Afterward, they parted ways. Mrs. Ridley to the nearest linen closet that was being reworked. And Verity up to Dominic’s study.
She entered quietly as she understood he was taking his usual afternoon ride with his favorite horse. There would be no chance for him to come across her while she sneaked into the room and closed the door behind her.
Silence greeted her. Looking around at the warm room, she noted the redwood furnishings for chairs and shelves. It was crowded in here. But tidy. There was an order to the countless stacks of books and papers and folders. She couldn’t quite understand it at first glance, but something told her Dominic had everything just so in this room.
“I’ll be very careful,” she promised the space.
We’re married, aren’t we? Surely it’s not a crime to come in here just a moment.
She inhaled deeply before tiptoeing forward. It was best she was as quiet as possible. All she might have would be a few minutes. The longer she stayed her, the riskier it became. None of this stopped the wild beating of her heart while she opened the drawers and browsed the papers.
“What secrets are you hiding?” She asked the furniture, wishing she might find something blaring and obvious. A hidden compartment would do just that.
But there was nothing that she could find, nothing that suspicious. Only… She caught sight of a paper bent over awkwardly on itself in the second drawer. Toward the back in shadow, it seemed to be asking her for the light. She couldn’t resist grasping it to see what it was about.
A letter. From Cassian, to Dominic. She would recognize her brother’s forceful writing style anywhere. Inside, the letter was short. Suggested it was best that Dominic come to have a conversation with him. It was dated before the day they had met…
So they did mean to converse. But why? What changed?
She heard voices outside the door and she jumped, dropping the letter in the drawer. She had been here too long.
Hastily she closed it and attempted to right everything. All she could do was hope she left everything as she found it.
CHAPTER 13
“Apleasure,” Dominic murmured before hastening from the parlor where he’d happened upon Verity and her guest.
He hadn’t known she was having anyone in attendance. Should he have? Striding from the room once the door was closed, Dominic scolded himself for expecting anything. Or not expecting anything. Verity had noted how important it was to be involved in society, so surely having guests fell within those parameters.
But he hadn’t known the young lady. Lady Isabel Kowalski was the third and surprisingly young daughter of an elderly earl and his fourth wife. She’d married a Prussian prince but apparently had returned for a few months to see her family.
Does Verity know everybody?
He told himself it hardly mattered, that she could do as she liked. He would simply have to be quieter upon entering his own home.
Dominic raked a hand through his hair on his way up the stairs toward his study. The afternoon ride always helped him clear his mind and refocus on the important matters.
Standing outside the room, just on time, was his solicitor. Mr. Henry James, wiry and tall with hunch, nodded to him. “Your Grace. How do you do?”
“Well, well.” Dominic grasped his hand before leading him into the study. “I’ve had time to review the contracts you delivered the other day. It was invaluable, along with your notes. There are just a few questions before we wrap up the matter of my father’s accounts.”
The solicitor had graying hair and gray eyes, but no lines on his face. Having hired him after letting his father’s solicitor go, Dominic knew it had to have been over five years. And yet Mr. James hadn’t changed a wink.
“I would expect nothing else from you,” the man said as he folded himself into the chair. It was the third proposed desk set that Dominic had brought through in the hopes that it would adjust better for the long-legged fellow. But nothing seemed quite right for him.
Just as he was going to make a mental note of that, he noted one of his piles of papers on the desk was out of order. Dominic paused before taking a seat and picked it up.
“Did you come in here before I arrived?” He asked.
“Hm? Certainly not, I was only here a few minutes before you, Your Grace. I wouldn’t dare enter a room here without you present. It’s a beautiful house I would hate to leave a mark on,” the man admitted. He did tend to grow clumsy if handed anything besides his briefcase, pen, or papers. The man was all angles. “Is something amiss?”
Dominic frowned, uncertain but for the feeling in his gut.
“It’s not…”
How could he explain? Quizzically looking about the desk, Dominic couldn’t tell what else might be wrong. It felt rather ridiculous to say out loud. Yes, this paper was in the wrong pile––but could he have left it in the wrong pile?
And that pile is tilted, as something brushed against the desk. Was it I? Someone else? The study was cleaned two days ago, on schedule. There shouldn’t be…
