Lord of Deceit by Sara Ramsey

Author:Sara Ramsey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781938312106
Published: 2016-06-28T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Her co-conspirator was having doubts. Octavia knew it as sure as she knew the doubts in her own heart.

She had spent a sleepless night thinking about Lucy — thinking about all the ways they had failed each other, and all the ways they continued to fail. And she’d thought about Rafe, and why he hadn’t kissed her, and whether there was more to it than his explanation — entirely practical — that they couldn’t jeopardize their mission.

But the time for doubts had passed. He got her into the abbey with little effort. They reached the Gothic wing just as day turned to dusk. He had left one of the doors unlocked, so he didn’t need to go into the modern wing without her and come back to let her in — they walked in together as though she belonged there.

“How long do you think it will take to assemble the party of ghost hunters?” she asked quietly, trying to keep her voice and her steps from echoing as they walked through the soaring chapel.

“At least an hour,” he said. “It is Sunday — as I guessed, Lucretia indicated before dinner that she intended to make a short night of this evening’s entertainment. So a few well-placed words to whichever men are still left in the drawing room when I get back should make it easy to get a few of them together. I already hinted to Sir Percival this morning that he should go looking for ghosts on the holy day. But I have to be careful — I don’t want any of them to remember that I suggested it.”

“Shall we agree to a time? I don’t want to wait without a candle for longer than necessary.”

“I will make enough noise when we’re walking through the chapel that you can’t possibly miss it,” Rafe said. “It should only take you a few moments to extinguish the candle and arrange yourself in an appropriately macabre manner.”

Octavia nodded. She no longer loved the plan, if only because she didn’t like the idea of hiding alone in the dark for so long. She might be the only ghost there, but she was too much of a Briarley to think that the estate was entirely free of restless spirits. But she had set her course.

What she hadn’t expected, though, was to cross paths with anyone else in the Gothic wing. And so it came as a shock when they rounded the last corner before the monks’ rooms and ran straight into Lady Serena.

Silence reigned, absolute. Serena looked Octavia up and down, clearly surprised — and it was only surprise that Octavia saw on her face, with none of the judgment she had expected. Octavia hadn’t seen her since their debut season, when they had been friends. Or, at least, the kind of friends one made in society — happy to gossip with one another, until the gossip targeted Octavia and turned her into someone with whom her “friends” couldn’t associate.

“What illicit assignation are you seeking, Serena?” Rafe asked.

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