Page 18 of The Earl's Secret
Her cheeks burned and she looked from one side to the other to judge the reactions of the servants, but they were well trained and did not slip.
She swallowed hard.
“I thought that this morning we could take a turn about the gardens,” he said with what he hoped was a meaningful look toward her.
“Do you truly think so?” she asked, wrinkling her nose, then leaning in as she lowered her voice so that her next words wouldn’t be overheard. “I had thought perhaps the riddle was more likely to point toward the servants’ quarters. Although we would obviously need some cooperation if we wanted to find our way to search in there.”
“Gideon thought the gardens for certain.”
She tapped her chin. “He likely thought that because when he mentioned it to my father, that was his own first inkling upon listening to the riddle. I can see how he might consider it to be within one of the statues or ornamental pieces. But I am not so sure. There is also a collection of Greek statues upstairs in the long gallery. No one ever goes in there. It would be an obvious hiding place if it were often used, but the statues have been covered in sheets for years. They could be the people referenced in the riddle.”
“Sometimes the most obvious place is the first that should be considered,” Devon said, and she nodded slowly.
“You are likely right.”
“Shall I meet you there an hour after we finish here?”
She nodded, even as her heart began to hammer harder in her chest at the thought of being alone with him in close quarters, although why, she wasn’t entirely certain. She didn’t have long to consider it, however, as before she could comment any further, her mother entered the breakfast room, putting an end to their conversation regarding the treasure.
There would be far more time for that later – which was fine. As long as the conversation concentrated on the riddle and not their past, Cassandra was happy.
For the past could stay exactly where it was.
* * *
Fortunately,Cassandra’s mother was not overly concerned about her whereabouts when they were here in the country. In London, she was far more cautious about where Cassandra went and with whom, for Cassandra had never completely regained her mother’s trust, even after she had returned from the institution.
But here, at their country house near Colchester, Cassandra knew that her mother saw no threats, distractions, or young men who could so catch her attention.
The irony that it provided her opportunity to spend time alone with Devon was not lost on Cassandra, but then, her mother had always considered Devon like a member of the family.
Cassandra was the first to arrive in the long hall which she and Gideon had always referred to as the Greek room in their youth. One of their ancestors – which, she had no idea – had been fascinated by Greek mythology. It was, in fact, how she had come by her name, which had belonged to one of her great-great-grandmothers, if she was not mistaken. One of these statues was actually of a Cassandra, although she had no idea which one. Perhaps they would come across it in their search.
She lifted a sheet off one of the statues, producing a huge cloud of dust. She was coughing into it, waving a hand in front of her face, when the door opened and Devon walked in.
“Need a hand?” he called from across the room, and she opened her mouth to immediately refute him, but caught herself in time. He was here to help, and she had agreed to not only forgive him but to allow him to help her in this search.
“Yes, thank you,” she said instead. “Some of these statues are rather tall, and I don’t know how we can prevent these dust clouds in the air.”
He walked at a leisurely pace toward her, and Cassandra desperately wished that he wasn’t as handsome as he was, that every sight of him didn’t remind her of the time they had been together. She cursed her fickle body for the way she seemed to ache for him whenever he neared – an ache that she reminded herself was temporary, whereas the pain in her heart once he moved on would be much longer lasting.
He lifted off another cover, and stared at the statue in the billowing dust that was highlighted by the sunbeams that shone through the skylights above.
“There is one consideration that we never made,” he said with a look toward her. “What if the treasure isinsideone of these statues?”
“That would be ridiculous,” she countered. “These statues, while not the highest of quality, are as a whole, worthy treasures in and of themselves. We could never break them.”
“Unless one of them is not as valuable as the others but was hidden here to make it appear so.”
She lifted her brows. It was actually a rather intriguing supposition.
“I never thought of that.”
“Which is exactly why I am here,” he said with that grin she hated because of how much she loved it, one she wished he wouldn’t use on her. “Is there any way to verify them?”
“I suppose we shall have to ask Gideon when he returns,” she said. “He would likely know better than anyone.”
Devon nodded, though he was frowning slightly. “Which brings me to my next question. Why, if the estate is in rather trying times, would Gideon not sell off some of these statues or the artwork upon the walls? Any of it would fetch a great deal.”
