Page 41 of Claws and Contrivances
Rose frowned, stepping closer and leaning forwards to peer at their spines. A bound set of agricultural almanacs, a text in Greek, another in Latin ... “Is there any connecting theme?”
“None whatsoever.” Mr Aubrey enunciated each word with brimming delight. “The only thing they have in common is their location. Apparently, Sir Gareth has moved them all recently, and more than once.”
“But why—? Oh. Oh!” Rose’s jaw dropped open as she met his green gaze, alight with the joy of scholarly discovery. “But it couldn’t really be ... could it?” Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Just listen.” Setting aside the volume he’d been holding, Mr Aubrey reached over the empty space on the shelf where it must originally have sat. She saw the knuckles of his long fingers shift ...
And an unmistakable click sounded from within the bookcase itself. At Mr Aubrey’s gentle tug, a section just the size of a small door shifted a fraction of an inch open ...
Towards the locked-up east wing, which no one was allowed to visit.
If Aunt Parry’s novels had taught Rose anything, it was never to ignore a secret passageway.
Chapter 20
There was no time left for debating risks. “Oh, Miss Thomas!” Rose carolled. “Might we have a word, please?”
Mr Aubrey’s fair eyebrows rose in a silent question. She gave him a firm nod in response, and then nudged him, even more firmly, until he was standing directly in front of that hairline crack he’d exposed in the bookcase. If she wanted to explore that passageway before Sir Gareth’s return, she had to move swiftly to clear the rest of the room and keep anyone else from noticing it.
If her aunt had been there, it would have been hopeless. But if Rose could only persuade their polite and sympathetic young hostess that she and her fiancé were in desperate need of a few minutes of unchaperoned time ... and if Serena didn’t catch on to her manoeuvrings ...
Serena cast one mildly curious glance at her from across the room and then turned away, clearly dismissing any potential thrills in that direction. But then, Serena had already misjudged Mr Aubrey as ‘weedy’ and uninteresting, hadn’t she? Rose’s nostrils flared with remembered outrage ... and brimming satisfaction.
Her official fiancé’s fascination with books had just led to the most thrilling discovery in this house. Sir Gareth’s wits could never hope to match his, regardless of how much the other man might like to loom and menace.
As Serena wandered towards the open library door, abandoning the suit of armour she’d been studying, Beth and Georgie followed Miss Thomas across the carpet, wrinkling their noses against the dust their feet stirred up along the way.
“Did you actually find something worth reading in that chaos?” Georgie asked.
Mr Aubrey brightened. “Actually, I did come across one rather interesting-looking thesis on the nature of—ahem.” Rose’s admonitory nudge of his foot made him stop and start again. “That is, I believe Miss Parry was hoping to speak to you about a different matter.”
“‘Miss Parry?’” Beth blinked, hovering behind her sister. “Do you mean Rose?”
“Yes, and that is still not my surname,” Rose said briskly, “but that’s hardly the point. We were hoping—”
“Do you mean to say that your own fiancé doesn’t know your full name?” Miss Thomas’s elegant eyebrows rose high.
Georgie smirked knowingly beside her.
Rose sighed. “If we could please focus on what matters—”
“It’s not your name?” Staring down at her, Mr Aubrey shook himself like a dog shedding water. “But—that is, you said from the very beginning that you were Mr Parry’s niece, so I assumed ...”
“Did you truly never have any formal introductions before you were betrothed?” Miss Thomas looked as if she were holding back laughter with all her might; her dark eyes sparkled with an amusement that might have been contagious in any other circumstances as she glanced between them. “What a very ... unusual courtship you two must have enjoyed.”
“You have no idea,” Mr Aubrey muttered.
Georgie, apparently pushed beyond her limits, failed in her attempt to disguise her outrageous snorts of laughter as a coughing fit.
“Regardless!” Rose had to raise her voice to be heard above her faithless cousin’s chaos. “As you can tell, we still need a good deal more time to talk privately and learn more about each other, so what I was trying to ask, as a very great favour, was ...”
“Oh, Sir Gareth! Thank goodness you’re back.” Waving enthusiastically, Serena darted through the open library door and out into the corridor. “We’re just down here!” From the sound of her retreating voice, she was running to join him.
Damnation! Logic and common sense battled hard against Rhiannon’s safety ... and Rose made the only choice she could. “Please,” she hissed as she snatched the candlestick from Mr Aubrey’s hand and nudged him out of the way so she could grasp the shelf he’d shown her. “Tell Serena and Sir Gareth that I went home on my own. Do not let them discover where I’ve gone!”
“I beg your pardon?” Miss Thomas took a step backwards, eyes widening with alarm.
“Of course.” All amusement fled, Georgie frowned past Rose at the widening crack in the bookcase. “But do take care, coz!”
