“Indeed, you are, Mr. Wheatly. My apologies if I caused offense.”
“Not at all. Think nothing of it, Your Grace. It is my honor and duty to serve.”
“Perhaps Oliver’s discovery of the hidden room and trapdoor has frightened the intruder away,” Marybeth offered, as she made Oliver some willow bark tea for the pain.
“We can only hope,” Felix answered, nodding.
Mrs. Taylor entered the room. “Pardon the interruption, Your Grace, but there is a man at the door claiming to be Miss Wright’s brother.”
Marybeth’s head snapped up in surprise. Felix turned and met her eyes. “You do not have to receive anyone that you do not wish to see.”
“It may be pertaining to the one that was injured. I am not certain I could live with the guilt of not offering aid if a life hung in the balance.” Marybeth did not feel at all certain that she wished to see anyone from Enfield, but she straightened herself up as best she could and informed Felix that she was ready.
“I will go with you to ensure that this is not the manipulations of Lord Enfield.” Felix followed Marybeth as she left the room. “I will not have you harmed by that man ever again.”
Marybeth wished that his words could be true, but even as he said it, she somehow knew that it was not within his power to keep such a promise, no matter how much he may believe that it were. “If only you could,” she whispered. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to meet her brother.
Chapter 19
As Marybeth approached the library, she was not quite sure what to expect. There had been eight brothers in the forest and any one of them could have come to speak with her on their father’s behalf. She hoped that the wounded one named Stephen had not worsened since she had last cared for him. The forest floor was not the best place to clean and tend a wound. She knew it was quite possible that his leg could have become inflamed. She prayed silently that it was not for both her and Stephen’s sake.
As she and Felix walked through the door, they found a tall, broad shouldered, dark haired man standing staring out of the window. His back was to them so they could not make out which brother he was. “Hello,” Marybeth greeted tentatively. “Mrs. Taylor, the head housekeeper, said you wished to speak with me?”
The man turned and met her eyes, a mirror of his own. “Yes, I do.” He moved forward and bowed his head to Felix in respect. “Your Grace. With your permission, I have come to speak with my sister. You of course are welcome to stay, as it is your house, but I assure you that I mean her no harm.”
Marybeth was surprised at the ease in which he had read Felix’s thoughts. She turned to look at Felix and found that his stance was very much that of a man guarding something most precious to him. She smiled slightly at him reassuringly and he nodded his consent, but did not move to leave the room. Marybeth was glad for his presence. “You may,” Felix granted his consent, but his tone held an edge of warning.
“My name is Alexander. I am the second son of Lord Enfield,” he introduced himself bowing ever so slightly over Marybeth’s hand, then quickly releasing it, stepped back a respectful distance.
“And why have you come?” Felix demanded to know.
“I have come on behalf of my brother, Stephen, to thank you for the kindness you rendered unto him in the forest.” Alexander produced something small from his vest pocket and extended it out to Marybeth. “It was our mother’s.” He opened his palm and nestled within was the tiniest band of gold topped by a delicate crimson ruby.
“I cannot accept such a gift,” Marybeth breathed, shaking her head in refusal.
Alexander stepped forward taking her hand in his. Felix growled a warning deep in his throat much like that of a dog. It would have been comical had it not been so threatening. Alexander placed the tiny jewel in Marybeth’s hand and then stepped back once more. “Nevertheless, it is yours. Thank you for saving our brother’s life,” he stated simply, bowed, then left the manor house and rode away before Marybeth had time to launch any further protest.
“Well that was certainly interesting,” Felix mused peering over her shoulder at the ring in her hand. “How do you feel?” coming around to stand in front of her.
“I am not certain. Confused, surprised, curious, angry… A mixture of emotions really.”
“That is quite understandable, considering the circumstances. It seems as if we have been in a constant state of emotional turmoil of late.”
“I must admit that it is quite wearying. I feel as if I could sleep for days and yet there is no safe place to lay one’s head with the intruder still not having been apprehended.”
“I could send you and Mother away,” Felix offered.
“No, she is not well enough for travel yet and Oliver needs me here as well. I cannot run and hide while people I care about are suffering so.”
Felix stepped forward and took Marybeth into his arms. “I fear you are taking too much responsibility for the people of my household upon your shoulders.”
“I could no sooner walk away than you could,” she replied, laying her head upon his chest. She willed his warmth and strength into her own body, taking comfort in the feel of it.
“Why not sleep here in the library? I shall stand guard over you myself. I need to go over the estate records and this will afford me that opportunity.” Felix led her over to the chaise lounge where she laid down and he covered her with a light throw that usually rested upon the back of it for the Dowager Duchess’s use.
