The Secret Garden Chapter 8: Further exploring by D.L. Copyright  © 2011 D.L. All Rights Reserved. Inspired by the classic children’s tale by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Sunday morning was occupied with visiting the local church. While he enjoyed the sermon, Richard found the experience of being looked at by all the villagers unnerving, especially when the vicar welcomed him to the congregation, making him the centre of attention. His prayers that day were simply to vanish.

Seeing that the boy was becoming increasingly distressed by the experience, Mrs Medlock decided to organise her staff, who all attended, in a human shield around the child so that none of the other parishioners could get close. They stood surrounding him and waited for all the others slowly to leave before swiftly proceeding out of the church and up the path to the manor.

After eating some lunch, Richard spent the afternoon completing his survey of the grounds. By the end of the day, he had satisfied himself that he was familiar with the layout of the gardens.

Monday, Richard started his next self-assigned task. He had decided to investigate the locked garden that once belonged to his father.

Noting the layout of the other gardens, he made a guess as to where the door was likely to be. Deciding it would be on the south side, he then proceeded to examine the wall closely. Taking a large stick, he prodded the wall every foot or so, listening for whether he was striking stone or wood. Using this method, he was able to work his way along the wall until the sound changed, indicating a different surface.

It only took half an hour to locate the door concealed behind a curtain of ivy. This part of the wall was hidden from view from the path by several large shrubs, making it ideal for slipping into the garden unseen.

The next problem was going to be how to get inside. The solitary key belonged to his father, and this had been taken to India. Richard had only a single key, the one to his luggage, and it was obvious that it was too small for unlocking the sturdy wooded door.

The door opened inwards, so both the hinges and lock were fitted to the opposite side of the door, making it impossible for him to attack from this side. The only way in would be to chop though the door with an axe.

While smashing the door to pieces might have been very therapeutic, Richard did not like this idea. There were gardeners working nearby who would hear and come to investigate. He wanted to keep this a secret, so decided to see if there was another method of entry.

He spent the whole day circling the garden, examining the wall for any possible means of access.

The wall was at least eight feet in height. There seemed to be only one door and that appeared sturdy. After discounting trying to smash through the door, he looked for other options. The wall was both tall and thick, so digging a tunnel underneath didn’t seem a practical alternative.

By mid afternoon he had concluded that the only way in would be to climb over the wall. This posed a problem. He could potentially borrow a ladder, but that would be risky. There were a couple of climbable trees, but he wasn’t sure that the branches overhanging the garden were strong enough to support his weight. He would have to drop down the other side from a considerable height onto an unknown surface. If he did get in using this method, he could become trapped if he failed to get the door open.

He decided to ponder the problem the next day. Going to the library, he found a history book that talked about castles and sieges. The walls were tall and thick, not unlike a fortification, so he researched how such obstacles were normally overcome. He concluded that a rope and grappling hook would be the best solution. He could climb up the wall, and then lower the rope the other side, repeating the process to leave again if required.

Looking round the gardens, he noted one other similar door. The one on the kitchen garden seemed to be of identical design, so he carefully examined the door, lock and key while nobody was observing.

The doors were made out of a fine-grained wood and consisted of a strong dovetail jointed wooden frame with eight small panels. The lock on the kitchen garden was fitted to the inside of the door, screwed on the rear surface. Assuming that the other door lock was fitted in the same fashion, if he could get in the garden, he could remove the lock from the door, and then open it.

As a long shot, Richard borrowed the key from the kitchen garden and tried to use it to open the secret door. Unsurprisingly this didn’t work. The key was able to turn a little way, which seemed to indicate that the locks and keys were of the same design.

Wednesday morning Richard made a search of the outbuildings and stables to find tools he could use to gain access. Luckily, the stables were empty when he came to search them. Mrs Medlock had taken the carriage into town to purchase supplies.

Quickly searching the stalls, he found a screwdriver and rasp used when maintaining the horses’ shoes. He also retrieved a length of rope from amongst the many bundles lying in the spare tackle. Investigation of the storerooms near the kitchens uncovered a large meat hook that would serve as a grappling hook. Sneaking these items out, he placed them under the bushes near the door until he could use them.

The following morning he made his attempt to climb the walls. After walking round the gardens to make sure that the gardeners were well away from the area, Richard tied the rope to the meat hook and attempted to grapple the wall.

The first few attempts the hook failed to establish a hold on the stonework. One attempt seemed to be firm, but half way up the wall it came detached, causing Richard to fall back to the ground, the hook falling beside the child almost spearing him in the process. The ground below the spot the boy chose to climb was soft and he wasn’t injured in the fall, but it did scare Richard enough to be extra careful to make sure the rope was firm.

After an hour of trying, the child finally made it to the top of the wall. Fixing the hook round the other way, and dropping the rope inside, he carefully made his way to the ground on the other side of the wall. Richard had to be careful as wild blackberries growing up the wall inside were thorny and could easily cause injury.

The garden was overgrown, but nevertheless beautiful. The outside of the garden was covered in bushes and trees. A trellis tunnel curved from the door, through the bushes and trees to the centre of the garden. A clearing in the centre revealed a flagstone courtyard with weeds pushing their way through the cracks. A small pond sat in the centre of the paved area. On the opposite side of the garden, a summerhouse sat overlooking the pond.

Around the sides of the paved area were raised flowerbeds that must have once contained bulbs, the contents of which now grew wild.

The garden would need some work, but that could wait. After a quick look round, the child returned to the door. The most important task would be escaping from the garden before he was missed.

Taking the screwdriver, he removed the lock from the door. The lock also acted as the door fastening, so with it removed there was nothing holding the door shut. The hinges were stiff and rusty, but this didn’t stop the door from being opened.

Dismantling the device took some work, but the youngster was able to prise it apart. Manually moving the levers and retracting the bolt, Richard was able to reassemble and refit the lock. The door could once again be closed, but not sealed.

After making sure the door was shut and hidden behind the ivy, the now slightly-mucky lad returned to his room to have a wash in time for lunch.