There was a lot Stephen didn’t know. Now that the arrival of Elizabeth’s family was imminent, his chest felt hollow. He could no longer concentrate on the previously relaxing warmth of their tangled naked bodies.
Her intimidating family might sense their involvement and disapprove of the match. Temporary or otherwise. With his luck, her siblings would size him up in a single glance and decide a reclusive tinker was the exact opposite of what their gregarious, swashbuckling sister needed.
The Wynchester family’s disapproval would have the same effect as a trough of cold water to the face. And if they did not accept him, it was unlikely Elizabeth would wish to prolong the “holiday” either.She would awaken from this fairy-tale dream and discover Stephen to be an ordinary man.
The kisses would end, and goodbye would soon follow.
“Any minute now,” he said. “I can’t wait.”
Her eyes flicked toward the horizon. “As much as I’m looking forward to you and my siblings meeting each other, followed by a nice, old-fashioned battle to the death—”
“To the yield,” he reminded her firmly. “I was very clear about neither side doing any murdering.”
“Spoilsport. The thing is… bloody aftermath or not, I still feel like I’m letting Miss Oak down. She hired me to find her sister’s will, not to chop down our enemies.”
“I respectfully contend that ‘chopping down’ another human definitely counts as defending your client’s rights.”
“That stupid gilded stone.” She groaned, and flopped over onto her back. “What could it mean? Why would anyone gild a stone? And hide it? Back in London, the Mayfair town homes are fairly dripping with gold, but Castle Harbrook is delightfully gray through and through. The only other—”
She let out a garbled sound and grabbed his wrist.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in alarm. “Do you need breakfast?”
“I know where the next clue is,” she gasped. Frantic, she scrambled up from the floor and started pulling on clothes.
Stephen hurried to do the same. By the time he shoved his feet into his shoes, Elizabeth was already down the first flight of stairs. He tore after her, catching up just as she reached the parlor where Stephen had welcomed Miss Oak.
“The next clue is in here?” he asked.
“It has to be. This is the fussiest, frilliest room in the entire castle. Even more so than the countess’s private quarters.Suspiciouslyfussy.”
The furniture looked exactly as it had before: delicate and expensive.Arranged atop a gorgeous Axminster carpet stood four tangerine-colored armchairs, a plush yellow sofa… and the ostentatious desk with matching ornate tea cabinet. A glass-paneled gilded cube protected the expensive tea china, along with three slender, gold-filigree-covered drawers beneath.
“Gold,” he breathed.
She grinned at him. “Exactly.”
They made their way over to the tea cabinet and lifted the protective glass covering. Inside were four gilded porcelain teacups atop four gilded porcelain saucers.
“We appear to have come to the right place,” Stephen admitted. “Should we pour ourselves a cup?”
“A nice tall glass of brandy, if we find the next clue. But first we have to solve this one.”
Elizabeth hooked her sword stick against the back of an armchair and tugged open the first of the gold-filigreed drawers.
Empty.
She made a frustrated sound. “Here’s a riddle for you: Why is the vital thing you’re desperately trying to find always in the last place you look?”
He shrugged. “Why?”
“Because when you find it, you stop looking.” Elizabeth opened the second drawer. Also empty. “We won’t stop until we find what we’re looking for.”
She slid open the third and final drawer—or tried to. It stuck halfway and had to be coaxed out of its cubby.
“The next clue has to be here somewhere.” She handed all three drawers to Stephen to be placed atop the sofa for safety, while Elizabeth sank to her knees to peer inside the compartments. “Thank God for soft carpet, or I’d never rise from this position.”
“I can ravish you down there,” Stephen promised her.
