Chapter 3

The First Clue.

Uncle Wally finished his story and placed his hands back on his lap. The fire had burned low, casting flickering shadows on the back wall. Daphne leaned back in the chair, her mind grappling with what she had heard. "No one ever found what happened to Count Jonathan?" she asked. Her uncle shook his head slowly side to side. "No. They never found the body. Mrs. Grogan, his maid, said she had heard him throw himself from the highest room of the tower, but he never hit the ground. Now, there were no actual witnesses, but every one of the staff swore that they had seen a white flash on that day." "Then perhaps he went to see Seraphia again." Daphne exclaimed, her heart beating faster. Surely that was what happened, what a romantic ending. Her uncle smiled at her. "Perhaps." He agreed. "Now, this story was not to have taken so long, so I will leave you with the same parting comment my solicitor left me. There are many secrets in Forbes Manor that tell us the truth. To lift the curse, the truth must be found, and the spirit released to find its way home." "What spirit, Uncle?" asked Daphne, curious. "He didn't say. Now Daphne, why don't you run along upstairs and finish unpacking? I'm sure I will have lunch ready by the time you are done." "Okay." She sighed.

As she rushed up the stairs, her uncle's voice arrested her and she strained to listen. It seemed almost an afterthought, as he was hobbling to the kitchen. "The warrior will point the way." 'I wonder what that means.' Thought Daphne as she headed for her room. She pondered what she had heard as she made her bed and finished unpacking her clothes. 'I wonder if the story is true.' She vividly imagined the scene where the handsome count and beautiful centaur kissed in the woods, and felt a cold shiver of excitement run down her back. She thought it was romantic, kind of like a forbidden love story. Still, it was only a story, and she put it into the back of her mind. She had always been considered the responsible one back home, and she knew her uncle desperately needed help to restore the old estate. She almost trembled as she imagined what the house would look like when it was fully restored. The outside walls would shine from fresh paint, and the stained glass windows would add a very nice touch to the Victorian house. The inside of the house would be truly grand once the walls were cleaned and the furniture dusted. Some heavy vacuuming was in order as well.

As she finished putting away the suitcase in the closet, she nearly shrieked when she disturbed a mouse that fled along the wall into its hole. "Yuck!" she shuddered. "When I am cleaning, you and your little pals are the first things to go!" Deciding against putting the suitcase in the closet until the rodent could be chased out, she put it instead on top of the dresser. She decided to get an early start on things inside while the storm still raged outside. Taking out an older shirt and handkerchief she had packed, she put it over her hair to protect it from dust and glanced at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair was now covered and fell elegantly down her back almost to her butt. Her green eyes sparked mischievously from her delicate face. Her nose was small and sat above lips that curved naturally into a smile. Her teeth were perfectly straight thanks to orthodontics early in her life. The rest of her body was small, petite really. She had been the second shortest person in class most all of her life. People were continuously comparing her to a pixie. Not that she minded too terribly. It was only a name after all. Satisfied with her appearance she went down the stairs to the kitchen to meet her uncle for supper.

In the kitchen, her uncle had a pair of steaming ready-to-eat meals ready. Daphne quickly ate the hot meal, as she wanted to get an early start. "What are you going to do today, sweetie?" her uncle asked. "I thought I would clean the library today, uncle." She said. "You don't have to do that." He replied, looking concerned. "You came on vacation, not to work." Daphne simply smiled at her uncle. "It's alright. I don't mind. Perhaps this place will be all fixed up when I leave in the fall." Her uncle could not speak for the words refused to leave his throat. Daphne saw though and waved cheerily as she got up from the table and put her dishes in the garbage.

Heading to the hall closet, she determined to get some cleaning supplies. When she opened the door, she was enveloped in a cloud of dust. Coughing, she fanned her face, trying to get the dust to move past. Looking out now streaming eyes, she blurrily observed that the only thing in the closet was a pile of moth-eaten rags. That would not do for cleaning. She would have to get some supplies from town. However, she wasn't old enough to drive. She'd have to get her uncle to drive her.

When the problem was explained to him, he quickly agreed. "I'm afraid I hadn't thought about getting any cleaner." He said apologetically. He got his hat and coat while she slipped on a pair of low heels, and they headed out for his car. On the way, she stopped to stare up at the statue. "Perhaps we should get some cleaner for him as well." She remarked as her uncle walked out slowly to the car. "Surely a chance to get him to shine once more will do considerable wonders for the house." Her uncle smiled over the roof of the car. "Perhaps." Was all he said.

