Page 5 of The Silence of Hell (Hellfire MC #12)

Lavender

The team arrived, and I was pleased to see them all looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. My eyes, however, were bloodshot. Fanatic and Sunny had returned home, and Jinx and I returned to bed. We felt nervous and tense. Jinx had gone back to the clubhouse this morning, promising to return later.

None of the kids arriving knew why they were here, except for the fact I had requested them. This was the batch of students I was planning to offer the scholarship to. There were only five of them, and they were all chatting as they got out of the car I’d ordered to fetch them from the airport. The group consisted of three girls and two boys. They’d been the most eager to learn and asked pertinent questions in my class.

“Hey, Miss Bloodsworth!” Harriet called with a wave as Heidi turned and offered me a cheeky smile. Kelly climbed out and offered me his trademark grin, and I rolled my eyes. After Kelly came Dan and then Emory.

“Is it true what the uni told us?” Dan questioned as he approached. All five students hugged me as they gazed around with wide eyes.

I sighed inwardly. Trust the damn university to jump the gun. “What did they tell you?” I asked.

“The Dean claimed that you’d requested us personally,” Dan answered.

“That’s true.”

“He also said that you weren’t coming back but had moved here. Which we all complained about because we had so much more to learn. Then he told us there was a three-month addition, which had been approved for our course. And that it involved staying with you and gaining experience in a working environment,” Hiedi continued.

“All true,” I agreed again.

“And he said costs were covered. That you had a huge house, and we would stay with you and meals and everything was sorted. And we’d also get a small allowance paid as a wage?” Kelly asked.

“Yes. You’ll be learning and working with me as apprentices. The course the university approved is a four-month one. Basically, you have all the information you need. You’ll work from eight in the morning till six at night. With breaks allowed. You are to be given boarding with me, but there’s a catch. One that shall become obvious shortly.

“You’ll get weekends off and will be paid as an apprentice. This course is in addition to the one you just finished. So, while everyone else headed home to find jobs or take further courses, you guys were offered this. If you mess up, I’ll ship you back. Meals and everything you need will be provided for. There is also an NDA to sign. And contracts. All in very basic plain language, so even a fool could understand them,” I said.

The students held their hands out and, within minutes, had signed them.

“Okay, now onto the problem about staying with me…” I opened the door and waved them in.

“Holy shit!” Dan exclaimed.

“Yup,” I agreed.

“Where do we start?” Harriet inquired. Emory, however, looked at me knowingly.

“How many rooms are similar?” she questioned.

In approval, I nodded. “Good girl! From what I’ve observed so far, all of them.”

Their jaws dropped open in disbelief.

“What?” Heidi gasped.

“From what I’ve seen, every room. And I’ve not had a chance to check them all. Each doll appears to have ownership certificates or bills of sale attached to them. There’s too much for me to do alone. Welcome to your apprenticeship.” I grinned.

“Why haven’t you checked each room?” Kelly asked astutely.

“Because of this!” I pulled out an iron ring with a bunch of keys on it. “Every door is locked. And the keys aren’t labelled. Luckily there is a set for each floor and the widows tower, attics, and cellars. Honestly, I’ve not had a chance to accomplish a great deal. This is the beginning of your apprenticeship. What do we do?”

“As much as I’d love to start immediately, we should be practical. We should work from the bottom up. Begin in the cellar, discover which key opens what, and check if they are good to store the dolls in,” Heidi said.

I nodded but kept my mouth shut. This was why they were here. To learn planning and valuations.

“Once they are cleared, we should then open all the doors on this level. I’d suggest that we leave the key in the lock and label them. Then, gather them all back up. If we split the keys between us, we should get through that quickly, and then work our way upwards,” Dan offered.

“And check the attics. See if they are dry and suitable to keep dolls in. That’s the important thing. If the rooms are full, we need to obviously empty some but require somewhere temperature-controlled to store them. We don’t want any further damage happening,” Emory stated.

“Once that’s completed, we should choose somewhere as a workroom and clear that. We’ll have to order packing crates and items to protect the dolls,” Harriet added.

“Sounds like you have a plan. Come with me,” I ordered.

They followed me outside to a large shipping container. I yanked a door open, and they all grinned.

“Seems we don’t need packing crates or peanuts, and there’re several boxes of labels and pads here,” Dan said, opening a crate.

“Great! Miss Bloodsworth, can we get started? I’m so excited!” Heidi declared.

