Forsaking the Prize (The Wild Randalls 2)

“I’m not so sure. Someone wants your sister to flee. Gaining possession of the contents of the duke’s sanctuary could be reason enough.”

Blythe considered the idea. But there was no evidence she could see to connect the two together. The journals and diaries she’d read were unimportant so far. The servants didn’t even know about the existence of the chamber as far as she could tell. Mercy had taken great pains to ensure that.

She looked up at Tobias, intent on asking him to explain his theories further.

“I fear the perpetrator of these acts is already at Romsey Abbey,” he said. “Nothing happened until today. And today both of us were in that chamber. Yes, it could be a coincidence, but it makes me suspicious.

Blythe snapped her mouth closed. Insufferable bounder. Couldn’t he wait to let her ask her questions first before answering them? She spun on her heel and hurried for the drawing room as a disturbing thought occurred to her—she’d left the journal she’d been reading out on a side table where anyone could find it. She reached the terrace door and turned the handle. China rattled inside the housekeeper swept from the room carrying the tea tray.

Blythe crossed the threshold as Wilcox turned back. “Do you require anything else, my lad

y?”

“No, thank you. That will be all.”

He hurried out and pulled the doors closed behind him. Blythe crossed the chamber, her eyes fixed on the side table. Had the book moved? She couldn’t tell.

“Mine is still where I left it.” Tobias gestured toward the chair cushion he’d lifted, reading her mind again. His book had been better hidden than hers.

Blythe hefted the book and checked for the scrap of paper she’d used as a bookmark. When it was still in place, she let out a relieved breath.

Tobias drew closer. “You know, I’ve never liked that Wilcox. Not even when I was a boy.”

Blythe shook her head. “Mercy trusts him, as does your brother.”

Tobias took the book from her hands and laid it atop his. “And I can see you don’t.”

Blythe scowled at his correct assumption. “He . . . seeks to rise above his position.”

“Maybe it’s him? He’d have ample opportunity.”

“Mercy and your brother will not believe that. We’d have to catch him in the act though to convince anyone.”

Tobias stared past her to the closed door. “Exactly. We’ll catch him or whoever it is. Together.” His smile returned suddenly as his gaze shifted to her face. “In the meantime, let’s find out what’s so damned important in that room.”

~ * ~

Tobias might be preoccupied with the task at hand, but he was all too aware of Blythe. She was troubled, cautious, and rather prickly to begin with, but there was something about this chamber that added new levels of tension to her bearing. He’d noticed it before, but as the door swung shut with a soft click behind him, her shoulders seemed to lift.

Perhaps it was being in close confines with him that bothered her. He shrugged away the disappointment as he set their books aside. Sparing with Blythe could quickly become one of the highlights of his day. He found their conversations invigorating. Sadly, Blythe didn’t appear to feel the same about their interactions.

He studied the shelves. “Which ones have you read?” He gestured to the wall of dusty volumes before them, keeping his voice low for fear of being overheard in the adjoining rooms.

“Not many,” she replied softly. “I’ve been looking at the lower shelves, the ones within easy reach.” When she swallowed and curled her arms about herself, Tobias grew even more concerned. Something truly had upset her today. Perhaps it was the mess they’d viewed upstairs. But he’d thought, out on the lawn, that she was over the discomfort of that gruesome scene. She’d seemed full of glorious fire out on the lawn, but now those brief sparks were gone.

“What’s the matter, B?”

She shivered, eyes darting about the chamber; to the roof, door, and back to him. Her skin had paled, her eyes had widened. She stared at the door. “I don’t like this room. Mercy usually leaves the door open for me so I can get out again.”

Tobias winced. Fear of blood and confined spaces. Blythe’s nerves were a mess. “I didn’t know that. But the door can be reopened at any time.” He slid his fingers around her upper arm and applied gentle pressure. “Would you like to step out again?”

She nodded quickly. “I’ll get a book first and then read it in the other room.”

A ragged exhalation left her mouth as she perused the shelves beside them. Tobias kept hold of her arm and when she picked up a book, he saw the tremble in her hands. He changed his grip, slid his arm about her waist and drew her against his chest. “You’re safe with me. You’re safe, B.”

A vast shudder ran through her and he took the book from her unresisting grip and guided her toward the door. She needed to get out and now. The poor woman should have told him of her fear of confined spaces earlier. He felt something similar for carriages. He’d rather walk ten miles with sore feet than step into one.

As he set his fingers to the lock, voices in the adjoining chamber stilled him. Damn and blast. Wilcox. Tobias held Blythe tighter against him, away from the mechanism, and set his eye to the peep hole.