Page 40 of The Scholar's Key
She heard him mumbling to himself, heard the scratching of what must have been drawers within the wardrobe, until a further big sigh emerged.
“Are you having trouble?” she asked, even though the answer was obvious.
There was a pause. “Yes.”
“Do you need help?”
Another pause. “Very well.”
She quickly crossed the room, relieved that she could do something useful besides simply keeping watch.
He stepped back to allow her room to search within the wardrobe, and she ran her hand over the drawers. “There doesn’t seem to be anything here that would work,” she murmured. “Maybe…”
She searched farther down, along the bottom of the wardrobe, pleased when she found what she was looking for – a drawer within a drawer.
“Here,” she said, and he nodded at her before drawing the key out from where he held it, fitting it into the lock. Percy didn’t realize they were both holding their breath until they audibly sighed together once it worked.
She reached in, pulled out a mahogany box, and then opened the lid to reveal the ruby necklace within, shining up at them in all its glory.
“It really is beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, and he nodded.
“Beautiful,” he said, his voice thick, only, when she looked up and met his eyes, she found that he was not looking at the necklace but rather at her.
She swallowed, unable to look away—until they heard the click of a lock being turned. Their eyes widened in horror, as they heard the door open and footsteps begin to cross the floor.
“Under the bed,” he said in a low, urgent voice, and she hurriedly shut the drawer and the wardrobe, keeping the necklace and the key in hand as she dove under the bed, Noah close behind her.
They lay there next to one another, staring up at the tight ropes beneath the mattress above them, until Percy had to close her eyes and take deep breaths, just as the sound of voices reached their ears.
“Percy?” Noah whispered. “Are you all right?”
“No,” she whispered back. “I do not like small spaces. I feel as though the bed is going to collapse on top of me.”
There was a warm tug on her hand, and she opened her eyes to find that Noah was holding her gaze as her hand remained secure within his own.
“Look at me,” he commanded, and she turned her head toward him, finding his face just inches away. “It’s just you and me,” he said. “I won’t let anything hurt you. Don’t look up.”
“But—”
“Percy,” he said again, and she couldn’t help but listen this time. The room was dim, but they were so close to one another, that she could see the circle of green that blended into the dark hazel of his eyes. She had never noticed that before, as she had never looked past his spectacles, she supposed. He had a few small freckles over his nose, and his lips were much fuller than she had imagined – although she already knew that, for she had felt them on her own. “I’m here. I will not let anyone hurt you.”
She blinked, uncertain of where this side of him had come from.
His warm fingers curled tighter over hers and she held on, desperate for connection – but not just any connection. She wanted this closeness with him, Noah Rowley.
“Thank you,” she whispered, but then suddenly the voices and footsteps drew closer, and her eyes widened and mouth opened in shock as she realized that Mrs. MacNall – and likely her lover – were in the room. Percy drew closer to Noah as though he could hide her from view, although she supposed it was smart to try to keep to the middle of the bed to minimize their chance of being seen.
“Where are you going?” came a deep voice, and Noah reached out, wrapping an arm around her.
“Lord Chesterham,” he whispered in her ear.
Percy had to hide her slight squeak of surprise. For she had a very good idea for what purpose Lord Chesterham was here, and she wasn’t entirely sure what she and Noah were supposed to do while it happened.
She could only hope that they were currently in the bedroom Mrs. MacNall considered her own – and that the other was for her liaisons.
“I am going to change into something more comfortable, darling,” came Mrs. MacNall’s sultry voice. “Pour yourself a drink and I will be out in a moment.”
Her feet, clad in immaculate silky pink kid slippers with embroidered blue flowers that Percy would have liked for herself, appeared beside the bed behind Noah’s head. Percy nodded her head toward them to signal him as to what was happening, and he just kept holding onto her gaze.
