Allegheny Hideaway. Kimberly Tanner GordonЧитать онлайн книгу.
terrified about living in a supposedly haunted house. But Iris assured her that they would be safe, that it was just a house. Hattie took quarters in the room downstairs off the kitchen. Iris set herself up in the guest room upstairs. She would keep the master room open for paying guests. In time, she would set up the other two rooms for guests as well. For now, they had their work cut out for them. Everything had to be cleaned and dusted. The drapes, the linens, the furniture, the dishes, even the walls had a layer of dust. Plus, the window in the nursery had to be repaired and the boards on the front porch replace.
Late in the afternoon on the first day, Hattie had her hands in a large wash pot soaking all the curtains. She had spent her entire day in the kitchen cleaning every inch. All the dishes were on the counter waiting to be washed. All of a sudden, a bowl crashed behind her.
Hattie screamed in terror and ran out of the house as fast as she could through the back door. Iris left her spot in the parlor where she was sweeping and looked into the kitchen.
“What happened?” she asked out loud. Iris saw the broken pottery bowl on the floor and went through the open door to find her servant. “Hattie, what happened?” she repeated.
“There’s a spirit in that house, ma’am. I ain’t goin’ back in there!”
“What happened with the bowl, Hattie?”
“It flew off the counter! All by itself!” Hattie answered in a panic.
“That’s just impossible Hattie. Things just don’t move by themselves. I’ll go clean it up while you compose yourself, but I expect you to return to your chores in five minutes. I can’t clean this place by myself,” Iris scolded.
Hattie returned, but she was not happy. “I could just leave,” she thought to herself. “I don’t have to stay here. I’m in the north. I can be free.” But she didn’t leave. She had no money and no place to go. Besides, she did like Iris, most of the time.
Iris had purchased food from the small store in town and had everything delivered to the house. When the goods arrived, she helped unload all the staples into the kitchen.
“I can’t believe you bought this place,” the store owner told her. “Grown men are scared of this house.”
“Well Mister Harris, I am not,” she told him curtly.
Hattie was out behind the house stringing a clothes line so she could hang her dripping linens. Her mind began to wander. How nice it would be if she could have a house of her own. And a husband too. She was the only colored person in town at the moment though, for she had not seen another in over a week. She was twenty after all, and a woman had dreams. She let out a sigh. Hattie was a little lonely for her own kind. She missed some of the other maids back home. She thought about what they might be doing. It had been two weeks now since they had left Lexington. She wondered what the master was doing too.
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