In very little time at all Marybeth found herself drifting off to sleep. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was that she was still clutching the ring that Alexander had given her.
* * *
Felix sat at his desk and watched over Marybeth as she slept. She was beautiful lying there at peace. In slumber the worry lines had faded, the tension lax. She had been through so much. He wished he could take all of her cares away but knew he could not. He was not sure she would have let him even if he could have accomplished such a feat. She was very much an independent spirit.
He thought back to the incident in the croft and found his body turning warm from the memory. He had greatly enjoyed kissing her, holding her, protecting her.
I would gladly do so for the remainder of my days were I able. To spend my life with her would be a pleasure to surpass all others.
Sighing, Felix returned to the work at hand going over the estate accounts. He had not been as attentive to the estate as he should have been over the last week. He had allowed too many other things to distract him from his general duties, but it had been necessary. He prayed that the intruder was finished with his intrusive behaviors, but he would much rather have caught the culprit and put an end to it once and for all. The man’s motive for such behavior completely escaped Felix.
Felix surveyed the library thinking about the first day that the intruder had appeared to Lady Cordelia. How did he do it? He arose from his desk and began feeling along the walls and bookshelves. The entire household had searched the manor house including the library, but no one had found anything. Even so, Felix could not resist the urge to look again.
Removing entire stacks of books from the shelves, Felix took his letter opener from the desk and ran the pointed end along the shelf seams. The door to the hidden room Oliver had found was triggered by a shelf. Felix thought perhaps the same could be true if there were a room secreted away in the library. Once he had thoroughly examined a shelf, he replaced the books and moved on to the next one. He searched the entirety of the library with all possible diligence but found nothing.
I am not certain whether I am disappointed or relieved.
Felix walked over and sat back down at his desk. He rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in thought. If he did not come and go through the door we have found every time, then where did he enter and exit by? I am past ready for this entire business to be over with. There are much more important matters to be getting on with than cha
sing a ghost. Opening his eyes, Felix was startled to find the subject of his thoughts standing in the doorway staring at him.
“You!” Felix called out and launched himself from his chair toward the door. The man had taken off running the moment that Felix had opened his eyes. Felix ran out into the hallway after him but found no one there. He raced down the hall checking every room and connecting hallway but found nothing. When he returned to the library, he rang the bell for Mr. Wheatly.
Marybeth was awake and sat looking at him with curious concern. “What happened?”
“The man was here in the library. I gave chase and he just vanished. I intend to have every available man of small stature in these walls immediately. I will not be thwarted.” Felix was angry. He had had enough.
“Yes, Your Grace?” Mr. Wheatly asked entering the room.
“I want every available man of smaller stature than I to meet me in the hallway at the entrance to the secret room immediately. With the exception of the wounded Oliver, of course.”
“It will be done, Your Grace.” Mr. Wheatly bowed and exited the room.
Marybeth arose and came over to stand next to him, taking his hand in hers. She placed her other hand on his cheek as if to check for fever. “You are flushed,” she noted. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I ran after him and then searched every place I could find, even crawling around on my hands and knees searching for how he had managed to escape again. I am in a foul temper over this entire ordeal, nothing more.” He saw the worried look in her eyes and felt a pang of guilt for making her fret. “I am sorry to have caused you concern. I am well, I promise.” Taking the hand on his cheek he kissed the palm and then let it go. “I must go and address the men.”
Felix was loath to leave the warmth of her touch, but he knew that he must. I am not free to follow my heart and it is not fair of me to seek the comfort of her caress when I cannot offer her anything resembling an honorable state in return. Turning, Felix left the library with Marybeth at his side.
When they reached the servants’ stairway they descended to the place where the secret door stood open. The men of the household below a certain size had all gathered to hear what Felix had to say. When they stopped, Marybeth stood just behind him on the stairs. It felt good to have her at his side.
“We have been visited by the intruder once more. He has brazenly shown himself to me and then vanished within moments of my giving chase. I wish to flood these walls with so many men that he has no choice but to flee forever or be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows for such behavior. You are my army, my trusted men at arms. I cannot fit into the walls as you can, but I will be here listening. If any of you get into trouble, simply beat upon the wall and I will tear it down to find you.”
The men’s eyes widened at the thought that a Duke would tear his own house apart to save them. “We will not disappoint you, Your Grace,” one of the groomsmen from the stables pledged, stepping forward. The man wrung his hat in his hands, betraying his nervousness.
“I know that it is a dangerous, unpleasant thing that I ask, but I would not so if it were not imperative to the safety and wellbeing of our household. Young Oliver Singer lies wounded in the next room. Remember him as you enter these walls and use caution.”
