The Warlock (The Cave Chronicles #1)

12: Hollow

Forrest had been right about Blythe's absence from the dinner party. When Penny had arrived at the Mason residence at eight o' clock the following evening, Blythe had marched down the winding staircase looking at neither Penny nor Archer by the entrance, slipped into his office and slammed the mahogany door behind him. Archer shrugged at Penny and beckoned for her to follow him to the basement, where the uniforms were.

"Uniforms?" said Penny lightly. "Uniforms for whom?"

Archer turned to look at her, his bottomless eye sockets searching her face.

"You are officially a Mason housemaid now, Penny Dido. You need to wear a uniform."

Penny stopped dead at the top of the stairs.

"Archer, I am not wearing a uniform! Who do you think I am?"

"A child who needs to know her place in the world," said Archer. "Penny, don't you want to show Blythe and Mrs Mason that you can do this? You don't need me to tell you how lowly they think of you. Try to prove them wrong; set some standards for yourself."

"Ugh. Fine."

She was too tired to argue anyway; going to bed at four a.m. that morning had taken its toll on her.

Archer waited outside the room whilst she changed into her black ruffle dress, burgundy pinafore and leather dolly shoes. The silly headdress was mandatory, as was the silver pocket watch. She couldn't see what purpose the pocket watch served, or the little 'M' cufflinks, or even the filigree stitching on the black tights.

"Mr Mason made a request," said Archer once Penny had changed. "He would like you to escort the guests through the special walkway to the ball room when they arrive. I will show you how it's done."

Archer guided her through the rules: say "welcome to the Mason residence" to the guests at the front door, lead them to the doorway opposite and then take them on a tour through the special walkway, which was a long, white corridor adorned with important photographs.

"Now, make sure you walk through here very slowly," said Archer. "The guests need to see the photographs."

Penny glanced at the wall blankly, and at all the opulence encased in black-and-white. And then she did a double take. There was a photograph of a well-dressed wraith (his eyes looked very bright, even without the colour), standing haughtily beside a woman on a throne. The woman was none other than Queen Victoria.

"I don't understand," said Penny, scanning the other photographs to see more members of the Mason family with the Royals.

"Kit Mason founded The Cave," said Archer, pointing to the Queen Victoria photograph. "He signed the Concealment Act; an agreement between the Royal Family and the Creeps to coexist in the United Kingdom. As you can guess, the Royals are not happy with Tarquinius Bloodbane's latest ventures."

"So they know," whispered Penny.

"The Queen's overnight sentries are vampires," said Archer. "But that isn't important at the moment. Make sure you look at your pocket watch hourly from nine p.m.; that is when Mrs Mason changes outfits. She will expect you to accompany her to the changing room on time."