Page 97 of His Wicked Charm

Laughing and chattering, the four of them exchanged excited greetings.

Aunt Vesta, with unaccustomed tact, took her farewell of the group and went upstairs, leaving the two couples alone.

“What are you doing here?” Con asked Alex. “You’re supposed to be in America.”

“We were,” Alex replied. “But then, well...” He shrugged.

“You knew Con needed help?” Lilah suggested.

“Just a minute,” Con protested. “I don’t need help.”

“I knew Con was...something. Not in danger, or I’d have cabled a warning. But something strong.”

“Sit down and have another cup of tea, and I’ll tell you all about it,” Con said.

The telling of it lasted through several cups of tea and cakes, as well. When Con finished describing their most recent discoveries and fruitless searches, there was a long moment of silence. Then Alex said, “Honestly, Con, I cannot leave you alone for a moment, can I?”

Con laughed. “Oh, I can manage to get into scrapes with or without you. And I had Lilah here to tether me.” He looked over at Lilah, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see his twin’s suddenly sharpened gaze going from Con to Lilah and back.

But Alex said only, “So you have to find this place by Midsummer Day? That’s only a week away.”

“Unfortunately, we’re well aware of that. But now that you two are here, we can speed up the search.”

“Then I guess you’d better show us this book.” Alex set aside his cup and stood up.

Con led them to the Clock Room, taking the longer route so that Alex could see the rest of the old wing. His brother’s reaction to the Great Hall was everything Con could have hoped for. If possible, Alex’s eyes grew even brighter when they stepped out of the stairwell into the silent gallery.

“Wonderful Elizabethan glass.” Alex stopped and peered through a window. “Is that a maze?”

“Yes, it’s overgrown but a good pattern. I’ll take you out there tomorrow. Then there are the dungeons.”

“The dungeons?” Delight lit up Alex’s face, mirroring Con’s.

Sabrina, with a roll of her eyes to Lilah, linked her arm through her husband’s and propelled him forward. “I always thought this gallery was so eerie.” Sabrina gave a delicate shiver at the memory. When they stopped outside the tower room, she said, “But I don’t remember this room.”

“We never went in here,” Lilah told her. “I don’t think my governess ever let us get this far.”

Con opened the door and stepped aside, his eyes on his twin’s face. Alex entered the room after Sabrina and stopped, staring all around him in amazement.

“Good Lord. Look at all those clocks.” He frowned. “It’s like that dream you—” He stopped, turning to Con in dawning realization.

“It’s exactly like it,” Con confirmed. “I recognized it the instant I walked in.”

“Exactly like what?” Sabrina asked, puzzled. “What dream?”

“A nightmare Con kept having before our wedding.” Alex glanced over at Con. “A room with curved walls—I should have thought of a tower.”

“What a thing to dream about,” Sabrina said. Her eyes turned to the steps across the room leading downward. “What’s downstairs? More collections?”

“No, the rest is only stairs leading down to the outside door,” Lilah answered. “There aren’t entrances into the house on the other floors.”

Con snorted. “There isn’t even a landing at the next floor down, only the stairs going around and around. It’s enough to make one dizzy.”

“Like a lighthouse.” Alex went down a few steps to look around, then trotted back up. “Lilah, your home is a treasure trove.”

“A treasure trove of oddity,” Lilah said wryly. “You may explore it all you wish.” She glanced from him to Sabrina. “You are going to stay with us for a while, I hope.”

“We’re opening up Carmoor again,” Sabrina replied. “Alex and I would like to try living here. I loved it when I was a child. We brought a few servants with us to get it in order, and we’ll hire the rest of the staff here.”