Don’t you love spooky movies set in rambling old houses where the heroine finds a secret passageway or hidden room?
Welcome to Tuesday Tales, a weekly blog featuring diverse authors who post excerpts from their works in progress based on word and picture prompts. We’re a book hungry troop that enjoys reading as much as you do. Today our prompt is a picture of flowers. My excerpt is from one of my books in progress, Hannah’s Haint, a vintage paranormal romance set in a small town in the 1950s. Please visit the other fabulous authors at Tuesday Tales.
Hannah stumbled into the room, a maze of impressions bombarding her senses. Pastel, lacy, feminine. Her hand fluttered over her heart. She stood by the bed, her vision blurred. A secret room. A small bedroom hidden inside a larger one.
Nate’s voice broke her trance. “You all right?”
She swallowed, and then nodded. “This is too much. How did you know?”
“When you sent me up here to measure the bedrooms on this side, I saw the dimensions were off on one.” His hands tumbled the screwdriver as he spoke. “Why? There was no closet cutting in, nothing telling on the other side. Why shave a few feet off one of the three?”
“A hidden room would never have occurred to me.”
His head tilted to one side. “I remembered a secret compartment in an old desk of my grandfather’s. The drawers all looked the same, but when you measured, one was slightly smaller. There was a hidey hole in the back.”
“You thought of it this morning? Why didn’t you come and get me?”
“You had company, remember? And my boss doesn’t like holes in the wall.” He gave her a conspiratorial wink. “If I was going to barge in with an axe, I had to find the right spot.”
She stared at the opening, crinkling her brow. “But it’s perfectly rectangular.”
“I didn’t have to maul more than a couple square inches. There’s a spring mechanism.” He pointed to the hardware sticking up. “Smart as hell.”
“Why would someone go to all this trouble?” The dainty vanity compelled her attention. She ran her hand over a crocheted doily. “Oh, there’s something underneath.” She drew out a handkerchief. A small gasp escaped her lips. “A flower keepsake.” She held it up to him. The bud lay against the fine white linen like a drop of dried blood.
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the picture prompt flowers. Thanks for stopping by. Please visit the other fabulous authors at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic in Romance
Loved it although the secret room creeped me out. I imagine a prison.
It could be stuffy and creepy, Susanne. Thanks for stopping by!
OOh, I love the idea of a secret room. I’m sure there is a wonderful mystery behind this that you’re conjuring, Flossie. Well done!
Thank you, Mae! I always wanted a big old house with secret places.
Great snippet, as always! There’s more mystery at the horizon, I guess.
Thank you, Carmen!
I love secret rooms!! Great post. Jillian
I’m glad you liked the secret room. Thanks, Jillian.
A secret room is a great twist
Thank you, Cathy!
I love secret rooms! And the last line, amazing. Brilliant description as always. Now I need to know all about this tiny, secret room.
Jean, I’m glad you like the secret room and the dried flower image. Thank you!