Enigma

A wiry, scarlet-haired, ten-year-old boy came rambling up toward the Minnesota farmhouse, his amble legs flashing like little darts. His face was filled with glee. The gravel driveway was long, but he zoomed right up it, carrying an envelope excitedly in his hand.
He banged his way into the house. "Alice!" he shouted. "Alice, lookit this letter!"
His fifteen-year-old sister came curiously into the entryway, her azure eyes dancing. "Good news?" she questioned, amused at his hyper antics.
"I'll say---it's from Great-Aunt Maria!"
"Oh, Billy, you already read it!" Alice teased, seeing the letter in his hand.
"She wants us to come see her at her big house on Lake Superior. Do you think Grams'll let us go? Huh? Do ya?" he pressed.
"I've always wanted to see her big house up North! But she's never asked us before," Alice sighed.
"Well.....she's asking now! Just read it!" Billy shoved the epistle, a piece of lacy stationery, into her hands. It clearly outlined Billy's words. Alice was growing extremely excited. "I would so much like to see you, Billy and Alice. Maybe you could take a bus up from the Cities to visit me....please tell your grandmother about it, and have her give me a jingle in the next few weeks." Alice coudn't believe it. Ever since she had heard about Great-Aunt Maria's domain up on the Great Lake, she had been so anxious to see it. It was supposedly a half-Victorian/half-Western home.
"I'll go show this to Grams. You sit tight, little bro. I'm sure she'll let us go," Alice smiled, and Billy reclined on the sofa. It was a humid day for early June, and the air conditioner was on. Alice went to Grams's sewing room, tucked in a corner on the second floor.