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Lenny followed, crawling out on her hands and knees.

Watson ran a couple of laps around the VW, barking manically, and raced off to the back of the house.

“I feel you, dog,” Lenny called after him.

Chelsea said, “Oh, my GOD. I’mwalkingback to the ferry.” The others looked at her as though she were insane. “No, notnow. When it’s time to leave!”

“Why are we talking about leaving when we just got here?” Flip asked.

“I may never lie flat again,” Tosh told Ellery. “But I’m willing to try.”

“Right.” Ellery called, “This way, guys.” He led the way across the sparkling wet white gravel, past the dripping rose bushes, to find a small mountain of luggage neatly stacked on the slick steps in front of the door.

Ezra Christmas had been and gone in his venerable taxi.

“Here, let’s just make some room.” Ellery worked his way around the luggage, unlocked the heavy front door, and pushed it open as the others reclaimed their suitcases and bags.

Watery light flooded from the overhead windows, moodily illuminating the gleaming patchwork of ship’s timber flooring and old paintings on the white oak panels, and the banisters built to look like the row of cannons on the broadside of a warship.

For the first time in months, the “great hall” was empty of drop cloths, saw horses, ladders, paint cans, and various scattered tools. For the first time in months, Ellery could see the house as it had been meant to be seen.

There was a chorus of gasps from behind him.

“Verycool,” Lenny said, staring at the arched segmental windows reminiscent of those on a pirate galleon. “Who’s your decorator? Captain Hook?”

Ellery’s laugh was a little shaky because, crazy as it was, he was actually moved at how beautiful the house was—and how much it felt like home. Not really logical, given that Captain’s Seat had in fact been his home for the last eight months, but somehow this weird moment with the rain pattering down and his guests complaining about the drive as they dragged their luggage inside, and the faint smell of paint still lingering in the air, felt like his official homecoming.

“Seriously, it’sbeautiful, Ell,” Tosh exclaimed.

“It really is.” Flip squeezed Ellery’s shoulder. “Congratulations.”

Ellery said, “It’s been a journey. You should have seen it the afternoon I arrived. Anyway, the bedrooms are on the second floor. If you guys want to get settled, I can give you the grand tour before dinner.”

“Lead on, Macduff.” Flip shouldered his knapsack.

Chelsea said, “You know it’sLay on,Macduff, right?”

Flip sighed. “I know we’re not performing the play, Chelse.ThatI’m sure of.”

“Aww. They need their naps,” Lenny murmured.

“Here we go, here we go!” Ellery borrowed a leaf from Kingston’s Saturday Storytime repertoire. He didn’t actually clap his hands, but it went through his mind. “Follow me!” He started up the staircase. “Like I mentioned in my email, there are five bedrooms. Each bedroom shares a bath with the bedroom next door…”

“We’ve worked it out, don’t worry,” Tosh told him. “Belle and I are together. Lenny and Flip are bunkies. Chelsea needs her own room, so I guess Freddie and Oscar can figure it out when they get here.”

Ellery opened his mouth and closed it. That would not have been his stage blocking, but he wasn’t about to second guess anybody on where they chose to lay their heads and other body parts.

Flip remarked, “I wouldn’t want to miss a step in the dark on these stairs.”

The staircase was treacherous, no lie. Jack had stepped on one of Watson’s squeaky toys the previous week, and nearly lost his balance.

However, his guests and their luggage reached the second-floor landing out of breath but without incident.

“Okay, well, here we are—” Ellery opened the first and largest bedroom door. “Tosh, this is you and Belle. Flip and Lenny are on the other side, sharing a bath with you. Chelsea, you’re on the end. The bathroom is—”

Chelsea interrupted, “Oh! Could I maybe switch with Oscar? I get nervous in old houses. I’d rather not be way out on the end. Or even Freddie. I don’t care. I just, you know.”

It was pretty much the worst performance of her life, and the look Tosh and Lenny shared indicated the reviews would not be kind.