“Come on then. Let’s head to the cellars. And call me Lavender. Formality has its place, but not here. Once we’ve done the survey, we’ll pick a work room, and then you guys need to choose bedrooms. And we will start clearing them,” I said.

“Maybe a workroom on each floor might be an idea,” Dan offered.

“Good plan, batman. You don’t want to be running up and down the flights of stairs,” I agreed.

We headed back into the Manor, and I lead the way downstairs. What visitors didn’t realise was the ground level at the front was different from the rear. It was higher than the back, and there were hidden floors underground. Like many old homes, servants stayed to the bottom levels. The ground floor everyone witnessed from the front had two levels below it. One held the kitchens and servant’s quarters, and the other had cellars.

Back four hundred years ago, there had been a three-foot gap between the kitchen wall and the gardens. An ornamental wall hid the fact there were kitchens and rooms below the gardens. And the grounds spread out from there.

I headed down to the servant’s floor and then to the end of a hallway, where a thick oak door stood with iron bands. This was the entrance to the cellars. It already seemed much cooler down here.

I unlocked the door and flicked on the light switch. To my surprise, it lit up the stairwell very well. We walked down, and again, I was mildly surprised to see two sturdy handrails either side. As my feet hit the bottom, I was puzzled to find an atmospheric control panel down here.

There, next to it, was writing.

“My darling girl, I know you’ll come home one day, and I’m so proud of you. Your career will be a shining, dazzling thing just like you. Lavender, I regret not being around to see it. Remember, I loved you so much. I knew as an infant where you’d end up, your fascination with dolls was beyond anything I’d ever seen. So, I’ve collected every single doll I could get my hands on for you. This is my gift to you, Lavender, the child of my heart. You can live here, work, and be happy. This cellar has everything you need to store dolls. I do believe I went a little crazy buying them, but you were the driving force behind it.

I love you, dear, sweet girl.

Enjoy your legacy and inheritance.”

I read the words and swallowed a lump in my throat. Aunt Aggie had been the one who’d encouraged my passion for dolls. She’d told me I could have a career in them, and, boy, had she been right.

“Are you okay, Miss… Lavender?” Heidi asked softly.

“My great aunt might have been eccentric, but she was so full of love. Let’s see what’s she’s done,” I said and entered the hallway. It split in different directions, and I remember from childhood there’d been about sixteen rooms down here. I gave each of us a couple of keys, and we headed out. It didn’t take us long to open the doors, and I was stunned.

Aunt Lavender had climate control installed down here, and there wasn’t a spot of damp. Each room had been plastered and emptied apart from the wine cellar, which held racks and racks of bottles.

“Hey, this is whiskey,” Dan said, holding a bottle up.

“Yeah. Great-Uncle Ronald loved it. He died before I was born, but Aunt Aggie bought rare bottles when she discovered them.”

Dan carefully put it back and peered at me. “This is full of rare booze?”

“Literally, yes. From what I recall, the collection is worth a small fortune.”

“Don’t get your wine from down here!” Kelly ordered to the girls, who laughed. I glanced around and picked up a couple of bottles. “We’ll open these with pizza tonight. There are three crates of this wine. Come, I bet you missed a room,” I said to Dan, who’d been in here.

“Not that I know of,” Dan replied, frowning.

I winked and moved to a rack against the wall. I felt for the secret lock and pressed it. The rack sprang away from the wall.

“A hidden entrance!” Harriet squealed.

“Ravenberry is full of passageways and secret rooms,” I said, and they all looked excited. They peered inside and gaped. Steps had been carved out, and I hit the light switch. There was electricity here, I remembered that. I headed down, and they followed. The room I was searching for was over three hundred steps down. We were puffing a little when we hit the ground.

Their eyes widened as they stared at the immense cave we’d discovered. It was crammed with fine wine, rare spirits and kegs, crates of bottles, and so on.

“Holy shit,” Dan said, feeling faint.

“Yeah, you can drink what’s upstairs because for every bottle on display there, there’s a crate or keg down here,” I replied.

“Wow,” Emory gasped. “Are you going to sell this?”

“No. It’s part of the estate’s legacy. I might get it valued, but not until security has been updated. Remember your NDA, kids. To protect this, I will cheerfully ruin your life. I look at Ravenberry and the estate as something I’m guardian of. It’s not mine to chop up and sell off in pieces. My ancestors built this, and that has meaning,” I explained.

“I like that,” Kelly stated, and I smiled at him.

“Come on, those stairs are killers,” I replied.

