Standing in the basement's dank far corner, Sage's soft panting was accompanied by Maddy's.

"What now?" Sage asked.

"We need to shower, change and look like we had a strenuous walk back on the hill trail," Maddy said, "if he asks, tell him it was nice, but you prefer the beach."

"How do we get upstairs without detection?" Sage asked into the suffocating silence.

"Thought you'd never ask," Maddy said, chuckling; a groping hand found Sage's arm, and she tugged her toward the back wall.

Sage gripped Maddy's hand with her free one, which released her arm, making it easier to follow blindly into a hole in the wall. A scraping sound was heard before a dim light flickered on overhead.

"Secret passageways," Sage whispered, "I like."

"You may like where it leads even less," Maddy said as she started climbing, "be as quiet as possible."

The two women climbed silently upward into the house, following the bends in the walls as the steps continued up. Sage wondered how much longer she would be doing this when Maddy stopped and carefully opened a sliding panel in the wall. The light above flickered out as though it knew total darkness was required. Maddy sighed as she slid the panel back and slowly opened the door in the wooden panel. The two women slowly stepped into Sage's dressing room.

"Oh my word," Sage whispered, looking around, "you were checking to see if Jeffery was here, right?"

Maddy nodded, "I was worried he may have come into the house uninvited. He's known to do that."

"Related to you, is he?" Sage asked, testing her dressing room door and finding it still locked as she had left it.

"Yes, on the bad side of the family," Maddy said, "do you think it's safe to use the bathroom?"

"Oh yes, absolutely," Sage smiled, "since I found the passageway linking these three rooms, I have kept the doors to the house passage closed and locked."

"He can pick locks," Maddy said, "so how do you know he hasn't been here?"

Sage pointed to the bolts and the top and the bottom of the door, "They go up and down, so it will take some brute force to get into the rooms."

"I like how you think," Maddy said, seeing Sage's laptop and personal possessions in the room, "you have trust issues."

"Not this time ... I have suspicions," Sage said, "we can move around in here without detection. I discovered on an updated version of the plans that these rooms have been soundproofed. Someone knew a thing or two."

"That I didn't know," Maddy said, grinning, "then let's get showered and dressed and make our way down to the kitchen."

The women quickly went to work and cleaned up, taking the laundry basket with them as they took the stairs to the basement once more and slowly made their way up the stairs and then to the kitchen.

"Sage, can you put the kettle on, please, and I'll pop our laundry on," Maddy said as they entered the kitchen.

"Sure, which kettle, electric or for the range?" Sage asked.

"Electric," Maddy said, pausing at the door of the scullery, "do you smell that?"

Sage breathed in and quickly looked at the gas range, checking all the knobs, "Yes, I do. It looks like someone is trying to gas me in my sleep."

Quickly she turned off all the gas knobs and opened a window close by. Maddy's pale face turned to Sage; her lips quivered, and she swallowed hard.

"Maddy, you stay here and do the tea. I'll put the washing on," Sage said, taking the laundry basket from her and waiting until the other woman nodded and moved from the doorway. Sage entered the scullery and looked around at the thick stone walls keeping the place cool, "it's just as I imagined a scullery would be. Ah, here is the light."

Turning on the overhead light, Sage walked to the washing machines and pushed the clothes into the machine, adding detergent and starting the cycle. She could hear Maddy moving around in the kitchen, quietly humming. Turning, Sage came face to face with a strange man staring at her from behind the open door.

"Huh, hello, I see we meet again," Sage said, surprising the man as he approached her menacingly, "if you're trying to scare me ... it's not working. I take it you're not supposed to be here."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"I own the house," the man said, "you're not supposed to be here."

"Really? Who are you?" Sage asked, walking past him into the kitchen, forcing him to remain in place or follow her.

"You know who I am," the man said, following her into the kitchen, his startled gaze moving toward Maddy sitting with tea and biscuits in the kitchen nook, "you're here."

"Of course I am, Jeffery," Maddy said, "I am the housekeeper."

"But ... didn't you take the hill trail?" he asked, confusion churning over his features.

"Why do you ask? Why are you following me again?" Maddy asked, sighing as she poured tea for Sage.

"I wasn't... I didn't..." Jeffery spluttered, feeling flustered.

