Chapter 22 - BLACKWOOD HOUSE REOPENS
Blackwood House eventually reopened.
Not as my permanent residence.
Part museum.
Part event venue.
Part family archive.
A smaller private wing available by reservation to descendants.
Professional management.
No live-in domestic ruler.
Lily visited at twenty-five.
First time willingly since childhood.
She stood in the drawing room.
The marble had been restored.
Different tea set.
Same window.
“This is where I knocked it away?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember what I looked like?”
“Yes.”
“Ridiculous?”
“You were wearing a maid uniform.”
“Ridiculous.”
She smiled.
Then walked toward Nora’s former office.
Now archival storage.
No plaque.
No villain museum.
“Good.”
“What?”
“She doesn’t get a room.”
We toured Amelia’s photographs.
One display discussed her architectural preservation work.
No murder details.
Her death was not the only thing she contributed.
Lily approved.
Then she ordered tea from the café.
Earl Grey.
I raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You still do the tea face.”
“I’m working on it.”
She drank first.
Then handed me the cup.
“Coward.”
I drank.
May you like
We laughed.
A room became a room again.
