This lovely and remarkable house was not my first love. I had spent 12 years leasing and restoring Trustworth, the late Victorian-era home of educator Henry Turner Bailey. I had a gentlewoman’s agreement with the gracious lady who owned it: the right to purchase at an agreed price in exchange for my years of unpaid labor. In 1994, her children informed me that the house would go to market and I would be allowed to purchase it for $1 more than the highest bid. In effect, after restoring the property at my own cost I would pay for its restoration again by paying the improved price. It was a betrayal of trust, no pun intended, and Trustworth was lost to me. I was given 90 days to vacate.
Lighting and wood finish are original in the living room with
