AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Great-grandad.’
‘I see. Well, Joseph isn’t around right now, and we want to find Bella.’
‘She might be inside,’ Maisie added.
‘All right.’ William stepped forward.
Lili and Maisie followed him inside.
‘Clever boy!’ exclaimed Lili when William shone the torch on a light switch. Lili switched on the lights.
‘Wow!’ Lili said, standing there in amazement.
‘This issocool!’
Lili smiled. She’d missed Maisie so much.
The cabin appeared bigger inside. It reminded Lili of a log cabin she’d seen in a movie once; it had a huge fireplace on one side with a log burner, and oak kitchen units running along the wall on the other side. There was a large L-shaped leather sofa, two matching chairs, and a rug covering the wooden floor in the centre of the room. Above them, there was a mezzanine, which could be reached via a spiral staircase.
‘This is where my great-great-granddad used to live.’
Maisie and Lili turned to look at William. He glanced at them and shrugged. ‘I asked Daddy once. I’ve never been inside before. He said that this was where they lived while they built the new house.’
Maisie called out, ‘Bella!’
Lili thought she heard something. ‘Shh! Do you hear that?’ She heard a whine. ‘Bella?’ she shouted. She started up the stairs. The children followed. On the mezzanine level, there was a bedroom in the eaves with two single divans made up with quilts and pillows that looked old and threadbare.
Maisie ran over and jumped on a bed. They heard the dog whimper. Lili knelt down and shifted the valance to see under the bed. Two brown eyes stared at her in the darkness. ‘Bella? It’s okay, it’s me.’
Bella barked in Lili’s face.
Behind Lili, William and Maisie were jumping up and down, chanting, ‘We found her, we found Bella!’
Bella, not a small dog, needed help to get out from her hiding place.
‘You are a silly, silly dog,’ said Maisie, flinging her arms around the dog’s neck.
Bella licked both her face and William’s when he sat on the floor to stroke her head.
Lili stayed at arm’s length. ‘Oh, no. I don’t want a kiss too.’
‘Yes, you do,’ squealed the children, and pulled Lili by the arm, making her kneel and give Bella a fuss, getting a doggy kiss in return. They fell about giggling. Then Lili noticed that William wasn’t laughing any more. He stood there, looking about him. They all did. In the mezzanine room, and the room below, there were lots of empty hooks where paintings had hung, and several easels, just like Maisie’s, where canvases had been stored.
William turned to Lili. ‘Is Daddy going to prison for a long time?’ His eyes filled with tears.
Maisie put her arms around William. ‘It will be okay. I promise. Remember what Daddy told you? I’m your big sister now. I’ll look after you.’
Lili looked at Maisie. So, Nate had told Maisie he was her father, and little William was her brother.
Lili put her arms around both of them. ‘And I am going to look after both of you. Now, come on. Bella must be hungry. Let’s take her back to the house.’
‘I’m hungry too,’ said William.
‘So am I,’ Maisie added.
Lili smiled as she watched the two children walk down the spiral staircase with Bella leading the way. Her smiled faded when she thought of what William had said. Despite appearing optimistic for the sake of the children, there was no telling when or if the family would be released.
Lili was about to follow when she saw some photos scattered on the floor beside an upturned drawer which belonged to the desk. She stooped to gather up the prints and was about to pick up the drawer and slip them back inside when something caught her eye. The woman in one photo seemed familiar.
