The Explorer's Code Read online

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  Dedicated to Chrisanne Hymas, my curly-haired, adventurous sister. You make everything fun.

  1

  ANNA HENDERSON did not want to like Idlewood Manor, but as soon as her eyes spotted the gray stone mansion emerging from the thick Virginian Shenandoah forest, her heart lifted out of her scuffed tennis shoes.

  It’s just some old house, Anna told herself. Just like the ones in Mom’s British TV dramas. It’s probably full of vases, picture frames, and stuff I’m not allowed to touch.

  But in the gray light of a rainy morning, the house looked slightly mysterious. Like the kind that had secret passages and maybe a ghost or two.

  “Oh, it’s charming!” Anna’s mom said as the car rattled toward the house. “So elegant.”

  “Serene place. Good work, Charlie!” her dad said.

  Anna pushed a loose red curl behind her ear and looked over to see what her younger brother Charlie thought about the house.

  Charlie was staring out the window, his glasses sliding down his nose. Anna couldn’t be sure if he even saw the building in front of him, his sky-blue eyes were so unfocused. In his hands he clutched a piece of paper, wrinkled and worn from all the times Charlie had pulled it out to look at it.

  Anna bounced in her seat, trying not to think about the way her stomach twisted when she saw that paper. She knew what it said. It was all anyone ever talked about anymore.

  The car came to a halt outside the front gates of the grounds. A youngish man in jeans and a plaid button-down, with sandy hair that failed to cover ears that stuck out like satellite dishes, was waiting for them. “Hello, folks,” he said after Anna’s dad rolled down the window. “Welcome to Idlewood. Can I get your names?”

  “We’re the Hendersons,” Anna’s dad said.

  “Ah. The contest winners.” The man looked into the car and smiled at Anna. “You must be the math whiz.”

  Anna’s mom smiled and reached back to pat her son’s leg. “Actually, that would be Charlie,” she said.

  Charlie jolted out of whatever world he was lost in. “Huh?”

  Anna looked away. She tapped her fingers on her knees. Think about Idlewood, not how we got here.

  “Well, congratulations anyway,” the young man said. “You know, I wasn’t really into math when I was a kid. History was more my thing. Maybe that’s why I stuck around this place…” He trailed off as the Hendersons stared blankly, then he took out a physical key and unlocked the gate. “Sorry, just making conversation. I’m Garrett. I’ll be taking care of the grounds for the weekend. Parking is to the left of the house. It’s clearly marked, so you should have no problems. Have a great weekend.”

  Anna’s parents thanked Garrett the Gateman and drove through. As they approached Idlewood, Anna examined it. Three stories and a tower. That was a good sign. All exciting houses had a tower.

  Yes. This could be a lot of fun!

  “Look, honey,” Anna’s mom said, reaching back to wave at her daughter. “They have a pond. Maybe one of these days we could take our lunch out there and have a picnic.”

  Anna grinned at her mom. “Great! Or we could go swimming.”

  “Didn’t bring our suits,” her dad said. “Besides, the water is probably full of parasites.”

  “That’s what makes it fun,” Anna said. She folded her arms. “Are you sure we can’t? Just for a little while?”

  Her mom sighed. “I know this isn’t the kind of vacation you hoped for, but at least you get a couple of days away from school.”

  Her dad snorted. “The school gets a couple of days away from her.”

  “David!” her mom said. She turned to her daughter. “Now, Anna, this is a very fancy house.”

  “I can see that.” The twisting in Anna’s stomach got stronger. Here it comes.

  “Then you can also probably see what I’m getting at,” her mom added. “While we’re here, I want you on your best behavior. All right? None of that business with Mrs. Schwartz’s attic or with the school trip to the art museum.”

  “The art museum wasn’t my fault. I told you, I lost track of time.”

  “How is that related to the fact that they found you poking around a restricted area?” her mom asked, and Anna looked down.

  “It wasn’t my fault the exhibit wasn’t technically open yet,” Anna said. “Besides, Egyptian mummies seemed way more interesting than the Monet exhibit we were supposed to be looking at.”

  As for the Mrs. Schwartz thing, if she hadn’t wanted Anna to poke around her attic, she shouldn’t have locked the door and specifically told Anna the space was off-limits. It was practically an invitation.

  Virginia Maines, the greatest explorer who ever lived, would have seen it that way.

  Her father sighed. “Anna, that’s not the point.”

  “The point,” her mother said, taking over, “is that this very old house probably is full of very old, very expensive things. I want you to promise that you’ll be careful and not break anything.”

  A hot surge of anger flooded Anna’s veins. When had she ever broken anything? Sure, she’d poked around, but she had never, ever damaged anything that she’d found. “How reckless do you think I am?”

  “Anna.”

  “Fine. I promise.” Anna glanced at Idlewood again. This time, though, the house looked more like a prison.

  Her mother nodded. “This will be fun,” she said. “You should be proud that your brother won us a place here.”

  Right. Anna glanced at Charlie, who was still gazing at the sky. His mouth moved as he wandered his own little haven where everything was made of numbers.

