Always Have Hope (Emerson Book 3) (12 page)

But she had a sinking suspicion Rose would do the exact
same thing. She didn’t have time to speculate for long because suddenly the
curtains were thrown back and they were looking at two pistols trained on them.

Held by Grayson and Alexander Lewis.

Alex lowered his pistol and breathed a sigh of relief
that he hadn’t harmed the ladies. Grayson lowered his weapon, but only after
uttering a rather colorful oath.

Alex had seen the drapes move as soon as they’d
entered. He’d motioned to Grayson and they’d both drawn their pistols, slowly
approaching the window. He wasn’t sure if the interlopers would be thieves
looking to burgle the house or Pierce’s murderer intent on retrieving evidence.

He had not expected to find Lady Winifred and Lady
Rose.

Evidently, neither had Grayson. “What the devil are
you two doing here?” he hissed, more at the younger sister than at Lady Win.

Lady Win raised her chin. “This is my house. We came
to retrieve a few of my things.”

Grayson scoffed. “In the middle of the night? In the
study? When you were not to leave Lynwood House?”

Lady Win looked at Alex. “I assume you will arrest me
now and return me to Newgate.” Her voice faltered only the slightest. “I only
ask that you allow my sister to return home with no one the wiser. I would
also ask that no one at Lynwood House pay the price for my transgression. They
did not know I left.”

“I’m certain they didn’t!” said a still livid
Grayson. “They never would have allowed it. The two of you risked your very
lives coming here tonight.”

“Win’s life is already at risk!” said Rose. “Do you
think I would just sit by and let her be hanged for a crime she didn’t commit?
You met her imbecile barrister. We cannot rely on him.”

“But you can rely on me,” said Grayson. “And your
brothers, of course,” he quickly added.

“Rely on you to do what, my lord? Lecture us? Tell
us we should let the men take all the risks? You’ve not explained what you are
doing here tonight. Either of you.” Here, she looked at Alex for the first
time. “Please do not return my sister to Newgate, Mr. Lewis. I am begging
you.”

Alex sighed. “I won’t return her to Newgate, though I
would be within my rights to do so. But I would like an explanation of what
you’re doing here.”

“I believe there may be a secret passageway,” said
Lady Win. “Which would explain how someone could have killed Pierce without my
seeing him. I wanted to find it to see if there might be any clues to the
murder.”

“According to your sister-in-law, there is a secret
passageway. She believes Pierce used it for his, uh…”

“Liaisons?” asked Lady Win. “I was not unaware they
occurred. I’m simply surprised he took so much trouble to cover his tracks.”

“Do you know where the entrance is located?”

“Unfortunately, no. I spent very little time in
here. Why are you interested in it?”

“There may be other secrets Pierce was hiding.
Perhaps that will tell why he was murdered.”

Lady Winifred’s lovely brown eyes widened in
surprise. “Does that mean you no longer believe I killed my husband?”

“I do not know what to believe. For all I know you
did kill him and only came here tonight to retrieve evidence of your crime.”

“I assure you that is not the case.”

“And I still cannot be certain.”

“If I might interrupt,” said Grayson. “The two of you
could debate the question for hours, but with each minute we risk discovery.
Since we all have the same purpose, I suggest we continue searching.”

“Very well,” said Alex guardedly.

“You and I will have a long discussion about this on
the morrow,” Grayson said to Rose.

“I am certain I could not be less interested in what
you have to say on the subject.”

“Would you rather I discuss it with Colin, Nick and
James?”

“Perhaps I could be persuaded to grant you a brief
audience tomorrow,” said Rose hurriedly.

“Excellent. Lewis, her majesty and I will search this
quadrant. Perhaps you and Win could continue over there,” he said, pointing to
the other side of the fireplace.

Alex and Lady Win searched side by side in the dark.
They moved from the fireplace to the bookshelf, occasionally bumping into each
other. He tried to give her a wide berth because he could tell she was still
nervous around him, but in the dark close quarters, they brushed fingers on
more than one occasion. He felt each touch deep within him.

He was drawn to this woman, despite all of the
complications.

“Mr. Lewis,” she whispered. “Can you please help me?
I tried to pull out this book, but it seems stuck to the shelf.”

He reached up, brushing her fingers again. She
flinched just a bit. It was obvious that the fascination between them was his
alone. Together they pulled on the book, then heard a click which reverberated
in the silent room. With a slight groan the fireplace swung open, revealing a
dark passageway behind it.

The four of them stood at the entrance. From the lack
of dust, it appeared to have been traversed recently. Grayson used a tinderbox
to light four candles, handing one to each of them.

“Be careful,” said Alex. “You don’t want those lights
seen from the outside.”

“We won’t be staying in the study for long,” said Lady
Win.

“You’re suggesting we go down the passageway?” asked
Alex.

“It’s why we came, isn’t it?” asked Rose.

“Since Mr. Lewis believes I am a murderess, mayhap he
fears for his life if we take the journey,” said Lady Win.

“My sister is not a murderess,” said Rose.

“What say you, Lewis?” asked Grayson. “Shall we see
where this leads?”

The decision was taken from them as they heard the
study door rattling. Someone was trying to get in.

Without further thought, Alex ushered both ladies and
Grayson into the narrow space, then shut the door behind them. The four of
them stood silently as they listened to what was happening on the other side.

“Yer a naughty boy, ain’t ye?” asked a giggling female
voice.

“I’m the naughty one? It’s you ‘ose been pulling us
in ‘ere every night since ‘is lordship got croaked. It’s right wicked to do
the slap ‘n tickle right where they found the old sot’s body, ain’t it?” said a
man.

