A Malevolent Manner (Patrick Pierce #1), Page 2

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  The knitted rug offered little protection against the cold floor as she gingerly stepped out of her bed. The flagstone floor of the lower level of Ravenwood Manor seemed to suck the cold from the ground and disperse it into the many rooms above it. She had left her slippers just out of reach when she got into bed, necessitating a pair of steps on the floor before her feet were safely tucked in. With her feet now protected and warming, she donned her robe and tied it tight around her. She left the flashlight in her bedside drawer, as her night vision was good enough. Besides, she thought, it would be terribly inconspicuous. She did however grab a letter that was underneath the flashlight. Thrusting it into her pocket she made her way to the door, opening it as quietly as possible before departing.

  Although Jane’s mission this night was neither personally nor professionally risky, being caught would nonetheless be uncomfortable. The staff were given more freedom than was usual to walk around the Manor, though very few abused the privilege for fear of it being revoked. What did concern Jane was the letter she had in her robe pocket. The staff were regularly instructed to stay out of the affairs of the Manor and the club that inhabited it. But she was used to completing tasks outside of her normal duties and felt the risk worthwhile.

  The instructions she’d received that morning had seemed easy enough to fulfill. All she had to do was take the envelope hidden in the Study and place it in the outbound dispatch box located within the Secretary’s office.

  While the club members were having their midday meal, she had gone to the Study to carry out the daily cleaning of the room. The letter was exactly where she had been instructed it would be, in the secret drawers behind the volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. She grabbed the letter and hurriedly placed it under her apron, quickly closing the drawers and returning to her room. The letter was then placed in her bedside table for safe keeping for the duration of her daily duties.

  With both hands in her robe, Jane made her way through the darkened hallways of the Manor. She was walking slowly and quietly, but at the same time refraining from taking dramatic tip-toe steps one would expect from a thief. She made her way to the office of the Secretary. From here the business of the building was conducted. Within minutes she found the cabinet that held the dispatch boxes. It was a tall gothic affair, constructed of ebony hued wood with multiple spaces in it. Each one contained an equally ebony coloured dispatch box, bound in brass. She went along two shelves before she found the correct one; embossed with a series of letters and numbers she’d been provided. Luckily the box was not locked and the closures yielded to her easily enough. She placed the letter in the box and placed it in the space reserved for deliveries.

  With her task accomplished, Jane retraced her steps to her room within the bowels of the Manor. She wondered why secrecy was needed for the delivery of this letter. To her knowledge these letters were sent out very rarely, but it had never been a secret before. Getting into bed she couldn’t help but wonder at the strange request she had just fulfilled. Why did the letter need to be sent this way? What did it mean? Who was Commandant Pierce?