Gabriella gritted her teeth, and together, they managed another few inches. Luigi bent over his hands on his knees and gasped, dragging in air. Gaby fought to regain her breath, but she was too excited to rest, and she grabbed the flashlight and shined it behind the shelving.
Excitement surged through her. She could just make out a rectangular wall panel. The bottom appeared to either have been eroded by moisture or eaten by rodents. The gap revealed the burlap she’d seen when she looked under the shelving. But the shelving needed to be moved entirely away from the wall.
She looked at Luigi and realized he was right—the two of them would only be able to move the shelves with some help. “Luigi, please go find Antonio. We do need his help. We must move the shelves farther from the wall to get to the panel and open it.”
He looked relieved. “I will go get him, signorina.” He ran up the stairs.
Gaby took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. Something about the panel sparked her gut instincts. It could be nothing, simply an additional storage area that had been sealed up years ago. Old houses like this often held hidden closets and rooms meant to hide a family, treasures, or people seeking to evade arrest. She recalled the priest holes of sixteenth-century England that had hidden Catholics from Protestant persecution.
Then again, it could be something else. It could be something connected to Allegretto, the reason why he brought her to this time and place.
Hurry, Luigi.
Gaby turned upon hearing footsteps on the wooden stairs. She looked expectantly for Luigi and Antonio to appear. Instead, she was shocked to see Jack.
Oh, darn!
Anger radiated from his eyes. There was no question Jack had read her letter, and judging from the look on his face, he hated her.
“What the devil is this aboutSignorinaD’Angelo?” he said in a clipped tone.
Gaby could only imagine how he felt. But she was between a rock and a hard place and couldn’t tell him her true feelings—that she had fallen in love with him, and that it killed her to sacrifice her love for him. She doubted he’d believe her.
Nor could she tell him, Lady Darling, or anyone else the truth about her presence here. They’d probably think she was a thief or an escapee from an asylum and call thecarabinieri. If only she could make him understand that pushing him away was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Clearly, her letter hadn’t done the job.
But she didn’t have the strength or time to deal with it now. She was desperate, and she needed his help.
Gathering her dignity and not wanting to antagonize him further, Gaby faced him with calm determination. “My lord, while looking for a variety of potatoes for tonight’s dinner party, I discovered something that might interest you and Lady Darling. I don’t know if there is anything remarkable here, but I encourage you to explore the possibility. Here, let me show you.”
Jack’s arms were crossed over his chest, and his legs were planted firmly apart. He looked cold and aloof in a way only an upper-crust aristocrat could pull off. He had every intention of intimidating her, punishing her. “What nonsense is this?”
Gaby ignored his scowl. She shined the flashlight behind the shelves and turned to see if he would budge from his stubborn stance. “I think there is something behind this wall.” She knocked on the wall so Jack could hear what she’d heard, the hollow sound that indicated this was not a solid wall. “Luigi and I moved the shelf a few centimeters, but we need to move it away from the wall completely, and the shelves are too heavy. I didn’t want to trouble you. I sent Luigi to get Antonio. I am sorry he engaged you before I knew better what I’d discovered.” She cast a reproving glance at Luigi, but he shrugged in a typically Italian fashion. Antonio had also joined them, and was standing beside Luigi.
“My lord, will you not at least look at the panel?” she asked Jack. “With your estimable good judgment, I’m certain you will determine the best way to proceed.” She bit her lip, and Jack’s gaze, as if magnetized, was drawn to the action. Without saying it, she’d thrown down a gauntlet. The ball was in his court.
Jack’s arms relaxed to his sides. “Very well—we will see what folly lies behind this supposed secret door. Please stand back, signorina.”
Without protesting, Gaby did as he asked. Jack removed his jacket and handed it to her. The straight line of his mouth continued to display his displeasure. He took one side of the shelving, and Luigi and Antonio took the other. Jack’s muscles bulged through his white shirt as they began to drag the shelving away from the wall.
Gaby couldn’t help her gaze from traveling down his tall, strong body as she remembered how it felt to be held by him. And how it felt to touch him, to run her hands over his muscled chest, arms, back, and buttocks.
Heat flooded her cheeks, and she had to look away, but not before he glanced at her and arched one of his brows inquisitively.
With the shelves moved away, Jack’s demeanor changed. He brushed away the cobwebs and ran his hands over the wall, knocking in places and feeling along the top and bottom. “Well, what have we here?”
The strangeness of the hidden door and the mystery of what might lie within had aroused his curiosity. He continued to knock and run his hands over the paneled wall until it made a clicking sound. His eyes narrowed, and he pressed a particular spot almost at the very top of the wall. Nothing happened, and he tried again, using his fist to pound against it.
As the wall suddenly popped open, Gaby gasped, as did Luigi and Antonio.
“Madon!” Luigi said.
“Give me the flashlight, please,” Jack said—the “please” being an afterthought, yet indicated a softening of his anger toward her.
Gaby handed him the flashlight, hoping he couldn’t hear the thumping of her heart. He opened the hidden door and stepped into the enclosure, moving the flashlight around. “There’s something here,” he called out. “Signorina D’Angelo, can you hold the flashlight for me?”
“Yes, of course, my lord.” She stepped in beside him, and he handed her the flashlight.
“Hold it steady, straight ahead.” His eyes met hers, and she could see the glimmer of excitement in his gaze. After all, Jack was an archeologist, and this was precisely the kind of mystery that he loved. It made her ridiculously happy that he’d come down here with Antonio and Luigi, that he’d been the one to discover how to open the secret door, and, most of all, that he’d asked her to hold the flashlight.
