JUNE

Hannah was very confused. Why did she have bits of weeds stuck in her hair and on her clothing? Why was her dress so wrinkled and dirty? Why was she in the attic by herself, and although it was dark outside, why could she see everything in the room so well? She suddenly remembered the letters Peter had written to her and wondered if they might tell her when she was to meet him. He must be waiting for her at the river by now, and she needed to confirm the time he wrote in the last letter.

"That's why I am in the attic so I can get the letters I hid in my doll," she said to herself. Under the window was the trunk where the doll was hidden, so Hannah walked across the room to the trunk, but as she passed the window, lights by the river caught her eye. She could see soldiers moving around on the dock and holding lanterns over the water and near the bushes as if looking for something. She really hoped Peter was safe and not hiding in their favorite spot.

Hannah continued to watch the events unfold by the water but was puzzled as to why her parents were with the soldiers. Suddenly someone was reaching in the water, and a large object was pulled out near the bushes along the shore. Hannah held her breath, hoping it was not Peter and then noticed the clothing was that of a woman. It was a dark-colored dress with a dark shawl wrapped around the body.

It seemed odd that a few minutes ago it was dark outside, but now it was daylight, and the shore was clearly visible. Time was not making any sense. Hannah knew she must find the letters and read them again, but she was mesmerized by the activity at the river. She saw her mother with a look of horror on her face and almost collapse in grief. Her father had tears streaming down his expressionless face as he held Mrs. Van Every. Hannah then looked once again at the body pulled from the river and recognized the dress, the shawl, and the face.

"No," she moaned and began to sob loudly. "That's me they are lifting out of the river," she sobbed. "Why has this happened?" As she put her hands to her neck, she felt several holes in the skin. "I'm dead," she said.

Hannah began to remember the events that evening by the river and now realized she had been shot by the soldiers while waiting to meet Peter at their favorite spot. She would never talk to him again or touch him or marry him as they had planned. Who would tell Peter she was dead? Hannah sat on the trunk by the window watching the group carry her body to the house.

"I must stay here and watch for Peter as he must be near. I will stay here forever to watch for him," she sobbed.

* * *

Marilee sat bolt upright in bed. The sobbing had begun again, only now it seemed more intense and sadder than before. This was the third night in a row she had been awakened by the noises in the attic. For several weeks, the noises had been silent; but suddenly, they had returned. During the last year, they had been sporadic and irregular; but for the past three nights, Marilee heard the sobbing. Sometimes it was so loud Marilee was sure the guests in the house would hear it, and she would have to explain the noises at breakfast.

She and Phillip had decided that if guests heard strange noises and inquired about them, they would explain the story of Hannah and Peter rather than hide it. After researching the family history of the house, Marilee and Phillip had put together a story of the young lovers and their dreams and how, because of a war, they were never to be realized.

Marilee looked at the clock, and it was almost six, so she decided to get up. They had three rooms filled this week for all five days, so things were busy at the B&B. By the weekend, all five rooms at Loyalist House would be occupied. The season was well under way, and Loyalist House was quickly filling up well in advance. There were several weeks in July and August that were fully booked.

Marilee had decided that to properly serve their guests this year she would need help with the cleaning and the cooking and had been fortunate enough to find a true gem of a person. Julie had started working at Loyalist House just this month and was proving to be invaluable. Marilee was happy to relinquish some of the responsibility and was thrilled that Julie was such a good cook. This morning was no exception. When Marilee entered the kitchen, Julie was already preparing scones and muffins.

"We will likely be explaining the lover's story again this morning," Marilee told Julie. "The sobbing was really loud last night, and I'm sure the guests must have heard. I'm not sure why this has started again and why it is so intense this time. We may have to go to the attic just to check out if anything has changed up there."

"I'll go, but only if someone is with me," said Julie. Julie's eyes were as big as saucers, and her voice was quite soft as though she didn't want anyone to hear what she was saying. "I'm not sure we should disturb the ghost if she is unhappy as we don't want her to become angry."

Marilee and Phillip had originally decided to hire a person to encourage the ghost to leave the house, a ghost buster of sorts. In fact, Marilee, along with her friend Jeannie, had booked a man named Manfred to come in September to exorcize the ghost from the house. After much discussion, they were all beginning to have second thoughts and were waiting until September to make the decision. "Manfred will be back from his trip by then," Phillip had commented earlier, "and he might even have some ideas on how to appease the ghost."

Marilee agreed, "Especially since we think we know who the ghost is now."

Julie had been told the story when she came to work at the house as Marilee wanted to be sure she was fine about a ghost being present while she carried on her work throughout the house.

"How are you going to find out more about Peter and if he returned?" asked Julie as she took the first batch of muffins from the oven.

Marilee was silent for a moment as she thought about the huge task ahead of her. "I guess I will have to research all the property deeds around here during that time period to see if Peter's name appears on any of them. Marriage licenses may also help if any can be found. Since the town was burned in 1813, it may be hard to find anything that old."

The back door opened, and Phillip came into the kitchen. He had been up very early to be ready for deliveries of supplies for the new winery across the road. The purchase of twenty acres across from the B&B had closed, and Loyalist House Winery was now an official winery in the area.

Over half the property was planted in several varieties of grapes, and the rest was a combination of grassland and fruit trees. It had once been a farm with animals and crops and had belonged to a family that had come to the area to escape persecution during the Revolutionary War. The farm had changed owners and uses a number of times, but there was one original brick building still on the property that was in fairly good shape.

Phillip and his partners Dave and Mike had decided to restore the original building and add onto it to create the public spaces for the winery. They were also building spaces to make the wine, store it and all the equipment needed to run a winery. It was a large project, but the three partners were enthusiastic and anxious to begin producing wine.

Phillip looked at Marilee and Julie...