Chapter Seven

After her first day at Poole Manor, Sonya tries to sleep but the utter dark and the storm-swept sounds unsettle her. She dreams of the woman in the foyer portrait dancing with a dark-haired man before blood spreads over the bride’s gown and the man appears hanged. A clock strikes one through three, the bedroom fire surges, and the portrait seems to weep.

Morning brings bright sun and calm seas, which Sonya takes as a good omen. She plans work, showers, and notices oddities: the bathroom door stands open, toiletries are neatly arranged, and her bed is already made—details she doesn’t recall doing. A deer in the snowy woods soothes her nerves. She commits to setting up the library as her studio, admires Collin’s tastes, explores the mezzanine, and postpones hauling the heavy printer upstairs.

Anna Doyle arrives with coffee cake, reveals she’s newly in her second trimester, and offers friendly local connection. After seeing Anna’s pottery site, Sonya critiques its slow load times, weak organization, and pale palette. On the library sofa, Sonya proposes a rebrand—Practical Art—plus a fresh site, improved social media, business cards, and brochures, promising a no-obligation mood board and template.

As Sonya walks Anna out, music starts upstairs by itself—first earlier with The Byrds, now “All for Love,” a song meaningful to Sonya’s parents. Anna suggests the manor’s “lost brides” picked it, hinting the ghosts approve. Sonya chooses a tech-glitch explanation, but the pattern of small domestic rearrangements and uncanny music lingers as she returns to work.