Chapter 210

Danica is lost. She’s trying to find a way out. On tiptoe, she walks past door after door, painting after painting, along yet another wood-paneled corridor, until she eventually reaches a pair of double doors. She pushes through and finds herself at the top of a grand, wide staircase carpeted in scarlet and blue, which leads to a cavernous dark hallway below. On the landing there’s a mullioned bay window, beside which stand two suits of armor holding what look like pikes. On the wall over the staircase is a massive faded tapestry, bigger than the kitchen table she saw earlier, that depicts a man on bended knee to his sovereign. Well, Danica assumes he must be the sovereign, judging by the crown he’s wearing. On the opposing walls above the staircase, there are two portraits. Huge. Both men. One is from an ancient time, the other far more recent. She sees the family resemblance in their faces and has a flash of recognition. They each stare at her with the same imperious green eyes. His