Chapter Eleven
Perched above the ocean, the white frame summer house tenaciously clung to the rocks that supported its sagging weight. Nine-ninety years of winds and storms and summer sun, the occasional hurricane barreling up the Atlantic coast, had taken its toll. The wood was bare in spots with paint chipping on the window frames. Over time, the house’s deep green shutters had faded to a pale wash of color—like watercolors against a canvas of white. The huge two story home was once known as Bennington Mansion. But ‘mansion’ hardly fit it now with the place in such disrepair. It creaked and groaned with every gust of air. During storms its summertime occupants would huddle together worried that it might slide off the cliffs and tumble into the turbulent ocean. The large turret at one en
