Page 155 of The Language of Love

Chapter 29

Things were not going as planned, Annis thought as she hurried toward Stoke with the Lorings on her heels.

“You want to do it tonight?” she’d squeaked.

Richard had chuckled in a way that made Annis want to kick him. “Yes, tonight, my dear. After all, we don’t want to give you time to change your mind and do something rash, do we, my lady? If you had a day or two to ponder, you might tell your husband. You might even get bold and inform the constable—perhaps even the magistrate.”

The humor had drained from Richard’s face while she’d deliberated. “We will do it tonight, Annis. Right now.”

And so, they were trooping through the darkness toward the vast shadow that was Stoke.

Her mind raced far faster than her steps, which she was making as slow as possible, not an easy thing to do given that Richard was breathing down her neck.

“Quit dawdling, Annis.”

She stumbled, and he grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. “Have a care,” he warned.

“Make up your mind, Richard. Do you want me to hurry, or do you want me to be careful? Because I can’t do both.”

He chuckled, but there was no mirth in the sound. “When did you grow a backbone, Annis?”

She ignored his taunting, her mind on Henry.

He’d told her he would wait for her in the library. Was he there already? What if Richard got in and out of the house before Henry realized she wasn’t coming? What if she ran? What if—

“We’ll go around back.”

Richard’s voice came from so close to her ear that she startled.

“Calm down, Annis. We don’t want you expiring from fear, do we?”

“The back?” she repeated stupidly.

“Yes, an entrance beneath the old weapons room.”

“I’ve not heard of that.”

He laughed softly; the sound so arrogant that Annis hated him. If she’d had a pistol, she could have easily shot him.

“Dim your lamp,” he ordered as they came out from behind the high hedge.

It was already so dim that she stumbled every few steps, but she trimmed the wick even more.

Richard took the lead, leaving Martha to walk behind Annis. The hairs on her neck stood on end having the hateful woman so close to her back.

Richard led them to a part of the building that she’d never had reason to visit. It was the oldest section of Stoke, and there was a small stone shed attached to the structure, hidden by a clump of shrubs.

The shed was unlocked and once inside, Richard shoved aside ladders and tools to expose a metal door so short that even Annis would have to duck.

Richard yanked hard on the door before it finally opened with an unpleasant screech of metal on stone. “Ladies first,” he said, stepping back.

Annis raised her lantern and squinted into the darkness; there was a short hallway with yet another door at the end. It was surprisingly free of cobwebs, so she stepped inside.

“Push on the left side of the door,” Richard instructed when she got to the rude slab of wood, which had a metal ring, but no handle.

Unlike the other door, this one didn’t make so much as a whisper when she pushed it open and stepped foot into the weapons room, a place she’d only briefly seen the day Mrs. Jenkins had taken her on a tour.

When Richard shut the door, Annis realized why she’d never noticed it. The door itself was disguised by a wooden plinth attached to it, with daggers, battleaxes, and maces on display. Once it was closed, it didn’t look like a door at all.