms for the staff.“
    “Hmm,“ Jane said. “You’d better check codes, Bitsy. I’d guess it’s a no-no to have bathrooms open directly off the food-preparation area.“
    “I hadn’t thought of that,“ Bitsy said. “I wonder why Sandy didn’t mention it when we discussed it.“
    “Maybe because I’m wrong,“ Jane said with a smile. “What else is on the ground floor?“
    Bitsy showed them the back end of the house. What could have been a sunny breakfast room, or maybe a conservatory, was there. Lots of windows, almost all broken out. There was so much dirt and leaves you could hardly see the surface, but when Jane kicked some away, she uncovered a tile floor, badly cracked. “Are you going to shore this up?“ Jane asked as Bitsy and Shelley stepped into the room for a closer look.
    “Shore it up?“
    “Can’t you feel that it’s listing away from the house?“
    Bitsy took a couple of steps forward. “I see what you mean. Euwww. That means either take it off or do some heavy-duty foundation work. I’ll have to think about this. I’d hoped to make it a nice little spot for the staff to take their breaks.“
    She’d lost her perkiness.
    In the center of the south end of the house was a vast dining room that must have been locked off from vandals for decades. It, too, was dusty, and the floral wallpaper was faded. Ancient heavy maroon velvet drapes hung in threadbare tatters at tall windows on the far side. Jane half expected to see Miss Havisham’s moldering wedding cake somewhere nearby.
    “What have you planned for this area?“ Shelley asked.
    “I thought I could hire it out for private parties between resident guests. Wedding receptions and such. The French doors behind the curtains used to open to the deck.“
    Was Bitsy referring to the verandah? Jane wondered. A deck! Indeed, Jane thought indignantly.
    “But someone tore part of it off,“ Bitsy went on. “I guess to discourage trespassers and vandals.“
    “It’s certainly better preserved than what we’ve seen so far,“ Shelley said.
    Bitsy laughed. “Wait until you see the second floor. You’ll appreciate this room even more. On the other side of the main hall is a matching space that’s going to be all one room for corporate banquets.“
    She led them through the dining room and into what must have been a generous-size front parlor for guests who merely came to tea. There were more of the floor-to-ceiling doors, glassless now and patched with warped,