Chapter 19
The Belvedere Guest House was a big overstuffed relic on the Bay side of Cherry Grove. Completely out of place amongst the knotty little cottages and slick glass-walled beach house, it was built in the late 1950’s by John Eberhardt (of the Eberhardt pencil dynasty) with an eye to Austrian High Baroque. More a film set than a home, every inch of the decaying gothic mansion was over the top: an elaborate wrought-iron gated entrance lead past a lavish mirrored fountain, bawdy Greek statues, masses of purple lavender and lattice fence work ending at a huge set of wooden double doors. The inside was a cluttered mess of gold leafing, dusty chandeliers, beautifully detailed wall murals and a maze of hallways, skinny spiral staircases and ornate antiques. The back sections of the mansi
