Celia Turner and Ethan Cox smiled as they drove to Birchwood House with Jessop Clifton.
The last time Celia had come looking for Alex had been to persuade him to take an undercover job as a teacher at a high school. Now, once again, her superiors were urging her to speak to him.
After a while, they arrived at Birchwood House and got out of the car. Several smaller villas were dotted about the land, visible from the main house. As they looked around, their jaws dropped at the stunning scenery, and Jessop felt a lump in his throat. Celia and Ethan also felt an emotional reaction to what they saw.
"Look at that tree," Celia said, pointing to an enormous oak tree. "How old do you think it is?"
Jessop took a deep breath, wondering why he hadn't come here in so long. The air was clear and fresh, and he already felt rejuvenated.
"This place is wonderful," Celia said, her expression full of awe. "Look at how colorful the flowers are! It's like paradise."
"Yes, it is," Jessop agreed, frowning. "But how is this possible? It's winter."
Ethan sighed happily, taking slow breaths to savor the air.
They walked around the side of the house and found Alex placing some cups on a table on the lawn. When he saw them approach, he poured the tea, and once they had sat down, Alex handed one of the cups to Jessop.
After the way Alex had dealt with the Thornton family, Celia and Ethan decided to stay quiet, not wanting to annoy him.
"Thank you, Alex," Jessop said, sipping his tea. "I must admit, it's lovely here. The air is quite bracing."
Despite it being winter, the lawn was lush, as though it were spring, and there were even some daisies springing up among the grass.
That's very strange, Jessop thought, looking at all the greenery. Then he shook his head. Perhaps someone has just been taking good care of the lawn, and that's why it looks so fresh.
"Is something wrong?" Alex asked, noticing his expression.
"Alex, is there something strange about this place?" Jessop asked. "It feels like there's something about the atmosphere here. Approaching this property is like stepping into another world. It's winter out there, but here at the mansion, it's spring. I like it, but I don't understand it."
He looked around him, frowning slightly. "I've been here before, but it's changed so much since then." A couple of birds settled nearby, seemingly unafraid, and a rabbit hopped across the lawn, ignoring their presence.
He turned to look at Alex, wondering what was going on and what he was doing at this mansion. Alex didn't appear to be acting as a security guard, so why was he here?
Everyone was a little confused about why it seemed to be spring in the land around the house. Flowers were blooming, trees still had their leaves, and wild animals were not in hibernation. It looked like the area was in its own little bubble, protected from the rest of the world.
Although it couldn't possibly be natural, there was no sign of any device that could produce such a result.
"How much are the houses here?" Celia asked. "They don't seem to be on sale yet." She had no intention of buying any of them, but she wondered what Alex was doing here.
"I haven't decided yet," Alex said, shrugging. "But I was thinking about half a million dollars each."
"Half a million?" Jessop almost choked on his tea.
It was an exceptionally high price. Of course, things were worth whatever someone was willing to pay. Still, half a million seemed excessive, even if the grounds did resemble paradise.
No one will buy the houses at those prices, Jessop thought, shaking his head. No one is that stupid.
The others were having similar thoughts. After all, the area was a little too far from the city, and people wouldn't be willing to pay that kind of money.
"Would you like to look around?" Alex asked.
"Oh? Is there anything special we should see?" Celia asked.
Jessop was curious, too. After all, he knew Alex wasn't stupid, so if he was asking for half a million dollars, there must be a good reason. Perhaps there was something special about the place.
Alex led them to an area further away from the house. At first, it didn't look any different from the rest of the land, but after a while, they reached a particularly fertile place.
"What is this?" Celia asked, her voice breathless.
Jessop's eyes were wide, and he couldn't speak.
Ethan was gaping in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. It was like a miracle.
"Is this real?" Celia asked, stretching out her hand and touching the trunk of a cherry blossom tree, which was in full bloom. A gentle breeze had some of the blossoms falling from the trees, fluttering past Celia like little pink snowflakes.
"How is this possible?" Jessop asked, unable to tear his gaze away from the tree.
"It's amazing what science can do these days," Alex said simply, not really answering the question.
Everyone knew this had nothing to do with science. This was something mysterious, and it was beyond their understanding.
Off the estate, the trees were dormant for the winter, and their leaves were all gone, and yet this place had a cherry blossom tree full of flowers. Science couldn't explain something like that.
"I never realized such a thing was possible," Celia said, still stroking the tree. "It sounds like a fairytale, but here it is, right in front of me."
"I want to buy two of the villas," Jessop announced excitedly. "I'll have the money transferred to you right away."
Now he had seen this miracle, he no longer considered half a million too expensive. In fact, it was far too cheap.
This land was absolutely priceless.
Who wouldn't pay half a million to experience spring while everyone else dealt with winter?
"Hold one villa for me," Celia said. "I'll try to get a loan."
"Didn't you think it was too expensive?" Alex asked, smiling at them.
"Expensive?" Jessop asked. "No, no. Not at all. It's actually quite reasonable."
The others nodded their agreement.
Ethan wanted to buy several villas, but he knew he couldn't raise that much money.
"Well, let's not talk business right now," Alex said.
"There is something else I wanted to ask you about," Celia said hesitantly. "I really appreciate how you helped us deal with those foreign agents. And I'm really hoping you'll agree to become an instructor at the Baltimore Military Academy."
"I told you before," Alex said, shrugging. "I'm not interested."
Celia sighed. "Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?"