He walked around the bed past a full-length mirror to a door, which most likely led to a dressing room and then another bedroom for the future lady of the manor.
Opening the door, he froze in shock. He swallowed hard at the apparatus inside.
Manacles hung from two poles that would have all but the tallest of women on their toes. Two more were anchored to the floor. On a table nearby lay a whip, a quirk, and screws. None of which would have been so alarming if not for the dried blood on all of them, including the manacles. This was no pleasure room. It was a torture chamber.
Hearing movement behind the door to the connecting room, he quickly backed out and softly closed the door. Unsettled by what he’d seen, he strode to the exit. Just as he reached for the door, a giggle could be heard in the corridor outside. Leaning his ear against the wood panel, he listened. Soft conversation ensued, making him itch to leave, but he couldn’t be seen leaving Leighhall’s room. He glanced toward the closed door of what should have been the dressing room, expecting it to open at any moment.
Finally, in the corridor a door opened, but it did not shut, and giggles turned to moaning. If the couple were having sex in their doorway, Anthony would have to risk it, because he refused to stay in Leighhall’s room for one more minute. Carefully, he cracked open the bedroom door. As he’d guessed, a couple had opened the door to their room, but never shut it. Slipping into the corridor, he relocked the viscount’s bedroom then strode forward.
As he reached the doorway, he found Violet bent over the foot of the bed as Buswick pumped into her. Softly, he walked past and to the stairs.
Anthony hadn’t expected Leighhall to be as dangerous as he now knew him to be. All he wanted was to take Lissa and leave. Every instinct inside him was telling him they weren’t safe.
As he headed back toward his room, he contemplated his options. If he left, Lady Harewood’s reputation may well be forfeit. If he didn’t, then Lissa could be hurt.
His protective instincts rose hard. They would leave. He just needed an excuse.
He opened the door, and Lissa looked up from her book. She’d taken her hair down, and it fell half behind her and half over her left shoulder. How could he have not realized how beautiful she was in addition to her cleverness and courage?
“Were you not able to enter any other rooms?”
He closed the door and leaned back against it, not sure how to explain his need to keep her safe.
She set the book down and stood. “What is it? Did you hear something?”
“No.” He wouldn’t lie, nor would he tell her what he saw. “But I now know that Leighhall is indeed a dangerous man.”
She walked toward him, her brow furrowed in concern, before setting her hand upon his arm. “We had guessed that, especially with the practice wall in his weapons room.”
He hadn’t thought twice about the practice wall for weapons, but then again, he didn’t actually see it, as his lantern had not revealed it. That it existed had his stomach tightening. “I believe we should leave.”
“Leave? But we haven’t found what we need. We can’t leave. Dory needs us to find something. I’m sure once we get into the weapons room tonight, we will have all that we need. Did you find anything in Leighhall’s bedroom that will help?”
“No. But it may be too dangerous to enter Leighhall’s secret room again. I will just have to tell Lord Harewood that I couldn’t find anything.”
Her dark-brown eyes studied him. “Anthony, I haven’t seen you this tense since the time those three men caught us in the stables of Comte de Lancey.”
Unwittingly, she’d given him a way to explain. “This is much like that. There is great danger to you here. Like then, I need you to be safe.”
She frowned. “But at that time you needed me safe so I could fetch the coachman while you provided a distraction. Do you feel I will need to run to the stables for your coachman?”
He curled his hands into fists and walked away from her touch. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but he couldn’t. She wouldn’t understand, perhaps perceive himdifferently, possibly as a threat to her future plans. She definitely did not want a peer as a husband.
Even as the thought surfaced, he understood exactly how much she meant to him. He’d broach that quandary if and when the time made it possible. First, he needed her to agree to leave. “I’m quite sure we will need my coachman, but only to drive us away from here.”
She wrinkled her nose and set a hand on her hip. “I do not think it wise to leave now. We need to try one more time to see what we can discover in the weapon room. Then, if you like, we can leave tomorrow. But we will need a good excuse.”
He didn’t want to leave tomorrow, but his instinct told him that telling her he loved her and needed to protect her would do the opposite of what he hoped. “Very well. We will try once more, but then we leave. No information is worth dying for.”
Her eyes widened before she nodded in understanding. “You must have found something for such a change in plans. What did you find?”
“Blood.”
Her face drained of color, and he cursed himself for revealing the truth. He knew how much she feared blood. He strode across the room and held her to him. “I should not have told you.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder. “No. I asked and you did not lie. That is very important to me.” She cocked her head. “It is best I know, so I am better prepared.”
One moment he forgot how delicate she was, and the next he was reminded how strong she could be. He cupped her head and kissed her with all the possessiveness he felt.
