Haunting Secrets (19 page)

“It’s still in your room?”

“Yes, but I will look for it later, tonight after everyone has gone to sleep. Obviously, my room is still being used during the day.” He shook his head. “Is nothing sacred anymore?”

“Justin, what do you want me to do?”

He stopped, pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Whatever you do, do
not
let anyone in my household know that you’re studying the paintings. I don’t want anyone to become suspicious of your actions.”

“All right. I think I can do that.”

“And,” he pulled her closer and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, “don’t kiss Jonathan the way you kiss me.”

Her face burned with embarrassment. “You saw me kiss him the other day?”

“Yes, and I didn’t like it. I was insanely jealous.”

She stroked the side of his face where his scars were located and smiled. “If you saw me kiss him, then you knew I didn’t want it. The whole time his lips were on mine, I wished you were in his place.”

“Oh, Victoria.” He buried his face in her neck, his lips sweeping across the skin by her ear.

Delight trembled through her. “I wish I didn’t have to be in Jonathan’s company, but I must make your family believe I wish to court him. That’s the only way they will allow me to stay.”

Justin pulled away and nodded. “You are wise. But please, try not to entice my feeble-minded younger brother. He’s a helpless creature and I fear for his state of mind.”

“Has he always been this way?”

“Not always, just in the last five or so years.”

“Why do you think his mind is going?”

“I wish I knew so I could help him.” He took her hand and kissed her fingertips. “But I would rather not discuss him. As much as I’d like to carry you to my chambers and have you all to myself, I think we should concentrate on finding that treasure map.”

“I agree. Things will be better once the witch lifts your spell.”

“Exactly. And afterwards, I’ll kill her.”

She smiled. “If you don’t, I certainly will.”

Chapter Eleven

Victoria floated down the stairs, hoping to appear graceful since her temperament was far from it. This horrid house and the people in it had her so confused she wanted to strangle somebody. And Bethany was at the top of her list.

Bethany had never really done anything to make Victoria suspicious, yet the mistress of Maitland Manor couldn’t be trusted. The way she looked at Victoria, laughed, and talked, led her to believe the older woman had secrets. Many of them.

As Victoria stepped into the dining room for the mid-day meal, Bethany’s expression raised alarms in Victoria’s head. The woman’s lips drooped in sadness, but her eyes held an evil glint.

“Oh, my dear girl!” Bethany stood and took Victoria’s hands. “I heard about your ordeal last night. How completely dreadful this has happened to you.”

Victoria tore her attention away from Bethany for a mere second to look up at the woman’s wayward husband. Bile rose in Victoria’s throat, making her want to retch. She struggled to maintain her composure, unwilling to reveal her distaste for him until she and Justin discovered what the pair were hiding.

Roderick’s gaze pierced right through her, a look meant to intimidate, she was certain, especially when his eyes swept every inch of her with a lust-filled gaze.

Her stomach churned and she fought the urge to slap his face. Instead, she looked back at Bethany and nodded. “It was certainly an ordeal, but the worst isn’t over.”

“It’s not?”

“No. My maid is still missing. As I told Mr. Maitland last night, someone has kidnapped her.”

Bethany’s eyes twinkled with humor. “Your maid, Francine?”

“Of course. Do I have another?” Victoria walked to her chair and sat.

Bethany moved back to her seat, lifting two fingers to her mouth as the corners pulled wide in a grin. “But my dear, why would someone want to kidnap your maid? Any maid, for that matter.”

“I wish I knew the answer, Mrs. Maitland. I heard Francine screaming for me last night, which is why I ventured outside. I saw someone pulling her into the forest.”

“If you think someone has kidnapped her, we’ll certainly do some checking. It’s a difficult thing to comprehend. What possible reason would anyone have to kidnap a mere
maid
?”

Victoria bunched her fingers into fists, resisting the urge to claw at Bethany’s face. “I’d love to find those answers.”

Bethany turned to her husband. “Roderick, dear? Would you ride into town and summon the police? Our Victoria will not rest until she knows what happened.”

“Anything you’d like, my sweet.”

His words nearly dripped with honey. He was such a deceitful man. So was his wife.

