Twice as Wicked by Elizabeth Bright

Author:Elizabeth Bright [Bright, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Entangled, Scandalous, historical, Historical Romance, Romance, enemies to lovers, mistaken identity, romance novel; romance stories; sexy historical romance; sensual historical romance; historical love stories; alpha hero; English historical romance; Regency romance; British romance; earl hero romance; titled hero romance; humorous romance; humorous love stories; classic Regency romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-10-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Four

Alice felt slightly nauseous as she dressed for dinner. How on earth was she to keep Lord Abingdon from tossing her out on her ear? For, she had realized, Eliza was right—Alice could not, in all good conscience, leave for London just yet.

She was not in love with the viscount, but that did not mean she wished to see him murdered, either. More important—much more, she told herself sternly—she could not leave when it was so obvious that Nicholas Eastwood must be hiding somewhere close.

Lord Abingdon might live in denial, but Alice harbored no such illusions. Nicholas must be behind the attacks on his brother. Who else could it be? And if Nicholas was lurking about the estate, so must she.

Both for her sake, and for Nathaniel’s.

Unfortunately, he would undoubtedly disagree. On all counts.

Bother.

She took special care with her appearance for dinner, allowing Mary to fuss over her curls until they were just so. Alice’s dress was a pale lilac color. Normally she detested pastels, but there was elegant embroidery of dark purple around the sleeves and along the neckline, and that saved it. The color even turned her eyes a smoky lavender, which was quite flattering.

If Abingdon sent her packing, at least she would do so in style.

Mary met her eyes in the mirror with obvious satisfaction. “You look gorgeous, miss.”

“Thank you, Mary.”

“He won’t be able to resist you, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

Alice smiled faintly and gathered her courage. She swept out of the room, down the stairs, and into the library where Lady Wintham’s guests had gathered for a pre-dinner aperitif.

She took a hesitant step forward, her gaze darting around the room. Where was Eliza?

She saw Aunt Bea standing with Lady Claire and her mother, and made her way toward them.

Suddenly, there was a strong hand on her elbow, and before she could even gasp, she found herself no longer in the library. Instead, she was in a small, dark space. She heard the sound of a match being struck, then a lantern on the wall glowed bright, illuminating the room.

“Lord Abingdon. How delightful,” she managed past her suddenly dry throat.

“You’re still here.” His tone suggested that was a very bad idea on her part.

“Indeed.” Her glove had slipped down slightly when he grabbed her elbow. She tugged it carefully back into place, then took in the cramped surroundings. “Speaking of which, where, exactly, are we?”

“One of the many hidden rooms in this house. We came by way of the wall panel next to the bookcase.”

She examined the wall closer, curiosity overtaking her trepidation. “And I suppose this lever brings us back?”

“Yes.”

She did not touch it. This was the first useful information she’d gotten since arriving. “How many hidden rooms are there at Haverly?”

“At least half a dozen that Nick or I or Freesia discovered. Possibly more that we haven’t found.”

Alice looked about. “It doesn’t seem to lead anywhere. What was the purpose of such a room, I wonder?”

“I’m sure my ancestors had their reasons, nefarious or otherwise.

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