I stood there in stunned silence looking at the opening which, at full stretch, was big enough for a man to climb through.
After a moment, I went back over to the sideboard which sat beneath my cousin’s portrait and hunted for a candle. Having found one, I looked up to see my cousin’s face before me, with her lips curled up at the end of her mouth in a gentle smile.
I shoved my candle into a holder and forced it down until it took hold.
Lighting it, I shielded the flame with my hand as I walked back over to the opening which I had discovered in the wall.
Taking a deep breath, I ventured inside.
A few steps in, I found myself at the top of a stone staircase. My candle only illuminated the first three or four steps, so there was no way of telling what was below from my position. Therefo
