A great many things had happened over the past few days. Jax had several meetings with Travis Clark, the head of security at Jacks International, concerning the apparent failure of the security system in the new house. Travis was at a loss to explain how an intruder had gotten into or been hidden in the house. Repeated tests were run under his direct supervision on the wiring, the computer relays, even the sensors, and everything checked out perfectly. To his embarrassment he had no answers for Jax, only unanswered questions.

Brenda had been very understanding about the delays in furnishing the house. When Jax explained to her his concerns about not only their safety in the house but also that someone could vandalize it, she was more than willing to go along with his request to stay away from the house for a few days. She was glad for the time to work with the consultant that Matthew had recommended about finding the right linens for the bedrooms and the dining room as well the china, crystal, and silver pieces. She was up to her elbows in catalogs and brochures for linen companies from all over the world, including London, Paris, Rome, New York, and Madrid, reviewing various patterns, colors, and styles. She had to admit, it was a lot more work to make all these choices, but she was also eager to do it. These were going to be hers and Jax's, to use in their own home. She had never known what it felt like to live in a home until she met Jax. When she was growing up, she had always felt like she was living in someone else's house, not her home.

True to his word that it would only take a few days to research the history of the house, Matthew had called this morning, asking to meet with Jax and Brenda to let them know what he had found. They expected him around 10:00. Since he had a relatively quiet morning at the office, Jax had rearranged his schedule in order to wait at home for Matthew. He would, however, have to get into the office for a meeting with Ned this afternoon that he could not cancel.

When Jax came back into the living room from his study he found Brenda pacing in front of the fireplace. "Do you want me to light a fire, Brenda? You look like you're cold." Jax wasn't sure if she was cold or nervous about what Matthew would tell them about the house. She was pacing back and forth with her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she was afraid of something.

"What? Oh, no thanks, honey, I'm fine. I was just wondering what Matthew has found out about the house. Maybe it'll explain who has been in the house. Jax, do you think whoever is doing this is out to hurt us?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know. At first I thought it was just a prank being pulled by someone, but now that they have managed to bypass a state of the art security system, I don't know. The part that doesn't make any sense to me is that whoever it is does not seem to want to damage or steal anything. God knows they've had ample opportunity." He thought for a second and then decided to tell her about Matthew's joke of the other morning, making light of it, of course. "You won't believe what Matthew suggested the other morning as the possible source of all this. He said maybe the house is haunted, and a ghost was arranging the furniture."

Brenda just stood there staring at him, not sure whether he was serious or joking. Finally she looked him straight in the eye and saw that old, familiar twinkle there, and she could not help but start to laugh. "Right, some previous occupant has his or her own furniture plan for the house, and they are 'helping' us out at night to -- what? Save us time?"

Jax breathed a sigh of relief. This was the reaction he had been hoping for. He couldn't understand why he had even bothered to bring it up to her. Maybe because he had been hiding it in the back of his mind, and he just needed her to convince him how ridiculous the thought was. Whatever the reason, he felt sure now that there was a logical explanation for what had been going on in the house. All they needed was for Matthew to give it to them this morning.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Jax took a quick look at his watch. It was 10:03. That meant that this had to be Matthew.

As he had expected, Jax opened the door to find Matthew standing there, looking even more professorial than usual. He couldn't help thinking that this must be the image he presented to his classes at PCU. After he and Brenda were settled on the couch, Matthew began presenting what he had found out about the house.

"Well, I've found quite a bit of information about the house. Unfortunately, there is not too much information about the family after 1921, but you may be able to research that through your security people." Matthew handed Jax and Brenda a rather thick binder as he started to detail what he had found.

"The house was originally called Stanhope Manor. It was completed in 1887. A couple named Madeline and Everett Stanhope built it. Its original floor plan was recorded at the Port Charles County Recorder's office in May 1886. Construction was begun in June, and the couple moved in in February 1887. On Valentine's Day actually. From that point on until about 1934, there are no official records for the house. The property taxes were always paid, and the house had legally changed hands only once between construction and 1934."

"What happened in 1934 that it was sold?" Jax was becoming curious to know more about the people who had owned the house.

"The Stanhope family notified the Port Charles Recorder's Office that they were selling the property and inquired about zoning variances in order to convert it to a commercial site. They were turned down since it was located in a heavily residential area, and the new owners intended to divide the house into several offices. When they were refused the variance the sale fell through. It was eventually sold later in 1934 as a residence.

"After that there were several sets of remodeling plans filed with the county, the last in May of 1966. From what I could see in the copies on file, they pretty much destroyed the character of the house. I'm glad it was restored before you guys got to see it."

