Tess let out a shaky breath and took a moment to answer. “The journal is fascinating. Charlotte was an exacting woman. She used to lock her kids in the cellar if they were naughty.”
Ed frowned. “What cellar?”
“The house cellar. They used to keep all the food underground because it was cooler.”
Intrigue simmered in his blood. “I never knew the house had a cellar.” He glanced at Darcy who shook his head. “Neither did I.”
“Does it say how they accessed it?”
Tess flicked through the pages. “Here. She just writes, Reginald Junior was terribly naughty today, playing with his baby sister instead of doing his chores. I had to lock him in the cellar without dinner to teach him a lesson. But when I fetched him to put him to bed, I discovered he’d opened a jar of preserves and eaten the lot. I made Reginald strap him, and the boy wept in a manner most unbecoming. If only he was as well-behaved as his older brother. Perhaps Reginald’s blood isn’t as pure as my beloved’s.”
“How old was he?”
“From the details in the family bible, he looks as if he was three.”
His grandpop was strapped at three years of age. Charlotte sounded like a bitch. “What else does it say?”
Brandon strode in. “How’s everyone?”
Amy stood and hugged him. “We’re all right.”
Darcy asked, “Did you know the house has a cellar?”
Brandon frowned. “No.”
“Apparently Great Granny Charlotte locked Grandpop in it.”
“I remember her threatening to do that to me. Mum stopped her.” He shook his head. “I’d forgotten about it.”
“So where is it?” Ed asked. Could it contain more old stuff?
“Geez, you’re testing my memory, Ed. Charlie was a baby, so I can’t have been very old.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“It’s probably close to the kitchen,” Tess said. “They’d want easy access to the food.”
Lara jumped to her feet, looking at the floor.
Darcy chuckled. “How about we take a look outside? We might see something under the verandah.”
“Should we wait until the police come?” Faith asked.
“The guys have him covered,” Brandon said. “This might be a nice distraction.”
Darcy fetched a torch and headed outside with Lara.
Tess glanced towards the door.
“Come on,” Ed said. As they got to their feet, Lara raced inside. “It’s under the kitchen.”
Darcy followed her more slowly. “Definitely looks as though the brickwork extends lower.”
But the kitchen floor was wooden and there was nothing that looked like a hatch in it. His gaze moved to the laundry which had lino flooring.
The hollow thud. “Maybe it’s under the laundry. When I dropped the laundry basket, it sounded hollow.”
Brandon glanced at him and laughed. “We’re pulling up the lino, aren’t we?”
“Aren’t you the least bit interested in what might be under there?” Ed asked as Lara raced into the laundry.
