Iris snorted. “Lord Huntington knows that well enough.”
Lady Annabel’s lips twitched. “You’re referring to the silk scarves?”
“Yes!” Iris beamed. Lady Annabel was terribly clever. “That same day, when Lady Beaumont was hiding in the garden—well, this was rather bad of me—but I overheard her argument with Lord Huntington. That’s how I discovered the truth about hisdark desires.”
Just saying those words made a shiver run down her spine.
“I see.” Lady Annabel cocked her head to one side, studying Iris. “Speaking of desires, tell me, Iris. How are you getting on with the reading I recommended?”
“It’s, ah…been quite enlightening, just as you promised.”
Lady Annabel chuckled. “Yes, I daresay it has been. Do you have any questions about anything you’ve read?”
Iris raised her hands and pressed her palms to her burning cheeks. Goodness, that fire was hot. “I’ve finishedDialogues between a Lady and Her Maid. Violet interrupted me when I was searching forSchool of Venus, but I thought I’d look again before I retire tonight. Perhaps I’ll save my questions for after I’ve finished them all.”
“Very well.” Lady Annabel hesitated, a frown creasing her brow. “You may find as you read that you learn as much about yourself as anything else. Every young lady should have such knowledge, but sometimes discovering truths about yourself makes things a bit more…complicated. Are you prepared for that?”
Iris nodded. Wasn’t it a good thing if she learned about herself? “Yes, I think so.”
Lady Annabel rose from the sofa. “Very well, then. Come to me when you’ve finished with the books.”
“Yes, I will. You’re very kind, my lady.”
“I’m not kind at all. I assure you, I do this only for my own amusement.”
“Yes, very well.” Iris bit her lip as a thought occurred to her. “The house party ends in just over a week. That will be enough time to learn everything I need to know, won’t it?”
For some reason, this made Annabel laugh. “Why don’t we wait and see?”
Chapter Fourteen
He’d meant to be civilized about it. Gentlemanly.
Finn knocked quietly on Miss Somerset’s door, but when there was no answer, and the knob turned easily in his hand, his fingers clenched until his knuckles cracked.
She’d left her bedchamber door unlocked.
Apprehension made him fling open the door with more force than he’d intended, and he winced as it crashed into the wall behind it. Damn it. He only wanted to see if she was in her bedchamber and out of Wrexley’s reach, not frighten the wits out of her.
He needn’t have worried. The room was dark, and even in the dim light from the hallway he could see it was empty. She wasn’t here, and it looked as if she hadn’t been here yet this evening.
“Bloody hell, Huntington. There’s no need to tear the house down.” Lord Derrick, who must have heard the crash, rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and joined Finn outside Miss Somerset’s bedchamber.
“She’s not there.”
Derrick peered over his shoulder into the silent bedchamber. “Are you sure you have the right room? Christ, this house is worse than a puzzle maze. I feel like a rabbit who’s scurried down the wrong hole.”
“I’m sure. It’s her room. It has her scent.”
Derrick’s eyebrows shot up. “Herscent?”
“Jasmine.” Finn pulled the door shut and turned back toward the staircase. “We’re wasting time.”
“Just a moment, if you please.” Derrick leaned a hip against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest with the air of a man who wasn’t going anywhere. “You’re acting like a bloody Bedlamite. Why are you so agitated?”
“Why?For God’s sake, Derrick. Do you suppose it’s a coincidence both Miss Somerset and Wrexley are missing? She’s gone off alone with that villain. We haven’t seen a glimpse of her since she left the drawing room, despite an hour’s search through the house and gardens.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the circumstances, Huntington. I didn’t ask for a summary of them. I asked why you’re so agitated.”
