The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor by Amy Reade Page A

about it.”
    She seemed to brighten. “I’ll bet Daddy’s right. I’m sure it was just someone with nothing better to do than make prank calls.”
    â€œBut how did the person choose me? And how did they know I could be reached at your house?”
    â€œPeople can get phone numbers anywhere these days. And there are lots of people who know you’re staying here. It could have been someone from one of the stores you’ve visited, or someone from Lucy’s school, or someone from back in Chicago. Anyone can fake a Southern accent. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
    I hoped Evie was right.
    I got right back to work the next morning. Having only to finish the plaster ceilings in the ballroom and sitting room on the first floor, I was excited to get past that phase of the work and begin the next phase, which would be the walls. The plasterer said I was doing a great job, and I was thrilled to be learning a new skill.
    The two ceilings took several days of painstakingly intricate work, but I was very pleased with the result when it was finally done. The smooth white surface adorned with Greek key borders was beautiful, and the members of the family agreed.
    â€œCarleigh, that ceiling is a work of art,” Cora-Camille gushed.
    â€œIt certainly is. In all my years here I’ve never seen the ceilings on the first floor look better,” Vivian agreed.
    Graydon folded his arms over his chest. “Carleigh, honey, I’d say you’ve outdone yourself,” he boomed in that thick Southern drawl of his.
    Evie beamed. “I told you she’d do a great job, didn’t I?”
    But I couldn’t rest on my laurels for long. I needed to get started on the walls. The morning after I finished the ceilings, I dropped Lucy off at school and returned to Peppernell Manor to clean up all the materials I had been using and to disassemble the scaffold. I was done a little while before I had to pick Lucy up at school, so I decided to drive into Charleston to visit one of the paint stores I would be using. Ruby asked me if she could ride along, since she had to visit a baking supply store near my destination.
    â€œSure,” I told her. “I’d love the company.”
    I tried to make small talk with Ruby in the car on the way into Charleston. She told me about a couple of new cake recipes that she wanted to try and asked me about the colors for the rooms downstairs in the manor.
    â€œWhat color is the dining room going to be?”
    â€œCora-Camille said that the dining room used to be wallpapered,” I answered. “So we’ll try to find something that looks like the original paper, if we can find a sample of it, and go from there. If we can’t find something similar, we’ll use wallpaper that would have been popular during the mid-1800s.”
    â€œWhat about the drawing room?”
    â€œThat’s going to be a coral color. Big rooms like that in plantation homes used to be painted bright, cheery colors. There’s some evidence that the drawing room used to be coral. Your mom and I are going to come up with a custom coral color.”
    â€œThat sounds pretty. What about the ballroom?”
    â€œI don’t know yet what we’re doing with the ballroom. Cora-Camille decided she wants me to do the drawing room and dining room first. Then the entry hall, then the ballroom. I’m hoping to get those rooms done before Christmas because of the big party that Graydon and Vivian throw every year for the holiday.”
    â€œThat party is fun. The ballroom always looks beautiful.”
    I smiled. “That’s what I’ve heard. It sounds wonderful.”
    â€œSarah was never invited to parties in the ballroom.”
    Sarah again. I didn’t really know how to respond. Did Ruby believe in ghosts, too? “She wasn’t?”
    â€œNo. She was a house slave. House slaves were not allowed at parties, except