Chapter 10
Hiram House
Hamilton County, New York
“Whoa!” Jack exclaimed, staring through the rental car’s windshield at the house that had loomed into view after the final turn in a long, serpentine driveway.
He never expected the home would be so uniquely imposing and monumental.
It was all black including its multi-gabled, steep slate roof.
What was most impressive was a profusion of towers capped with either crenellated parapets or sharply pointed conical roofs.
Almost as dramatic was the glut of intricate gingerbread architectural details including finials, spires, and bargeboard.
Taken aback, he slowed the car’s forward motion to a crawl to appreciate the scene.
After following Bob’s Toyota for about ten minutes on the road leading to the neighboring town of Indian River, they’d turned off onto an unmarked, narrow driveway that cut through tall, junglelike forest. The canopy on either side was so dense it precluded sunlight, causing the floor to be completely covered with ferns and moss.
“Could this really be where we are supposed to be staying?” Jack said, finding his voice.
“It must be,” Laurie said. She was equally taken aback while eyeing the home sited in the middle of an acre-sized lawn on the shore of a pristine lake that appeared to be about a half mile in diameter.
Ahead, Bob was already climbing out of his parked car.
Recovering from his initial awe, Jack accelerated forward and pulled alongside.
Laurie lowered her window to allow Bob to lean into the Cherokee, resting on his elbows.
“Well, what’s the initial verdict?” Bob beamed. He was obviously more than confident they would be impressed, which they were.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it,” Jack said. “It’s certainly unexpected and impressive. Staying here is going to be a unique experience. I can assure you that there’s not too many houses like this in the Midwest where I grew up.”
“There’s not too many like it left anyplace,” Bob said confidently.
“You might find a few in Maine if you look hard. If you are interested in architectural details, it’s called Victorian Gothic Revival, which was quite popular in the late 1800s.
And since it was just recently renovated, it’s in fantastic shape. ”
“It looks like the set for a Halloween movie,” Laurie said. “Are those stained-glass windows on either side of the front door?”
“They are indeed,” Bob said. “Tiffany stained glass to be specific. And there’s more inside, as well as leaded glass panels, particularly in the formal dining room. But come on! As you can probably guess, it’s the interior that is the most impressive.” He straightened up and opened Laurie’s door.
As they walked to the front steps leading up to the elaborate covered porch which surrounded the entire house, they could appreciate more of the grounds, which included a partially concealed, hard-surfaced tennis court.
As they mounted the steps, they noticed that the Gothic-arched, grand double doors were surrounded by intricate stone carvings as well as Tiffany stained-glass panels.
“My goodness,” Jack commented. “It must have taken years to build this place, especially way up here in the woods.”
“I understand that they brought a number of artisans all the way from Italy,” Bob responded. “And they lived here on-site during the years of construction.”
For Jack and Laurie, the interior, with its remarkably tall ceilings and wildly decorative, high-gloss, darkly stained mahogany crown moldings, was even more striking than the arresting exterior.
All the common rooms had generous-sized black and gold marble fireplaces and period Victorian furnishings in similarly dark woods.
The drapes and all the upholstery were made of velvet.
Of particular charm was the oversized living room with not one but two marble fireplaces facing each other on either end of the room.
Between the two was an exceptionally large central bay window with sidelights that allowed an enormous amount of bright sunlight to flood into the room.
The view was directly out over the lake with the tallest Adirondack Mountains in the distance.
Both Jack and Laurie stopped to stare. The scene was momentarily mesmerizing for two city-folk.
“This truly is gorgeous,” Jack admitted.
“I told you so,” Bob said.
“I only see one other house,” Laurie said. “And from here it looks a lot like this one.”
“It looks a lot like this house even up close, just a bit larger if you can believe it,” Bob said.
“That’s the main house on the Bennet Estate, built by Ambrose Bennet for himself and his family.
Any mistakes he thought he might have made in that one, he rectified in this one that he built for his son, such as fully taking advantage of the views of the lake.
The living room in the original house doesn’t even face the lake but rather the formal garden.
