Page 10 of The Earl's Secret
He caught Cassandra before she fell to the floor, taking full advantage of the opportunity to hold her in his arms once more.
Of course, she quickly batted his hands away, all hellfire and fury as her fists came to her hips and she glared at first him and then her brother.
“Cassandra,” Gideon said from across the room, some surprise in his voice. “Just what do you think you are doing?”
“That’s a question I might ask you,” she said, fixing him with her stare. “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“About the riddle!” she said, as if it should be obvious. “Did my maid find out and say something? Or did you—” she rounded and pointed a finger into Devon’s chest, “—learn what we were doing when you found us near the Serpentine? I should have known that you would have listened in on our conversation.”
“As you were doing right this moment?” Devon asked, arching one of his own brows, to which her cheeks turned a healthy shade of pink in answer, although she obviously was not going to apologize for anything.
“That’s different,” she countered instead.
“I fail to see how.”
“I am in my own home. I was wandering down the hallway, minding my own business, when I heard the two of you speak a very familiar line – a line from a riddle I have in my possession. Of course I stopped to listen to determine just how you might have come across it.”
“While I should never have greeted you and your friends after you were watching me row?”
“No, you shouldn’t have! And I wasn’twatchingyou. I was simply appreciating the beauty of the water.”
“Of course,” Devon said, unable to help the smirk that crossed his face. Damn, there was no other like this woman. She was a hellcat, and he loved it.
“That’s enough,” Gideon said, taking slow, measured steps toward him, and Devon was instantly ashamed, uncertain of whether Gideon had sensed the tension between them or was simply reacting to the freely flowing words.
It was actually a good thing Gideon was here, or Devon might have found another way to quiet Cassandra – one that her brother was certain to not approve of.
“As it happens, Cass, I found the riddle myself,” Gideon said. “It was hidden in a false bottom of one of the drawers of my desk back in London.”
“In actuality?” she asked, her eyes instantly suspicious, and Devon wondered just who had hurt her to such an extent that it would cause her to never believe the truth, even if it came from her brother.
“What reason would I have to lie to you?” Gideon asked. “Of course it is the truth. I determined that the first line was leading us to Castleton. The rest I am uncertain about. I asked Devon to accompany us here to help me determine the next clue.”
Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you say anything to me about it?”
“Well, it appears that you had the same thought in mind, if you were also in possession of the riddle and never mentioned it to your brother, who will one day actually own this estate and all that surrounds it,” Gideon said wryly. “Come, sit, and tell us what you know.”
Cassandra’s arms and shoulders fell, finally giving in, as she and Devon took the chairs in front of Gideon’s desk. “Very well,” she said begrudgingly, and Devon couldn’t help but smile at her show of emotion. She reached into a pocket within her gown and pulled out a book – not the one she had been reading the other day, he noted, but one that was rather nondescript, and opened it to reveal the page hidden within. “I found this in a book I was reading – one that I had brought to London from Castleton. We will have to compare copies, but it appears to be a first draft, with some spelling errors.”
She held it out toward Gideon, and he placed it on his tidy desk so that they all could see it, before he pulled out his own riddle and set it beside to compare the two. Once they had all finished, they sat back and looked at one another in amazement.
“It appears you are right,” Gideon said. “All has been corrected on my copy.”
“Interesting,” Cassandra murmured, her eyes lighting up, and Devon knew how much she was likely enjoying this. “So it was meant to be found in London.”
“Why did you not tell me about your discovery?” Gideon asked, crossing one leg over the other as he sat back and waited for Cassandra.
“Because I thought you would not allow me to search for the clues any longer, that you would take it all away from me.”
Gideon tilted his head as he considered her words. “You are likely right,” he said. “I do not want you to trouble yourself with something like this. Devon is here, and he can help. Meanwhile you—”
“Can sit around and do needlework and paint watercolors of the grounds all day?” she said.
When Gideon’s face colored slightly, Devon had to cover his laugh with a cough, for Cassandra had obviously been right as to his line of thought.
“I think not,” she answered herself. “I would like to be part of this. It is the most interesting thing that will have happened to me in years.”
