Chapter Twenty-Five
The hidden door swung inward with a low sigh, revealing the small but impressive room. The walls were paneled in dark wood. The air was cool and faintly perfumed with smoke and roses.
Arthur stepped inside the hidden room behind the fireplace in Lady Beatrice Hatherleigh’s manor; the door closed behind him, sealing them in secrecy.
In the center of the room stood a table of black marble.
Its surface reflected the hovering flames that lit the room—her ladyship’s own creation, fire suspended in perfect obedience.
She sat waiting in a midnight-blue velvet evening dress.
Reginald Greville had also arrived. Their number would not be reaching four anytime soon after the incident with Isla Cole.
Reginald leaned lazily against the wall, arms folded, his face half in shadow. “You’re late.”
Arthur bristled—he was late, and punctuality mattered to a major. “How do you know I wasn’t cleaning up another of your messes?” he snapped.
Reggie stepped away from the wall and pulled out his chair, sitting.
He smirked, not at all bothered by his sharp tone.
“How was I to know the girl would be rescued and you would need to smooth things over with the local authorities? Her companions were supposed to be dead—killed in a tragic car accident. They were lucky they escaped my men.”
“Luck?” Lady Beatrice’s voice was cold. “Is that what we’re calling the result of incompetence now?
” The flames wavered, answering to the tightening of her temper.
“Arthur has a point. Thanks to those loose ends, which you should have ensured were taken care of, they did indeed rescue Isla—and in the process we lost two of our best men.”
“I kidnapped her successfully, which wasn’t easy considering she is guarded day and night, and I punished the fools who ran off without killing her friends,” Reggie protested.
“If the men left with the professor were so competent,” he continued, “then why didn’t you make Jonathan the fourth member of our leadership? He was a skilled Terra.”
Lady Hatherleigh’s nostrils flared. Arthur was not certain he would have poked her when she was clearly furious.
“He was too impulsive—brawny but not clever enough, hence the reason he is now dead,” she said.
“That is why I wanted the professor, for her mind. It’s a shame she refused.
Though Hargreaves did an excellent job extracting memories from her; I do love watching him work.
It is hard to find a loyal butler with his skill set.
Reading someone’s private memories is no small feat, as you should know, Reggie, and he did a marvelous job. ”
Reggie shifted, loosening his tie. He was not a master of reading the personal emotions of others, and Beatrice’s barb had landed, though he pretended otherwise.
“The major is right,” she continued, aware her words stung.
“Arthur had to swoop in when those two were killed, using his contacts to ensure the crime could not be traced back to me.” She fixed Arthur with a look.
“Though I must say I am not pleased to have had the police sniffing about on my land.”
“I have little sway over the constabulary and the detective running the investigation,” Arthur replied evenly.
“The detective was personally attacked and was also part of the rescue, and it would have looked suspicious had I interfered. Your cooperation has, in fact, shifted some focus away from the estate. The flowers sent to Isla were a nice touch.” Beatrice inclined her head regally at the compliment.
“And as for the reason I am late,” Arthur added, “I was at the university library leaving instructions in the book. It was tricky, but I managed it.”
“Very good. Is the underground passage still open to us?”
“It is, and I have Terras at the ready to help access the book through the upper part of the library when needed.”
“Wonderful. It is important we have different ways to access it so we don’t draw any more suspicion.
I would hate to move it—after all, it has been there for centuries.
Now, about Isla,” Beatrice said, her tone returning to business.
“She still needs to be eliminated, per our client’s request. I would also like to see the girl removed after refusing my generous offer; it all feels rather personal now. ”
Reginald gave a casual shrug. “We can remedy her escape, my lady.”
“With the police sniffing around, another head-on attack would draw too much attention,” Arthur warned.
Beatrice’s eyes flicked to him, gleaming in the half light.
“You can try for subtlety if you wish for now, but my patience runs thin. I would appreciate it if her death didn’t point to me, but I don’t care if they suspect Aetherians.
Come the new year, if we have not managed it, well—I am done with waiting, and you, Major, will just have to do what you do best. Cover up any mess we make. ”
“We could try for an accident, then,” Reggie supplied. “For now?”
“You can try. I don’t care how it’s done. Accident or not, I expect results,” she replied. The marble table caught her reflection as the light flickered, the flame distorting her features.
Both men inclined their heads in agreement.
“Good.” She rose, walking stick in hand. As they reached the door, she extinguished the hovering lights with a single flick of her fingers and darkness swallowed them whole, leaving only her voice behind. “Then let us proceed ... carefully, but not too carefully.”
She opened the hidden entrance; light flickered on her silver hair as the door opened. “Now I must find Hargreaves. I have a charity event to attend. My guests await me in the drawing room.”