Roderick motioned to the kitchen maid and pointed toward Victoria. “Please bring our guest some food. She’s probably famished.”

While the maid served her, Victoria carefully studied the host and hostess. Their voices might be saying what she wanted to hear, but they had no intention of following through. Why could they possibly want to take Francine away from her? Victoria had no doubt they were responsible for her maid’s disappearance, but why?

After the kitchen maid left, Victoria picked at her berries, trying not to look at Bethany or her husband. They both made her stomach roll. The silence in the air bothered her, but not as much as their secrecy.

Would she ever discover the truth?

From the doorway, someone cleared her throat. Victoria’s attention snapped to Mrs. White who stood just inside the doors, holding a folded piece of paper.

“What is it?” Bethany asked.

Mrs. White’s blue eyes met Victoria’s for a brief second before she frowned. “I found this in Francine’s room, Mistress.”

She moved to bring it to Victoria, but Bethany held out her hand. “Let me see it.”

Victoria dropped her fork, pushed away from the table, and rushed to Bethany’s side as she opened the letter.

“Dear Victoria. Please forgive me for leaving in the middle of the night, but I couldn’t take it any longer. Staying only made things worse for me. You see, I’m not comfortable staying here. I believe there is a ghost in the East Wing, and I cannot sleep at night without being terrified. Since you wanted to stay, I decided to leave without you. Please forgive me.”

Bethany’s gaze slowly lifted to meet Victoria’s. Confusion swam in her head, making her stomach clench with uncertainty. Indeed, Francine didn’t like this house, but she would have never left without Victoria, especially in the middle of the night.

Inspecting the letter more closely, Victoria realized it wasn’t even Francine’s handwriting. The maid’s schooling hadn’t been that advanced, yet the penmanship was smooth and precise with not a word misspelled. Not only that, Francine would have called her
Mademoiselle
instead of Victoria
.
What was Bethany up to? Why did they want Victoria to believe Francine had left of her own free will?

Victoria glanced around the room. All eyes were on her. She couldn’t possibly laugh in front of them and let them know how absurd this letter was. Instead, she must make them think she believed this statement.

With her shoulders lifted and chin raised, she took a deep breath for courage, hoping to put on a splendid performance. She clasped her hands against her middle. “Apparently, I was wrong. I knew Francine was afraid of her own shadow, but I never thought she would leave by herself.”

Bethany’s shoulders sank as a rush of air flew from her mouth. The older woman patted Victoria’s hands.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, my dear. Rest assured we’ll take care of you. In fact, I shall assign Mrs. White to be your maid during the remainder of your stay.”

Hesitantly, Victoria looked at Mrs. White. Kind, sympathetic, motherly eyes stared at her as she offered a smile. But not one person could be trusted. Someone at Maitland Manor had kidnapped Francine, and Victoria would find the culprit.

“Thank you, Mrs. Maitland,” Victoria whispered. “I appreciate the generous offer, but I really don’t need a maid. I can dress and undress myself without any help.”

From across the table, Roderick chuckled beneath his hand. Oh, how she’d love to deflate his over-confident attitude and slap his face.

Bethany shook her head. “Regardless, Victoria, you’re my guest and so you will receive the best treatment. Mrs. White will be your maid.”

Victoria moved back to her chair, gnashing her teeth. How could she sneak away to see Justin with Mrs. White constantly around? Somehow, she needed to dismiss the older woman without drawing attention to herself.

During the rest of the meal, Victoria had to put up with Bethany’s constant, mindless chatter and Roderick’s leery grins and ogling eyes. She prayed Jonathan would come into the room and stop this nonsense. As he did every morning, he was probably out riding and she wouldn’t see him until nearly noon.

When she’d finished the last bite, she quickly excused herself, telling everyone she needed some time alone. She hurried down the corridor to the drawing room where the paintings were hung that she had admired so. A few of them were missing. Biting back a grin, she concluded that Justin had taken them. Clever man. Hopefully, the rest of the household wasn’t as aware as she was.