Grimesmore Moor was a very small town that seemed to spring from the ground. One moment there was only waving grass on gently rolling hills, and the next there was a quaint old town in the middle of nowhere. Daphne watched the wooden buildings pass by as her uncle drove slowly. She noticed that most of them were two story buildings; however the businesses seemed to be confined to the ground floor. She asked her uncle about it and he told her that it was because most of the shop owners lived above their businesses. She tried to take a closer look as they passed by the next shop, a souvenir shop that had a cut-out of Dr. Who in the window. However, she was defeated by the thick curtains in the windows of the second floor. In the center of town stood a bigger shop than most, with the wooden sign Alfie and Maude's General Store. There was no parking at the front of the building, so Uncle Wally pulled the car around the back where there were three other vehicles waiting in the gravel lot. It took her uncle a few minutes to get out of the car and walk towards the front of the store. "I wonder who Maude is?" thought Daphne as they finally entered the store.

Maude turned out to be a thirty something housewife with a leather apron, thick brown hair done up in a bun at the top of her head, and hands the size of dinner plates. She smiled sweetly at Daphne and Uncle Wally as they entered. "Wally, you old toff, what brings you out of your dusty wood-pile?" she asked cheerfully. Daphne felt herself warm quickly to this woman. Wally smiled back at her. "Just here to pick up a few things for the home, Maude." He said. "Well, you just help yourself now, luv. You can pay me when you finish your shopping." She looked at Daphne curiously. "I haven't seen you around these parts before. You must be miss Daphne from across the pond." Daphne nodded. "Well, don't be shy know, love. Let me get a closer look at you." Daphne walked up to the counter. "Why, aint you just the prettiest thing!" She exclaimed. Daphne blushed. "Thank you." She murmered. "Daphne, can you help me over here?" her uncle called. "Excuse me, I need to go help my uncle." Daphne told Maude. "No problem luv. You'll find me here if you need some help." Maude said cheerfully.

Over in the cleaning section, her uncle was looking hopelessly between the various cleaning products. There were so many choices, he didn't know which one to choose. Daphne shook her head. Her uncle was hopeless! Deciding to take over for her uncle, she soon had selected several dozen products, from dusters and wood polish, to rust remover and a strong cleaner that would clean masonry.

Satisfied with her choices, she headed for the counter. Maude rang up all the purchases and placed them in several paper bags. Seeing that Daphne was going to need some help carrying out her purchases, Maude turned around towards the stairs behind the counter and hollered, "Jeremiah, get down here and help out these customers." "Yes, Mamma." Came the reply. Daphne looked up as the sound of heavy boots sounded on the stairs. A tall blond man came thumping down the stairs holding a very little girl in his arms. "Mom, Ally needs a change." As he passed her off to Maude, she giggled and smiled a two year old grin. Daphne couldn't help but coo at the little round face peering from her mother's arms. Maude simply beamed as she bustled off with the child. Jeremiah grabbed the bags from off the counter and turned to Daphne with a smile. "Are you ready?" he asked. Daphne nodded and helped her uncle out the door. At the car, Jeremiah deposited the bags and helped Wally into the car. "Thanks for helping out." Daphne said. Jeremiah shrugged. "It wasn't anything. I help all those that need it around there. Speaking of helping, will you need any restoring the old Forbes place?" "Sure!" Daphne grinned goofily. Inside, she was thinking Man, he sure is cute! Jeremiah simply waved goodbye and walked back around the corner of the building. Daphne watched him go with a welter of strange emotions churning in her belly.

Back at the manor, Daphne unpacked the paper bag of cleaning supplies, including the dusters and rags. Now ready to begin, she took the cleaning supplies in the library. She grabbed her ipod and began her favorite lists of classic rock. Journey started with their Winds of March. As the familiar strains of the song started, she hummed as she began the arduous task of dusting the books. Most of the books were leather bound volumes that bore strange titles. One grey volume was titled: Magycal Beasts of Crete. Another read: Fantastical Creatures: Myth or Legend?. As she reached the very top shelf, she found a book that seemed stuck on something. Grunting in effort, she finally pulled it out, though she teetered at the top of the ladder for a moment. Looking to see what it had caught on, she was surprised to see what looked like latches in the back. Looking at the book, she could see where they had scored the cover. Reaching in, she felt the latches carefully. One shifted beneath her hand. Excited, she carefully continued to rotate until she heard a quiet click. The side of the shelf simply fell down, causing the dust there to cloud the air. Once it cleared, she saw a very old book lying ontop of the secret panel. Picking it up carefully, she looked at the top cover. It read, Diary of Jonathan Forbes, Count of Grimesmore Moor. She suddenly felt a very real chill crawl up her spine as she held the book in her hand. If Jonathan Forbes was real, could the tale of the Centaur be true as well?