“Nay, not at all,” said Willow, shaking her head. “She loves coming to work in the secret garden because it makes her happy. All she does is spend a lot of time digging in the earth at Imanie’s grave.”
Willow and Conrad looked at each other, both having the same thought at once.
“Do you think –” asked Willow.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Conrad hurried over to the shed and grabbed a spade and made a straight line for Imanie’s grave.
“You can’t dig up Imanie’s grave! If we do that, we are sure to go straight to hell for disrupting the dead.”
“I’ve been living in hell for too long now to fear it.” Conrad stuck the tip of the shovel into the dirt. “But to ease your mind, I am not going to dig up her body. I doubt I’ll have to dig very deep at all.”
Just as he said that, the tip of the shovel hit something that sounded like metal. Willow fell to her knees and used her hands to push away the dirt at the head of Imanie’s grave. Her fingers closed around a long piece of metal. She dug it out, holding it up high in the sun. It was a dagger with jewels embedded in the hilt.
“That’s Bedivere’s dagger that went missing,” said Conrad.
Willow dropped the dagger, not wanting to touch a blade that was used by an assassin.
“What’s the matter?” asked Conrad.
“Never mind. Dig some more. Faster.”
As Conrad worked, Willow pulled out from the soil Lord Beaufort’s signet ring and her heart brooch as well. She quickly pinned the heart on her bodice. The only thing they hadn’t found was the ruby.
“Maybe the ruby’s not here,” said Willow.
“It’s here. It’s got to be. I’m going to keep digging.”
When they dug so deep that Willow was sure they were going to hit Imanie’s body, she made Conrad stop.
“Why don’t we just ask her where she put it?” suggested Willow.
Willow removed her crown and placed it on her lap, dabbing at the perspiration on her brow from working so hard in the hot sun. When she went to put her crown back on her head, the gems winked in the light. But something was different. She wasn’t sure what, but her gut told her to look closer at her crown. Sure enough, stuck into a hole in the inside metal of the headpiece was a gemstone that didn’t match the rest. “There’s no need to ask Hazel after all. I think I know exactly where the ruby is and where it has been all along.”
Chapter 17
Conrad placed the stolen items on the table in the house, with Hazel, Sister Adeline, and Willow watching.
“Hazel, what do you have to say about this?” he asked his sister.
The girl looked at the items, and slowly lowered herself atop a chair. “All right, so I took them,” she admitted.
“Why?” asked Conrad.
“I – I don’t know why I did it.” Her body began to tremble.
“Hazel, don’t you realize what you’ve done?” asked Conrad in a firm voice. “Stealing from nobles is a crime that is not taken lightly. You could be sentenced to death for this.”
“Nay!” she screamed, her eyes opening wide in fear. “I don’t want to die! Please, don’t let them kill me.”
“Well, mayhap you should have thought of that before you stole all these things.” Conrad paced the floor, not knowing what to do. Hazel started crying hysterically.
“Now, now, dear. Don’t cry.” Sister Adeline sat next to Hazel, putting her arm around the girl, trying to calm her.
“I think I know why you did it,” said Willow.
“No one knows why my addled sister does things. Not even her,” said Conrad, throwing his hands in the air.
Hazel wept bitterly.
“Conrad, stop it,” commanded Willow, putting her crown and the ruby on the table. “Your sister told me when she first arrived that she was tired of never being noticed. Hazel, did you think this would make people notice you?”
“I guess so,” said Hazel, wiping a tear from her eye. “But then I got scared and didn’t know what to do. That’s when I buried the items, thinking no one would find them here.”
“But we did find them,” said Conrad. “And now that I know about this, I have no choice but to return the items and apologize to the earl and the others.”
“Nay, that’s no good,” said Adeline. “If you do that, what is to say they won’t think you were the one to steal them to begin with? Or perhaps that you knew about it all along and were working with your sister.”
“That’s absurd,” answered Conrad. “No one would think that.”
