The Jewel Thief

The Lady and the Attic

I gaze at it in wonder. The house is gorgeous, with a well-trimmed lawn in front and a little pathway leading to the front door. There is a window above the door, supposedly leading to the living room, with white walls. There seem to be two armchairs, one dark brown and tall, the other a similar color to the house itself, and stout. I assume the brown one is his and that the yellow one belonged to his wife. I do feel sorry for him about that.

In the window, there is also a large sofa, a cabinet – 'That cabinet rings a bell,' Maddie says – and something box-shaped, covered in a black tarp. I wonder what is under it.

Another window, next to the first, leads to a pale blue room, with two twin beds side by side. The beds look rather new, with clean white sheets neatly tucked in. I think I see a cupboard on the wall as well, but I am not sure, seeing as I am looking through the window from the car.

The only problem with the house is that it doesn't feel very homely. It seems as if it's looming over our car. I actually miss the Earl's house, as I have gotten used to it over the past seven years.

Uncle opens the car door and steps out. I almost expect him to open the door for us, but he walks right by and goes to walk up the path. I don't want to look like an idiot, so I open the door. Maddie is already walking towards the house. 'Hurry up, Elizabeth!' she says just as I am opening the door. I roll my eyes and run to join them.

Uncle pulls out a little key and lifts it up to the door, but he stops right as he's about to put it in the hole. He draws it away from the door, straightens his back and clears his throat. A speech was approaching, I could tell. I braced myself for him to drone on about house rules and whatnot.

"So, erm... welcome to my house, where you shall be living. I wish for you to keep to yourselves during the day, and for you to follow any rules I set, or there shall be consequences. I am your legal guardian, so you must respect me in the same way you would if I was your father." Yeah right, I think to myself. He goes on. "Your room is the blue bedroom upstairs that you might have noticed from outside." He points to the room with the blue walls that I saw through the window. "Oh, and the attic is off-limits. There could be broken glass on the floor, and I do not want to have to take you to hospital." He pauses to think. "That is all. You may go up to your room when we go in. And come down for supper at half past seven."

I shiver. He says it all in a calm, almost unctuous tone that I do not enjoy. I hope he does not speak like that all the time.

He finally unlocks the door and I slowly go in, gazing up at the beautiful house around me. There are pictures on the wall, of Uncle, of a lady, supposedly of his old wife, and I notice a boy in the background of one that I don't recognize. I also spot some less recent pictures of two boys – Uncle and... Dad. They were brothers. It was a wonder, considering, from what Maddie tells me, they were absolutely nothing alike.

Maddie walks next to me, with Uncle behind us. We pad over to the staircase and step up onto the first stair, still looking around at all of the pictures. There are loads, including one of Uncle getting married. He actually looks happy. It's strange to look at a picture of him smiling, for he hadn't smiled once since we had met.

When we get to the top, I look around at the doors, trying them to see which one is ours. I open the door to the bathroom, the study... and finally, I open a door that leads to the blue bedroom that I had seen from the car. The clock on the wall says 7:00. We have a half-hour to get settled. I take the bed closet to the door and that leaves Maddie with the one next to the window. I sit down on my new bed and face Maddie.

"I will find it difficult to get used to this place," I whisper, "it is rather fancy for me."

"I'm always here for you, Elizabeth. I feel awfully sorry for that girl Molly - at least her granddad seemed nice."