The Pearl Locket by Kathleen McGurl Read Free Book Online Page B

height, sadly. I’d hoped we could put a games room or home cinema down here.’
    Ali laughed. ‘Typical boy stuff. I had in mind a storage area for Christmas decorations and camping gear. Probably easier to get it from here than going up in the loft.’ The loft wasn’t boarded. If they could use the cellar instead it’d save a big job.
    ‘Sounds like a good idea. As long as it’s not damp down here. And we’ll need to do some clearing up.’
    Ali looked around. He was right. There were several disintegrating cardboard boxes, a pile of empty glass bottles, evidence of mice infestation, a roll of mildewed old carpet and numerous other abandoned items. Nothing they couldn’t sort out with a bit of hard work though.
    ‘What’s in that box?’ She pointed to a wooden crate that stood centred on a piece of old carpet.
    Pete knelt beside it, and pulled away the piece of cloth that was draped over the top. ‘Papers, photos, a few books. All a bit the worse for wear.’
    ‘Can we take that box up? I’d love to have a rummage through. Maybe it’s something my great-grandparents put down here and forgot about. Or Gran’s schoolbooks or something.’
    ‘I think you’re right,’ said Pete, pulling out a framed photo from the top of the box. ‘Isn’t that your grandmother? I’m sure I’ve seen a photo similar to this one in your album of old family pictures.’ He passed it to her and angled the light so she could see.
    The photo was a black-and-white snap of three young girls. Two were laughing, and one looked more serious. They were all wearing school uniform blouses and pinafore dresses, and the photographer’s mark at the bottom gave the date as 1938. Ali recognised her grandmother at once. She had another photo, of just her grandmother in school uniform, presumably taken on the same date by the same photographer, in her album. One of the other girls was probably Great-aunt Betty. The serious, elder girl, she thought. So who was the other one? She looked younger than Margaret or Betty. She was giggling, and there was a mischievous look in her eye.
    Some masonry dust fell on Ali’s head, and she coughed. ‘Let’s go back up. I think we’ll need to wear masks when we clean out this place. Bring up that box, will you please?’
    Pete nodded, and handed her the torch. He lifted the box and carried it up, followed by Ali. She was glad to be out of that dusty, musty place. It was a bit creepy down there, knowing no one could have touched those items for decades. Maybe they would just throw away the rubbish and board it back up again. It wasn’t as if they needed the space anyway.
    ‘Spread some newspaper on the kitchen table,’ Pete said, ‘and I’ll put the box on there.’
    Ali did as he suggested. How wonderful if there were old family documents in the box! She’d always felt she should ask Gran to tell her more of her childhood memories. Once Gran had gone there would be no one left from that generation who could remember the war years and before. Maybe this box would be a good starting point.
    There was a thundering of feet on the stairs, and Kelly and Ryan burst into the kitchen.
    ‘Mum, Kelly won’t lend me her laptop. I need it for homework.’
    ‘He’s been really annoying me, Mum. I’m trying to do my own homework and he just stands by my door telling me I have to lend him it. He should buy his own. Took me years to save up for this, didn’t it?’
    They were like toddlers, Ali thought. Soon they would have to get a computer for Ryan. They’d resisted it so far, as he was only thirteen and they wanted to be able to control how much time he spent online. But increasingly it seemed he needed to do his homework on a computer. ‘You can use mine for today, Ryan. Let Kelly get on with her own work.’
    ‘Cheers, Mum. What’s that old box?’ Ryan peered into it.
    ‘We found a door to a cellar in the under-stairs cupboard. That box was down there,’ Pete explained.
    ‘Cool! Can I go down and