Lord Melvedere's Ghost (30 page)

Still,
if Jamie considered that they weren’t his and were stolen, she had
little reason to doubt him. She wondered just how much of his time
with the Star Elite had tainted his view of circumstances around
him, and considered how he managed to live any kind of normal life
while working amongst such subterfuge and mystery. Although she
dreaded the day she was going to have to leave, she would not be
sad to see the back of so many unanswered questions.

She made
her way toward the kitchen with purposeful strides, and tried to
ignore the cold that relentlessly bit into her bare toes. She
poured some water and drank thirstily, and was about to refill her
glass when a flurry of movement in the corner of her eye captured
her attention. Her eyes grew round. Her initial thought that
Jamie’s dad had returned was immediately dismissed with the
realisation that the figure moving toward her was far darker, and
much bigger, than Jamie’s dad, or Jamie himself for that
matter.

“
No!” Cecily spun on her heel. Dropping her glass, she ran for
the door, her long legs eating up the distance quickly.
Unfortunately, being on the wrong side of the kitchen left her at a
distinct disadvantage and she cried out aloud when ruthless hands
tugged on her nightgown. She had taken no more than two more paces
before the world went black.

Jamie
was exhausted. Weariness weighed his shoulders down and he made no
attempt to smother yet another yawn. Still, he was still humming
with anticipation at the thought of going home to bed. Unlike any
other time he had returned home, this time was the first of what he
hoped were many occasions when he would return home to the loving
arms of the woman who held his heart.

Having
spent the day largely to himself, he had enjoyed having time to
think things through. Cecily was everything he had ever hoped to
have in a wife, and more besides. He wasn’t going to lose her now,
especially after she had allowed him to possess her thoroughly. He
knew it was late, and he should have stayed in a tavern in town
overnight and made the safer journey in the morning, but he wasn’t
going to risk her safety a moment longer than he had to.

He now
knew enough about the redoubtable Miss Emstridge to know that she
was a fraud, in every way. He had no doubt that her name was not
Miss Emstridge. Her references were certainly false. He had
travelled to two of the addresses listed in her references that
were the closest, and neither of the houses existed. It left him
wondering just what his father had been thinking when he had hired
the woman. Although she had arrived with references, it was
commonplace for the hirer to at least source one reference for
themselves.

He
couldn’t understand why his father had trusted his pride and joy to
someone he hadn’t bothered to check out thoroughly. She could be
anyone, from anywhere. She had certainly been fleecing the family
for some considerable time, and he wondered just how many of his
father’s books she had helped herself to. He was almost
anticipating the forthcoming confrontation and looked forward to
having the opportunity to question the woman as soon as Cecily was
safe from harm.

Miss
Emstridge was a charlatan and a thief, and that meant that she was
dangerous. Her behaviour was certainly odd, eccentric even, but did
that make her a cold-blooded killer? He hoped not. If she was, then
he had made one massive error in judgement by leaving Cecily alone
in the house. Even with Jonathan keeping guard, he was still only
one man and Melvedere was massive.

Nudging
his horse faster, Jamie turned into the winding driveway toward
home with a sigh of relief. He had hoped to be able to spend his
evening with Cecily, but would have to accept the night
instead.

He crept
into the house half an hour later with a satisfied sigh. Eagerness
quickened his stride as he climbed the main staircase. Quietly
pushing open the door to his room, he frowned at the sight of the
empty bed.

Had
Cecily decided to sleep in her bed with him not being there?
Raising his brows, he made a mental note to speak to her about it
in the morning. Whether he was there or not, her place was now in
his bed, and she needed to understand that was where he expected
her to be when he got home.

He
slammed to a halt and stared at the empty bed in the converted
sitting room.

“
What the hell?” Frowning darkly, he unlocked the door and
stalked out into the corridor. A thorough check of the guest
bedroom she had used, and several other rooms along the same
corridor, revealed all of them to be empty.

Alarm
began to tingle in his veins. He knew deep within his gut that
something was seriously wrong. Drawing his gun, he slowly made his
way downstairs. A cursory check of his study, the library and
kitchens revealed no sign of her either. Had she left of her own
accord? Or had someone taken her?

Thumping
the panel beside his father’s portrait, Jamie paused long enough to
light a candle, and disappeared into the passage.

“
Shit.” He studied the now empty secret room in disgust. The
boxes were still there, but it was evident from the way they were
all tipped on their sides in a haphazard pile, that the contents
were gone.

Making
his way to the end of the passage, he slowly eased down the
corridor. The cobwebs tickled his face, but he paid them no
attention. His gaze was already drawn to the motionless legs
sticking out into the passage before him. He didn’t need to look
too closely to know that they belonged to Jonathan.

Gun
raised, Jamie studied the corridor this way and that. Cold,
ruthless eyes scanned the darkness for any sign of movement but it
was evident that they were alone.

Jonathan
groaned, rolled over and awkwardly lifted one hand to his throbbing
head.

“
Where is she?” Jamie’s growl held a hint of steel. He held out
a hand and hauled his friend to his feet, and waited to see if
Jonathan would be able to make his own way out of the passageway.
Cursing the delay in finding Cecily, Jamie had no choice but to
haul Jonathan into the study, and seconds later carefully deposited
him onto the chaise before the fire.

“
Did you see anything?”

“
Yeah, I did,” Jonathan growled, cursing the stars that refused
to leave his eyes. “It was Potter.”

“
Potter?”
Jamie snapped, staring at
his friend in disgust. “Are you sure?”

“
Yes, I am bloody sure. I watched the bastard pass right by me
with a candle, and saw him take three or four trips while he
emptied that secret room. On the last journey, he dropped a pot and
it rolled toward me. The next thing I knew, I was tackled; taken
clean off my feet. When I fell, I must have hit my head because it
is the last thing I remember. I’m sorry mate, I made a bloody mess
of things,” Jonathan admitted ruefully.

