Chapter 5 #2
At the top of the stairs she came to a passage that led back to the hallway with three doors on the right and one on the left.
It was the door on the left that caught her attention.
Barring the entrance were several pieces of wood in a crisscross pattern.
Claire reached through the wood and found the latch.
She tried the handle and was surprised when the door opened easily, despite the wooden deterrent.
Obviously, the wood had been placed there with the hope of keeping others out.
Claire hesitated as she bit down on her lip.
Even though she was fairly certain Jules would be upset if he discovered her there, Claire gripped one of the boards at waist height and pulled until first one side of the board then the other came free.
Setting the wood on the floor near the door, she bent over and peeked through the opening she had made.
Her candle illuminated only a few feet in front of her. She could see a finely tiled floor and what appeared to be a large, open chamber. If she wanted to discover more, she would have to go inside. The secrets she needed to uncover about her husband might very well be contained in this room.
Without stopping to think about what she was doing, she set the candleholder on the floor just inside the door and set to work on removing two more of the boards. In no time, she had created a hole large enough for her body to slip through.
Claire straightened and looked about her at the large, empty room, and at the layers of dust covering the floor. No one had been in this chamber for years. She held her candle before her as she stepped farther inside. Only then did she realize the room was not entirely empty.
A small table sat off to the right with one chair tucked neatly beneath it.
The other chair lay on the floor, overturned.
On the table was a candleholder, containing only a wax stub.
Regardless, Claire held her own candle to the wick and welcomed the second sputtering light that illuminated the eerie chamber.
Near the candle on the table was a single overturned teacup laying mere inches from its matching saucer.
Claire frowned into the silver-gray light.
How odd that the cup and the chair remained as though something had happened in the chamber mere moments ago, when the dust proved otherwise.
Dust and a teacup. Claire repressed a shudder.
The gossip had said Jules’s stepmother had died after ingesting poisoned tea Jules himself had served her.
Was this where his stepmother met her end?
“You are not allowed up here,” said a biting voice from the doorway behind her.
Claire swung around at the scathing tone of Jules’s voice. Her heart hammered in her chest. “I was exploring my new home.”
“This is not your home.” Even in the half-light she could see his face was as hard and forbidding as a granite sculpture. He did not bother to come forward but remained where he was, his shoulder propped negligently against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest, watching her.
By the cynical look in his blue eyes, she could see he was angry. “The boards across the door said, ‘please, do come in?’” he drawled sarcastically.
“They piqued my curiosity.”
“It was curiosity that brought you to my door, then?”
Claire’s momentary shock at him discovering her trespassing gave way to her own anger. “It was your offer of marriage that brought me here,” she said tightly.
“I’ve had enough of this charade, Claire. I did not offer you marriage, and you damn well know it.”
She knew his reaction was appropriate for the situation. She had invaded his life and now this chamber, and yet she could not quell the spark of irritation that flared. She yanked the ring off her left hand. Moving toward him, she gripped his hand and placed the ring against his palm.
“Explain that,” she demanded, backing a safe distance away and waiting.
Her emotions veered crazily from humiliation to anger to mirth at the absurdity of this situation.
She was in the wrong for violating his privacy, but how dare he challenge her honesty yet again.
They were legally married. That much was true.
Why they were married was her secret to keep.
“Another ploy?” he drawled cynically as he plucked the ring from his palm with his opposite hand. He brought the slim gold band with three large sapphires up to inspect it. His face paled. “Where did you get this?”
“From your solicitor as a token of your affection.” A wayward chuckle bubbled up inside her. “Ha. We both know that to be decidedly untrue.”
His brows drew together. “My mother’s ring.”
“So it would seem.” Claire frowned at his odd response. All his anger had vanished. Instead, shocked surprise lingered in his voice. “When Mr. Grayson gave it to me, he said it was important to you, maybe even priceless because it was the only reminder you had of the woman who bore you.”
“You have my mother’s ring?”
“That was what your note to me explained.”
“My note?” His gaze turned sharp, as though no longer shocked by her words.
“The one you sent with the ring.” Claire took a step back, suddenly weary.
“You do not happen to have this note in your possession, do you?” He brought his gaze to hers, cynical contempt blazing in the depths of his eyes.
“Your solicitor took it back from me after sliding your ring on my finger.”
“Of course he did. Why leave proof of your deception for others to dispute.”
Claire felt physically ill at the thought that he might turn her away without even giving her a chance. She swallowed against the dryness in her throat. The girls. How could she protect them? How could she find them? She had tried before agreeing to this marriage, and had failed.
“This is madness. Utter madness,” Claire cried. The lives of the girls were at stake. She had to turn this situation around.
“Madness has been the bane of my life for the last four years. Why would things be any different now?” he asked. The edge to his voice had lessened, and that surprised her.
“What can I do to show you how sincere I am about being a good wife to you?”
“Nothing, not until I know the truth.”
“And how will you get that, if not from me?”
“I’ve sent for my solicitor. When he arrives we will discover the truth.” Jules came closer, and suddenly his presence was threatening again. “And until then, I want you close, where I can see you, rather than operating behind my back.”
Not for the first time, Claire found herself at a loss to understand him. First he wanted her to go. Now he wanted her to stay. Holding on to her ring proved to her that he wasn’t about to claim her as his bride just yet either.
Terrified her tears were going to fall, Claire tipped her head back, inspecting the ceiling.
Through a haze of tears she realized she could accept his terms. For now, she would be allowed to stay and to play the part of his wife.
And she intended to use that time wisely, to convince him she belonged by his side.
Too much was at stake to allow for anything else.
Only two things stood in her way. The first was the enigmatic man who no longer looked at her. Instead he gazed off into the far corners of the room, his profile taut. The second was the pheasant she would have to prepare for supper.
The pheasant seemed far less of a challenge than the man.