This had the effect of galvanizing Maria into instant action.
The camera in its leather cover, was slung around her neck, and the small folio case, was tucked under one arm. Jim was to bring the big torch, and Donna could have the smaller one and carry the large notebook and pen so she could make notes from Maria’s dictation as they went.
‘What’ll you do if it’s locked?’ said Donna’s father resignedly, but Maria said it would not be locked. It had not been locked the first time they came, and there was no reason to think it would be any different now.
It was no different at all. The worm-eaten door was still sagging on its frame, and its hinges still shrieked when they pushed it inwards and stepped cautiously inside. The smell was exactly the same as it had been last time as well, and Donna wrinkled her nose fastidiously and said this was a repulsive way to spend an afternoon, she was getting disgusting cobwebs in her hair because she had left her sunhat in the car.
‘Give me the car keys, would you, and I’ll go back for it,’ she said. Mentally she crossed her fingers. If her father refused to give her the keys, or her mother said she would go back for the hat herself, a linchpin of the plan would fall out, and she might have to rethink the whole thing.
But Jim Robards only said, ‘You’re a nuisance, Donna. But here you are.’ He fished in a pocket for the keys. ‘Make sure you lock the doors, won’t you? And check that the alarm re-sets. It’s an absolute magnet for thieves, that car.’
‘No, I’ll leave all the doors open, with a notice on the windscreen saying, “Please steal me so we can claim a whopping great amount on the insurance and buy a better car.” Of course I’ll lock it,’ said Donna, crossly. ‘What d’you take me for? Wait for me here, will you? I don’t want to go wandering around this spooky old place looking for you; it’s a lot bigger in here than it looks.’
‘It’s a lot deeper than it looks,’ said her mother. ‘But we’ll have to find how to get to the lower levels before we can start looking for the tablet.’
Donna was only a minute getting the hat which she had deliberately left behind. She locked the car and checked the alarm, because her father would ask if she had done so. She put the keys in the pocket of her jeans–the keys were crucial to the plan–and glanced at her watch. Five past two.
She took a deep breath and went back into Twygrist’s ancient darkness.
As the three of them walked across the old floor, little creakings and groanings seemed to come from deep within the old mill. Donna’s mother said she had not thought to look for the kiln room when they came before. Presumably there must be stairs leading down. What did they both think?
‘What’s over there?’ said Donna, pointing towards the waterwheel. ‘Where’s the torch–no, shine it over there. No, behind the actual wheel.’
Maria Robards said excitedly, ‘It’s a door.’
‘And it’s propped open,’ said Donna, moving the torch again. Her heart beat faster. There had been the possibility that the vague village talk she had heard had been wrong or misleading, and that Twygrist did not have any underground levels at all. Or the kiln room might no longer be accessible. But it was all right, and her plan was unfolding with almost mathematical precision. Her heartbeat increased; it was no longer fear but excitement that drove her.
‘There are steps leading down,’ said Donna’s father. ‘Shine the torch a bit more to the right. That’s better. Maria, if you’re definitely going down there, we’ll have to be careful. It might be dangerous.’
‘Nonsense, if one of us stays at the top of the stairs…’
Really, thought Donna, her mother might almost have been reading from the script. She said, ‘I’ll stay. Going into filthy underground rooms isn’t my idea of fun.’