WILLA
It was already dinner time, and Mrs. Archer didn't want to waste any more of the evening.
She decided it was best to eat first before showing me where I'd be sleeping.
The dining room was large enough to host a banquet, yet only five places had been set at one end of the impossibly long walnut table with food of various kinds that looked impossible to finish in a day.
The polished surface gleamed beneath the soft glow of an enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the moonlit gardens, their heavy emerald velvet drapes drawn halfway to keep out the evening chill.
Portraits of stern-looking Archers lined the stone walls, their oil-painted eyes seeming to follow every movement. Between them stood marble statues and antique suits of armor.
A fire crackled in a massive limestone hearth, filling the room with comforting warmth and the faint scent of cedar.
"So, Elyse," Mrs. Archer began.