By the time we reached the top, we were all huffing and puffing.

“If you’re looking for permanent staff, keep me in mind,” Emory said when we caught our breath.

“Are there other collections?” Dan asked.

I sighed. “Oh, hell yes. My family were hoarders.”

“I need a job here,” Emory begged, and I laughed.

We headed upstairs, and I locked the cellar door. I seriously needed security installing. There were several fortunes in Ravenberry, and shockingly, it had been left empty. It was a miracle it hadn’t been broken into and raided.

Unlocking all the doors on the ground floor took us until lunchtime, and I’d pre-ordered a range of sandwiches and snacks to be delivered. The students devoured them as we discussed our findings.

Most of the rooms had held dolls as feared, but the long ballroom had been crammed with toy cars. That was a nod to Uncle Ronald. I’d sighed and shaken my head. This was going to be a nightmare. Maybe hiring the kids permanently wouldn’t be amiss.

After lunch we headed upstairs and discovered the grand gallery rammed full of boxes. Confused, I opened one and exhaled. Nestled inside was a Fabergé egg. Looking around, I felt like giving up. This was too overwhelming.

“We can do this, Lavender. Although I got to admit, I feel like you look,” Dan said. The others nodded their heads.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but this wasn’t it,” Harriet agreed.

I snorted in amusement. “Okay, let’s get to work.” I shared the keys out again and soon we’d opened every door on this floor.

“Dolls!” Emory cried as she entered the last room. “Damn, I wouldn’t mind this as a bedroom.”

I walked to where Emory stood and smiled. “It is called the Peacock Room. It’s one of the most beautiful bedrooms in the house.”

“I like this one,” Harriet said from opposite. Then her jaw dropped open. “Lavender, you better see this.”

I hurried over with the others on my heels. My mouth fell open. “No way.”

“Am I imagining it?” Harriet asked.

“Nope. They look genuine, too,” I whispered.

“That’s a Madame Alexander Eloise doll in Christian Dior clothing,” Emory announced, shocked.

“There’s two of them! They’re worth five million each!” Dan gasped.

“Oh word, isn’t that a Marina Bychkova Enchanted Doll?” Kelly questioned, his eyes wide.

“Yup,” I answered, feeling faint. There were easily ten million dollars of dolls in this room. “Remember your NDAs,” I ordered.

“If you think I’d ever tell anyone when I can get a chance to handle one of them, you’ve another thing coming,” Dan stated.

“Shit. We’ve seen some expensive dolls, but those three alone…” Heidi shook her head.

“Okay,” I said, locking the door. Those three dolls changed everything. I noted which room they were in. I needed security on the estate to protect this.

“Let’s head to the next floor,” I suggested. Somehow, I was dreading what I might find there. This level should have prepared me. There were two rooms of Star Wars toys, some of which Dan instantly recognised as rare and valuable. A bedroom was filled with perfume bottles, and pill boxes and another with coin boxes. Add in two rooms of Steiff teddy bears, a room full of duplicated train sets, and the rest, once again, held dolls. But they were all Barbie and Sindy dolls. And in a room sitting all alone was the pièce de résistance.

A full-on Astolat Dollhouse Castle.

“That can’t be here. That’s in a museum,” Emory declared, eyes wide.

“The original took thirteen years to produce,” Dan said.

“There’re letters,” Harriet announced, picking it up.

I opened it and read it. “Well damn, it appears Aunt Aggie had one made at the same time as the original. Elaine Diehl agreed to create two simultaneously. One was secret, and she was paid an extortionate amount of money. The secret one was delivered here for any little girls that arrived in the family. Holy crap. Aunt Aggie planned to give this to me!”

“Wow,” Kelly exclaimed.

“This letter states that Elaine merely ordered/made two of everything and changed the colour of some of the items to make them different,” Heidi said.

“That’s so sad that you never got to play with it. I guess you didn’t, or you’d have recalled it,” Harriet added.

“No, I didn’t.” Tears had lodged in my throat, and I needed to escape this sadness. How tragic.

I gazed at the door leading to the widow’s tower and ignored that for the attics. Something told me I wouldn’t be able to handle that today. I turned my attention away from it.

Damp had left some third-floor rooms unfurnished. It must have existed in Aunt Aggie’s time, and she’d not dealt with it. I made it a priority to get someone up here.

I shoved open the attic’s door and heaved a sigh of relief at the humongous, empty area. Aunt Aggie hadn’t got up here! The ten large rooms of the attics all had huge amounts of space, and there wasn’t a trace of mould again. It was just the third-floor front rooms affected by it.

