Page 18 of The Thief
“I’ll speak with him in a little while. If he is as observant as you think, he should be able to give me some insight.”
Scarlett and Alastair both laughed at that, breaking the spell of their eye contact.
“Bard is a busybody who loves the gossip and has an affinity for it,” Alastair explained.
Everett’s curious look faded into one of understanding.
“That will be good then. He should be able to give me all the information on the staff. Have you retained anyone new since Scarlett arrived?” he asked.
“I am not sure. I haven’t heard anything,” Scarlett said.
Alastair nodded, knowing that there had been a few new hires.
“We have hired at least two new maids and one footman since Scarlett arrived. Finding out whether or not they are involved would be comforting. I would like to know if there is a traitor in our midst,” he said.
“I will find out who they are and see if there is any connection to the abduction. If there is, we need to find out who it is and what they are up to,” Everett said, looking at them.
He stood and reached out to shake their hands.
“If you would excuse me, I would like to go speak to Bard now. I want to get acquainted with the household as soon as possible. I have to meet my contact in three days and I still have another stop to make.”
Everyone else stood and Alastair reached out to shake Everett’s offered hand.
Scarlett curtsied and Everett bowed low and watched as she walked out the door and headed up the stairs. Everett motioned for Alastair to stay in the room for a moment.
“I looked into your request and Art had nothing to do with Catriona’s abduction. He might be cold and heartless, but he’s not the one who set up the kidnapping.”
“Thank you. That sets my mind at ease,” Alastair said.
“It was nothing. He was my first suspect so when I received your letter, I just went ahead and looked into him. I understood your fears,” Everett replied.
“I just want to make sure that Scarlett is safe and not putting her trust in someone it shouldn’t be.”
“Don’t worry. The only things Art is guilty of are being greedy, self-absorbed, and emotionally unavailable.”
Alastair shook his head and sighed.
“Where can I find Bard right now?” Everett asked.
“He would be in the kitchen right now getting lunch ready. I’ll show you the way,” Alastair said, heading out of the parlor and down to the kitchen.
An hour later, Everett had all the information he needed from Bard and he was ready to put it to good use. He found out that two new maids had been hired a week before the abduction and one new footman had been hired afterwards.
He had already spoken to the maids and he could tell they had nothing to do with the abduction, but now he had to speak to the footman. He’d asked Bard where he could find the footman right now and Bard told him he should be cleaning the upstairs guest rooms in the left wing of the castle.
So, Everett went searching upstairs for the man. Five minutes after beginning his search, he walked down a hallway and watched as one of the maids walked out of a nearby bedroom.
There was a satisfied smile on her face and she had hair falling out of her simple bun. When she saw him, she went as white as a sheet, panic in her eyes. Everett immediately smiled, turning on his charm he used when he needed information from a lovely young woman. It was a trick, but one he used to perfection.
He flashed back to a redhead that he had been unable to woo with his fake charm, but the redhead had been charmed by his real self. He sighed and inwardly brushed the thought away. She was not here and he was not sure what he was going to do if he had to see her again, and he was sure he would.
“Don’t worry, my dear,” he said, sauntering up to her, his walk slow and sensual, reducing her feeling of being threatened and the possibility of her running away without talking to him first “What is your name?” he asked, his voice a soft rumble.
The maid blushed and giggled when she replied, “My name is Liza, My Lord.”
He reached out and slipped a stray lock of her hair back behind her ear and Everett felt her lean in towards him.
“Well, my dear Liza, I am looking for a footman named Edward Holmes. Have you seen him?” Her blush deepened and Everett chuckled. “He is a lucky man, Miss Liza. Is he still in there?” She nodded. “Thank you very much, my dear. Don’t worry; your love will not be disclosed to anyone. I am very good at keeping secrets.”
