Bobby drew Rose into his arms. He looked into her worried eyes. “This war is going to stretch on for who knows how long. I’ll eventually get drafted anyway. And I want to have a choice where I’ll go. I want to fly, Rose. I want to fight for America in the sky,” he said. Bobby stroked her walnut-colored hair. “We’ll still get married as soon as the war is over. And we’ll have lots of kids. We’ll live happily ever after in this big plantation house.”
Her hopes dashed and her dreams in flux, Rose buried her head in Bobby’s chest. His heart thumped against her forehead. “You’re going to get yourself shot down and killed. I just know it. Please don’t go through with this, Bobby.”
“I have to. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor everything has changed. The world is watching us to see what we’ll do. America has to fight now whether she wants to or not,” Bobby said. “Will you wait for me, Rose? I promise I’ll come back.”
Rose lifted her head from Bobby’s chest. She looked him in the eyes. “You don’t have to ask me that. You know I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”
“Hearing you say that makes me feel like the luckiest man alive, Rose.”
They walked up the front steps and onto the gallery, shouldered their way past other couples and entered the house. More couples packed the home’s interior and danced to Glen Miller playing on a Victor Talking Machine phonograph.
“Maybe we should try the carriage house instead,” Bobby suggested.
Rose shook her head. “It’s a mess. Daddy is converting it into a garage.”
“Well, then maybe we should go upstairs to your bedroom,” Bobby teased.
Rose blushed. “If Daddy finds out you’re upstairs with me he’ll never let you set foot on this property again.”
“Then where do we go?”
Rose took his hand. “Come on, I have an idea,” she said, leading Bobby into the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, Betty Landry—a caterer from Baton Rouge and her two daughters, along with Mary Sheffield, the maid for the Whitcombs—busily prepared hors d’oeuvres for the guests.
Mary looked up and saw them. Rose lifted an index finger to her lips. Mary smiled knowingly and winked at her. Rose led Bobby through the kitchen and opened the pantry door.
“Are we going in there?” Bobby asked.
Rose nodded and entered the large walk-in pantry. Bobby followed her inside. At the far end of the pantry was another door. Rose opened this door, revealing a servant’s staircase. She smiled coyly at Bobby. “We’ll be alone up there, I promise.”
“It’s a really dark staircase, Rose. How are we going to see?”
“Oh, yeah, wait just a second.” She rummaged around on a pantry shelf and found a candle and a candle holder.
“Those just happened to be sitting there, huh? I think you might have planned this all along.”
“I used to explore this staircase when I was younger,” Rose explained. “Now if I can only find some matches we’ll be all set.”
“I can contribute to the cause,” Bobby said and reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out a book of matches.
“Why, Bobby Hoxley, have you taken up smoking?”
“Every now and then I light one up. It’s no big deal.” Bobby struck a match and lit Rose’s candle.
Rose shut the pantry door and then led the way up the narrow staircase. The staircase was invisible from the rest of the house and led to the attic, which is where the servants used to live long ago.
The candle dimly lit their way. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and dangled along the walls. If ever there were a haunted section of the house, it would be here in this forgotten staircase, Rose thought. “It’s kinda spooky in here. But we’ll be okay,” she said.
“Where are we going?”
“The staircase empties out onto a small landing on the third floor.” Moments later they stepped onto the landing. Rose turned to face her boyfriend and held the candle up under her chin, illuminating her face. “Are you afraid, Bobby?”
“No, Rose, you’re not a scary ghost, just a pretty one.”
“Have you ever kissed a ghost before?”
Bobby smiled. “I sure haven’t. But I’m about to find out what it’s like right now.”
Rose giggled. She bent down and put the candle on the floor. And then she moved forward and embraced Bobby tightly. Their lips met and they unloosed their restrained passion. They kissed with an intense hunger for each other, bodies grinding together.
Rose clutched each side of Bobby’s face and pulled him closer. Her back pressed against the wall. Breathless and lost in desire, she didn’t notice the wall giving way until they tumbled down. Bobby landed on top of her. They lay there dazed for several seconds. “What the heck just happened? Did we fall through a wall?” Bobby asked as he disentangled himself and scrambled to his feet.
“I don’t know. Get the candle.”
Bobby retrieved the candle and held it out to achieve maximum illumination. “What do you know, it’s a small room. We fell through a hidden door.” He pointed at a narrow, revolving door. “See the door?”
Rose sat up and looked around, taking in the small room measuring no larger than six feet by six feet. “I never knew this room was here. It’s a secret room.”
Bobby pointed at an object tucked close by. The object sat on the floor in one corner. “What’s that?”
Rose looked in the direction Bobby pointed. She saw a small chest. Intrigued, she crawled over to it. “It’s some kind of chest.” She tried to open it, but it wouldn’t allow her to. “It’s locked. I see a keyhole. But there’s no key.”
Bobby knelt down beside her and held the candle close to the object. He whistled. “This chest is old, really old. And you know what I think, Rose? I think it’s a treasure chest.” Bobby set the candle down on the floor and grabbed the chest.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to shake it to see if there’s anything in it. It’s heavy. Grab one end, will you?”
Rose grabbed one end of the chest, and together they shook it. A metallic clinking sound rang out from within the chest.
“That sounded like coins shifting around. I think there’s money in this chest,” Bobby said.
Rose stood up. Her limbs shook. “We need to leave, Bobby. We’ve found something we’re not supposed to find.”
“Now I know how your father affords to put on these parties. He has a whole trunk load of money hidden up here.”
“Never mind what’s in the chest. Let’s go before we get caught.”
“You’re really spooked, aren’t you?”
“Bobby Hoxley, if you don’t get up right now, I’m going to drag you by your ear down the staircase.”
“Okay, okay, I’m coming. There’s no need for you to grab my ear.”
Rose grabbed the candle, and they left the secret room, closing the door shut behind them.
Chapter 11
Inside the attic, Rafter looked around for Annie. He soon found his wife sitting on a chair and reading. “I see while I looked for stuff you allowed yourself to become distracted.”
Annie looked up at him. “I found something here that may help us, Jon.”
Rafter frowned. “A book can help spring us out of the attic?”
Annie held up the journal. “This book is Rose Whitcomb’s journal. I found an entry in it that might just explain the motivation behind the Charbonneau brothers’ behavior.”
Rafter carefully set the objects he’d found on the floor. He squatted down on his haunches next to Annie. “I’m listening.”