“Where are we going?”

“The staircase empties out onto a small landing on the third floor.” Moments later they stepped onto the landing. Rose turned to face her boyfriend and held the candle up under her chin, illuminating her face. “Are you afraid, Bobby?”

“No, Rose, you’re not a scary ghost, just a pretty one.”

“Have you ever kissed a ghost before?”

Bobby smiled. “I sure haven’t. But I’m about to find out what it’s like right now.”

Rose giggled. She bent down and put the candle on the floor. And then she moved forward and embraced Bobby tightly. Their lips met and they unloosed their restrained passion. They kissed with an intense hunger for each other, bodies grinding together.

Rose clutched each side of Bobby’s face and pulled him closer. Her back pressed against the wall. Breathless and lost in desire, she didn’t notice the wall giving way until they tumbled down. Bobby landed on top of her. They lay there dazed for several seconds. “What the heck just happened? Did we fall through a wall?” Bobby asked as he disentangled himself and scrambled to his feet.

“I don’t know. Get the candle.”

Bobby retrieved the candle and held it out to achieve maximum illumination. “What do you know, it’s a small room. We fell through a hidden door.” He pointed at a narrow, revolving door. “See the door?”

Rose sat up and looked around, taking in the small room measuring no larger than six feet by six feet. “I never knew this room was here. It’s a secret room.”

Bobby pointed at an object tucked close by. The object sat on the floor in one corner. “What’s that?”

Rose looked in the direction Bobby pointed. She saw a small chest. Intrigued, she crawled over to it. “It’s some kind of chest.” She tried to open it, but it wouldn’t allow her to. “It’s locked. I see a keyhole. But there’s no key.”

Bobby knelt down beside her and held the candle close to the object. He whistled. “This chest is old, really old. And you know what I think, Rose? I think it’s a treasure chest.” Bobby set the candle down on the floor and grabbed the chest.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to shake it to see if there’s anything in it. It’s heavy. Grab one end, will you?”

Rose grabbed one end of the chest, and together they shook it. A metallic clinking sound rang out from within the chest.

“That sounded like coins shifting around. I think there’s money in this chest,” Bobby said.

Rose stood up. Her limbs shook. “We need to leave, Bobby. We’ve found something we’re not supposed to find.”

“Now I know how your father affords to put on these parties. He has a whole trunk load of money hidden up here.”

“Never mind what’s in the chest. Let’s go before we get caught.”

“You’re really spooked, aren’t you?”

“Bobby Hoxley, if you don’t get up right now, I’m going to drag you by your ear down the staircase.”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming. There’s no need for you to grab my ear.”

Rose grabbed the candle, and they left the secret room, closing the door shut behind them.

Chapter 11

Inside the attic, Rafter looked around for Annie. He soon found his wife sitting on a chair and reading. “I see while I looked for stuff you allowed yourself to become distracted.”

Annie looked up at him. “I found something here that may help us, Jon.”

Rafter frowned. “A book can help spring us out of the attic?”

Annie held up the journal. “This book is Rose Whitcomb’s journal. I found an entry in it that might just explain the motivation behind the Charbonneau brothers’ behavior.”

Rafter carefully set the objects he’d found on the floor. He squatted down on his haunches next to Annie. “I’m listening.”

“I’ll read to you what I just read to myself. You’ll understand what I’m getting at then.”

Rafter listened intently as Annie spent the next few minutes reading about Rose and a boy named Bobby climbing a servant’s staircase to be alone and to make out, only to find a secret room with a mysterious box tucked away in a corner.

Annie looked at him after she finished reading the entry. “I think Arcadias and Damien are after the box in the secret room.”

Rafter nodded. “I think you’re on to something there, Babe. But what do you think is in the box? And is it still here in this house?”

“Bobby thought it was treasure.”

“Or at the very least money,” Rafter added.

Annie nodded. She looked around at the walls in the attic. “This secret room has to be close by.”

Rafter walked over to one side of the attic, dodging antiques and furniture as he went. He pointed a finger at the floor. “The pantry is right below me. But I’m pretty sure there isn’t another door in the pantry that leads to anything.”

“I know. I’ve been in and out of that pantry a thousand times. I don’t remember seeing a door inside it,” Annie said.

“Maybe the shelves are covering it up. If we could find the secret room we could find the staircase. And maybe then we could escape through the pantry.”

“But they’ll likely see us come out of the pantry. They have guns. We don’t.”

Rafter smiled. “I found some weapons. They’re right next to you on the floor.”

Annie looked down at the floor near her feet. She spotted a bow and three arrows and a tiny gun. She looked at the old longbow and the quiver of dusty arrows for a moment. The string on the bow looked like it might fray or snap if actually drawn. Not liking what she saw, she picked up the antique derringer. A smidge over five inches long, the compact gun looked like something a riverboat gambler might hide in his boot back in the day.

“Be careful with the gun. I think it’s a Philadelphia derringer. And it’s loaded.”

“It looks super old. Do you think it could actually fire and kill someone?”

Rafter shrugged. “It’s a .44 caliber gun. It should do serious damage up close. But you only have one shot, and accuracy is the issue.”

Annie smiled confidently. “I’m a good shot, Jon.”

“You are a good shot. You’re better with a side arm than I am. So you can have it. I’ll pretend I’m Robin Hood and use the longbow.”

“Have you ever shot a longbow?”

Rafter shook his head. “I’ve hunted with a compound bow many times. But I’m green as grass with a longbow.”

“Wonderful, how are you going to rescue your damsel in distress if you can’t hit the broadside of a barn with that thing?” Annie asked in a half-serious tone.

“Fighting our way out of this should be our last resort. We should concentrate on escaping.”

Annie set the derringer down. “I’m with you there. Let’s find this servant staircase.”

Rafter quickly scanned the walls of the attic. “There has to be another door to this attic somewhere. The servant staircase was separate from the main staircase and would’ve brought the servants up here when they retired for the night.”

Annie stood up and walked over to the wall where he stood. “Like you said, the pantry is straight down below us.” She held out her hands. “I’m thinking somewhere behind this wall is the secret room Rose and Bobby found.”

Rafter started knocking on the wall, listening for a hollow sound that might indicate a cavity or room. After a minute of knocking he heard a slightly different timbre.

“I’m going to look for a door, Jon,” Annie said.

Okay, I’ll join you in just a second.” Rafter walked over and picked up the quiver of arrows. He took an arrow out of the quiver, and using the arrow’s point like a utility knife, attempted to score the plaster. The sharp arrowhead made only a tiny crease. Rafter went over the same area many times, scoring it again and again. Sweat dripped off his brow as he worked. Finally the arrowhead cut through the plaster. He continued the slow and arduous process until he’d scored a square.