  Charlie, the golden child. Anna had so many memories from when they were little, running around parks and turning over rocks to see what kinds of bugs lived under them. They were only a year apart and had been each other’s best friend.

  But that was before the perfect math scores. Before Charlie won the Good Behavior Award year after year, and before Anna got caught climbing around on the roof of the school during recess. Before Charlie got honor roll and Anna got a special policy that required she be watched by a teacher at all times.

  “Look, they have lawn chairs!” her mom said. “Won’t that be a nice place to read when it’s sunny?”

  Anna shook her head. She traced a swirling pattern on her knee, then reversed it, wondering, not for the first time, if she was adopted.

  Her dad worked in an office, day after day, looking at the same little walls in the same little room. Her mom stayed home with the kids, watching her British dramas and reading books in her spare time. And Charlie had turned into a clone of them, his nose in a book all the time. The gifted boy had no time for childish things like playing in the woods.

  Maybe that was why Anna’s parents preferred him. Charlie the math whiz, winner of weekend getaways, a year younger than her thirteen years but able to sit still for hours, reading, just like them.

  Why can’t
you be more like your brother?

  Anna, look at how quiet Charlie is being.

  Charlie, keep an eye on Anna while we go out.

  The last was the worst. How many older sisters had to be watched by their little brothers?

  It would be easier to act like Charlie. Her parents would approve of her, and Charlie wouldn’t look down on her anymore.

  Easier but not better. She wouldn’t be Anna anymore. She couldn’t love school like Charlie did, the too-small box, itchy on her skin and tight on her mind. A place where everything was known, categorized, and filed away. Nowhere to explore, and no secrets to uncover. How could she be at ease sitting there when there were attics and mummy exhibits to sneak into? What was sitting at a desk and reading compared to circling the world in seventy-two days like Nellie Bly?

  She’d mentioned that to Charlie once, and he’d replied that with changes in technology, she could circle the globe by plane in about thirty-six hours. Yeah, she could, she’d said, but that wasn’t the same. Tell that to Bly. Tell it to Amelia Earhart or Osa Johnson or Jeanne Baret. Tell it to Virginia Maines. She’d explain that, from the ground, you could see that the world was full of shadowy corners, places still undiscovered.

  At least that was true back in 1920. Anna hoped it still was, even in a world with thirty-six-hour circumnavigation.

  Anna’s dad parked the car beside a few others (they must not be the first guests), and Anna hopped out as soon as the engine stopped. She looked up at the house. From here, Idlewood’s size was far more impressive. It didn’t exactly loom, but it did seem to … wait, as though politely allowing its guests to judge it for themselves. Or like—what was the phrase from her mom’s shows? Like it was keeping its own counsel.

  The wind blew, tickling Anna’s neck with her loose curl, once again unfastened from behind her ear. The air smelled like wet stone and car exhaust as another car pulled up beside them. The sick twisting in her stomach turned back into a fizzing thrill.

  Such a big house. A house like this would have many rooms. Dark ones, dusty ones, not visited in many years. Maybe even an off-limits attic or a display of mummies. Sure, it wasn’t an ancient tomb, but for a single weekend, maybe Anna could find a few secret places. Maybe enough to last her three days.

  * * *

  The car door slammed, but Charlie ignored it. Idlewood Manor, he thought. Rwovdllw Nzmli when translated into the Atbash cipher, and in the A1Z26 cipher it would be—

  Something pounded on Charlie’s window. He jumped and saw Anna outside, fist against the glass. “Hey,” she called. “I don’t care if you did get us here; you still need to carry your own luggage.”

  “Right. Sorry. I’m coming.” Charlie pushed his glasses up his nose and scrambled out of the car to pick up his duffel bag. The letter from the school district was still in his hand, though wrinkled and now a bit sweaty. Before folding it and tucking it into his pocket, Charlie read the paper one more time.

  “Dear Mr. Henderson,” it began. (Charlie loved that in this case, he was “Mr. Henderson.”)

  Congratulations on winning first prize in your math competition! We are pleased to extend to you and your family a space at the exclusive Idlewood Manor open house weekend. Leave the modern world behind and spend three days living like generations past.

  After that, it was all information on how to RSVP, what to take, and what to leave at home. No pets allowed, and they were serious about the rule against modern technology. Charlie’s parents were going to leave their cell phones in the car, and all Charlie had brought for entertainment were a few books, a notebook, and a pen. But Charlie still loved to hold on to the letter. It gave him a thrill to know everything that was happening was because of him.

  After he’d won the competition, and when his teachers had told him that the grand prize was a weekend getaway at Idlewood, he’d been happy. But when he’d told his parents and his mom had smiled so much, and had told him that Idlewood hadn’t been open to guests in years, he was ecstatic. Math was all well and good on its own, but when he could use it to make his parents so happy, well, that was something special, wasn’t it?

  But Anna had frowned while his parents celebrated, and as the family prepared to travel, she had seemed to retreat into the forest near their house more and more. And that morning, her gray eyes had been stormier than usual, and she’d glared at Charlie when he suggested that if she didn’t bring any books, she could borrow one of his.