"Oh ... the stupid prank with Rosemary's kettle and leaving the gas on again ... so lame," Maddy said, shaking her head, "the back door is there. No doubt you picked the lock again. Please leave so we can enjoy our tea and biscuits."

"I own this house," Jeffery snarled.

"No, you don't," Maddy said, "Rosemary owns the house."

"She's dead," Jeffery said, "I know she is."

"Are you admitting to murdering her?" Maddy asked, pausing in her actions and looking at the man.

"I didn't kill anyone," Jeffery said, "but I'm her heir."

"Since she isn't dead," Maddy said, "I don't think that applies ... now ... please leave, or do I need to call Adam?"

"Adam ... is he here?" Jeffery asked, looking around.

"Do you want to find out?" Maddy asked, pushing to her feet.

"No," Jeffery said after a pause and spurred into action toward the kitchen door, which closed loudly behind him.

Waiting a moment, Maddy slowly moved toward the door, taking a key off the hook and turning the lock. She pushed two deadbolts into place, chuckled, and returned to the table.

"What was the chuckle for?" Sage asked.

"Ceiling and floor," Maddy said, sipping her tea, "Rosemary knew a thing or two ... she was the one who installed those extra security measures."

"Clearly she knew a thing or two," Sage smiled, "are you okay?"

"I am now," Maddy said, "thank you for being here. How did you keep your cool during all of that?"

"I've had lots of experience with so-called pranks," Sage said, "it comes with growing up with a brother who was more like my parents than I was."

"Your brother would do stuff like that?" Maddy asked.

"Oh, he did much worse," Sage said, "I soon learnt to distinguish between what was actually something to be scared of and something planned to make my heart jump from my chest unnecessarily."

"You would have fitted into our family well," Maddy said, "come to think of it ... what is your full name?"

"Weren't you told when you heard I was coming?" Sage asked.

"We're not informed of anything," Maddy said, "the car service driver lets us know when the person has arrived, what kind of person you are, what is required to make you feel at home, and then he leaves."

"That's when you know I'm coming, but what about Jeffery?" Sage asked.

"What do you mean?" Maddy asked.

"When Albert and I stopped to refuel about an hour from here, Jeffery was at the same station refuelling a car and staring at me," Sage said, "he knew Albert and must have put two and two together, or he knew I was coming. How is that possible if you didn't know?"

"Huh, that is strange," Maddy said, "Jeffery comes and goes as he pleases, often leaving by sea and just appearing again. Now I know how he does that ... he drives in. I'll have to put a watch on the road again. You were going to tell me your full name, Sage."

"Oh my ... it's rather long," Sage said, "are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes, you know my full name. What is yours?" Maddy asked, grinning.

"Okay, my full name," Sage said, startled by Maddy's insistence, "is a mouthful, but here it goes ..." she inhaled before continuing, "Sage Caroline Mary Annabella Rosemary Cooper-Channing."

Maddy froze with her teacup halfway to her mouth; slowly, her eyes rose to meet Sage's embarrassed gaze. Staring at her silently.

"I know ... I don't know what my grandmother was thinking when she named me," Sage said, sighing before meeting Maddy's unblinking gaze, "Maddy, are you okay?"

Maddy slowly sipped her tea, carefully returned the cup to the saucer, leaned her elbows on the table, and rubbed her face with agitated hands before looking at Sage again.

"I'm..." she spluttered to a stop, swallowed hard, cleared her throat and closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe steadily.

Sage watched the other woman; concern began to mount as Maddy shifted uncomfortably, "You're beginning to scare me, Maddy; what's going on?"

"What year were you born?" Maddy asked.

"I'm twenty-seven, so ... twenty-seven years ago," Sage said, "why does this even matter?"

"Let's drink our tea," Maddy said, "I need to show you something."

"Okay, but don't go into..." Sage waved her hands in Maddy's direction, "... whatever that was again."

Maddy released a choking laugh before nodding, "I'll do my best."

"Okay, your best would be great," Sage said, sipping cautiously at her tea as she watched Maddy return to her cup, ever watchful for that strange reaction to nothing more worrying than her name.

What was that all about? Why would her full name make someone as put together as Maddy turn into a spastic, muttering, uncommunicative ... person?

Shaking her head, she sighed, as she was finding when it came to this place over and over again ... more questions than answers.