“She’s right,” said Willow. “We can’t let anyone know that Hazel stole the items. It would ruin your reputation, Conrad. Even if they didn’t blame you, she is still your sister. Plus, it would put everyone in an awkward situation. Lord Beaufort, being the host, would not be able to let this go without punishing someone for the act. It would hurt his reputation as well, and that’s not fair.”
“I didn’t think of that,” said Conrad, pacing and thinking and finally stopping in his tracks. “I’ve got it. I’ll return the items without anyone knowing from where they came.”
“Aye, we’re the only ones who know the truth,” said Adeline, rubbing Hazel’s back. “And I won’t tell a soul.”
“Nay, it’s not right,” said Willow.
“Willow, please, don’t be stubborn at a time like this.” Conrad didn’t want Willow objecting when they had no other options. “If you have a better idea, I’d like to hear it.”
“Hazel will return the items in secret,” Willow told them. “After all, she’s the one who stole them and needs to redeem herself and make good on her choices and actions.”
“Me?” Hazel looked up in surprise. “I don’t know how to do that. I can’t!”
“Aye, you can,” said Willow. “And while you are returning the items one by one, the rest of us will cause a distraction, so no one will see you doing it. This is your chance to do something important. We’re counting on you.”
“Willow, nay,” said Conrad with a shake of his head. “It’s too dangerous. Hazel is not going to do it.”
“Yes, I am.” Hazel stood up and wiped away one last tear. “Willow is right, Conrad. I am the one who got us into this situation, and I should be the one responsible for making things right.”
“Hazel, I won’t hear of it,” said Conrad.
“I agree with Willow and Hazel.” Adeline stood up, and all three women stared a hole through him. “I am willing to help.”
“So am I,” said Willow. “Conrad? How about you? After all, Hazel is your sister. You should be willing to do anything at all to help her. Do you care enough about her to be a part of this plan? Don’t you want Hazel to be able to right her wrongs?”
Once again, Willow had a way of using her words to get what she wanted. When she put it that way, how could he refuse? “If this doesn’t work, it’ll be a bigger mess than it is right now.”
“But if we can pull it off,” said Willow, “Hazel will have redeemed herself, and everyone will be happy their items have been returned.”
“What will they say when the stolen items just happen to show up after they’ve been searching for them for so long?” Conrad still wasn’t sure he agreed to this plan.
“Leave that to me,” said Willow with a smile. “Now, do you trust me? And do you agree to help us?”
Conrad looked from face to face, knowing there was no way he could say no to his needy sister, a nun, and the woman he loved. “All right,” he ground out, having no other choice and feeling as if he’d just made a deal with the devil.
Willow felt nervous, excited, terrified and alive all at the same time. The first thing they needed to do was to make sure Lord Beaufort found his signet ring. If so, it might be easier for everyone to accept the fact they were going to find their missing items one by one. Willow had devised a plan that included Hazel, Adeline, Conrad and herself. If things went accordingly with no mishaps, in the next hour and before the guests left
the castle, they would all be happy again.
She sat at the dais table for the meal with Lord Beaufort on one side of her and Hazel on the other. Conrad was on the other side of Beaufort talking to Earl Alnwick, getting ready for his part of the plan. The meal was almost over, and the knot in Willow’s stomach grew tighter. She gave Hazel the signal. She put her hand over her heart brooch and tapped her fingers on it three times. Hazel dug into her pocket, then stood up and excused herself. As she walked behind Lord Beaufort’s chair, she dropped the ring into the rushes.
Hazel’s eyes locked with Willow’s. Willow’s heart pounded in her ears. Conrad watched from the corner of his eyes, while Sister Adeline waited near the kitchen, holding back the hounds.
Hazel hurried past the nun and headed up to the earl’s solar. Willow nodded at Sister Adeline next. The nun released the hounds and followed Hazel. The hounds ran straight over to the dais, stopping at Lord Beaufort’s side, begging.
“Who let the hounds out?” growled Beaufort.
“The dogs just want a bite to eat.” Willow eyed the ring atop the rushes and dropped a piece of venison on the ground next to it. The dogs started fighting over the meat.