  Charlie sighed. He should have known not to offer Anna a book. She wasn’t the kind to sit and read. You just had to look at her behavior at school to see that. Sitting quietly, or thinking ahead, weren’t favorite activities of hers.

  On the other hand, Charlie couldn’t seem to stop thinking, especially if it was about math, or, even better, puzzles. One of the books he’d brought was a guide to all kinds of codes and ciphers. He’d spent the drive playing around with the Atbash cipher, a simple code made by reversing the alphabet.

  If A=Z and B=Y and so on and so on, then my name would be Xsziorv. And Anna’s would be—

  “Charlie!” Anna shouted, breaking him, once more, out of his thoughts. She was walking into the house. Into Idlewood, the mansion that he’d won a vacation at for his family. “Come on!” she said. “We’re wasting time.”

  Charlie groaned and followed his sister. But as startling as it was to be shaken out of his thoughts, he was glad she’d done it. Exciting things tended to happen when Anna was around. No one would ever say that about Charlie. Anna might get into a lot of trouble when she got caught in the neighbor’s fenced backyard, but she was like her hair: vibrant, untamed, alive. She’d think nothing of making herself comfortable on a tree branch twenty feet off the ground (a thought that made Charlie’s knees weaken even when he was safe on the ground).

  Anna, the older and braver. She used to lead him on terrifying adventures in the woods, just the two of them climbing trees and jumping streams. But he always made it home safe and feeling a little bigger, a little braver, himself. Then he started school and found books (books!) and ways of going on adventures without having to risk life and limb, and so he did.

  And one day he looked up and realized Anna had slipped away, preferring to play by herself than with him. Sometimes, Charlie thought, Good riddance to your stupid, reckless adventures, but more often he saw himself through her eyes: a bespectacled, chubby coward, dreaming heroic dreams but too scared to do anything but complete another puzzle book.

  “Come on!” Anna called, and Charlie hurried up.

  “I’m just taking it all in,” he said.

  “Oh, yeah? What shape is the doorway?” Anna asked.

  Charlie thought. He hadn’t noticed. “Rectangular,” he said. “All doors are.”

  “Wrong. It’s arched, like in a medieval castle,” Anna said, grinning. She looked better than she had when they’d left home early that morning. The storm in her eyes seemed more lively than angry, and even her bright red hair seemed to gleam.

  She’s found something she likes here, Charlie thought. Good.

  Odd, how he could completely miss the shape of the door but notice his sister’s change of mood. Maybe it was the change that made it noticeable. A door was a door, but a smile had become rare.

  Please like it here, Charlie thought. We could have a good time together.

  They entered the main hall and both kids stopped, mouths open. Charlie had never seen a house like this. Dark wood panels made up the walls, and the floor was spread with a lush red-and-gold carpet. To the left was an ornate door with flowers carved all over it, with a statue of a dragon to its right. An identical dragon statue sat across the room, staring at its mate. Chandeliers tinkled overhead, and straight ahead was a grand staircase. The overall effect was like a hunting lodge meshed with a palace.

  Anna grinned. “This might be great,” she said.

  Charlie grinned back. Anna seemed closer to him than she had for a long time. “As long as you don’t break anything,” he teased.


  The storm returned. “I don’t break things!” she said. “I’m not completely hopeless.”

  “I didn’t say you were,” Charlie said, but he wasn’t able to finish.

  A man came out of a side door (not the one with the carved flowers) and approached them. “Hello,” he said. “I assume your parents are coming?”

  Charlie saw Anna stiffen beside him, though he wasn’t sure why. The man, older than Charlie’s parents, wore a neat suit, gray like his hair, and he was smiling. Maybe it was because the smile was odd, held just a little too tight. This man doesn’t like kids, he thought. That must have been what Anna saw. It was like a code. In any problem or code, once you found the thing that stuck out, like a stray thread, you could pull and easily unravel the rest. If the man’s smile was unusual, there was a reason for it. It didn’t take much to figure out the reason.

  Charlie’s parents entered the hall, carrying their own luggage. “Anna, don’t run off like that!” their dad said.

  “I just wanted to go inside. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” Anna said.

  The gray man approached Charlie’s parents. “Welcome to Idlewood. I’m Evan Llewellyn, the owner. We’re happy to have you here.”

  “Happy to be here,” Charlie’s mom said. “We’re the Hendersons. You have a magnificent house.”

  “I rather think so,” Mr. Llewellyn said. He glanced around the room, and his smile seemed to stiffen even more. He handed the Henderson parents a packet of papers. “A history of the house is in there, as well as the activities itinerary and meal menus for the weekend. Now, I’m sure you have had a long journey and would like to see your suite.”

  “Yes, please,” Charlie’s mom said.

  Mr. Llewellyn nodded. “You’re in Suite Five. Upstairs, third door on the left. We have ten groups staying this weekend and only ten suites, so you shouldn’t have to go too far to find yours. If you would like to explore the house, I recommend asking me for a tour. There’s nothing I don’t know about Idlewood, and,” he added, looking straight at Anna, “many of our displays are rather breakable.”