cigarette, got off the table, and crossed to the cupboard. She opened it wide, then twisted the knob twice in each direction. Suddenly there was a click, and to the right of the fireplace one whole panel slid silently aside, revealing a black square, just large enough for a man bending low to pass through.
Adler stared. 'Holy smoke.'
'Well, well, well.' Deveraux shook his head. 'Most remarkable.'
'It only works,' Gerry told them, 'when the cupboard door is wide open and the knob turned right-left-right-left. We think the cupboard was only put in as a sort of raison d'être for the knob.'
'Fascinating.' Deveraux walked across to the hole in the wall and peered in. 'Can't see a thing.'
'Allow me.' Gerry pushed past him, stuck an arm into the blackness, fumbled for a moment, and withdrew it, holding an electric torch. 'Don't let it be said that the Saunders are unprepared. Coming?'
'Where does it lead?'
'Wait and see. Mr. Adler?'
'Oh, sure. I'm not backing out at this stage - whatever terrors are in store.'
'Then I'll lead the way. Are you coming, Jane?'
'Not this time, darling, thanks. Not in the only evening dress I've brought with me.'
'I think it's pretty clean in there, actually. It's completely enclosed, so it can't get very dirty. Still, perhaps it would be a bit risky in white.'
'Have a lovely time,' said Jane.
Gerry disappeared into the opening, saying as she did so: 'Keep your heads down.'
Deveraux and Adler followed her. Jane heard Gerry's voice, muffled: 'Mr. Adler, if you reach upward with your left hand you should feel a sort of handle. Will you pull it downwards?'
There was a slight rumbling sound and the panel slid into place. Jane left the room and made her way upstairs to the first floor, turned right along the main corridor, and then went through a door on the left into another large panelled room. It was filled with shelves, which were stocked with sheets and other household linen. She waited for a few minutes, then heard a bumping sound behind the wall, a panel slid back, and Gerry emerged, followed by the two men. They looked around them, blinking.
'Welcome back to civilisation,' Jane said.
'Where are we?' Adler asked.
Gerry told them. 'Did you both enjoy it?'
'Well,' Deveraux brushed a speck of dust from his cuff. 'As secret passages go, I'm sure this one is one of the most delightful. But, frankly, if I should again have the occasion during my stay to proceed from the breakfast room to here, I shall ask Miss Clifton to guide me by the overland trail - no matter what dangers we may face from hostile natives.'
'I think you're a soulless beast,' Gerry said. 'I'm sure Mr. Adler appreciated the romance and mystery of it.'
'Indeed yes, Lady Geraldine. In spite of having banged my head at least a dozen times, I consider it to have been one of the most deeply satisfying experiences of my life. And I must congratulate you on never once losing your way.'
'What on earth was the passage built for?' Deveraux asked. 'Isn't the house rather late for a thing like that?'
'Yes. Nobody really knows. My great-grandfather's chaplain is reputed to have said that it was to be assumed it had been installed in order to facilitate an irregular liaison, but as Alderley was built by the first Earl, and it must have been included at his instructions, that theory hardly holds water.'
'Something of a puritan, was he?' Adler asked.
'Precisely the opposite. He was the most notorious profligate in the county. And utterly brazen withal. He didn't care who knew about his activities - and the sort of ladies he entertained were hardly likely to have cared either. So a secret passage would have been rather an unnecessary expense. Probably he just wanted a secret passage for prestige, in the same way he wanted a - a lake, say.'
'How does that sliding panel downstairs work?' Deveraux asked. 'It's very ingenious.'
'Oh, it's a highly complicated system of levers and springs and weights. It was added much later, by the
Adler stared. 'Holy smoke.'
'Well, well, well.' Deveraux shook his head. 'Most remarkable.'
'It only works,' Gerry told them, 'when the cupboard door is wide open and the knob turned right-left-right-left. We think the cupboard was only put in as a sort of raison d'être for the knob.'
'Fascinating.' Deveraux walked across to the hole in the wall and peered in. 'Can't see a thing.'
'Allow me.' Gerry pushed past him, stuck an arm into the blackness, fumbled for a moment, and withdrew it, holding an electric torch. 'Don't let it be said that the Saunders are unprepared. Coming?'
'Where does it lead?'
'Wait and see. Mr. Adler?'
'Oh, sure. I'm not backing out at this stage - whatever terrors are in store.'
'Then I'll lead the way. Are you coming, Jane?'
'Not this time, darling, thanks. Not in the only evening dress I've brought with me.'
'I think it's pretty clean in there, actually. It's completely enclosed, so it can't get very dirty. Still, perhaps it would be a bit risky in white.'
'Have a lovely time,' said Jane.
Gerry disappeared into the opening, saying as she did so: 'Keep your heads down.'
Deveraux and Adler followed her. Jane heard Gerry's voice, muffled: 'Mr. Adler, if you reach upward with your left hand you should feel a sort of handle. Will you pull it downwards?'
There was a slight rumbling sound and the panel slid into place. Jane left the room and made her way upstairs to the first floor, turned right along the main corridor, and then went through a door on the left into another large panelled room. It was filled with shelves, which were stocked with sheets and other household linen. She waited for a few minutes, then heard a bumping sound behind the wall, a panel slid back, and Gerry emerged, followed by the two men. They looked around them, blinking.
'Welcome back to civilisation,' Jane said.
'Where are we?' Adler asked.
Gerry told them. 'Did you both enjoy it?'
'Well,' Deveraux brushed a speck of dust from his cuff. 'As secret passages go, I'm sure this one is one of the most delightful. But, frankly, if I should again have the occasion during my stay to proceed from the breakfast room to here, I shall ask Miss Clifton to guide me by the overland trail - no matter what dangers we may face from hostile natives.'
'I think you're a soulless beast,' Gerry said. 'I'm sure Mr. Adler appreciated the romance and mystery of it.'
'Indeed yes, Lady Geraldine. In spite of having banged my head at least a dozen times, I consider it to have been one of the most deeply satisfying experiences of my life. And I must congratulate you on never once losing your way.'
'What on earth was the passage built for?' Deveraux asked. 'Isn't the house rather late for a thing like that?'
'Yes. Nobody really knows. My great-grandfather's chaplain is reputed to have said that it was to be assumed it had been installed in order to facilitate an irregular liaison, but as Alderley was built by the first Earl, and it must have been included at his instructions, that theory hardly holds water.'
'Something of a puritan, was he?' Adler asked.
'Precisely the opposite. He was the most notorious profligate in the county. And utterly brazen withal. He didn't care who knew about his activities - and the sort of ladies he entertained were hardly likely to have cared either. So a secret passage would have been rather an unnecessary expense. Probably he just wanted a secret passage for prestige, in the same way he wanted a - a lake, say.'
'How does that sliding panel downstairs work?' Deveraux asked. 'It's very ingenious.'
'Oh, it's a highly complicated system of levers and springs and weights. It was added much later, by the
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