Page 23 of The Sun Sister
‘We really will be struggling for room,’ Ma continued relentlessly.
‘Well, as the rest of you guys have all found families and it’s just little ol’ me by myself, if there isn’t room, maybe I just shouldn’t come.’
‘Oh Electra, don’t say that! You have to come, you promised.’ Ally looked genuinely upset.
‘Yeah, well, maybe I can sleep in the secret basement Tiggy found when she was here,’ I replied, turning to Ma.
Ally’s expression threw daggers at me across the table, but I was too drunk to care.
‘Ah, the basement.’ Ma regarded both of us. ‘Yes, I did tell Tiggy it is there and there is no mystery to it. Once we have finished Claudia’s wonderful apple strudel, I shall take you down myself to see it.’
I threw back a ‘so there!’ look to Ally, who raised her eyebrows in exasperation, and once the dessert was finished, Ma rose and took out a key from the box on the wall.
‘Right, shall we go down?’
There was no need for an answer, as she was already walking out of the kitchen and Ally and I filed after her. In the corridor, Ma took hold of a brass loop and pulled back a mahogany panel to reveal a miniature elevator.
‘Why was this put in?’ I asked.
‘As I explained to Tiggy, your father wasn’t getting any younger and wanted easy access to all parts of the house.’ Ma opened the door and the three of us crammed inside. I immediately felt claustrophobic and took some deep breaths as she pressed a brass button and the door closed behind us.
‘Yeah, I get that, but why did he hide it?’ I asked as the elevator began to move.
‘Electra, shut up, will you?’ Ally hissed, by now beyond irritated with me. ‘I’m sure Ma will explain everything.’
It was a four-second ride, and I felt the bounce as we reached the bottom. The door slid open and we all stepped into a very plain basement which, as Ally had said, was bounded on all sides by wine racks.
‘And here you are.’ Ma stepped out and swung her arms around the room. ‘Your father’s wine cellar.’ She turned to me and smiled. ‘I am sorry, Electra, that there is no great mystery.’
‘But...’
Behind Ma, Ally’s eyes sent me a message that even I realised I couldn’t ignore.
‘I...well, it’s very nice.’ I began to wander round the shelves, looking at what Pa had stashed down here. I pulled a bottle out. ‘Wow, Château Margaux, 1957. This sells for over two thousand dollars in the best restaurants in New York. Pity I’m more of a vodka fan.’
‘Can we go back up? I need to check on Bear,’ said Ally, shooting me another warning glance.
‘Just give me a couple more minutes,’ I replied, continuing to browse the racks, pulling out the odd bottle and pretending to study its label, while all the time keeping my eyes peeled for the hidden door Ally had talked about. On the right-hand side of the room, I peered at a 1972 Rothschild Burgundy and spotted the almost invisible lines of an opening in the plaster behind the racks. ‘Right,’ I said, walking back to them both. ‘Let’s go.’
As we made our way towards the elevator, I noticed it had a solid steel surround.
‘What’s this for, Ma?’ I pointed at it.
‘If you press that button’ – Ma indicated one side of the surround – ‘it shuts the steel doors in front of the elevator.’
‘So you mean if we pressed it now, we’d be trapped down here?’ I asked, panic rising instinctively inside me.
‘No, of course you wouldn’t, Electra, but anyone trying to get into the cellar from the elevator would not be able to access it. It is a strongroom,’ she explained as we squeezed back into the tiny space. ‘Nothing unusual in the house of a rich family living in an isolated spot. If, God forbid, Atlantis was under attack from burglars or worse, we could seal ourselves in and call for help. And yes,chérie’ – Ma gave me a thin smile as we ascended the one floor upwards – ‘it does have a Wi-Fi signal down there. Now,’ she said as we all exited the elevator and trooped back into the kitchen, and I noted where she hung the key in the box, ‘please forgive me, but I am weary tonight and must go to my bed.’
‘That’s Bear’s fault – you’ve been up since five, Ma. I’ll see to him tomorrow morning.’
‘No, Ally. If I sleep now, I will be fine. I wake early anyway these days. Goodnight.’ She nodded at both of us and left the kitchen.
‘I’m going up to check on Bear,’ said Ally, about to follow Ma before I tapped her on the shoulder.
‘Then why don’t you take the elevator?’ I picked the key back off the hook and dangled it in front of her. ‘It goes up to the attic floor. There was a button for it in the lift.’
‘No, Electra, I’ll be fine, thanks.’
