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Sophia jumped up and took Ruth’s hand, together the two girls ran toward the wine cellar at the back of the house.

* * *

“Faith, it is dark!” Sophia complained after they’d managed to make their way down the steps and into the cellar. It was cool down there, and Ruth rubbed her hands along her arms. She felt along the ledge by the steps for the matches, knowing just where her father kept them.

“Fetch me a candle, Sophia,” she said, and her sister obeyed. Carefully, she lit the match and then lit enough candles to allow them to see around the cellar. The wine cellar consisted of two rooms. One smaller in the front by the staircase, and a larger one further back through a narrow passageway. Most of the wine was stored in the back area on large wooden shelves that held the barrels. The front area by the stairs contained additional barrels, as well as a small table where her father would occasionally host wine tastings.

Sophia clapped her hands together, her pretty round face looking even lovelier than usual in the gentle candlelight.

“How thrilling it is! Now, come Ruthie. You count to ten and I will hide.” She pushed her sister gently to make her turn toward the wall where dozens of barrels were lined up against it. Obeying, Ruth closed her eyes and counted loudly from then. When she got to five, she heard a rather concerning bang as well as a shattering of glass and turned.

“Sophia? What has happened?”

“Nothing!” Her sister’s voice came from far away. “I tripped and broke a bottle. It’s rolled under the barrel. Wait. Don’t turn!” Ruth stayed where she was, listening to her sister move around.

“Oh no! I’ve dropped the candle now too. It’s rolled under the barrel as well. I have to fetch another.”

Ruth frowned. This did not sound promising. “Is the candle out?”

“Course!” Her sister replied. “I got another one. Start the count again.”

It is just like Sophia to drop her candle. She is such a clumsy girl, and a gabster, to boot.

She smiled. Ruth adored her sister, as overly dramatic and upsetting as she could be. She was her dearest friend and Ruth imagined it would always be this way. With a chuckle, she started to count back from ten once more.

When she was done, she at once rushed toward the back area, knowing her sister was sure to have hidden there. She much preferred the hide portion of the game while her sister loved both. Ruth knew she should slow down and pretend as though she could not find Sophia, but she was not in the mood to procrastinate, as she was eager to hide herself.

“Ready or not, here I come!” She called out in a sing-song voice and peeked behind barrels. For a moment, she thought she spotted movement in the front room and turned. However, there was nothing to see there but the dust particles which floated through the air in front of the candles. She turned her attention back to the task at hand and a moment later saw her sister’s dress poke out from behind a barrel. She rushed over to it and pointed at Sophia with a giggle.

“Got you!”

“Faith! You are good!” Sophia rose, grinning. “Now you! Go hide.”

She turned where she stood and Ruth rushed around the room, looking for a good hiding spot. The space between two barrels near the edge of the room proved a good spot for her and she squeezed in, sitting with her back against one barrel, her feet pulled up in front of her. She’d just heard her sister count down to one when a strange smell tickled her nose. It reminded her of the day Mrs. Norris, their cook, had forgotten about a loaf of bread in the oven and it had burnt, drenching the entire servant area in thick smoke that even made its way up into the residential parts of the house.

She peeked out from the barrel and gasped. There was indeed smoke drifting into the room coming from the front wine-tasting area. She moved and squeezed herself out from behind the barrels. When she stood, she realized that the smoke was traveling with alarming speed and the temperature in the room had risen.

“Sophia?” She called out, suddenly fearful. “Where did you say the candle rolled?” Sophia did not answer at once, she was standing with her face against the wall, counting still.

“There’s a fire! Sophia, come quickly. There’s a fire in the wine-tasting area.”

“What?” Her sister turned and looked at her with a frown on her face as if the information did not quite make sense to her. “A fire? But the candle was out and…” She shrieked at the sound of wine bottles exploding from the heat.

Just then, flames shot out; the barrels were now on fire. Ruth grabbed Sophia by the arm.

“Quickly, we must get out and sound the alarm. Come!”

Her sister was frozen in terror at the sight, but Ruth knew there was no time. She yanked on her sister’s arm, dragging her out of the room.

“Ruthie, I’m scared!”

She turned and placed an arm around her sister. “Come, we must get past before the flames get larger.” She felt the heat in the room intensify. She flinched as more bottles exploded, sending glass flying in every direction. Beside her, Sophia screamed.

Without thinking, Ruth pulled her sister through the narrow passage and into the room, gasping as she entered. The smoke was so thick it was impossible to see anything. With horror, she saw that one of the chairs used for the wine tastings had also caught fire. The dry wood burning at a terrifying speed.

There was a bone-chilling sound of creaking amidst the crackling of the fire, but she didn’t know what it was. With haste, she pushed her sister forward.

“Along the wall! Feel your way along the wall to the stairs.”