She had no idea what her encounter with Nicolas would be like. She hadn’t seen him since the night he had rescued her from Reynauld and they had kissed. He might be angry with her, upset that after such an intimate night, he’d heard nothing from her. Or perhaps he hoped to pick up where they had left off. A wave of nausea rolled over her as she considered the possibilities of what awaited her.
When they reached the overgrown drive that led down to the farmhouse, Jade brought her horse to a stop, and Theo followed suit. The sun dipped low over the horizon, casting a bright glow that filtered through the surrounding trees. Jade brought her horse around in a half-circle to face Theo, grim determination on her face. He wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.
“I’ll go on up to the house, but you’ll need to stay here on the outskirts of the property.”
Theo’s brows drew together as his mouth fell open. “There’s no way I’m staying behind. I’m going with you.”
“Youcan’t,” Jade insisted, guiding her horse to the side of his so they sat facing each other. “I have to go in alone, like normal. He might not give me any information if he knows you came with me. He can’t know you’re here.”
Theo snapped his mouth shut and clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth a moment before speaking again. “And what do you expect me to do? Sit out here andwait? The purpose of me coming with you was to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing happened to you.”
“Just give me a head start.” Jade dug into the saddlebag strapped to the horse and pulled out a piece of chalk. “I’ll give you a trail to follow in the tunnels. Then you can wait and listen outside the door and be ready if things go south.”
Theo still frowned at her, but he didn’t say anything. Jade reached a hand out to him and took one of his own off the reins, intertwining their fingers. “Please, Theo. Trust me.”
He didn’t have particularly good reason to where Nicolas was involved, but he squeezed her hand and gave a curt nod. “What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Wait out here until I go inside the farmhouse.” She swiveled her head toward the building in the distance. “You’ll be able to see me from here with the daylight. Then tie your horse off somewhere and follow me down. That should give me enough time to locate Nicolas and get him engaged in conversation.”
Theo’s thumb ran over the back of Jade’s hand. “I don’t like it,” he said, his head angled down at her, “but I do trust you.” He lifted her fingers to his lips before releasing them. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
A small smile curved Jade’s lips, and she nodded before she directed her horse toward the farmhouse and trotted through the tall grass.
The appearance of the farmhouse proved different bathed in the golden light of sunset, if not arguably worse than at night. Something about being hidden by shadows and caressed by moonlight made the dilapidated, abandoned home seem more mysterious and intriguing than gloomy and foreboding. But the beauty of the evening exposed its worst features. Now, it was easy to see it for what it was—the broken home of long-forgotten occupants. A bygone remembrance of what once was, now a twisted, inhospitable version of its past self.
Jade led her horse to the barn and ushered it inside, finding another horse present and accounted for. Nicolas had to be here.
With the horse taken care of, Jade turned and strode through the yard toward the farmhouse. She ran her fingertips over the tops of overgrown grasses and plants that came up to her thighs. Her hand brushed the single, circular white petal of a tall flower, several of which poked through the sea of grass around her.
The peeling paint on the exterior of the house flapped in the slight breeze as Jade stepped onto the hazardous porch. In her mind’s eye, she saw Nicolas leaning in the doorframe with a cocky grin on his face. He’d offered her a hand over the rickety boards and pulled her almost flush to his chest.
But Jade shoved the thoughts out of her mind. Whatever it was about him that always derailed her best intentions, she wouldn’t let it get the better of her this time. She was here for answers. If she had to make him believe certain things to get those answers, she’d have to be in complete control of her own thoughts and decisions.
In the main room, Jade peered around for any sign of Nicolas, but none could be found. The only sounds were the breeze outside, the creaking of old shutters, and the flapping of shingles. She didn’t imagine Nicolas would be inside the farmhouse, but this time, Jade knew where to go.
She pulled down a sconce beside the fireplace. A click of metal behind the giant portrait of the family who must have once lived there told her the latch had released. Jade gripped the edge of the frame with her fingers and pulled the whole painting forward, revealing a door behind it. She pushed open the unlocked door and descended the steps into the tunnels.
Jade retrieved the chalk she had tucked in a pocket and walked closely along the stone wall of the tunnel, making a mark beside her every so often for Theo to follow in a few minutes. Her muscle memory gained from each trip through those tunnels combined with the last time Nicolas had guided her out without a blindfold gave her what she needed to find her way to the bunker.
Once she reached the bunker door, Jade pressed her ear against it and listened. Only a cold silence met her. If she hadn’t seen the horse in the barn, she might have assumed Nicolas wasn’t there. She turned the knob and pushed the door open slowly, peering through the crack to check for an occupant. Nothing. Jade opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside.
“Nicolas?” she called as she pulled the door shut behind her. The two doors on the opposite wall were closed. Jade had never been through either of them before, and she didn’t want to barge into a more private part of the bunker. One of them had a bed—Nicolas had told her as much. He could be in there, possibly asleep. But it was the middle of the day.
Whatdidhe do with his days? Just scavenge for information? He’d never answered Jade’s more personal questions, but she couldn’t imagine him sitting around in the cold, quiet bunker by himself, wasting away the day.
“Nicolas?” The second unanswered call made her believe he must not have been there. With nowhere else she knew of to look, Jade crossed the room to the door on the right and pushed it open. Inside was a small bathroom: a shower, toilet, and sink, with a tall, narrow cabinet tucked in a corner. She didn’t even have to bring a light inside to see the entire space. She closed the door and tried the next one.
A warm glow spilled out from inside the room as Jade opened the door, taking her by surprise. Her heart jumped to her throat. With the lamplight flickering throughout the room, she expected to see someone in here, but it too was empty. Nicolas must be close, wherever he was, since the lamps in the room were lit.
Jade cast a glance over her shoulder at the door into the bunker, and with no sounds or apparent movement nearby, she crept into the bedroom. Why, she didn’t know, but she felt the pull to investigate the place where Nicolas must have spent a good portion of his time.
A bed had been pushed up into the corner of the tight space to make room for another beside it, each merely a metal frame and mattress covered with simple red bedclothes. They were wide enough for two people, but only just. Though both beds were made, the covers atop the one closest to Jade were slightly rumpled.
On the wall nearest Jade stood a wooden wardrobe beside a chest of drawers. Jade stepped over to the chest, pulling open drawers to reveal socks, gloves, cotton shirts, and undergarments. Typical things to find in a bedroom. What was she expecting to find in here?
Jade swung open the doors to the wardrobe next, running her fingers along the dark fabrics inside. She found the silky smooth material of the dress coat he’d worn at the masquerade ball, and beside it were the shirt and pants. Other clothing in the wardrobe she hadn’t seen him wear, including what appeared to be a hooded cloak.
She tugged the heavy material out of the depths of the wardrobe to examine it closer in the wavering light. Something about the cloak was familiar, though she was certain she’d never seen it on Nicolas. But of course, a cloak was a cloak, and a plain black one was sure to have a multitude of duplicates that she found similar.