“Now don’ go getting me out of me mood. The way I
look at it, this room had lots of mixin’ of naughty bits an’ only one dead
body. From the way Tawny tells it, his lordship tupped more ‘ere than in ‘is
bedchamber. Tawny even seen ‘im do it with others.”

“That’s wicked, ‘aving ‘her in ‘ere watchin’ while ‘e
tupped some bird.”

The woman giggled and moaned. “I like it when ye does
that,” she said. “But she weren’t in ‘ere, you see. She used to watch from
the secret passage she always brags about usin’. And accordin’ to ‘er, she saw
all sorts of things from in there. Oooooh, luv, that’s it. Are ye goin’ to
bend me over the desk again? Make it last fer hours this time.”

From the noises coming from the study, it became
apparent that the amorous couple had settled in for the night. Alex was glad the
darkness hid his blush. Grayson looked amused, Lady Winifred looked vaguely
horrified – that was now her desk, after all – and Lady Rose looked extremely
curious.

“Perhaps we should find another way out,” whispered
Grayson. “Waiting for that lot to finish could take hours.”

“I don’t know,” said Lady Rose. “We might remain here
for a little while. Just to see if they leave, of course.”

“Absolutely not,” said Grayson, losing all vestige of
humor. “It isn’t fit for young ears.”

“I do not have young ears!” said Lady Rose.

“Wot was that?” asked the woman in the study.

“That was a little move I ain’t showed ye yet,” said
her partner. “Did ye like it?”

“I don’t mean that. I thought I ‘eard voices.”

The four in the passageway remained still and silent.

“’Tis nothin’,” said the man. “Now ‘ow do you like
this?”

From her moans, it appeared she liked it very much,
indeed.

Grayson pointed toward the darkened passage behind them,
then slowly crept along it, taking Lady Rose’s hand and leading her onward.
Lady Win followed her sister, leaving Alex no choice but to follow.

They inched along in the darkness with only the light
of their candles to guide them. Even then, they could only see two feet in
front of them. With each step, Alex’s breathing seemed to falter. His heart
beat faster as he fought his fear of enclosed spaces. He was glad he was not
alone, though the thought did occur to him that he was in this enclosed space
with a suspected murderess, her loyal sister and her friend who worked for the
Foreign Office and could no doubt kill him easily in the dark.

That didn’t help his breathing much.

“Stairs,” whispered Grayson. He then proceeded to slowly
walk down them, still holding Lady Rose’s hand.

Alex reached out to find the other side of the
staircase. It was narrow with a thin rail on the right. He and Lady Win would
need to proceed single file.

He stopped her before she began her descent. “You
should go behind me,” he whispered.

“Why?”

Her lips were close to his ear and her breath tingled.
He felt the effect throughout his entire body.

“You might stumble with your skirts.”

“I might stumble if I walk behind you, as well.”

“But you would stumble into me, instead of falling
down the stairs.”

“Mayhap I would stumble into you and we would both
fall.”

“Lady Winifred?”

“Yes, Mr. Lewis?”

“Are you always this argumentative?”

“I am rather insulted by that, though I suppose it is
a step up from being called a murderess.”

“I did not say you could not be both.”

Lady Win could not quite suppress her laugh, though it
was rather muffled.

“Now please get behind me, my lady,” he said, as he
stepped in front of her and grabbed the rail. “And kindly give me your candle,
so you can hold onto both the rail and your skirts.

“You are rather managing, Mr. Lewis.”

“I would simply like to avoid falling and setting the
house on fire, my lady.”

She handed over her candle – after a sigh of
exasperation – then they began their descent down the steep and narrow
staircase. There was no light save for their candles. Once they reached the
bottom, the tunnel split off into two directions.

“Where do you think we are, Win?” asked Grayson.

“I believe we are beneath the foyer. This tunnel
likely runs under the kitchens. The other probably takes us under the dining
room. But I have no idea where the exit lies. I never noticed any other
entrance to the house other than the ones in front and back. There may be a
warren of tunnels beneath this entire house. I suggest we split up to explore
them. Rose and I can take the one under the dining room, while you two
gentlemen take the other.”

“Out of the question!” said Grayson.

“I cannot allow it,” said Alex.

“What is wrong with my plan? I do not wish to make a
second excursion to the house and I fear we may run out of time.”

“You absolutely will not make another excursion
anywhere, my lady,” said Alex. “I will not allow it.”

“Are you arresting me?”

“Not as of yet. But have you considered that someone
very much wants to see you hang? If this person finds you, he or she might not
take the trouble to send you back to Newgate.”

“He’s right, Win,” said Grayson. “Tonight’s excursion
was inexcusably foolhardy – for both you and Rose. You cannot risk it again.”
He paused for a moment. “Not unless you are with Lewis and me.”

“I beg your pardon?” asked Alex. “What gives you the
idea I would consent to more of this behavior, which isn’t only foolhardy, but also
illegal?”

“Because you want to find Pierce’s killer almost as
much as we do. Now, I will escort Win and Rose down the tunnel beneath the
kitchens, and you can go under the study.”

“Absolutely not!” said Lady Rose.

“I must accompany Mr. Lewis,” said Lady Win.
“Otherwise, we cannot trust that he would inform us of any developments.

Alex felt the sting of her lack of faith in him. He
was surprised how much it hurt.

Then she turned to him. “I do apologize for not
taking you at your word. But, as you reminded us at Lynwood House, we are on
opposite sides in this matter.”

Alex grunted his acceptance of her apology, though it
did make him feel a little better. “I suppose you can come with me.”

“I am flattered beyond all measure,” she said dryly.

He ignored that. “We should agree on a signal. If
anyone finds something of note, blow a whistle once. If it is urgent, blow
twice.” He handed Grayson a Watch whistle, then held on to one for himself.

“Won’t they hear a whistle upstairs?” asked Win.