Read Online The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires Book 5) by Regina Duke - Free Book Online Page B

cubbyhole under the stairs. Later, someone would lead them upstairs to a secret room, where they could sleep and eat and get ready for the next leg of their journey.”
    “What arrow?” Brewster looked perplexed. “I doubt that Pearl could understand the symbolism.”
    Madlyn led them to the entryway. The floor was dark hardwood, and in the center was a geometric pattern formed with blocks of paler wood. Madlyn traced the pattern with the toe of her shoe. “See? It makes an arrow, and it’s pointing under the stairs.”
    “Well, I’ll be,” muttered Brewster.
    Madlyn applied a bit of pressure to the panel in the wall, and it bounced back just enough for her get her fingernails under the edge. She pulled the small door open. It was only three feet tall and eighteen inches wide. It opened onto a dark space beneath the stairs.
    Kirby’s brow furrowed. “People were smaller back then.”
    Madlyn nodded. “And skinnier.”
    Brewster knelt before the dark maw and peered inside. “No Pearl in here, but then I’ve been hearing her call from upstairs.”
    “Yes,” said Madlyn. “She must have gotten into the secret room somehow.”
    “Any clue where that might be?” asked Kirby.
    “According to the brochure, it was on the very top floor.”
    “But if it’s a secret room, how will we ever find the entrance?” asked Brewster.
    Madlyn said, “Let’s find the owner. Or maybe the kitchen help.”
    Brewster shook his head. “The owner has a day job, and the cook is a single mother who couldn’t even tell us yesterday how old the house was.”
    Kirby said, “Maybe once we get upstairs, we can check for another door like this one. You know, small and intended to go unnoticed. Pearl is always knocking things off counters and pulling on her toys. Maybe she pulled on a string or something, and got herself in trouble.”
    Brewster was already on his way upstairs. “Follow me! I’ll show you where I heard her calling out the loudest.” He led them to the end of the hallway on the third floor, where the wall was paneled wood. He slumped against the side wall. “No door here. Nothing. Now what?”
    Kirby and Madlyn stepped forward and began running their fingertips over the paneling. From behind the wall came a sharp screech. Pearl’s voice cried out, “Dinner time! Dinner time!”
    Brewster massaged his temples. “She must be starving, poor thing.”
    Kirby dropped to one knee. “The opening must be on the bottom half, Madz. I doubt they’d expect their secret guests to climb over the lower panel, because that would leave marks.”
    “Of course,” said Madz, dropping to her knees. A moment later, her eyes brightened. “Put your hand here. I can feel air coming through this seam.”
    Kirby did so and nodded eagerly. “Yes, so can I. This must be it.”
    Together, they used their fingernails to gain purchase on the seam.
    “Wait,” said Madlyn. “Downstairs I pushed in first, then pulled outward.”
    That was the key. They pushed, then pulled, and the small door sprang open.
    Pearl squawked and fluttered through the opening. She managed to gain enough altitude to land on Brewster’s shoulder, where she scolded him severely for not finding her sooner. “Bad boy, bad boy. Dinner time!”
    Kirby and Madlyn stood up. “Madz, how can I ever thank you? We thought we’d lost this little stinker.”
    Brewster smoothed Pearl’s feathers. “Come along, you rascal. Your breakfast is waiting.”
    “Dinner time! Dinner time!” Pearl dug her tiny toes into Brewster’s hair and began rubbing the top of her head against his ear.
    “Yes, I’m glad to see you as well.” Brewster was all smiles. “I’m going to feed her in her C-A-G-E.”
    “Good idea,” said Kirby. “Make sure the D-O-O-R is locked.”
    “Will do.” Brewster turned and headed downstairs to their room.
    Kirby was all smiles. “What a relief. But how did Pearl get in there?”
    Madlyn closed the small door, then experimented by giving it a