Saturday Matinee - The Woman in White

"You know the locals say the old Grenville estate is haunted...."
"For gods sake man you don't believe in all that spooky mumbo-jumbo do you? In this day and age....honestly a few squeaks and creaks and everyone's screaming about ghosts!!!"
"I don't know Stephen....they all say there's a vindictive spirit there....why else do you think you got it so cheap?"
"Maybe it's the hundred year old plumbing and wiring....or the acres and acres of gardens gone to hell from neglect....whatever it is I plan to make it my home....I can see the beauty in the place even as the fools run from the things that go bump in the night!!!"
"But Stephen.....so many have seen.....her...."
"Oh yes....her....you mean the woman in white....well if she really exists then she better learn to share because it's going to be my home and I'm not leaving any time soon!!!"
"I understand Stephen but still...."
"What's the status of the upgrades I've ordered...."
"The electricians have just finished although they have informed me that they'll never work on the estate again....and the plumbers will be done by the end of the week provided they don't run off like the last two contractors I've hired!!!!"
"Foolish superstitious men.....I plan to move in tomorrow so have my bags brought there tonight...."
"But Stephen....no one will go there at night....none of the villagers....none of the cabs....no one..."
"God what imbeciles....alright then I want my things brought there at first light...including all the trunks I've packed myself ....those are not to be opened....I have the only keys to those....understand!"
"Yes Stephen....everything will be as you say...."

Weeks went by....then months....and the large empty hall felt more and more like home...he began to understand some of the crazy ideas the Locals had....an old house is full of noises....lots of creaking and whistling drafts and some nights the fire cast shadows that might have fooled some.....but they were just shadows...
When he finally did see her he thought she was a neighbor come to watch the work in the gardens....she was watching as the landscapers did their work restoring them to their former glory!!!! When he looked away for just a moment and turned back she was gone! He jogged to the spot where she had stood just moments ago and there was no sign of her although he could see for at least a hundred yards in every direction...
"Too much sun...." he thought to himself!
But then he began to see her everywhere....even in the house....but never more than a glimpse....never long enough to see her face....
He became obsessed.....if he was going to live with a ghost well he'd be damned if he didn't find out who she was....
He became a regular visitor to the local history archives...and he even traveled to London to trace the Grenville family history looking for her....
All to no avail....
The last Lord Grenville had died at sea fighting the Spanish in 1591 at the young age of 49....and shortly after, those who had inherited the estate abandoned it telling tales about a mysterious woman in white that haunted the house and grounds...
The estate passed through many hands since then....Modernized as the years went by.....but always the same result.....owners selling when they could....and always the stories about the woman in white!!!!
It was driving him mad.....he saw her all the time now....she appeared in the day and the night....even when he took his private time....when he opened his trunks full of feminine finery....when he spent an evening as the lady of the house....his most private moments....when he became the pretty young country lass....or the sophisticated social darling or the princess he so wished to be.....after all what was the point of buying a beautiful country estate  if you couldn't be a princess?
Through it all the woman in white haunted him.....rather than being terrified he felt some pity for the poor apparition....if only he knew who she was!!!!
It was one cold night that it all became clear.....as he smoothed a silk stocking up his leg and attached it to his garter....it hit him like a revelation!!!!
He put on his most elegant gown and his most elaborate wig....he used his makeup to hide the man....and he wore the jewelry that he had inherited from his mother....his loving mother who had surely known and yet had never let on....
He went to the library.....and he played soft music on the Victrola....and soon she came...
He turned to see her.....half in the dark.....her white gown, pure and beautiful, flowing around her in a slightly ethereal haze....she seemed to be watching him as closely as he was watching her.....
Gathering up his skirts, and his courage, he dipped into a deep grand curtsy with his head bowed to the floor.....
"I welcome you Lord Grenville.....I would be honored if you would allow me to share your home with you...."
He felt a cool breeze and cold lips press against his hand.....and he knew he was right.....and he knew he was welcome....he knew he had found a home at last!!!!
In the years that came he hosted gala parties and dances and people laughed as they remembered the old stories about ghosts.....but he knew the truth and when the guests were gone he would put on his best dress to spend his nights with the woman in white and both of them put aside their troubled souls...at least for a while....