“Stop that. Stop it, I say.” Lord Beaufort reached down to pull the hounds apart, and when he did, he saw the ring. “What’s this?” He reached down and picked it up, brushing the clinging rushes from it. “It’s my signet ring.”
“Your ring?” asked Conrad, right on cue. “So it seems it wasn’t stolen after all.”
“Aye, you must have dropped it during one of the meals,” Willow told him, fingering her heart brooch for strength.
Lord Beaufort noticed. “Lady Willow, isn’t that the brooch you had stolen?” He slipped the ring on his finger.
“This?” She clasped the brooch with her palm, and her eyes met with Conrad’s.
“She found it just this morning,” said Conrad. “It seems the clasp must have given way because it was stuck on the . . . the . . . horse.”
“Horse?” Lord Beaufort questioned while Earl Alnwick chuckled.
Willow shot Conrad a daggered look. He shrugged his shoulders.
“What Sir Conrad means is that the pin must have come off during one of my rides,” said Willow, trying to sound convincing, and at the same time keep the panic hidden from her words. “Since I didn’t use a saddle a few times, the pin was caught on the riding blanket.”
She must have hidden the fear in her voice well because Lord Beaufort nodded and smiled. “It is good to have my ring back. Earl, I only regret that your ruby wasn’t found.”
“Or my dagger,” mumbled Sir Bedivere from next to Conrad.
After a while, the meal ended, and the music started.
“I’ll be leaving with my bride now,” announced Bedivere, getting to his feet.
“Now?” Willow’s eyes shot over to Conrad. It was too early. They needed to keep him there. Hazel was replacing the ruby in the earl’s solar and Sister Adeline was keeping watch. The plan was that Conrad would find a reason to go back to the earl’s solar with him. They weren’t planning on returning Bedivere’s dagger until last. If he left now, he would ruin their plans.
“I’ll be leaving as well,” said the earl, standing up, frowning. “It is not going to be a pleasant task telling the king I no longer have the ruby to trade in exchange for my castle.”
Willow nodded to Conrad, giving him the signal. They needed to move forward quickly with their operation.
“Earl, if you don’t mind, I would like to have a drink with you in your solar before you leave,” said Conrad.
“His solar?” asked Lord Beaufort. “Why not right here and I will join you?”
Willow and Conrad exchanged frantic glances. This wasn’t going to work.
“Lord Beaufort, I was hoping to have one dance with you before the end of the festivities,” said Willow, using all her charm. “After all, you have been so kind to me, and I feel as if I have caused you so much trouble.”
“Mayhap some other time,” said Beaufort, getting to his feet.
“Lady Ernestine,” said Willow, knowing the only way to get the man to do what she wanted at this point was to have another woman on her side. “You and your husband have been so kind to have me here at Castle Rothbury as your ward. You wouldn’t mind if I danced with your husband – just one dance, would you?”
“Nay, of course not,” said Ernestine, dabbing her mouth with a cloth.
“I said, not now,” replied Beaufort.
“Walter,” scolded Ernestine. “Your ward would like a dance with you, now do not disappoint the young lady.”
Beaufort let out a sigh. “All right, but just one.”
Willow nodded slightly to Conrad.
“One fast drink in your solar to send you on your way won’t hold you up too long, will it?” Conrad asked Earl Alnwick.
“Well, I suppose I’ll need a drink before I tell Richard the ruby is gone. Come on,” said the earl with a wave of his hand. “Mayhap, we’ll even make that two drinks, or three.”
Willow breathed a sigh of relief, walking out to the main floor to dance with Lord Beaufort as Conrad left with the earl. Hopefully, Hazel and Sister Adeline had done their job by now.
“I don’t understand why you want to dance with me,” said Beaufort, taking her arm and joining the others in dance. “After all, I thought you’d want to dance with Sir Conrad before he left and that you’d want to try to convince him to marry you.”