Nor does the main house have a bow window like this, and this house has two. This one and one in the library.
“As for the lake, it’s now owned by the private equity company that bought the Bennet factory building in town and both these residences. That’s why there are no other houses. That will probably change in the future as the resort project progresses.”
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” Jack said with a laugh. “Seems that we’ll be sharing this lake with a group of Dutch far right-wing militia members, for whatever that’s worth.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Bob said with a chuckle of his own. “But don’t count on a lot of friendly interaction. I doubt you’ll be seeing much of them.”
“How come?”
“Why, I don’t know,” Bob said. “Bill Hargrove told me that they stick to themselves, and it’s entirely true.
Apparently, they just hang out inside the house, which is certainly big enough, and in the barn.
Other than the fellow that plays basketball with us on occasion, I rarely see any of them in town, and when I do, they are always together visiting the Huber Convenience Store or the Daniels Hardware.
They must do their main food shopping in Indian River. ”
“You’d think they’d go a little stir-crazy despite the size of the house,” Laurie suggested.
“One would think so,” Bob agreed. “But we’ll worry about the Netherlanders tomorrow.
” He laughed. “Now, let’s move on to the kitchen, which is rather unique to say the least.” He waved for them to follow as he led the way out of the living room and through the stately front hall, passing en route the grand staircase that led up to the second floor.
“Oh, wow,” Laurie said when she saw that the kitchen was as large as the living room.
One end had been totally renovated with state-of-the-art kitchen appliances and even a new island with a modern sink, cooktop, and barstools.
But more impressive to her was the original woodburning stove that had been left in place at the other end of the room as well as a large soapstone sink and countertops that ran all along one wall.
In keeping with the old fixtures, the floor was wide-planked oak.
Bob went directly to the refrigerator, opened the door, and pointed to fruit and other basics like eggs, bacon, milk, butter, and cheese that he’d gotten for them. There was also a package of English muffins.
“My goodness, you’ve really gone overboard for us,” Laurie commented.
“It’s the least I could do,” Bob said. “I’m truly appreciative that you guys were willing to come up here to lend a hand to a struggling county coroner.”
“We’re happy to help if we can,” Laurie said. “But you needn’t feel so beholden. Getting away from the OCME and its political problems for a few days is a real treat for me. We are grateful to you.”
“Hear, hear,” Jack said in full agreement.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” Bob said with a broad smile.
“Meanwhile, let me point out what might be the pièce de résistance of the property. Then I’ll leave you alone to get settled.
Follow me!” Again waving over his shoulder, he led them first through a kind of mudroom/storeroom back out onto the covered porch that ringed the dwelling.
After rounding the corner of the building, Jack and Laurie immediately saw what Bob had to have been referring to, namely a large swimming pool, a connected Jacuzzi, a pool house, a sizable barbecue, and a firepit, all partially hidden behind newly planted birch trees.
As the group reached the expanded section of the covered porch facing the lake, with its collection of period wicker furniture, Bob stopped to let his visitors take in the scene.
The view of the lake was even more impressive than it had been from inside the living room.
From where they were now standing they could see a dock that extended a short distance out into the lake.
On it was a red canoe turned on its side and several chairs.
“Is the lake swimmable?” Jack asked.
“Of course,” Bob said. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know,” Jack admitted. “The only lake I’m accustomed to seeing is the one in Central Park, which I’d never swim in.”
“It’s perfectly swimmable although it gets deep quickly and if you dive down more than six feet or so, it will feel cold.
I live on a very similar lake, about a mile from here, along with ten other families including my parents.
It’s where I grew up. During this time of year, I swim just about every day, rain or shine. ”
“If the lake is swimmable, why did they put in a swimming pool?” Laurie asked.
“I don’t know, to be honest,” Bob said. “My guess is that this house might be for the benefit of the private equity higher-ups who are funding the resort to use in the future. But it’s just a guess.”
“Are the barbecue and the firepit operational?” Jack asked.
“Absolutely,” Bob responded.