With a disgusted grunt, Galloway turned around and backed down the stairs, pulling the door shut with him. He wasn’t even at the bottom of the stairs before Granny was off again. It was all Isabelle could do but to carry on after her, lest she lose her in the utter darkness of the mill's basement. Songwell and Bitsmount both hurried up after her, sticking close to her candle’s light in the narrow, wood-walled passageway. Up above, the low grumbling of moving machinery continued, and she could hear a high-pitched whine as well.