Mr. Wheatly moved forward, handing each man a lit candle to light their way and a knife to protect themselves. The handful of men walked into the hidden room and one by one disappeared into the walls. Felix waited traversing the house listening for signs of distress. The men who were too big to fit in the walls stood at intervals, listening for those on the inside. It was a tense time for everyone.
Felix was not at all convinced that he was doing the right thing by sending them all in together armed. He was concerned at how easy it would be to mistake their fellow menservants as the intruder causing injury. When he had considered his options, he decided that he could not bear the guilt were he not to arm them and the interloper were to harm one of them. He did not want their deaths upon his conscience.
The number of men moving through the walls made it sound as if giant rats were invading the manor house. It was an eerie feeling to stand and wait while others did the dangerous work. Felix did not like it at all. He paced the halls like a caged jungle cat ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation. Marybeth had gone to sit with Oliver and tell him of all that had transpired. Felix had sent Mr. Wheatly to guard the Dowager Duchess and to keep her company.
As he walked the halls, there was the sound of a scuffle, a shout, the pounding of feet upon floorboards, and then silence. Felix waited with bated breath concerned for his men unsure where the sound had originated. It took all of his restraint not to tear through the walls just to reassure himself that nothing had befallen them. He could not bear the thought of someone under his care being brought to harm by his order. There was a dragging sound through the walls, and he followed it.
“Your Grace,” a voice petitioned from the opening to the secret room.
Felix ran down the stairs and found the blood-spattered visage of one of his men staring out at him pale and line with dirt. “Yes? Are you injured?”
“Not I, Your Grace, but the intruder is.”
“You found him?” Felix asked moving forward.
“You might not wish to see this, Your Grace,” the manservant cautioned. “The man is dead, Your Grace, and it is not a pretty sight.”
“You killed him?” Felix asked daunted at the idea that someone so young had been forced to do such an act.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“How?”
“He came at me in the dark. It was over before I even knew what had happened. My father fought in the Napoleonic War. He taught me how to defend myself when under attack. I reacted before I had time to think,” the manservant admitted.
Felix stepped forward into the room and gazed down into the face of the man who had haunted them for days. “Bring me some water,” he ordered. The manservant swiftly obeyed, and Felix wiped the powder and dirt from the interloper’s face. What he saw shocked him to his core. “He is one of ours.”
Chapter 20
“How can this be?” Felix breathed the question in disbelief of what his eyes were telling him. “How can one of our own betray us in such a fashion?”
“Who is he, Your Grace? I do not recognize him.”
“He was here before your time with us began. He was a footman. I caught him stealing and was forced to let him go. I have not seen him since.”
“Could he have done it out of anger, Your Grace, for his being fired?”
“Perhaps, but strangely enough he was not angry when I let him go. I dare say he was relieved to not be swinging at the end of a rope when I let him leave without pressing charges for his criminal actions. He was quite grateful for the leniency he was shown. I cannot imagine one of our own, even a thief, doing something like this of their own accord. Something is amiss here. There must be a puppeteer pulling this man’s strings. As a servant he was a petty thief, but not a violent man by nature.”
“A man can change for the better or the worse, Your Grace. Without steady employment it is possible that he was tempted down a much worse road than he originally intended.”
“Perhaps,” Felix studied the face of the dead man and shook his head. Nothing in the house had been taken. If it had been a petty revenge scheme to get back at Felix for firing him then he would have taken something. The man had been an uncontrollable thief, taking this and that with little regard to its value. It had been as if he could not resist the urge. Felix doubted that the man could have resisted the urge to take something unless a firm hand was guiding him with a mixture of fear and payment.
“I could not haul him out on my own, Your Grace. The space is small, and it was impossible to carry such dead weight. One of the other lads aided me in his removal.” He nodded his head toward another groomsman who had been standing in the opening to the wall watching the ordeal, h
is face pale and drawn at the sight of so much blood. “Do you wish for him to be removed to the magistrate to be buried?”
Felix shook his head. “No, not just yet. The magistrate should be called to bear witness to the scene. He will also wish to see the place where he was killed and afterward the blood will need to be cleansed from the area or it will cause the house to stink of the dead. We have no choice but to remove another section of wall. Do you believe that you can point to where you encountered him? I know it is a bit disorienting being on the other side.”
“I believe I can, Your Grace. The sheer number of men running about within the walls left him with nowhere to go. I am fairly certain that he was in the hallway near the library where you saw him last.”
“One would think he would have run during the time I was searching for him,” Felix mused.
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