21
Ivy pushed open the door and stepped inside the house. Glancing around, she let out a sigh of relief. The wood floors were dry in the foyer, but Ivy feared the extent of the lower level damage. She turned to her niece. “I’m going to check the ballroom for leaks. Would you have a look at the other side of the house before guests return? Then we’ll face the downstairs together.”
“Will do,” Poppy said, hurrying toward the parlor, library, and music room.
Holding her breath, Ivy stepped into the ballroom and made her way toward the tall Palladian windows and doors that opened onto the front terrace.
Except for paintings that were slightly askew on the wall, the room was as they’d left it. Ivy picked up one of Amelia’s silver candlesticks that had toppled and rolled onto a rug. That the
