Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
I opened the door to the hallway and peeked out. It was empty.
‘All right. It’s clear,’ I said, and led the way to the servants’ stairs at the end of the hallway. Aunt Bill brought up the rear.
We all shuffled into the stairwell and climbed down. Lady Hermione and Violet both wore smart dresses and Lady Hermione’s had a bustle, which, in the narrow space, kept getting caught on stray nails and the rough wood of the banister. Eventually, we got to the bottom.
I held up my hand to make sure that they were quiet and peeked out into the downstairs hallway.
This servants’ stairway – there were three in the house – was the closest to the kitchens and the scullery, where we were headed.
But the kitchens were busy at most times of the day, and at nine in the evening, there was still a bevy of maids in there, cleaning up from dinner, taking dishes through to the scullery to be washed, and preparing supper for themselves.
I exchanged glances with Aunt Bill. We couldn’t just set fire to something now and whack someone over the back of the head.
Plus, we wouldn’t hurt the maids. I gathered that Aunt Bill had few qualms about hurting James the footman, but assumed that, if he had been assigned to guard Hermione and Violet, he might have got rough with them before now.
Or, it was just enough that he was part of Lord Albert’s private militia.
‘Let me go first. Stay ’ere ’til it’s clear,’ she whispered. ‘They know me. I’ll distract them. You get the ladies into the tunnel. When you’re in, go quick.’ She took my hand.
‘What about you? Aren’t you coming?’ I whispered back. The plan had been that we would all leave through the tunnels. She shook her head.
‘I’ll get out on my own, maid. If I can’t follow you, I’ll make my own way. Don’t worry.’ She smiled reassuringly at us all. ‘Main thing is, we get milady an’ Violet to safety.’
‘All right.’ We moved out of the way to let Aunt Bill through, and she walked out confidently into the hallway and into the kitchen.
I watched closely, listening to the chatter of voices and clattering of pots and pans. Nothing happened for a while, and then there was laughter in the kitchen. Someone called out, girls, come ’ere, it’s supper time. We got a treat while the master’s away.
I watched as two maids ran from the scullery back into the kitchen.
This was our moment. I opened the door to the stairwell and led Hermione and Violet to the scullery.
Hermione made a noise of disgust as she walked into the room. The floor was running with water, and it had soaked the bottom of her silk dress. I doubted she’d ever seen a scullery before, never mind washed a dish in her entire life. Still, that wasn’t her fault.
‘It’s wet in here. Hitch your skirt up,’ I said over my shoulder, as I crouched down on the wet floor and searched for the trap door to the tunnel.
The map had showed it being in the corner of the room, but as I ran my hand along the floor, I couldn’t find it. I checked the other side of the room, but there was nothing there. I swore under my breath.
I couldn’t believe that we’d got all this way, only to be thwarted by an inaccurate old map.
The noise of chatter in the kitchen got louder behind us.
‘Hurry!’ Lady Hermione whispered urgently.
‘I am hurrying,’ I replied, tersely. Then, I heard a thumping noise from under the floor. The sound of a fist against a wooden door. Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
William.
The noise came from underneath a large wooden box that sat in the corner, right on top of the door leading to the tunnel.