Willow kept her eyes on the door of the great hall as the musicians played a lively tune and she danced with Beaufort.
“I don’t know what you mean, Lord Beaufort. After all, I cannot make anyone do something they don’t want to.”
“Hah!” spat Beaufort. “I know you too well to believe that, Willow.”
“Sir Conrad explained to me that he will not marry me before he talks to my father, and I agreed. That is the right thing to do.”
“I suppose so,” he mumbled.
“Lord Beaufort, you never should have let me put myself up as a prize bride without first consulting my father.”
“Why not? I figured you’d talk him into it, just like you always do with everything else.”
“You weren’t just trying to get rid of me, were you?”
The look in the man’s eyes told her she’d figured out his motive.
“Nay, of course not. You can stay at Rothbury as long as you want.”
“Rest assured, Lord Beaufort, if everything works out the way I’d like it to, I won’t be your ward for much longer.”
Willow saw Hazel and Sister Adeline appear in the doorway and she breathed a sigh of relief. Then they disappeared to hide the last item – Sir Bedivere’s dagger.
Next, shouting was heard. The earl ran into the great hall with Conrad right behind him. “I found it! I found my ruby.” Earl Alnwick held his hand over his head, rushing in to show everyone.
“God’s eyes, Alnwick, did you really find it?” Lord Beaufort raised his hand to stop the music and rushed across the hall to join him. “We looked everywhere and searched everyone. Where did you find it?”
“It was stuck under the velvet casing inside the chest,” the earl explained. “I never would have seen it if Sir Conrad hadn’t asked to admire the piece. He’s the one who pointed out there was a bump under the velvet. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before.”
“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Willow, hurrying to the earl’s side. “Now you can give the ruby to the king in exchange for keeping your castle.”
“Aye,” said Earl Alnwick, rubbing the ruby against his tunic to shine it. “And this isn’t leaving my possession until I meet with the king. I won’t take the chance of it disappearing again.”
“I am so happy you’ll be able to continue your plan of guarding the border and possibly making an alliance with the Scots,” said Willow.
“Aye,” answered the earl. “If John of Gaunt would have gotten hold of my castle, there would have
been no chance for peace in the future, ever. This is a miracle that I found the missing ruby.”
“Miracle, bah!” spat Bedivere, looking over the earl’s shoulder. “It seems a little suspicious to me that all the stolen items are suddenly showing up. Don’t you think so?”
“Bedivere, what are you saying?” asked Alnwick.
“I’m only saying that perhaps the thief is still here, right in the castle and only wants us to think that the items were misplaced.”
“I don’t believe that at all,” said Conrad. “Why would a thief steal something just to give it back? That is highly improbable.”
“That’s right,” said Willow. “So that proves they were only misplaced to begin with.”
“I never, and I repeat never, misplace a weapon,” Bedivere told them. “I am not that careless. Someone stole it from my room, I tell you. And when I find the culprit, I will make him pay.” Bedivere stormed out of the great hall and headed toward his room.
“Conrad,” Willow whispered. “We’ve got to stop him. There is no way Hazel has done her task yet.”
“Do you think there is still a thief in Castle Rothbury?” the earl asked Lord Beaufort. Commotion started up, and the crowd seemed to go into a frenzy from Bedivere’s suggestion.
“I’ll take care of Bedivere,” said Conrad, but Willow stopped him.
“Nay,” she whispered. “You need to stay here and convince everyone it was just a coincidence the missing objects are all showing up at the same time. I’ll stop Bedivere.”
“I don’t want you going anywhere near the man,” Conrad answered.
“Don’t you trust him? Or is it me you don’t trust instead?”
“Willow, don’t,” said Conrad, clenching his jaw.
“If you believe I am not who the rumors make me out to be, then you will let me handle this, and you will stay here.”
He took a moment to answer but finally nodded slightly. “Be careful,” he warned her. “I don’t trust the man at all. There is something about him that I don’t like. He seems to be hiding something.”
Seductive Secrets (Secrets of the Heart Series Book 2) Page 17
