Page 17 of The Silence of Hell

In approval, I nodded. “Good girl! From what I’ve observed so far, all of them.”

Their jaws dropped open in disbelief.

“What?” Heidi gasped.

“From what I’ve seen, every room. And I’ve not had a chance to check them all. Each doll appears to have ownership certificates or bills of sale attached to them. There’s too much for me to do alone. Welcome to your apprenticeship.” I grinned.

“Why haven’t you checked each room?” Kelly asked astutely.

“Because of this!” I pulled out an iron ring with a bunch of keys on it. “Every door is locked. And the keys aren’t labelled. Luckily there is a set for each floor and the widows tower, attics, and cellars. Honestly, I’ve not had a chance to accomplish a great deal. This is the beginning of your apprenticeship. What do we do?”

“As much as I’d love to start immediately, we should be practical. We should work from the bottom up. Begin in the cellar, discover which key opens what, and check if they are good to store the dolls in,” Heidi said.

I nodded but kept my mouth shut. This was why they were here. To learn planning and valuations.

“Once they are cleared, we should then open all the doors on this level. I’d suggest that we leave the key in the lock and label them. Then, gather them all back up. If we split the keys between us, we should get through that quickly, and then work our way upwards,” Dan offered.

“And check the attics. See if they are dry and suitable to keep dolls in. That’s the important thing. If the rooms are full, we need to obviously empty some but require somewhere temperature-controlled to store them. We don’t want any further damage happening,” Emory stated.

“Once that’s completed, we should choose somewhere as a workroom and clear that. We’ll have to order packing crates and items to protect the dolls,” Harriet added.

“Sounds like you have a plan. Come with me,” I ordered.

They followed me outside to a large shipping container. I yanked a door open, and they all grinned.

“Seems we don’t need packing crates or peanuts, and there’re several boxes of labels and pads here,” Dan said, opening a crate.

“Great! Miss Bloodsworth, can we get started? I’m so excited!” Heidi declared.

“Come on then. Let’s head to the cellars. And call me Lavender. Formality has its place, but not here. Once we’ve done the survey, we’ll pick a work room, and then you guys need to choose bedrooms. And we will start clearing them,” I said.

“Maybe a workroom on each floor might be an idea,” Dan offered.

“Good plan, batman. You don’t want to be running up and down the flights of stairs,” I agreed.

We headed back into the Manor, and I lead the way downstairs. What visitors didn’t realise was the ground level at the front was different from the rear. It was higher than the back, and there were hidden floors underground. Like many old homes, servants stayed to the bottom levels. The ground floor everyone witnessed from the front had two levels below it. One held the kitchens and servant’s quarters, and the other had cellars.

Back four hundred years ago, there had been a three-foot gap between the kitchen wall and the gardens. An ornamental wall hid the fact there were kitchens and rooms below the gardens. And the grounds spread out from there.

I headed down to the servant’s floor and then to the end of a hallway, where a thick oak door stood with iron bands. This was the entrance to the cellars. It already seemed much cooler down here.

I unlocked the door and flicked on the light switch. To my surprise, it lit up the stairwell very well. We walked down, and again, I was mildly surprised to see two sturdy handrails either side. As my feet hit the bottom, I was puzzled to find an atmospheric control panel down here.

There, next to it, was writing.

“My darling girl, I know you’ll come home one day, and I’m so proud of you. Your career will be a shining, dazzling thing just like you. Lavender, I regret not being around to see it. Remember, I loved you so much. I knew as an infant where you’d end up, your fascination with dolls was beyond anything I’d ever seen. So, I’ve collected every single doll I could get my hands on for you. This is my gift to you, Lavender, the child of my heart. You can live here, work, and be happy. This cellar has everything you need to store dolls. I do believe I went a little crazy buying them, but you were the driving force behind it.

I love you, dear, sweet girl.

Enjoy your legacy and inheritance.”

I read the words and swallowed a lump in my throat. Aunt Aggie had been the one who’d encouraged my passion for dolls. She’d told me I could have a career in them, and, boy, had she been right.

“Are you okay, Miss… Lavender?” Heidi asked softly.

“My great aunt might have been eccentric, but she was so full of love. Let’s see what’s she’s done,” I said and entered the hallway. It split in different directions, and I remember from childhood there’d been about sixteen rooms down here. I gave each of us a couple of keys, and we headed out. It didn’t take us long to open the doors, and I was stunned.

Aunt Lavender had climate control installed down here, and there wasn’t a spot of damp. Each room had been plastered and emptied apart from the wine cellar, which held racks and racks of bottles.

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