Curiosity overcame her fear and she drew nearer instead of hurrying up the stairs as she should have done. There had been a Priest hole at Staverley reached by a tiny twisting stairway that could be found through a concealed panelled door in her father’s bedchamber.
Serena recalled how the oak aperture in the panelling had worked. One pressed a tiny scroll in the carving. Her fingers searched now. She found a tiny knot of wood, pressed it and then with a sudden exclamation knew that she had discovered the secret of the Marchioness’s disappearance.
A panel of wood opened silently and smoothly.
“You are interested in panelling?” a voice said behind her, startling her so much that she released the panel, pushing it to and turned round with an inescapable feeling of guilt. Halfway down the
