For several seconds, she studied the carvings.
Then pressed the small circular decoration.
It moved.
A narrow wooden panel shifted outward.
Behind it was a keyhole.
Amily stared.
Then laughed breathlessly.
“Mama.”
She inserted the key.
Turned it.
The mechanism resisted.
For one terrible moment, she thought it was broken.
Then a soft click sounded.
The cedar panel opened.
Inside was a small metal case wrapped in oilcloth.
Amily's hands trembled.
Harlon looked toward the door.
The hammering outside had stopped.
He heard footsteps.
“Amily.”
She turned.
“Take it.”
She lifted the case.
It was heavier than expected.
She held it against her chest.
Then Harlon whispered, “We have company.”
A man's voice sounded outside.
“Start with the western room. The supervisor wants this wall open before noon.”
Amily froze.
The footsteps approached.
Harlon looked toward the cellar passage.
They were too far from it to leave unseen.
He glanced toward the broken fireplace.
Then the narrow space behind a collapsed wardrobe.
“Go there.”
Amily stared.
“What about you?”
“I'll keep them busy.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
He looked toward her.
“Amily—”
“You're not going to stand there alone while I hide with the papers.”
Their eyes met.
Then he nodded.
“Then we do something smarter.”
He pointed toward the side window.
“There's a porch roof below. If we reach the back room, we can leave through the old servant passage.”
Amily looked toward the hallway.
Footsteps sounded closer.
She tightened her grip on the metal case.
“Then lead.”
They moved quickly.
Harlon opened a narrow door behind the sitting room.
It led into a dark corridor used by household servants decades earlier.
Amily followed him.
The passage was narrow but clear.
At the end stood a small rear door.
Harlon tested it.
Locked.
He examined the latch.
Then reached for his knife.
Amily caught his arm.
“Wait.”
He turned.
She pointed toward the lower hinge.
The wood around it had rotted.
She placed the metal case on a shelf.
Then removed the small iron fireplace tool hanging nearby.
Harlon understood.
Together, they worked the weakened fastening loose without making more noise than necessary.
The door shifted.
Cold air entered.
Amily smiled.
Harlon looked impressed.
“Remind me never to underestimate a woman who knows how houses are built.”
She laughed softly.