Chapter 56

She stared up at the darkened ceiling, unable to make out even a trace of the painting. The moon was only a sliver and had already moved beyond the house. So she got no light from it.  Outside the windows, the night birds were madly chattering and she wondered if a cat had them in a dither. The sounds went on for some time before falling into an unnerving silence. Her whole body went on alert. She waited, wondering if it was the start of another arrival but her instincts told her not. This was something else.

Flinging the coverlet back, she eased off the bed and stood, listening for some sound or movement that would account for the profound silence. The fact that there wasn’t any made it all them more curious. Birds only fall silent when something is wrong.

Sam moved to the window overlooking the front lawn. Trees and the shadow of the house made it almost impossible to see but something glinted in the road. She crouched down and leaned forward, sticking her head out the window. Someone stood at the gate and she realized that the glint was the buckle on a belt. The moon must still be high enough to catch the metal.

Below she heard a tiny squeak as someone opened the front screen and then muffled steps crossed the porch. She waited for the crunch of the gravel walk but it never came and in a few moments, she realized it was because the person coming out had stepped into the grass. They approached the man outside the gate. There was a brief comment she couldn’t hear and then, she caught a few words.

“. . . to wait.” A man. Her uncle? Her cousin? She couldn’t tell.  

The visitor’s voice was harsh but suppressed. “We don’t have time. They’re expecting you in an hour. The shipment sails at dawn.”

A hiss drifted to her as the man from the house grabbed the person on the other side of the gate and yanked him forward. The words were muffled but the furious tone left no doubt that they were angry. He released him and shoved him back.

“I have to dress. I’ll meet you there. Don’t come here again. You’ve been warned.”

There was a long silence as they stood facing one another and then, the man outside the gate spun on his heel and strode away. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him. She knew that gait.

Sam turned from the window and moved to the wardrobe. The doors opened silently and she felt inside until she found a riding skirt and blouse. Her hands trembled as she pulled them on and quickly put her hair in a twist.

It was crazy to do this. She knew it. Following them could get her killed. “Or,” she whispered in the darkness, “it could tell me what is going on.”

Her boots were near the door but she hesitated to put them on. They’d make a lot of noise getting out of the house. After a moment, she picked them up and tucked them under her arm and slipped from her room.

The quiet of the house was resounding. She’d have to use extreme care to be quiet and stay hidden, particularly since she wasn’t that familiar with the layout. The stairs were easy. She just hugged the wall but once downstairs, she knew she’s have find a place to hide so she could follow them.

Remembering from her previous visit that she’d seen a small closet under the stairs, she found the door and slipped inside, keeping the door cracked. She waited. It wasn’t long. From her position, she could hear him coming down the stairs. When he reached the hallway, he didn’t move toward the front door. Instead, he turned toward her hiding place and her heart skipped a beat. She cowered back, into the clothes behind her. Then, he passed by. Shocked even more so by this turn, she stuck her head out the door and looked back along the hallway. He struck a match and held it to a lamp on a small hall table. Then, he held up the lantern and she gasped.

Ian stood holding a lantern high and facing the wall… or where the wall had been. Now, a panel stood open, like a doorway.  He stared down for just a moment and then, with a deep breath, he stepped through the door, pulling it closed behind him.

Sam didn’t hesitate but left her hiding place and hurried to where even now the door was almost closed. She did not reach it in time. There was a click and the opening disappeared, casting the hall into darkness.

“Blast,” she hissed.

In the front parlor, she found a box of matches and a lamp on the table near the door. She lit the lantern and stuffed the matches into her pocket. She would rather have a candle but with no idea where they kept extras it would waste time searching.

At the wall she held the lantern up and moved it around the area, searching for a handle but she found nothing. Starting again, she inspected every inch she could reach for some sort of button or lever. It was a simple wall with no carvings or detail. There was a painting of a woman in a red dress that she realized was her aunt, a much younger version. It has slipped and she reached up to straighten it. As soon as she moved it, there was a click and the wall moved forward half an inch. She slid her finger into the crack and pulled. The wall swung out with ease on silent hinges. Obviously, someone kept it oiled.

Sam raised her lantern high and peered into the opening. A set of stone stairs led downward and below, she could see an orange glow, as if a fire burned. She squelched the trembling that threatened to unbalance the lamp chimney and stepped down. As soon as her bare foot hit the stone step, she realized she’d dropped her boots in the closet. She resisted the urge to go back. If she waited too long, Ian would return and catch her or they’d be gone and she’d never find out what was happening. She reached back and pulled the door closed behind her and descended the stairs.