Instead, Alice crept closer to Doctor Ramsay, breathing in his lovely smelling aftershave and clean clothes mixed in with rose petals.
‘Okay, the coast’s clear.’
As they skirted the lawn, following a path made of red bricks like the ones at the Tide Mills, Alice was sure she saw the curtains of Mrs Ramsay’s window move. She didn’t want to have to be polite to Mrs Ramsay and for the game to be over so she pretended not to have seen it.
They hurried down some slippery mossy steps at the side of the house that were also new to Alice, who was beginning to realise she had seen very little of the White House until now. Eleanor clearly didn’t know as many secret places as her father. Eleanor’s power to upset Alice was diminishing. Abandoning all her good intentions, Alice imagined scoffing at all Eleanor’s games and suggestions. Alice could hardly wait to see Eleanor so that she could tell her about all the things and places she didn’t know. But then she knew she would keep quiet. This adventure would be a secret she shared with Doctor Ramsay.
The steps led to a dark basement. The door had been open and they ended up in a small room with shelves packed with boxes with dates written on them. Alice could make out the words on one box as they went past: ‘Edith Barwick Murder 1931’ was printed in thick black lettering.
She shivered, and Doctor Ramsay noticed. He noticed everything.
‘Are you cold?’
‘Not really. It’s not very nice in here. Is this your secret place?’
‘No. Everyone knows about this, it’s where my father’s files are stored. These are the transcripts of trials and all the related papers for his cases. Gory reading. Not for you, Alice.’
‘Was it your father who was the Judge in the dining room?’
‘Well done. That’s right. He taught me a lot.’
They were in a paved tunnel with a curving brick ceiling. His voice sounded hollow. There were doors all along the walls on both sides. Alice thought how if they hid down here, no one would ever find them. One of the doors was open and she caught a glimpse of a long low freezer and vaguely remembered Lizzie, the Ramsays’ housekeeper, warning Eleanor never to think of hiding in the freezer or she would end up as stiff as a board.
Doctor Ramsay was whispering again, ‘We’re going to go upstairs, if we meet anyone, you must say you felt ill and that I found you in the road and brought you back, okay?’
‘But Eleanor knows we were at the Tide Mills.’ Alice knew as soon as she had spoken that she shouldn’t have pointed out to Doctor Ramsay that he was asking her to lie. But he wasn’t. It was part of the game, and in games it was all right to make things up. He read her thoughts.
‘We have a secret to keep, don’t we?’
‘Yes,’ she replied and nodded.
‘It’s you I’m thinking of. It would be a shame to have things spoiled.’
He eased open the basement door and pulled a face as it creaked noisily. They waited. The only sound was the dull click-click of the grandfather clock near the front door. Alice could see the black and white tiles on the floor that had reminded her of the chessboard in her favourite book. Gina’s riding boots were missing from the rack by the front door. Alice was disappointed because Gina was the one person she was prepared to share Doctor Ramsay with. In fact Gina would make it even more fun. Turning to her left, Alice saw that they were outside the downstairs toilet where Eleanor had made her look stupid by talking about poo. The door was open and she could see the big box of matches on the windowsill. The memory of that afternoon made her cheeks tingle with a horrid mixture of dread and shame. No wonder she hadn’t noticed the basement door before. Now she was glad they had left Eleanor to whatever terrible dangers the Tide Mills had in store for her. Alice held her breath as, step for step, she walked beside Doctor Ramsay up the wide staircase. He put one hand on her back to stop her falling backwards the way she had once seen him do with Mrs Ramsay.
They reached the landing. There was a settee on it, perhaps for people who got tired while climbing the stairs. Alice had previously thought how she would like to sit on it when she had been trailing after Eleanor on the way to the playroom. She would have preferred to stay here unnoticed noting the comings and goings in the house. This wish applied to most things. Alice dreamed of simply observing without having to take part and to always come top.
The second floor was much darker because the walls were panelled with wood almost black with age. There were two corridors, one going off to the left and the other to the right, and more stairs going on up to the floor with the playroom and finally to the attics where the maids had slept long ago. Alice would have been disappointed had they been going to the playroom. He must know there was nothing secret about it. But she felt a swoop of joy as Doctor Ramsay, his finger on his lips, guided her over to the closed door that Eleanor had told her was his study. It had always been locked before. Alice knew that Eleanor didn’t have a key as she had once tried the door, although she also knew that Eleanor had been in there. But this time would be different. Alice would be entering at Doctor Ramsay’s invitation. Her heart pounded in her thin chest as he produced yet another key from his magic trouser pocket and quietly opened the door.
Alice’s first impression was that the room was extremely bright. After the dark landing, the sunlight hurt her eyes. She hovered by the door, unsure what to do. The room was as daunting to her as Doctor Ramsay had once been. It was the private territory of an important and imposing person, even if that person had become less awe-inspiring and pulled faces like a little boy. An enormous desk stood at an angle near the window. Taking a few steps further into the room, Alice was delighted to see the book with the names of flowers that Doctor Ramsay had used for their flower pressing expedition two days earlier. It lay open on the blotting paper pad. Doctor Ramsay might be planning another expedition. Perhaps they could plan it together now.
Apart from Newhaven Library, Alice had never seen so many books in one room. The alcove to the left of the fireplace was filled with books as was the wall opposite this. There were even books on a shelf above the door. Lots had leather covers and gold or silver writing on the spines like in the reference library. Alice was used to the odd paperback and magazines stacked in neat piles on the sideboard.
‘I like reading too,’ she offered brightly.
‘I’m sure you do, you’re exceptional in many ways. Come and sit down.’
Facing the window was a very big brown leather settee with studded buttons. Alice had seen it before. There was one in the doll’s house just like it. This excited her. Alice’s oblique familiarity with the exact copy of this room in miniature contributed to her impression of everything being enormous. She fleetingly imagined telling her Mum later how she had been like the other Alice. She would say she had been in Wonderland and was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and be held up for Doctor Ramsay’s inspection. Doctor Ramsay indicated the settee and with trepidation Alice perched on the edge.
‘There, are you comfortable?’ The leather was cool and smooth on her bare legs.
‘This is a nice place.’ She didn’t want to hurt him by telling him his study wasn’t at all secret. Eleanor had been inside lots of times to get books. Thinking of Eleanor brought Alice down to earth and she began to fret about the time. She couldn’t see a clock and Doctor Ramsay wasn’t wearing a watch. She didn’t want to be late home, not after the bad behaviour with Eleanor’s special tea the afternoon before, and now having left Eleanor on her own. She could see no way to broach the subject of going, since she had just got there. She put on a smiling face and pointedly looked about her.