“
It’s not your fault,” Jamie sighed, feeling blindsided by the
latest revelation. Potter had been working for the family for only
a few years less than Warren. He had been considered a family
friend. Jamie closed his eyes as the realisation dawned that he had
inadvertently given Potter forewarning of their suspicions by
alerting Warren to the passageway.

Potter
must have spent the ensuing time making arrangements to move the
stolen items on to somewhere new, but where? Moreover, why had he
taken Cecily? Was he planning to barter for her? Jamie knew he
would pay any price just to get her back safe and sound, but he
hated the fact that it now looked like he had to sit and wait for
the ransom note.

Jamie
was a man of action. He wasn’t used to sitting and waiting for
someone else to dictate proceedings. It grated on him to have to
wait while someone as precious as Cecily was at risk.

“
It’s a bloody amateurish mistake,” Jonathan huffed, shaking
his head regretfully at Jamie. “I’m sorry.”

“
Forget it. Did you see Cecily at all tonight?”

“
Yes, she was in the library pulling books off the shelf. She
was mumbling to herself, or talking into thin air, or whatever, and
made a list of some of the books before putting them back. She
disappeared out of the door, and that was the last I saw of her. Is
she not in her room?” He cursed when Jamie slowly shook his head.
He hadn’t seen any parchment lists in his bedroom either, although
he had yet to conduct a thorough search.

“
What was she doing?”

“
I think she may have been onto something and was caught. I
need to search the house to find her, are you going to be all right
by yourself?” Jamie watched as Jonathan downed the shot of brandy
he handed him and stood, all sign of unsteadiness gone.

“
I’m fine, I’ll help.”

“
Take a few minutes, that lump looks nasty,” Jamie urged. He
wasted no time, and moved to the door in long, angry strides. He
had no choice but to wake the entire household to conduct a search.
He also needed to know where Potter was.

In no
time at all, everyone was searching every storage room, nook and
cranny Melvedere had to offer.

An hour
later, everyone met in the main hall.

“
Nothing,” Warren sighed, a worried frown on his
face.

“
I’m sorry, sir, no sign of her,” Mrs Nantwich
fretted.

“
I’ve checked all of upstairs, the wardrobes, everything.
Sorry,” Sophie mumbled around a yawn.

Jonathan
shook his head silently as he walked toward them from the back of
the house.

“
Potter left about an hour ago, but he was on horseback and
alone,” Jonathan reported.

“
So Cecily has got to be here in the house somewhere,” Jamie
whispered, thinking aloud.

“
But where?” Warren asked, looking confused. “We have checked
everywhere.”

Jamie’s
voice hardened. “Then let’s check again. She is around here
somewhere.”

“
I’ll go and ask my contact if they saw anyone else leave the
house.”

“
Any sign of Miss Emstridge?”

Everyone
paused and turned toward him. He cursed when they shook their heads
one by one, worry clearly evident on their faces.

“
She isn’t who she says she is, and may be dangerous so don’t
approach her. If you stumble across her, leave quickly and shout
your head off. Sophie, you go with Warren. Mrs Nantwich, you come
with me,” Jonathan ordered.

Within
seconds the main hall was empty.

Dawn had
begun to creep over the horizon by the time the weary group
assembled around the kitchen table. Mrs Nantwich took pains to
sweep a broken glass of the floor, ordering Sophie to pour the tea.
It was a scene of domestic normality that was at stark odds with
the turmoil roiling through Jamie.

He had
to fight to keep a firm grip on his temper. He wished he could tear
the house apart brick by brick until she is found, but it is an
impossible task. They had searched the house twice now and found no
trace of her.

Jonathan
closed the door to the kitchen, a dark frown on his face. “There
has been no sign of her I am afraid. One of the watchmen has had a
good view of the east side of the house while the other has watched
the west side. Both assure me they have been awake, and both are
adamant that nobody has left this house except Potter, who headed
toward town at a rapid clip, alone on a horse.”

“
She has to be here somewhere then.” Mrs Nantwich declared
firmly and dropped a pound cake on the table with a heavy thud. “We
have searched everywhere though, so where in the devil could she be
hiding?”

“
She isn’t hiding,” Jamie argued. “Miss Emstridge has her.” His
voice was cold and deadly.

“
Now why would she want to do such a thing? To someone like the
mistress as well?” The housekeeper’s voice held a hint of
scepticism that grated on Jonathan.

“
Because Miss Emstridge is a fraud; she doesn’t exist. She is
here under false pretences, using a false name, and has been up to
her ears in theft with Potter,” Jamie bit out. His fingers balled
furiously and he fought the urge to punch the table.

“
Oh, dear Lord,” Warren whispered, dropping his cake onto his
plate with a heavy sigh. “Potter has been drinking more and more of
late. I thought we would be able to cover for him, but he has been
so sullen and uncommunicative. I am sorry, sir, I should have
brought his behaviour to your attention before now.”

“
It’s not your fault, Warren. What is important right now is
finding Cecily.” He shook his head at the cake Mrs Nantwich held
out to him. Cake was the last thing he wanted. With Cecily heaven
only knew where, being subjected to heaven only knew what, there
was no possibility of him stopping to eat, or sleep, until she was
back in his arms where she belonged.

The
sudden tinkle of the bell above the servants’ door drew all of
their attention. Jamie growled and shoved out the room.

He
yanked open the front door with a scowl on his face and froze at
the sight of Hugo and Simon on the doorstep.

“
Well, that’s hardly a warm welcome,” Hugo drawled teasingly.
All trace of humour left his face when Jamie made no attempt to
respond, merely stood back and waved them in.