Spencer leaned forward. “The one my grandmother wrote of in her diary? You have proof that it is here?”
Lady Duncaster looked to Richard and nodded for him to continue. He turned to his brother. “Before we were married, my wife and I discovered an underground villa that can be accessed from the tunnels beneath Thorncliff.”
“An underground villa?” Chloe looked thoroughly intrigued.
“It appears to have been built by Romans originally, but seems to have been used in more recent years by The Cardinals as some sort of base.” Realizing he was jumping ahead, Richard closed his eyes for a moment before explaining, “The Third Earl of Duncaster, our late grandfather, and Grand Mama’s sister, the Duchess of Marveille, were working against an evil organization known as The Electors during the time of the French Revolution.”
“The same organization that Stonegate and I were recently trying to uncover,” Chloe muttered.
Frowning, Richard looked to Spencer and then to Stonegate. “I was not aware.”
For the next half hour, Chloe and Stonegate took turns informing Richard and Mary of the events that had taken place only two weeks earlier. “Hainsworth’s betrayal has been difficult to accept,” Stonegate said in reference to the man who’d raised him, “but at least there is some comfort to be had in knowing that The Electors have finally been brought to justice.”
“What astounds me,” Lady Duncaster said, “is the amount of control The Electors seem to have wielded and this new discovery that my father-in-law was waging a covert war against them. I have seen the villa that Heartly and his wife have found. It is unfathomable to think that it has not been discovered sooner. However...” She looked to each of them in turn. “The information the villa provides will hopefully enable us to put together the pieces of a puzzle that we have all been hoping to unravel for some time.”
“A few weeks ago,” Spencer said, “Sarah and I found an earring in one of the tunnels. Lady Duncaster insists that it belonged to the Duchess of Marveille, offering further proof that the box of heirlooms our grandmother was meant to receive did indeed arrive here. With your recent findings in mind, Heartly, I would suggest that we start conducting a more thorough search.”
The door to the salon swung open at that moment, revealing a rather befuddled looking Earl of Montsmouth. “I... ah... forgive me for intruding. I was not aware that the room was occupied.” Stepping back, he shut the door as quickly as he had opened it, his arrival and departure so hasty that it was as if he’d never been there at all.
“That was odd,” Sarah commented after a moment of silence.
“I have always found him to be a bit of a strange fellow,” Spencer said. “Pleasant enough, but definitely one of my more peculiar acquaintances.”
“Regarding the box,” Chloe said, bringing everyone’s attention back to the subject at hand, “I would like to try and find it before we leave Thorncliff.”
“Agreed,” Richard stated. “As long as Lady Duncaster approves, that is.”
Lady Duncaster gave an elaborate shrug. “None of you seemed to require my permission before when you decided to go sneaking around secret passageways, looking through the attic or going through my late husband’s and father-in-law’s personal belongings.” She held up a hand, silencing their attempts to explain. “The point is that I will allow you to continue your quest on one condition—that you also do your best to find out who the fourth member of The Cardinals was and how my father-in-law and your grandfather died.”
“We know that their ship capsized,” Spencer said.
Lady Duncaster shook her head. “A mere detail, I can assure you.” When nobody spoke, she added, “With Mr. and Mrs.Heartly’s recent discoveries in mind, I suspect that the shipwreck was not an accident at all, but that my father-in-law and your grandfather were both murdered.”
Although she knew that Richard had suspected this too, Mary couldn’t help but notice how rigid he’d gone when Lady Duncaster had made this final pronouncement. Reaching for his hand, she leaned slightly closer to him and whispered, “We will figure this out together.”
He relaxed with a deep exhalation. “We will certainly try.”
Glancing up, she caught the sparkle in his eyes and instinctively squeezed his hand. “Sounds like another adventure.”
The edge of his mouth twitched. “Perhaps this time there will be a ghost at the bottom of a pit.”
She shuddered at the thought of it even as she smiled. “Will you rescue me if there is?”
“Of course,” he murmured, his gaze holding hers as the rest of the world shrank away. “I will always do so, Mary, my angel of the night.”
Epilogue
London, 1821
Seated on a plush velvet seat in the Oakland box at the King’s Theatre, Mary stared down at the stage on which she’d stood so many times before. It almost seemed like a distant memory now with all that had happened since her last performance. Leaning back, she turned toward her husband, his expression somewhat anxious as he gazed out over the crowd. “Don’t be nervous,” she whispered as she reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. “There is no reason for it.”
He nodded tightly, paused for a second, and then dipped his head toward hers. “Muzio Clementi is here.” Jerking his chin a little, he indicated the spot where the Italian composer was seated.
“I would consider that a compliment if I were you,” she said, raising her opera glasses for a closer look.
“He has played with Mozart,” Richard stated. “Indeed, it is a well-known fact that Mozart borrowed Clementi’s B-flat major sonata for the overture ofThe Magic Flute!”
Slanting a look in Richard’s direction, Mary couldn’t help but smile. “From what I hear, Mozart was not the least bit impressed by Clementi.” She brushed her thumb against the top of his hand in an effort to reassure him. “You are ready for this, Richard. The pieces you have written are absolutely marvelous, and if Clementi fails to realize this, then I daresay there must be something wrong with his hearing.”
