Clairemont pressed his lips together. “The last thing we want to do is have me there. If he is, indeed, a killer, he’ll know I’m not the real Clairemont and he might attack. That already happened once with Perry. And God knows what has already been reported to him if Perry is in league with them.”
“Oh, he won’t know you’re here.” Gray stepped around his desk and stopped at a bookcase there. He flicked out a hand to move a book and the entire bookcase opened up to reveal a narrow passage behind it.
“A secret room,” Clairemont breathed.
Gray nodded. “Many men of rank have them. When I bought this home in London, it was from a penniless lord who liked to hide here from his creditors. I believe he also might have used it to sneak his mistresses past his wife. Either way, the passage is here, and if I move this book…” He pulled another book away and revealed an opening from which someone could observe the room. “You can even watch the meeting, undetected.”
Stalwood looked at the set up with a smile. “The perfect solution to our problem.”
“Except that Danford will be in danger,” Clairemont said, thinking of Celia and Rosalinde. “Perry already shot at him. If Turner-Camden is involved, he could do worse, and escaping the passage to intervene won’t be quick.”
Gray shrugged. “This time I’ll know to watch myself,” he said. “And there isn’t any choice, is there? Turner-Camden called for a meeting with me. It’s our best option for quickly determining his guilt or innocence and ending this madness once and for all.”
Clairemont let out a long sigh. There was no arguing the logic of the suggestion. He just didn’t want to hurt Celia or Rosalinde any more than he already had. If Gray were injured—or worse—neither one could ever forgive him. He wouldn’t deserve to be forgiven.
“I think Danford is right,” Stalwood said. “But it’s your case.”
The case. Clairemont had to think of what was best for the case. And this was it. “Very well. Your plan is the best one. But I want you to do exactly what I say.”
Gray looked annoyed, but he leaned back and glared. “I’m listening.”
The house was dark and quiet as Celia trailed through the halls, her busy, troubled mind keeping her from sleep. As she turned a corner, she was surprised to find Gray’s office door was open and a narrow column of light from a lantern or candle fell into the hallway.
She’d thought Gray and her sister had retired hours before. She’d heard them talking, then soft sounds she now understood through her own brief but wonderful experience.
“Gray?” she said, stopping outside the door.
“Come in,” came her brother-in-law’s voice after a pause.
She entered to find him sitting at his desk. He stood at her presence, and she blushed. His shirt was half unbuttoned and untucked, his hair mussed by fingers.
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said, not meeting his gaze.
“No,” he said, coming around the desk. “You aren’t. What are you doing up?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted, moving to the fire and fiddling with a few trinkets on Gray’s mantel. A tiny portrait of Rosalinde, a figurine of a raven with its wing slightly outstretched, a small clock.
“An affliction I seem to share,” Gray said, motioning to the two chairs before his fire. “You must have a great deal on your mind.”
She took the seat he silently offered and was surprised when he sat at the one opposite her. He leaned forward, draping his forearms over his knees as he examined her closely. She was put to mind of the way he’d once looked at her when he thought she was a grasping title-hunter, after his brother. He’d searched her face the same way then, only now his eyes were much kinder.
“Aiden left this afternoon without saying goodbye,” she said softly. “Without saying anything at all.”
Gray leaned back, his lips pinching in what she could tell was frustration. It didn’t seem to be aimed at her, though, but at Aiden.
“I see,” he said at last. “What can I do, Celia?”
She sighed. “You and Rosalinde want to protect me, I know. I appreciate it. But I want to know what is happening. That is all that will put me at ease now.”
Gray seemed to consider that statement. “You’ve earned the truth, I think. But I doubt it will put you at ease any more than it put Rosalinde at ease when I told her a few hours ago.” He took a long breath. “Tomorrow I’ll meet with a man who might be involved in the real Clairemont’s treason, in his murder. AndyourClairemont and Stalwood will be here, in hiding, ready to spring if anything of import is revealed.”
Celia thought of the ugly red line slashed across Aiden’s arm from the bullet meant for Gray. She shuddered. “That sounds very dangerous, Gray.”
He nodded, solemn. “It is. You and Rosalinde will go out during the meeting.”
She shook her head. “Oh no, please, let me stay.”
Gray arched a brow. “I think not. Rosalinde demanded the same and I shall give you the same answer. I will not have you here with a potential killer in the house.”