“I find it strange there’s nothing up here,” Emory said, looking around.

“Yeah. After everything downstairs, this is empty,” Dan agreed.

“There is a secret room containing clothing,” I revealed and headed for the room hidden away. Inside that were trunks upon trunks of clothing.

“Okay, there’s that,” Kelly stated, amused.

“Let’s head down, order dinner, and make a plan where to start in the morning,” I ordered.

My belt was weighted down by all the keys I was now holding, each of them labelled up. I also needed to get surveillance here asap.

Jinx entered as we hit the ground floor. “Good day?” He winced as there was a crash echoed.

“We can’t discuss it?” Dan drawled, looking to me.

“Jinx’s a friend. But Dan’s correct. If you sign an NDA, we can tell you. Do you know a security expert? I need a top-notch company,” I asked Jinx.

“I’ll call Chance,” Jinx said.

“Tell him to come to the kitchen,” I replied and walked through the hallways to the aforementioned room. I heard Jinx giving Chance instructions as I entered the cavernous space. Everything in the kitchen, pantries, storage rooms, silverware room, and so on had been thoroughly cleaned. There was a door that led to a small walkway and steps that led up to the gardens.

Jinx waited outside as I ordered pizzas, and I yanked the two bottles of wine out of the fridge. Surprisingly, the 1950s appliances functioned perfectly. Even so I wanted new ones.

Chance arrived as the pizzas turned up, and he had Sunny, Chatter, and another hulking man with him.

“There’re no dolls,” I called to Chatter, who looked happy to wait outside. He sent me a grim stare but came in with his head on a swivel. On not seeing anything, he relaxed.

“Jinx said you had an issue but needed an NDA signing,” Chance announced without preamble. The kids stared at him wide-eyed as they ate.

“Help yourself, I ordered extra,” I offered, shoving the boxes towards them. Jinx dived straight in, as did Sunny and the other guy called Bear.

“NDA?”

“We’ve discovered some stuff. And to discuss it, an NDA must be signed. I require heavy-duty security. Cameras, motion sensors, thumbprint locks, you name it, I need it, and guards to patrol the estate and to watch the CCTV,” I replied.

As I spoke, Chance and Chatter’s eyebrows rose.

“What the hell did you find?” Chatter gasped.

“Nothing you’re going to get near!” I exclaimed, remembering Marybelle.

“Don’t plan too,” Chatter retorted.

I handed Chance the NDA, and he checked it over. “You got enough copies for everyone here?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll also need some for my brothers and prospect. But not the candidates. We don’t know if they’re staying, so we won’t tell them anything. However, the brothers and my prospect need to know,” Chance argued.

I hesitated. “Your prospect might leave.”

“Not a chance in hell, no pun intended. Fanatic is Chance’s nephew. That kid won’t say a word,” Bear mumbled around a mouthful of food.

I still paused.

“Lavender. I get you’re sitting on something huge. But in relation to your fortune, how big is it?” Chance asked.

“Put like that… even so, that’s a lot of strangers knowing,” I replied.

“Yeah, but should someone break in, these are the guys who’re closer to you and will come riding to your rescue,” Sunny said, stealing another piece of pizza.

“Trust us,” Chatter urged, and looking into his eyes, I capitulated.

“Sign and then get your brothers to. But I want them all back by tomorrow,” I demanded.

“Not an issue. Now tell me what you found,” Chance ordered, signing his. The others stepped up and signed theirs, and I sat somewhat happily.

Between me and the students, we explained our discoveries. When we got to the Astolat Dollhouse Castle, Chance looked it up and whistled.

“Yeah, you need security and as soon as possible. I’ll call Slaughter. He’ll send some extra guards for tonight, and Slaughter will come in the morning. I guess cost isn’t an issue?” Chance asked.

“No. And thank you. I feel like I’m sitting on a time bomb,” I replied.

“Where are we staying, Lavender? Hate to ask, but it’s getting late.”

“I have booked you into a hotel for now until we clear some rooms,” I responded.

“But I’d rather stay here,” Emory announced.

“The bedrooms haven’t been cleared,” I said.

“Can we get cots from somewhere and bed down in the hallway tonight? I must admit, I’m not comfortable leaving this,” Dan suggested.

“You can do that, but you’re not meant to be roughing it,” I stated.

“Heck. I don’t care if I sleep on the floor. Just set me to work!” Kelly announced, and we all laughed.