Page 24 of A Duke Under Her Spell
“I do not know, but Mother’s dressing room seems as good a place as any to begin.” Felix moved forward and removed the painting from the wall. He examined the surface beneath and finding nothing summoned a footman to bring him tools from his workshop. “We will pry away the wall and see what can be seen.”
Stepping into his mother’s bedchamber, he explained to the Dowager Duchess what he needed to do, and she gave her consent. When the footman returned with his tools, Felix began to pry away at the wooden panels beneath.
The wood was knotted, painted white to brighten the room. It was not the sort of décor one would normally find in a manor house of such grandeur, but his father had built the room himself as a gift to his new bride out of the wood from the tree under which he had proposed to her. It had been struck by lightning and rent asunder days later and so the former Duke had taken the opportunity to use its wood to express his love.
Felix hated tearing apart his father’s expression of love, but it had to be done. He was careful not to destroy any of the actual wood and had promised his mother that he would return it just as his father had built it. Theirs had been an unconventional noble family and his father’s work was a testament to that. Now it fell to Felix to ensure the safety of what remained.
When the first board came loose it revealed a space between the wooden wall and the original stone structure of the house, a space large enough for a person of slender build to walk through. Taking a candlestick from the vanity, Felix peered into the darkness, but found nothing. He looked down at the dust covered floor expecting to see footprints, but there were none.
“How can that be?” Marybeth asked in disbelief. “Where are the footprints? There must be footprints somewhere. I did not imagine seeing those eyes. I know someone was there.”
“I believe you, but I am not at all certain what actually transpired here.”
“Is it this way all through the house? With the passageways, I mean?”
“I am not certain, but I fear the only way to ascertain the answer to that is to remove another section of the wall from elsewhere in the house. Perhaps in one of the other areas where our ghostly guest absconded.”
“Oh, Felix, will that not ruin your beautiful home?”
“Yes, it will in part, but your and Mother’s safety matters above all else. Walls can be mended.”
Marybeth stood and studied his face for a moment. Feeling her gaze upon him he turned to meet her eyes. “You are a good man, and quite frankly not at all what I expected,” she admitted.
“I feel the same about you.” He smiled down into her eyes fondly. “’Tis good, is it, not to meet someone of like mind?”
“Yes, it is,” she murmured, blushing ever so slightly.
Felix resisted the urge to reach out and caress the lovely pink hue of her cheeks. He turned to replace the board back into the wall and then faced her once more. “Shall we?” he asked lifting his tool in invitation to join him in removing segments of the wall elsewhere.
“If we must, we must.” She nodded her head, then followed him out of the door toward her bedchamber where the ghost had last disappeared.
Felix stood and examined the walls thoughtfully.Where to begin?He turned to Marybeth and asked, “Did you happen to see what direction the man went when he left your bedchamber?”
Marybeth shook her head. “I was too frightened.”
“Understandable, under the circumstances.” Running his hands over the wall, he began to knock at intervals, listening to see if the sound changed from one place to another.
“Your Grace, will you be tearing apart the paper and plaster? Shall I have men standing by ready to replace the damaged wall?” the butler, Mr. Wheatly enquired, eyeing the Duke and his tools with trepidation.
“That would be best,” the Duke agreed.
“Would it not be better to use the opening in the dressing room and walk the length of the wall?” Marybeth asked as trepidatious as the butler.
Felix smiled. The notion of damaging the house was causing both of them a great deal of anxiety. “The space between the walls is too small for a man of my build to pass through, and I will not ask anyone else to place themselves in that kind of danger.”
“I could do it,” Marybeth offered.
“Absolutely not,” Felix shook his head in refusal. “I will not risk your life to spare my walls. You do not know what or whom you will find in there, and I would not be able to get to you if you came across trouble.”
“What if I could convince a smaller man, Your Grace?” Mr. Wheatly offered. “An armed man perhaps?”
“I do not wish to risk anyone’s safety.”
“Please, Your Grace.”
Felix sighed. “Very well, but they must be armed.”
“With a knife or a pistol, Your Grace?”