"What do you know about the Stanhope family?" Brenda was curious about the people who had built such a beautiful house.

"Well, there is not a great deal of information from that time period still available, but here's what I was able to find.

"Everett Chandler Stanhope was born in Port Charles on April 22, 1863. He was the youngest son of an extremely wealthy family. He was educated at Harvard, graduating with a degree in business and joined his family's firm immediately after graduation. He was multi-lingual. He was reported to have been a natural business genius. He was considered to have a very promising future by his professors at Harvard. He did have a reputation as a risk taker though, both in his business dealings and in his private enjoyments. He met his wife Madeline through family friends, and they were married in November, 1885."

"What do you know about her?" Jax was making mental notes to have Travis check into both families.

"Madeline Benton Drake was born in New York City on March 30, 1866. She was the younger of two daughters of a widowed shipping mogul. She was privately educated, as was the custom among wealthy families of the time. According to information I found in family records at the Port Charles Historical Society, she was very well bred but also high spirited. She apparently had a reputation for having a stubborn streak. When she and Everett married she was 19-years-old."

"Any children?" Brenda wondered.

"Yes, three: two boys - Everett Chandler II and Harrison Drake, and a daughter named Elizabeth Morgan. All three children were born in the house."

"Are there any pictures available of either Madeline or Everett?" Brenda was curious to see what they looked like. She wondered if Jax had caught the similarities between the Stanhopes and themselves. They shared the same birthdays and were only a few years apart in age at the time they had married.

"Yes, in the binder you'll see a copy of their wedding photo. Here let me show you." With that, Matthew opened the binder, turning past the printed report to a copy of a photograph.

The couple in the picture startled both Jax and Brenda. Madeline was a very beautiful, petite woman with long, dark brown hair and dark eyes. She almost came up to Everett's shoulder in the photo. Jax couldn't help but notice the look in her eyes as she looked at her new husband. It was a look that transcended time. It was the look of pure love.

Everett was an exceptionally handsome man, very tall for that period with light hair, probably blond, and very pale eyes, either green or blue, most likely because of the way they had photographed blue. He had the same look in his eyes as Madeline, like he was looking at the other half of his own soul. Seeing the couple in the picture made Brenda reach for Jax's hand. It was obvious that they both saw the same thing. The thing they saw reflected in their eyes every time they looked at each other.

"Were you able to find anything else out about them? How long did they live in the house? Did any of the children take over the house in later years?" Brenda had thousands of questions running through her mind.

"There wasn't too much more about them available. Madeline died in the house in August of 1894 of pneumonia. Everett moved to London with the children later that same year. He eventually turned the house over to his oldest son after he graduated from Harvard. Everett died of a heart attack in London in 1911 without ever returning to the house. He's buried beside Madeline in the Stanhope family plot in the Port Charles Cemetery."

"That's about all I could find on the Stanhopes. After Everett's death the younger two children returned to live with their older brother in the house. The family record is pretty sparse from that point. Then in 1921 there is no further record of any of the Stanhope children in any Port Charles facility. I checked the PC Library, the Historical Society, and even the Hall of Records. There is no record of any birth, marriage, or death of any of the Stanhope children on file here in Port Charles County, which leads me to believe that all three must have left the area around the same time.

"There's a written copy of everything I've just told you guys in that binder, along with as many pictures of the family and the house as I could find. Brenda, there are several picture of the rooms the way Madeline furnished them that you might be interested in. May I?" Matthew asked as he reached for the binder. "Jax, you might be interested in this particular picture" Matthew opened the book to a picture of a bedroom and handed the binder to Jax.

Jax just stared at it for a minute before he realized what Matthew meant. This was a photograph of the bedroom he and Matthew had been in just the other day. The furniture in the room was arranged exactly the same in the photograph as it was when Matthew and Jax had found it in the room a few days ago. Jax looked at Matthew, "Does there happen to be a photo of the parlor in the Stanhope house in here?"

As Matthew took the binder back from Jax, he answered, "Yes there is." Once he found the picture he was looking for, he handed it back to Jax and Brenda. "What do you think?"

Jax and Brenda looked at the photo, then at each other, and in unison both looked at Matthew. "It's the same as we found it that first day, down to the last detail! But how? Are these photos available to the general public, Matthew?" Jax's voice showed more than a touch of concern.

"Nope. I got them from a colleague at the Historical Society. You need a special permit to enter the photo vault. I checked the record when I was there. No one has been in the Stanhope file in over 20 years."

Jax and Brenda were more confused than ever. If no one had seen these photographs in over 20 years, how did someone know where to position the furniture? Had it just been a coincidence? Jax didn't know what was going on, but he was going to find out.