“How could I have missed the Manor on the way up by the bus?” Peggy wondered as they drove down the highway. “This is the way I came—”
“Ah, yes, but you don’t see the Manor from the road,” Danny replied poetically. “It is hidden, like all goodies, a surprise package lurking in the midst of tall trees and sparkling waters. And as we leave the highway,” he intoned in travelogue fashion, “we find ourselves driving under an arch of fir trees, their graceful fronds meeting as they embrace above the roadway—”
“Oh, Danny,” Peggy giggled, “we can see it, too.”
But he wasn’t to be deterred. “And around a winding road which curves gracefully through acres—and acres—and acres—”
The cast laughed and joined in the joking as they drove through the spacious grounds that belonged to the Manor.
“And finally,” Danny said as the Manor came into view, “as we reach our destination—Oh, my gosh! It’s a palace!” he concluded abruptly, forgetting his travelogue as the car stopped under the awning in front of the entrance.
“It really is a palace,” Peggy marveled as she stepped out of the car, “or the next thing to it!”
The main house of Lake Manor was a huge white building frosted with turrets and bay windows and surrounded by cottages and a few other sprawling buildings that appeared to be recreation halls. Peggy saw stables, tennis courts, and a swimming pool off in the distance. Ping-pong tables, croquet courts, and lawn chairs dotted the velvet-green grass.
“Oh, it’s absolutely beautiful!” Rita exclaimed. “I had no idea anything like this existed here!”
Just then Mr. Vincent appeared and, smiling broadly, took the cast on a short tour of the Manor.