Weepings of the Moss: Old Bones and Haint Blue (Chapter 2, Part 6)


 Image: The tabby ruins of Fort Frederick overlooking Port Royal and its waterways. Image taken by myself. 

“Good to see you sir, how ya’ doin’?”

“Just fine Mr. Freeman,” Gabriel said with a smile and shaking his hand. “I’ll say you appear to have worked a miracle here.”

“Well, I sure won’t say it was easy,” Darius said with a laugh as he gestured towards the property. “But she sure do come together well don’t she?”

“That she does, that she does.” Gabriel said with a sigh and a nod, admiring the grounds. “Did you have to replace too much of the foundation?”

“No, sir. Ain’t much to fix in that respect.” Darius said in a matter of fact tone. “She’s got old bones, very old, but very strong too. Take a gander here…” Darius rummaged in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a square headed nail. “See that? That’s an old nail. And I mean old nail. It’s iron and see those marks? This is forged, like by a black smith. Pre-industrialization, don’t get more local small business than that.” He handed it to Gabriel who weighed it in his hand and observed the old metal.

“Any idea how old?” Gabriel’s eyes didn’t leave the nail as he asked.

“Hard to say exactly, I’d guess probably before 1850, but likely much older. I’d hang on to that as a souvenir.” Gabriel considered it for a second more before putting it into his pocket. “Like I said, the bones were still good for the most part, much of what we did was superficial. Care to let me give you the grand tour?”

“Lead on sir.” Gabriel said, gesturing towards the house. They began walking across the sandy grass and stopped at the well.

“I know this was more of a…I guess you could say superficial thing but it was just such an eyesore out front here.” Darius dropped his hand on the wood cover, a hollow echo sounded below. “We fixed the roof, and cut back the thorn bushes into the well, made a new cover too. Don’t worry I didn’t charge you a dime for this, didn’t take me more than an hour to get it built and it just made the whole place look better.”

“Well I appreciate that sir, that was mighty kind of you.” Gabriel admitted with a nod of appreciation.

“Think nothin’ of it, it didn’t take much. Now that smoke house out back on the other hand…” Darius said remorsefully, looking towards the back of the house. There had been a moderately sized smoke house that likely had not been renovated since the house had been built, it was little more than a ruin of wood and some iron fittings now, but Gabriel didn’t care to have it removed or fixed, he wanted to be in the house and out of town as fast as possible. “I know we could fix that up for not much more. Or at least let me remove it sir!” The contractor implored, but it fell on deaf ears.

“It’s really fine, I don’t mind leaving that piece of history out to see. It won’t get much in the way anyway.” Gabriel insisted.

“Well if you insist,” Darius relented with a sigh. “but if you ever do want it gone or-”

“I’ll know exactly who to call.” Gabriel said with a smile, which made Darius laugh.

“Exactly sir. Now come on inside.” They walked up the double brick stair case, Gabriel’s hands gliding along the cold, ornate iron. Gabriel looked up at the haint blue ceiling of the classical portico as he passed underneath, it had come at the insistence of Darius, who said many used this color to ward off evil. Gabriel was skeptical. Death takes what it wants, and leaves us scrambling to grab the pieces of the light we can as we are dragged away, clutching them to our chest like they’ll save us.

Passing through the doorway revealed unpolished wood floors, white walls except for the occasional easter shade of red, blue or green, or even an old style wall paper. Gabriel had opted to keep a similar theme throughout the house to fit the Georgian architecture, as it would likely sell better that way, especially in a region where this style was so popular. Darius walked him through the first floor. Entering through the front door one would enter the main hallway, which stretched back to a back door that was identical to the front. A stairwell ran up the right side of the hall and to the second floor. Pediment doorways adorned entry to every room, sash windows with modern clear panels let in the natural light. Four rooms made up the first floor, the kitchen, the drawing room, the library, a general use room, and a bathroom that was wedged under the stairwell. A screened in porch had been restored that connected to the kitchen, it had barely existed in its ruined state but now was rebuilt and connected to the house via door to the kitchen. Much of it was still under repair on the interior, but was already looking promising. Many modern amenities were being added, the old gas stove had been replaced with a classic looking but functional modern one, the old steel fridge had been replaced with a modern one, and so forth. The house was abustle with tradesmen, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, all replacing the old without making it feel too new.

“…and we will for sure have all new light switches before you come in. As they were this whole place would have burned up like a tinder box with a single flick.” Darius said with a shake of his head as Gabriel followed him out of the kitchen and back into the main hallway. Suddenly he stopped and looked at the floor. “Aw come on man…” He said with a shake of his head. At his feet seemed to be a puddle of water. “Come on y’all we can’t be leavin’ water on the wood! Who spilled this? And are those…?” Darius peered at the stairs. “And someone even walked through it, without proper foot wear? That sure ain’t a boot print I see! Miguel!” A short but stocky Hispanic man peaked his head out from the library. “Care to tell me how I will explain this to the lawyer for my next employee who gets a nail through their foot, or to Mr. Blackwoode here why his floors are warped?” Miguel began to respond in Spanish but Darius cut him off.

“I ain’t got time for this nonsense. Fix it. Now.” He commanded, instantly a few other workers jumping to his command and with some work towels started mopping up. Darius looked up at the ceiling, which Gabriel did too. “We’ve had to darn near redo the roof, it just seems to keep leakin’ no matter what we do. I promise Mr. Blackwoode we will have it fixed before your move in date.”

“I’d appreciate that, but I also understand this has been a very neglected house. We may not get it all first go around.” Gabriel said as they proceeded up the stairs to the second floor.

The tour of the resurrected house has begun, but not everything is as it seems. A mysterious puddle, a strange footprint, and a leak that can't be fixed... Follow the blog for the next installment as they head upstairs, where the house's real secrets are waiting.

Location: Beaufort, SC, USA

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