MARGUERITE'S face wore a look of stunned disbelief - she had almost convinced herself that they would not really find anything. The hush which fell after the grinding of the secret entrance ceased was broken by a loud peal of merry laughter. Percy, amused by her consternation, had moved to stand beside her in the doorway and now began to gently propel her towards the hole in the wall.
A dank, stale smell assailed Marguerite's nostrils as they moved nearer to the gap and she was suddenly afraid for the first time of what they might find. What could have been hidden in these walls for so many years without being discovered? Who had left it there?
She gripped Percy's arm and stopped short of the dark - and now forbidding - opening. She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes, expecting to see the same fears reflected on his face. But Percy, habitually unruffled and at this moment every inch the bold adventurer, just looked eager to see what secret was about to be revealed.
As her fingers dug into his arm, he paused and seemed bemused by her sudden halt.
"What is it, m'dear? Is your ankle paining you?"
"No, no. It's not that. Percy, what do you think is in there?" She made a gesture towards the gap in the panelling, but kept her eyes fixed on his face. She did not know why this unaccountable fear had overcome her, and she wanted to see if he was affected by similar worries.
"I've no idea - that is why I propose we take a look. You don't need to worry about the dark, I came prepared."
He took a short candlestick from a capacious pocket and stood it on a nearby bracket. As he was about to fish for further paraphernalia, she grasped his hand. Once they were facing one another Percy saw the genuine fear in her eyes. He smiled reassuringly, and took both her hands in his.
"There is no need to be afraid. There is nothing harmful in there, I promise you. I will go in and take a look, while you stay here. It will only take a few moments."
But before he could move to light the candle, Marguerite had changed her mind. Just seconds ago she felt as though nothing would induce her to go into that blank, gaping space, but neither did she wish to be left alone out here while Percy went to explore on his own.
Lifting her chin and looking Percy straight in the eye she announced her intention of accompanying him into the mysterious opening. It had been her discovery, after all.
He smiled, delighted, and took her hand, before stepping over the threshold into the musty, fetid chamber which had been hidden behind the panelling for so long. But their task was immediately hindered as there was only very limited light from the fading day reaching through the doorway of the store room.
The leaping, looming shadows created by the feeble flicker of the candlelight did little to dispel Marguerite's fears as they made the darkness seem somehow alive. Percy held the flame high above his head in order to illuminate the further reaches of the chamber. Weird shapes wavered and danced in the gloom.
Percy reached out a long arm past Marguerite and his fingers came into contact with cold stone. He passed the candlestick to her to enable him to use both hands to explore the inner walls of the chamber.
Gradually they made their way around the sides of the small chamber. The wall farthest from the doorway was lined with great stone shelves, but they were innocent of any relics from a bygone age. There was not much to the third wall as this was where the stairs began, and they could just see grey light filtering through from the lowest slit window.
"Nothing," said Percy, "How frustrating. A hidden chamber devoid of some sinister secret is most disappointing. I shall return when there is better light in the morning, but I doubt there is anything to discover."
"It is very strange," Marguerite agreed, aware of the secret she had yet to reveal to him. Concealing the contents of the box from him had been the decision of the moment, but the longer she kept it from him the heavier it lay upon her conscience.
Now, as she waited for him in the store room as he took the candle to explore the stairs from a different direction, she wondered when would be the right moment to tell him. There was never going to be a perfect time for such a revelation - Percy had loved his mother deeply and her death had left its mark on his carefree, buoyant personality. He had been left with little but faint, childhood memories. Apart from the beautiful portrait which graced his study at Blakeney Manor he had no keepsakes. Marguerite felt unsure as to how he would react to her find.
His appearance in the gap in the panelling put an abrupt halt to her train of thought.
"Dinner, m'dear? Faith, you must be famished after your adventures across the rooftops today."
"I am a little hungry," she confessed, pushing the whole question of the box and its contents to the back of her mind for now.
Together they set the store room to rights, making sure the panelled entrance was safely closed, before heading to their rooms to change for their evening meal.