Max was carrying four books. An amazing copy of a book he’d never known existed, The Lost World with beautiful illustrations and a plot description that seemed like it might really be the basis for the crazy dinosaur movie he liked so much. It was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who’d written the Sherlock Holmes books. Max thought it was a pretty cool discovery and might be a lovely book to get lost in. He was also carrying a big encyclopedia Tess had found (and borrowed) called The Encyclopedia of Birds in England which she thought Aunt Evie might like, and another book Tess had asked him to take down from the shelf, which really didn’t make any sense to Max. It was called Beginning Physics. Max figured it had been left behind by a hotel guest who was a student, although why Tess was suddenly interested in physics did baffle him and made him a bit nervous. Tess insisted they borrow a dictionary, too. The books were heavy and unwieldy, so when they got to the room, Max handed Tess the key so that she could open the door for them.

Tess felt a spark the moment the key touched her hand. She looked to see if it was sparkling. It wasn’t exactly sparkling. Well, maybe she saw a couple of sparks. And a couple of lines, like sparks, orange-colored lines emitting from the crystal handle that looked like the marble she had found. She hoped Max hadn’t noticed the sparks.

And then, as if the key had a mind of its own, it magically (or magnetically) seemed to be drawn to the lock. There was a distinct click as it locked in perfectly without Tess even aiming for the keyhole. Then odder still, the key seemed to turn all by itself. Tess was still holding on to it. So, she reasoned, Max wouldn’t necessarily know that it turned by itself. But when Tess looked back at him, she knew immediately from the look on Max’s face that he had seen it, too.

The door to The Garden Room flew open.

The room looked different, lighter, as if it had been remodeled. Maybe the sun was just out for a change and they’d pulled the curtains back. The sun was out and the housekeeper seemed to have opened all the curtains and tied them with sashes. Funny, Tess hadn’t noticed that there were sashes before. And, truly, a moment earlier, it had been storming out. Absolutely pouring rain. She didn’t think winter storms were like that.