“That would be exciting.” Kellen considered all the angles, and decided she’d rather be close when Rae discovered her first secret passage, and said, “Shall we look right now?”

“Yes!” Rae jumped to her feet, ran to the wall by the door and started knocking on it.

Kellen examined all the walls, realized the window seat was inset in an inner wall set back three feet from the outer wall, and deduced the passage must be there. “Here, Rae.” Kellen felt around the window trim, found a notch at the bottom, and when Rae had joined her, she pressed it…and with a click, the wall swiveled open and musty air rushed out.

“The secret passage.” Kellen gestured Rae in. “After you.”

Rae stood, wide-eyed, and stared inside.

Dust rested deep on the unfinished boards of the floor. The wall studs were gray with age. Cobwebs draped the entrance, and a spider dropped down to hang as if interested in the new world that had opened to it.

Rae took a breath. “It’s dark.”

“It really is. You first.”

“No.” Rae took a step back, ran into Kellen, jumped. “I’ll wait until I’ve got a, um, flashlight.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Kellen breathed easier. Rae would not be wandering into the secret passages on her own. “Do you want to read some more of Ruby’s diary?”

Rae looked at the window where rain still washed the glass with gray, and sighed dramatically. “There’s nothing else to do.” She grinned. “Unless you want to go down and practice piano.”

“Right. We’ll eat lunch.”

“Yes. Lunch…”

“And read another entry.” While Rae opened the picnic basket, Kellen opened Ruby’s diary again.

Father decided I didn’t need a governess anymore. He said too much education in a woman is a terrible thing. So he brought me a companion. Hermione Jasper is twenty, an orphan with no resources and only a public school education. Of course he would pick someone like her. She has no family to fall back on, ergo no choice but to obey him in all things. She is to report to him all my activities, keep me on a strict schedule of riding, embroidery, elocution, piano, drawing and—because he doesn’t want me to run to fat—swimming in the pool.

Considering his girth, I find this to be most amusing.

I long for Miss Harriman, with her intelligent insights and constant wit, and I distrust this Hermione.