Chapter 21 #2
“No doubt she will speak more openly with you, though lately I do not think that Pitt considers it a chore.” Rhys eased her off his lap and onto her feet, then stood.
“I have matters that need my attention. You will remain in the keep until I return.” He held his finger up when she looked ready to protest. “That is light punishment for such flagrant disobedience. I must calm the many tongues you sent wagging with your actions and make sure they know you do not go unpunished.”
Heather did not argue. She had made her choice, knowing there would be consequences to face, and she would do it again.
His hand slipped around the back of her neck and with a quick tug he brought her up against him to kiss her. “Hurry and heal,” he said when the kiss was done, and he quickly left the room.
Heather sat, before her legs would hold her no more. She thought her desire for him would abate after how many times they had made love last night, but it had not. If anything, it had multiplied tenfold. And his words proved that he felt the same.
She reached for the goblet of wine and drank, wondering what could keep her busy while waiting for his return.
Mary McComb’s solar.
The thought had her hurrying out of the chair and out of the room.
Rhys would not mind if she started the search without him since it would confine her to the keep.
With no reason to rush, she slowed her pace as she reached the stairs and with each step she took, she thought of what Rhys had confided to her.
She sat after entering Mary’s solar, trying to comprehend what Quinn had suffered all these years. The awful things he must have gone through and what price he must have been forced to pay for his freedom.
Guilt nudged at her, remembering how she had grown angry through the years, thinking he had stopped loving her, thinking he had died, when all the while, he was fighting his way back to her.
A tear trickled from the corner of her eye.
Her heart had broken, and she had thought her suffering unbearable when it had been nothing compared to what he had endured.
She wished that just once she could call him Quinn, let him know that she loved him, had always loved him and always would.
She gave herself a few more minutes to cry for what they had lost, then she brushed her tears away.
She would not linger in the past. They were here together now and that was what mattered most. She turned her attention on searching for the secret passage.
After an hour or more of examining every part of the room, she sat in the chair again and looked through the few pieces of embroidery in the basket.
Picking up piece after piece, she wondered if her mum had helped Mary McComb stitch any of them and the thought of her mum suddenly had her missing her father and sisters.
The day she had been abducted had changed all their lives and in a strange way for the better.
Emma and Patience both had found love and their father’s health had improved.
She smiled, thinking how thrilled he would be when he discovered that unknowingly he had given her what she wanted most.. .Quinn.
She sat a few moments more, several yawns attacking her and decided to return to her bedchamber and have a bit of rest. Her eyes caught on the room across the narrow hall as she stepped out of the solar and a thought struck her. What if she was searching the wrong room?
Grabbing the torch from the sconce, she opened the door and entered the room. A musty odor whipped around her, and the shadows scurried away from the light as she made her way deeper into the room. She had to step around the many pieces of furniture that had been haphazardly placed in there.
A breeze brushed against her face as she stopped by the lone window. She drew back the heavy tapestry that covered it, surprised to see part of the window broken. Could that be how someone was gaining access to the upper floor, though the height would make it an impossible wall to scale or was it?
She would tell Rhys about it as soon as she saw him. The more she explored the more she realized it would be truly impossible to search this room. There was just too much in the way to do a thorough search. She would ask Rhys to have it cleaned out so they could explore every inch of it.
Disappointed, she began to make her way back toward the door when a sudden gust of wind not only blew the torch out with the strength of a giant’s breath, but it also slammed the door shut, leaving her in complete darkness.
Heather warned herself to remain calm. The dark could intimidate now and then, but now was not the time to let it. All she had to do was make her way to the window and yank the tapestry off and she would have light.
She placed the extinguished torch on top of something in front of her and turned, reaching out in search of the wall. She found it easier than she expected and was pleased by her quick progress. She took hold of the corner of the tapestry and gave it a hard yank.
Nothing happened and after what seemed like endless yanking, she stopped, frustrated.
The skies had grayed again, but the light from the window would be sufficient to see her way around if she could get the tapestry down.
After a few more tries, she gave up. She pulled it back and did not release it until she made a mental trail to the door.
Once in the dark again, she followed the trail in her mind, bumping her leg now and then before reaching the door.
She felt along the frame until she came to the latch and gasped...it was gone. She felt around the whole door—nothing. There was no way for her to get out of the room.