Hide-and-Seek

Chapter 7

Our former footman-turned-maintenance person, Benjamin “Be

Maple Grove House was a red brick Georgian style stately country house that had three floors. It was of simple rectangular form, with harmonious symmetry, sash windows and a central doorway. There were some smaller buildings behind the house – former stables, a carriage room, and a few cottages where the servants used to live. The house was set in grounds of almost five hundred acres, which also included a stream and a closed pig farm, but most of which was covered by the park with old fields of maples and oaks. There was a big old maple tree in a round clearing, right in front of the house that Charlie and I used to call The Giant. Its girth was more than two meters, and it was a great spot for hiding. When I was about five, my grandmother A

Harry appeared at the main door as soon as our car pulled up.

“I expect your trip was pleasant, sir,” he said stepping out from the darkness of the hall.

“It was good, Harry,” I said, trying to sound cheery. “How have you been? Still in shape, I see.”

“Life has been kind to me, sir. Thank you. No luggage?”

I only had the bag with Charlie’s shirt with me. “It was a spur of the moment kind of thing.”

Before we stepped into the house, Be

“Would you like something to eat, sir?” Harry asked. “I’m sure we can even find some refreshments.”

“I’d have a glass of single malt if you can manage to find that.”

“Certainly, sir,” Harry said as we were walking through the hall. “Would you like me to serve it in the library, sir?”

“Oh gosh, does it still have furniture?”

“Well, we keep a few chairs and the table there, just in case.”

“Good man,” I said, contemplating where I should go. “Let’s see the old place. Why not?”

Harry and Be

I looked at the empty bookshelves that used to be filled with the leather backs of hundreds of folios collected by my predecessors. Some of those had to be sold at closed auctions to keep the family afloat. No one had to know that the collection was getting smaller.

I saw our old taxidermy fox still standing near the fireplace. James’s father, Richard Harding, gave the thing to my father as a gift about thirty years ago. It had a secret pocket inside big enough to hide a bottle of whiskey – something Richard used to do because his wife, Margaret, was quite strict on alcohol. We used it to hide presents and snacks. No one seemed to want this old fur for anything anymore and it was destined to be eaten by moths.

I thought if I said something loudly in here, I would be able to hear the echo. I didn’t test my hypothesis and went straight to the red leather armchairs that were still placed by the fireplace and sat down. I tried to remember the end of my conversation with Jared back in the pub.

“We looked everywhere,” I said to Jared. “I believe there was no stone left unturned in the search for my little brother.”

“Right,” Jared said and chewed on his upper lip.

The pause was getting a bit too long and the silence was calling either for another round or for the meeting to be adjourned.

“Well, thank you for giving the shirt back,” I said finally.

“You bet.” Jared stood up and pressed a few buttons on his phone.

I also stood up and felt that I’d had just about the right amount of alcohol. I waved to Hugh to come and give us the check. He understood me but gestured that there was no need.

“Don’t worry about that,” Jared said. “My treat.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Jared waved to Hugh, and we walked out of the bar. It was chilly, but I found it refreshing and congratulated myself for wearing the jacket. Jared’s car, a big black SUV, was parked right outside and Freddy was standing near it, ready to open the passenger door.

“Do you need a ride?” Jared asked. “Freddy will take you anywhere you want.”

I felt that I’d had enough of Jared and his people for one evening. “I’m good.”

“Cool,” Jared said and turned to Freddy. “I’ll walk to the office, Freddy.”

Freddy nodded, walked around the car, and got in.

“Listen Alex,” Jared started. “I didn’t mean to stir up the past with all those questions back there. I was fascinated with your family once and I guess I got carried away with my nostalgia a bit.”

“No worries,” I said, feeling surprised at this sudden correctness.

“Good,” he said. “I’ll have my people contact you about the proposal in a day or two.”

“Thank you, Jared,” I said and felt that it would be better not to push my luck by asking if I’d got it.

***

I was deep in my thoughts when Harry appeared with my drink on a tray.

“Cheers,” I said taking the drink and getting the first sip. “Wow, how can we possibly still have this in the house, Harry?”

It was The Balvenie, the scotch my family has been buying since the distillery started production all that way back in the nineteenth century. All the males in my family preferred it to any other whiskey. I was sure that we had emptied our cellar when we moved to France.

“I kept a few bottles, just in case, sir,” Harry said.

“Good man.”

Suddenly, I felt at home and at ease enough to take my business a step further.

“So, the foxy is still here, huh?” I asked and pointed to the thing with my index finger because other fingers were busy holding the glass.

“It is, sir,” he said. “Would you like us to put it down in the basement?”

“Nah, keep it here where it belongs,” I said taking a sip. “I say, Harry, do you remember the old pirate chest we kept in the attic?”

“I do, sir. We moved it together with all the other old furniture to the cellars.”

“I’d like to take a look at it if it’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all, sir. I’ll have Be

“No need. Be

“Very good, sir,” Harry said and left the library thoughtfully leaving the tray with the crystal whiskey pitcher on the table.

All right. The wheels were in motion, so to speak. I would have one more drink and then I’d be ready to see it. One more drink.

***

We had a big basement under Maple Grove House. It matched all the floor space of the levels above. Since it was carrying the weight of the house, its walls were built to act as a continuation of the foundations, and they were much thicker than the walls above. There were two entries: one from the inside of the house, from the kitchen, and one from the backyard. Both entries led to passageways with storage spaces, wine and whiskey cellars, and pantries on both sides. The basement had one secret exit that was disguised as a dead-end, next to the farthest cellar, which led into the escape tu

I was following Be

“How long have you been working here, Be

“Going on twenty-seven years, sir,” he said, opening the door and entering the basement.

“Gosh, has it been that long?” I asked, following him down the stairs.

“Time flies, doesn’t it?”

“It certainly does.”

We passed a couple of storage spaces on the left side and former pantries on the right when Be

“I thought that was the storage.” I pointed to the massive wooden door on the left, farther down the corridor.

“Oh, that’s a wine cellar and we had to lock it up a long time ago because of the rats if I remember correctly. Some of those furry bastards, pardon my language, died in there. The smell was unbearable. We threw some chemicals in and sealed the door,” Be

One of the footmen had explained to me at the time which storage area they had put the chest in, and I had made one attempt to get to it after it was moved down here to get my stuff out, but they told me to wait until the rodent problem got resolved. Later, we were too busy searching for Charlie, and I had neither the time nor opportunity to come down here again.

We approached another door, and he opened it with one of the countless keys on the huge ring he was carrying.

“Here we are,” he said. “Let me switch on the light.”

When the light was on, I found myself in a room full of countless things covered with dust that had clearly been here for a long time.

“The chest’s right there,” Be

“Do you mind if I look around here myself, Be

“No problem, sir. I’ll just be around the corner.”

After he left, I came closer to the chest. There was no lock on it. I opened it.

It was empty.