She glanced behind her to the door and listened. From what she could tell, it appeared she had not been followed. As she cautiously walked to the corner of the room near the large hanging drapes, she held her breath. There should be a secret door around here somewhere. And where was Justin’s magical looking glass? There didn’t seem to be any mirrors in this room.

“Can you see me? Hear me?” she whispered with a smile. “I miss you.”

Although she didn’t expect an answer, heat crept up her cheeks from her admission. Hard to believe she’d fallen in love with Justin so quickly.

Slowly, she walked to the wall, studying each painting, each crevasse to see if she could locate his hole. “I want to be near you again. You are all I can think about,” she continued in a low voice.

“Who are you talking to, Victoria?”

She jumped and twirled around, placing her hand over her wildly beating chest. “Oh, Jonathan. It’s just you. You gave me a fright.”

Still in his riding clothes, he stepped into the parlor and grinned. Quite handsome wearing a deep brown coat, trousers, and black knee boots, he’d make any maid’s heart flutter. He did resemble Justin quite a bit. But why did he have to be insane like the rest of his family? Poor man would never have a decent relationship as long as he lived under the same roof as his brother and sister-in-law.

“Forgive me for startling you,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

She chuckled. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until later this morning.”

“To whom were you talking?” He glanced around the room. “Or were you talking to anyone?”

Unease settled in her chest. Telling him about Justin was out of the question, but she had to answer somehow. Really, he was a gentle and kind man, and she hated lying to him.

“I—I—” She took a deep breath. “I was actually thinking out loud.” A light laugh escaped her throat. “I do that on occasions.”

He moved closer and stroked her cheek. “I heard you say you couldn’t stop thinking about someone.” His grin stretched wider. “Who could that be?”

It wasn’t fair to lead him along, yet it was what she must do to stay. Hopefully, he’d eventually forgive her.

“I—” She swallowed hard. “Actually, Jonathan, if you must know, I was thinking about you.”

With both hands, he linked them with hers in a loose hold. “And what were you thinking about?”

“Well,” she licked her dry lips, “I was wondering—thinking about your birthday party.” She almost sighed from relief for thinking that one up so quickly. “Yes, I was pondering on what I should get you for a birthday present.”

He threw back his head and laughed before taking her in his arms and pressing her against his hard chest. “Oh, my lovely Victoria. You’re such a dear.”

“Thank you.” She rested her palms on his waistcoat. She didn’t want to get close to him, but she wanted to be polite about it.

“Don’t you know the only gift I need from you is your affection?” He bent his head and swept his lips across her forehead. “I think of you constantly, and the one thing you could give me that would be the best present in the world right now is a kiss.” His voice lowered, as did his gaze when he looked at her lips. “The kind lovers share.”

Her heart sank. She didn’t want to kiss him like that. Those kisses were saved for Justin. Yet, she must do what Jonathan requested.

“So soon? It’s not your birthday.”

His hands wandered across her back and lower to rest just above her bustle. She sucked in a breath, reminding herself to remain calm. Now was not the time to make a scene and cause him to doubt her true purpose.

“No, it’s not my birthday, but we could call it an early present. Don’t you agree?”

His mouth descended as her heart pounded in her ears. She prayed their kiss would be interrupted soon, because she definitely didn’t want it to last long.

When his mouth covered her, she stiffened but willed her lips to move with his. His tender kiss caressed back and forth over her mouth. She couldn’t allow this to continue. Justin’s request echoed in her head.

Tears built behind her eyes. As much as she had told Justin she’d save those kisses for him, she must lead Jonathan to believe she had feelings for him. She prayed Justin would understand.

Hesitantly, she relaxed her lips to allow Jonathan’s kiss. He sighed heavily and tightened his hold as he prolonged the kiss. It was difficult, but she squeezed her eyes shut as not to let the tears slip through. Her heart ached and nearly choked her throat.

Finally, Jonathan pulled back. Desire coated his gaze and a satisfied smile tugged at his lips. He stroked her cheek. “That was a wonderful birthday present.”

“I’m pleased you think so,” she said softly, trying not to let him hear the emotion clogging her throat.

He pulled away and linked his fingers with hers and led them out of the drawing room. She breathed slowly and blinked the moisture out of her eyes.