Chapter 5 A Mansion Filled With Secrets

Alex was completely drained when she finally left Lucas. All through the session, the only thing he did was colour in his drawing book, every other thing Alex said, offered, or suggested was ignored. She was exhausted physically and mentally, but just the fact that Lucas had actually done something at all felt like a win.

She made her way down one of the hallways, hoping to stretch her legs and possibly do something else for a change. The Blackwood estate felt like a maze... a well-furnished maze that had the aura of old money and probably even older secrets written all over it. She walked past portraits that seemed to follow her with their eyes, and rare vases that were probably worth more than her car.

She stopped when the hallway suddenly split into two, one led towards the main rooms, and the other... She squinted to see better.

She stepped closer, and began to make out a slight shadow on the wood paneling on the wall. It was barely noticeable unless you were paying close attention... just what she had been doing.

Curiosity dragged her closer, and right there between two well carved columns was a narrow door. The door wasn't just locked, it had been cleverly disguised to blend completely into the wall... no handles or hinges, just a faint outline that could very easily be missed or ignored completely.

She had never seen a secret door before in her life, and curiosity was at its peak. She looked over her shoulder quickly, she was all alone... her heartbeat was going supernova as excitement came over her.

She wasn't supposed to be poking about and she knew it, but then curiosity had always been her fatal flaw. She reached forward gently, and began feeling on the surface for any possible trigger... anything that suggested a way in.

"Step away from there!"

The voice had come like a slap.

She turned around quickly and almost crashed into Gregory, wondering where on earth his tall frame had suddenly appeared from. His face was filled with fury and for a second, she thought he was going to hit her.

"I... I wasn't doing anything," she said quickly, and took a step back. "I was just walking and..."

"Liar," he spat fiercely.

Alex was stunned. "Excuse me?"

Gregory's eyes were already burning in rage. "You saw it."

"I didn't see anything... It's a door." she shot back.

"It is not a door," he growled, moving closer to her in an aggressive manner, cornering her his bulk against the wall with his tall frame. "You don't see that door, you don't talk about that door, and you don't even think about that door."

She thought about how alone she was at his mercy, but she tried to remain calm. "Okay. Okay, I get it... It's off limits. I wasn't trying to..."

"But you were," he hissed angrily. "You were snooping around, and poking your nose in things that do not concern you... did you think this place was yours to explore?"

"I was just walking, Gregory," she snapped back at him. She had recovered from the shock and was now losing her temper gradually. "Forgive me for trying to figure out the layout of the castle I now work in."

"You people never learn," he muttered. "Always wandering and then seeing things you shouldn't."

She frowned. "You people?"

Gregory's eyes darkened. "What did you see?"

"Nothing."

He grabbed her by the wrist. "What did you see girl?"

"Get your bloody hands off me," she snarled, and began struggling to pull away.

"I know what you saw..."

"What the hell is going on here?" Madame Miller's voice sounded like a thunder bolt.

Gregory froze, and Alex quickly jerked her arm free from him.

Madame Miller walked towards them with her usual aura of importance, carrying a look of contempt.

"Madame," Gregory said, stepping back quickly, "she was at the panel, I saw her trying to open it."

"I didn't open anything," Alex snapped. "I barely touched it!"

"She saw it," Gregory insisted.

"She didn't see a damn thing," Madame Miller said smoothly, but there was a certain touch of sarcasm in her tone.

Alex seemed confused. "Wait... what?"

Madame Miller turned to her and gave her a chilling look, one that made Alex feel like she was before an executioner.

"I'll say this once, Miss Reynolds. Stay within your assigned areas as I have previously instructed, this house has rules, and they're not up for negotiation. Do your job, and keep your curiosity to yourself."

Alex stared at her, a frown was already forming on her face. "Or what?"

Madame Miller's voice dropped very low and sounded sinister. "Or you won't like the answers you find."

The tension in the atmosphere was suddenly cut short by the arrival of footsteps, Julian arriving with a cold and distant look on his face. His eyes went from Madame Miller to Alex, and then to Gregory... who was now looking like he had just swallowed a bitter lemon.

"Is there a problem?" Julian asked.

"No, sir," Madame Miller said at once, and smiled faintly. "Just a little miscommunication, our dear Miss Reynolds was lost, and Gregory was trying to assist... it's all sorted now."

Alex opened her mouth to speak, but Madame Miller's eyes met hers in a cold, and silent warning.

Julian looked at Alex and raised an eyebrow at her. "Lost?"

She forced a smile. "Apparently."

He looked at her for a while, said nothing and disappeared back into his wing... as quickly as he had appeared.

Madame Miller turned back to her, still wearing the fake smile. "Have a pleasant evening, Miss Reynolds." And she walked way.

Gregory followed like a shadow drawn back to its master, and Alex was alone once again.

The hidden door was still there, quietly watching... and Alex couldn't get her mind off it. What was in there that they didn't want her to see? Why had Madame Miller written off the issue when Julian arrived?

Something was fishy, and that only made her want to see it even more.