“We must be quick about this,” Graeme whispered.
“Yes, you mentioned that several times earlier when you were trying to convince me I shouldn’t come. But so far, I don’t think I’ve held you back,” Vanessa told him. She waited for him to argue the point further, but he simply sighed.
She nodded and immediately made her way to Niall’s desk. The large mahogany surface was empty save for a partially written letter to a woman named Penny. Vanessa could only guess she was Niall’s wife. She opened the drawer in the center of the desk, but found only a letter opener and some ink.
She continued to search the drawers while Graeme went through books and items on the bookshelves. In the drawers, she found two additional letters addressed to Penny. Why had he not mailed them? Perhaps Niall had secrets from his wife as well. Vanessa also found some banknotes, blank parchment, and a handful of candles. Nothing useful.
She looked over toward Graeme and found him engrossed in a book.
“Did you find something?” she asked as she walked over to him.
“Perhaps,” he said.
The book, a handwritten journal, had been shelved among the other books. Quite clever to hide something in plain view. Graeme flipped pages, finding more notes and a drawing. He stopped and held the book closer to see it better in the poor lighting.
While he examined the journal, she caught sight of her Grayson’s manual that she’d loaned Niall. It was open and lay facedown on a chair. She retrieved it, careful not to lose the place. He’d been reading the chapter entitled “Extreme Measures and Other Necessary Tactics.” It was a part of the book she hadn’t thoroughly examined yet because of her limited dig experience.
At the bottom right corner of the left-hand page was an illustration showing how to set up dynamite for use in an excavation. “Graeme, I think I know why Niall wanted this book.” She walked over to him. “Look.” She held it open for him to view the illustration.
Footsteps sounded in the hall. She grabbed Graeme’s elbow.
He ripped the page from the journal he’d been reading, then replaced the book. His large hand grabbed hers and pulled her through a door at the back corner of the room. It was a closet lined with shelves from floor to ceiling and now, with the door closed, as dark as the night outside.
Pressed against Graeme’s chest, she could hear the thundering of his own heart.
They were going to get caught.
Niall wandered into his study. He’d thought he’d heard a noise, but lately he hadn’t been sleeping much, and his mind conjured images and noises. Even if he did sleep, all he saw was Penny and Jonathan trapped somewhere—scared, hurt, hungry, and waiting for him to save them.
The study was empty, but he had left a lamp burning. Or The Raven had been down here. The man had nearly taken over the entire household. Under the guise of a guest, The Raven had Niall’s servants bend to his every whim. If only they knew what a monster he truly was.
If it weren’t for fear that he’d never find his family, Niall would sneak into the man’s room right now and kill him. Wrap his hands around his neck and squeeze until no sign of life lingered. He closed his eyes and took several steadying breaths. He had to find that bloody stone soon. His family needed him.
He doused the lamp, then left for his bedchamber.
The sound of footsteps in the study disappeared. Vanessa relaxed into Graeme, her warm breath pouring over his arm. Graeme held them there for several more moments before he opened the door. He didn’t want to risk being caught.
The study, now shrouded in darkness, was empty. Vanessa replaced the book she’d been holding, then he led her through the room, back down the hall to the parlor, and out the garden doors.
Neither of them spoke while they hurried to where they’d tied the stallion. Graeme climbed atop the beast then helped Vanessa up, and they rode back to his mother’s house.
“That was close,” Vanessa said as he helped her down from the ride. “He could have caught us.”
“Indeed.”
“What did you find in that book?” she asked.
They entered the study and Graeme stoked the fire until the flames roared back to life. Vanessa stood with her back to the hearth, warming her backside and hands.
“I’m not certain, but I believe I’ve found the answer to that clue,” he said. He withdrew the piece of paper that he’d torn from the journal and examined the illustration, a large piece of stone with three carved divots, where the three royal gems were to be placed. “This is obviously the Kingmaker,” he said.
She left the fire and came to his side, glancing at the illustration. “It is how I imagined it would look.” Then she met his gaze. “But something in this image troubles you.”
“Not as much troubles me as annoys me. It is of the stone in Westminster,” he said.
“The counterfeit Stone of Destiny,” she said.
“Right. It had these three divots.” He pointed to the illustration. “It was one of the reasons why I thought it was a fake. Nowhere in my readings had I come across mention of carvings made into the stone, so I thought the divots proved it was not the real Stone of Destiny.”
