Chapter Twenty-Two

Sonya and Cleo visit Anna and Seth after the birth, bringing gifts and a collaborative pastel portrait set of baby Fiona and the new family. The joyful gathering, with Corrine beaming as grandmother, underscores the strengthened bonds among the group as they settle the infant and share food and appreciation.

With early fall light shifting, Sonya recommits to her restoration quest and refuses to be cowed by Hester Dobbs. After finishing her inventory of the ballroom, she tours the servants’ quarters and focuses on Molly’s room, hoping comfort there might ease Molly’s lingering pain. She furnishes the space with soft, scaled pieces from the attic and adds a mirror and globe lamp, then secures two of Cleo’s floral watercolors—one purchased, one gifted—to complete the feel.

Cleo joins Sonya to refine Molly’s room and hunt rugs, vases, and accents. Energized, they stage two more upstairs rooms using Beatles song cues from Clover: “Lovely Rita” suggests an older woman’s room anchored by a rocking chair and a Collin landscape; “Eleanor Rigby” inspires a quieter room with a curvy chair, footstool, and still life. Trey and Owen arrive, admire the progress, and Sonya outlines her ballroom plan and intention to hire muscle to move furnishings.

During a lull in hauntings, Sonya shifts her work hours to advance the servants’ quarters. On the ballroom moving day, she leads a crew—Cleo, Trey, Owen, John Dee, Manny, and Bree—using a color-sticker system for attic, basement, other rooms, or stay-put items. She negotiates the sale of a mahogany cabinet to John Dee at a friendly discount. Over lunch, the team discusses Clover’s musical cues and a past creepy sensation near Cleo’s third-floor bath; Sonya assures them they are addressing such hot spots.

Dobbs remains quiet while they execute Sonya’s scaled, graphed layout. Bold colors, mixed woods, and comfortable shapes reshape the ballroom into a welcoming venue, with plans for art and tall plants to finish. Spontaneous waltzing breaks out as Clover plays “Iris,” sealing the room’s new life. Talk turns to a future basement game room, including a vintage Gorgar pinball machine, and hosting Rock Hard for the holiday bash—signaling the manor’s renewed spirit and their growing ownership over its spaces.