Knowing how mad her story would sound, Mary hesitated a moment before saying, “Are you aware that there is a cave on your property?”
Surprise filled Lady Duncaster’s eyes. She shook her head. “Where?”
“To the right, beyond the far lawn. There is a slope there on the opposite side of the hedge. The entrance to the cave is right below that, partially hidden from view by some rocks.”
“And you have been inside?” This question was asked by Lady Foxworth.
Mary nodded. “I have explored it quite extensively together with Mr.Heartly.”
Lady Foxworth frowned. “You are aware of how scandalous that sounds?”
Mary felt her cheeks grow warm. More so when she recalled the time she’d spent there in Richard’s company. The thought that she would never feel his touch again was too unbearable to contemplate. “Which is part of the reason why we have not mentioned it until now. But, I do think that you ought to be made aware of what we have found. You see it is not just a cave.”
“Then what is it?” Lady Duncaster asked, her expression increasingly curious.
“You may find this hard to believe, but there is a river inside the cave. There is even a boat.”
Lady Foxworth looked incredulous. “A boat?”
“Yes,” Mary said with a confident nod. “Mr.Heartly and I believe it may have provided Thorncliff with convenient and secret access to the sea.” She allowed this piece of information to be absorbed before saying, “But that is not all either, for there is also a tunnel.”
“A tunnel?” Lady Duncaster echoed.
“It leads to something quite splendid actually,” Mary told her. “To what appears to have once been a Roman villa.”
Lady Duncaster’s jaw dropped. “Surely not.”
“It looks as though it was buried with the intention of preserving the interior because the windows have been carefully sealed. Furthermore, it is furnished in a more recent style and seems to have been used by your late husband’s father.”
Wide-eyed, Lady Duncaster stared at Mary in dismay. “You must have found something to convince you of this.”
“A notebook,” Mary said, “which according to Mr.Heartly, was written by his late grandfather.”
“Dear God!” Steadying herself against the chair on which she was seated, Lady Duncaster’s hand flew to her mouth. She held herself completely still for a moment. Slowly, she lowered her hand to her lap. “This may be what my husband was looking for. Have you had a chance to study the notebook?”
“To some degree,” Mary admitted. “It refers, in particular, to a great deal of effort made by the third Earl of Duncaster, Mr.Heartly’s grandfather, the Duchess of Marveille, and one other person, to help French aristocrats during the time of the revolution.”
“Astounding.” Shifting in her seat, Lady Duncaster looked toward the door. “Can you show me?”
“Of course,” Mary said. “There is an entrance to the villa via the tunnels that run beneath Thorncliff.”
Lady Foxworth stared at Mary. “I daresay you are turning out to be quite the adventurous sort.”
“I did not plan to be, I can assure you,” Mary told her aunt.
“Though it is tremendously fortunate that you are,” Lady Duncaster said, “or I might never have found out about my late father-in-law’s covert operation. My husband always suspected that his father was up to something and spent the last years of his life trying to uncover what it was. He never found any evidence though and I began to doubt that there was anything to it. Uncovering this villa you speak of would certainly be a wonderful feat, though I would like to ask that you tell no one. The rumor that there is treasure to be found at Thorncliff has existed for many years and... I do not like the idea of all my guests beginning to hunt for it, as some would likely do if they were to hear about the villa.”
“Your secret is safe with me, Lady Duncaster.”
“And if you and Mr.Heartly manage to resolve your differences, perhaps the two of you can show me the villa together?”
“Perhaps,” Mary said even though she doubted such a thing would come to pass. It would all depend on how willing he was to try and make things right between them. One thing was certain—even though he’d lashed out at her in anger, she still loved him and could no longer think of any other man by her side. Perhaps the most important question then was whether or not she could forgive him and whether or not he could accept her for being the sister of the man who’d once betrayed him.
Pacing the length of his bedchamber, Richard tried to forget the fact that the man he’d sworn to destroy was not only sharing the same house as him, but that he was also the brother of the woman he’d fallen in love with.Damnation!He clenched his fists, ignoring whatever his brother was saying—something about finding a way in which to work it all out... that everything would be all right eventually... not bloody likely!
“I have taken everything from Carthright,” Richard clipped. “Ironically, a lot of the money he allegedly owned had been gifted to him by Lady Mary. She helped her brother thwart me while I continued to try and ruin him. How can you possibly suppose that such a thing will be resolved in a favorable way?”
“What I do not understand is that you never mentioned Carthright to me or to Papa.” Spencer shrugged slightly. “I feel as though I ought to take issue with that.”
