A Secret Desire_A Steamy Regency Romance (London Secrets 2 by Charlie Lane

Author:Charlie Lane [Lane, Charlie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2020-07-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Grayson threw the dust cover off the wardrobe and coughed. He didn’t see why this wing of the house needed renovating. It looked fine to him. But it would be a hell of a lot more complicated to search these rooms if they were currently occupied by guests. So, despite the dust, he felt grateful. The sooner he found the necklace, the sooner he could start life on his own terms.

He surveyed Henrietta’s room from last year. Where to begin? Certainly, any items left in drawers or on tables would already have been found and returned or stolen. No use checking those. Better to start with the less obvious hiding places. Like that obnoxiously large wardrobe. He rubbed his hands together before slipping them between the wardrobe and the wall, then heaved the furniture away from the wall with a grunt. Or tried to. “Damn.” It moved an inch. He bent at the knees to try again.

“Only this morning you turned a small rowboat right side up on a choppy lake and then lifted a small girl into it, so I’m convinced of your strength, but I do have my doubts about this current endeavor. That”—Henrietta pointed to the wardrobe—“is massive.”

Grayson bolted to his feet and whipped around. Henrietta stood in the door, hands clasped before her, a slight smirk lifting the corner of her pink mouth.

“What are you doing here?” More to the point, how had she known where to find him?

She slipped her hand into a pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. “I found Willems to give you this, and he told me where I could find you.” She held the paper out to him.

Grayson took the paper and unfolded it, revealing a list of names. “You could have asked Willems to give it to me.”

She looked out of the window, avoiding his gaze. “I could have, yes.”

“What is it?”

“The list of maids’ names Ada gathered from Lady Stonefield.”

He refolded the paper and slid it into his breast pocket. “Will you help me with the interviews again?”

“I don’t see how my help is necessary.” Her hands clasped in front of her again, and she backed toward the open door.

“The maids trust you more than they do me. I swear half the girls we interviewed yesterday were scared I’d seduce them.”

“Or hopeful of it,” she quipped, then shook her head. “No. I shouldn’t.”

And yet she wavered. He could see it, so he tried again. “You would be a wonderful asset. You know it.”

She still seemed unconvinced.

“We’ll find the necklace much sooner if we work side by side.”

“No. The list must be my only contribution. You’ve got it now.” She backed toward the doorway, farther away from him, like a wild animal cornered. “But”—she took a bold step forward—“I’ll help you search this room first. Then I’m done. I’ve decided I don’t need Lady Willow’s patronage. So, it’s no longer my business whether or not you find the necklace and take a wife.”

It was very much her business.

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