"And failings and scandal add spice - spice sells. "
"I won't argue with that. But certainly, with your input, the book would have a stronger weight on the plus side, we could say. "
"We could. " She set the folder aside, sipped her tea. "By now you've certainly been in contact with Rosalind Harper. "
"Yes. "
"And . . . she's cooperating?"
"Ms. Harper has been very helpful. I've spent some time in Harper House. It's simply stunning. A tribute to what your family built since coming to Shelby County, and a tribute to charm and grace as well as continuity. "
"It was my great-great-grandfather who built Harper House, and his son who preserved it during the War of Northern Aggression. My grandfather who expanded and modernized the house, while preserving its history and its traditions. "
He waited a moment for her to continue, to speak of her uncle's contribution to the estate. But when she stopped there, he only nodded. "Harper House is a testament to your family, and a treasure of Shelby County. "
"It is the oldest home of its kind consistently lived in by one family in this country. The fact is, there is nothing to compare with it, to my mind, in Tennessee, or anywhere else. It is only a pity my cousin was unable to produce a son in order to carry the family name. "
"Ms. Harper uses the family name. "
"And runs a flower shop on the property. " She dismissed this with another sniff and a flick of her ring-spangled fingers. "One hopes that her eldest son, when he inherits, will have more sense and dignity, though I see no indication of it. "
"Your family has always been involved in commerce, in industry, in business. "
"Not at home. I may decide to give you my cooperation, Dr. Carnegie, as my cousin Rosalind is hardly the best source for our family history. You may deduce we are not on terms. "
"I'm sorry to hear that. "
"It could hardly be otherwise. I'm told that even now she has outsiders, and one of them a Yankee, living in Harper House. "
Mitch waited a beat, saw that he was expected to verify. "I believe there are houseguests, and one is also a distant relation, through Ms. Harper's first husband. "
"With a baby out of wedlock. " Those brightly painted lips folded thin. "Disgraceful. "
"A . . . delicate situation, but one that happens, very often in any family history. As it happens, one of the legends I've heard regarding the house, the family, deals with a ghost, that of a young woman who may have found herself in this same delicate situation. "
"Balderdash. "
He nearly blinked. He didn't believe he'd ever heard anyone use that term in actual conversation.
"Ghosts. I would think a man with your education would be more sensible. "
"Like scandal, Miss Harper, ghosts add spice. And the legend of the Harper Bride is common in the area. Certainly it has to be mentioned in any detailed family history. It would be more surprising if a house as old and rich in history as Harper House didn't have some whisper of hauntings. You must have grown up hearing the story. "
"I know the story, and even as a child had more sense than to believe such nonsense. Some find such things romantic; I do not. If you're skilled or experienced at your work, you'll certainly find that there was no Harper bride who died in that house as a young woman - which this ghost is reputed to be. Not since the story began buzzing about. "
"Which would have been?"
"In my grandfather's time, from all accounts. Your own papers here," she said as she tapped the folder, "debunk any such foolishness. My grandmother lived to a ripe age, as did my mother. My aunts were not young women when they passed. My great-grandmother, and all of her children who survived their first five years, lived well past their forties. "
"I've heard theories that this ghost is a more distant relation, even a guest or a servant. "
"Each nonsensical. "
He fixed a pleasant smile on his face and nodded as if in agreement. "Still, it adds to the lore. So none of your family, to your knowledge, actually saw this legendary bride?"
"Certainly not. "
"Pity, it would have made an interesting chapter in the history. I'd hoped to find someone who'd have a story to tell, or had written of it in a journal or diary. But as to journals or diaries, in a more earthbound sense. I'm hoping to add some to my research, to use them to personalize this family history. Do you have any that your mother or father, or other ancestors kept? Your grandmother's perhaps, your own mother's, aunts', cousins'?"