Queen V.'s Arc

Chapter 7 of 13

Queen V. woke early and went straight to the garden house. Paul was still asleep. She pushed the brick bench aside and opened the cellar door. The overhead bulb flickered on when she pulled the string. Alan James sat in the recliner at the back of the room. He held an open bottle in his hand. She stared at him. He looked comfortable. A blanket lay bunched beside him on the chair. The bottle in his hand was half empty. He smiled when he saw her and lifted it slightly, like a toast. She walked down the steps and stopped at the bottom. The cellar smelled like stale beer and cold stone. She asked him how he found it. He shrugged and said the bench had been moved already when he came out this morning. The door was cracked open. He figured someone forgot to close it properly. Queen V. felt her jaw tighten. She had pushed the bench back into place last night. She was certain of it. But arguing would only draw attention to the fact that she knew the cellar existed before yesterday. She needed him out without making it seem like a problem. She told him the space wasn't safe yet and asked him to go back to the main house. He took another drink and said he liked it down here. It was quiet. She could feel the conversation slipping away from her. She told him Paul would be looking for him soon. Alan James set the bottle down in the ceramic mug beside the chair and stood up slowly. He picked up the blanket and walked past her toward the steps. She waited until he was outside before she moved. She climbed the steps and closed the door behind her, then dragged the bench back over it. She pushed hard enough that the legs scraped deep grooves into the dirt. Alan James stood a few feet away, watching her. She told him the area was off limits until the contractor checked the foundation. He nodded and walked toward the main house with the blanket tucked under his arm. She stayed by the bench and watched him go. The cellar was no longer hers alone. Someone else knew how to get in, and she had just shown him exactly how much it mattered to her that they didn't.