Page 84 of The Thief
“I will come up there later to see you,” he whispered before they whisked her away to take her to her room.
Alastair watched her go and then growled softly, determined to find out how this person was always ahead of them, causing so much danger and worry. With one last look at the bedroom, he asked the remaining staff to tidy up the room a bit and then they could go have the rest of the day off.
Then he stalked towards the stairs to the kitchen and up to his office.
A few hours later, Bard had helped Alastair straighten up the office, ensuring that one of the vials was indeed safe. Alastair walked around the office, trying to figure out how someone would have gotten in. He had become very paranoid and had stationed guards at the door of his study to prevent any unwanted guests from getting inside.
He knew that it was painfully obvious that something worth guarding was in there but for his peace of mind, he had them outside the door.
The guards confirmed that no one had gone in to the office except for Bard.[EaSS1]So that begged the question: how did they get into his study? The only secret path he knew about was the one down to the pier.
Curious, he walked over to the large bookshelves in the office, testing books and pulling at them to see if they would open a secret door. When none of the books triggered the door, he was almost disappointed. Tamping it down, he continued to search.
He noticed that one of the large tapestries that hung on the wall was stuck on something. Slowly he walked over to it, pulling the tapestry up and looking beneath it. In shock, he stared at the door that lay behind it, the tapestry stuck on the door knob. With one hand, he pulled the tapestry loose from the knob, the other pulling the door open.
It swung open with a loud creaking sound, a dark, dank hallway staring back at him.
Bard walked back into the study at that moment, halting abruptly when he saw the secret door open wide. Quickly he shut the study door behind him, walking briskly over to Alastair once that was completed.
“Where does it go?” he asked, peering down the hall as best he could.
Alastair shrugged and suggested, “Let’s find out. It will give us a better idea of how they were able to get in and out of my office so quickly.”
Bard nodded in agreement and Alastair grabbed the candle he had on his desk; he and Bard headed down into the darkness.
“The door was quite loud when it opened so I am unsure of how the guards did not hear the door open. As a matter of fact, they did not hear the bottles break either,” Alastair said, curious now as to why they didn’t hear it.
“This study door is quite thick and it can be hard to hear through the door. Even I have trouble hearing your call sometimes,” Bard pointed out.
Alastair agreed, the rest of the trip down the tunnel made in silence. The tunnel turned and twisted, at one point becoming steep enough that both men had to hold onto the wall to keep from slipping. The ground was nothing more than dirt, so it was not the most stable flooring.
When at last they reached level ground, they finally met the end door on the other side of their tunnel. Alastair tested the lock and found it was unlocked. He pushed it open and they stepped out into the maids’ quarters. Alastair turned to examine the door and he found that it blended into the wall, being decorated in the same wall finishing.
“Well, now we know how they had been able to get around without being seen,” Alastair murmured.
“Yes, sir,” Bard replied, staring at Alastair in what he could only perceive as slight astonishment, at the door he should just come out of.
“I knew about the passage down to the pier, but not this one.” Bard turned to face Alastair. “Do you think your father knew about this tunnel?”
Alastair shook his head and then shut the door, turning to face the door fully. When he heard the last click, he examined the door, looking for how to open it from the side.
It blended in so well to the wall that one truly could not even see there was a door there at all. However, if one knew about it, one could see where the wall met the edge of the door and one could feel the slight breeze from the tunnel coming in from underneath the bottom of the door.
After a minute of careful examination, he could not find a knob or keyhole of any kind to get it open, leaving him frustrated. He leaned back against it for a moment, then said to Bard, “I cannot figure out how to get this open from the side. Let’s get Ronald and Ragan and see if they can figure it out. Afterwards, we will have them seal up the door so it cannot be used.”
“Yes, sir,” Bard replied, “I know that Ronald was out patrolling, but Ragan is with Lady Scarlett and Melody, in Lady Scarlett’s sitting room.”
“All right.” Alastair nodded, pushing himself up off the wall. When they both heard the latch click and the door popped open behind Alastair, he smiled.
“Now we know, Bard,” he said, opening the door fully once again. “I will wait here. You get Ronald and tell him that we need to seal this door. Luckily, there are not too many maids about right now since it is almost time for dinner. That should give them all the privacy they need to get it sealed without anyone finding out.”
His smile faded and he sighed with frustration.
“Now, however, we will have to search the entire castle to see if there are any more secret tunnels anywhere else.”
A frown creased his brow. “We all know that we will find at least one more.”
“Agreed, My Lord,” Bard said, heading off to get Ronald. “Agreed.”
