was an impressive three-story building of gray stone, adorned with carefully cultivated ivy.
“This house will have staff,” I said.
He glanced at me.
“It’s much too grand not to.”
“Don’t you think we’ve thought of that?” he asked.
I pulled my arm from his, annoyed at his supercilious tone. “I don’t know what you’ve thought, since you haven’t told me anything.”
He was unimpressed by my irritation. Without responding, he moved along the gate toward the back of the house. I stood still a moment in silent protest and then followed him.
The side gate was open, and we moved through the garden toward the back door.
I wondered briefly if he would need me to pick the lock. If so, I had come prepared. But so, it seemed, had the major. He moved without hesitation to the door and inserted a key he had apparently drawn from his pocket.
We slipped into the house, and he closed the door behind us. We didn’t turn on our torches but stood in the stillness, listening. Everything was dark and quiet.
The house was, as he had said, empty of both residents and staff. I ought to have trusted that the government would be capable of getting information that was accurate, but I had never had a great deal of trust in the government.
“This way.” Major Ramsey led me through the house without pause. Either he had been here before, or he had done a thorough going-over of a map of the place. I followed behind him. I had worn soft-soled shoes, and so there was no sound, even as we walked across the polished wooden floors.
I glanced around as we made our way through several rooms, decorated in a wealthy though not extravagant manner. I surmised the owner of the house might be a bachelor gentleman, for there were none of the gewgaws that were usual to a house occupied by ladies. I supposed the paucity of decorative trinkets was a trait I recognized from my own upbringing. Uncle Mick had cleared away a good deal of Aunt Mary’s things in order to put the memories behind him, and Nacy wasn’t a woman who tended toward knickknacks.
But this house had gone beyond that. There were very few personal items at all, I realized. It was strange and a bit disappointing, for I had been hoping to be able to surmise the identity of the mysterious document holder. It was likely, of course, that most of his possessions had either been stored or removed from London for safety.
We went up the stairs then. It was a handsome wood staircase with a gleaming bannister. There was a rug along it that looked fairly new, as though the occupant of the house did not do a good deal of going up and down the stairs. This wasn’t a primary residence, perhaps? Or perhaps he was a busy man and was seldom at home. Whatever the case, the house was kept in very good order, for none of the stairs creaked as we made our way upward. I almost wished they would have. Everything was so intensely silent.
Major Ramsey, to his credit, moved like a cat in the darkness. Despite the sturdiness of his frame, he was light on his feet and moved with easy assurance through the dark hallway ahead of me.
I appreciated that he didn’t turn around to be sure I still followed. He trusted that I was keeping up with him in the darkness, though my steps were as silent as his.
At the end of the hallway, he stopped before a door. Reaching out, he tried the knob. It gave and the door opened ever so slightly.
I had begun to grow accustomed to the darkness, and, as I looked at his profile, I saw there was a flicker of a frown that crossed his brow. Had he expected the door to be locked?
He pushed the door open farther and stepped into the room. I followed. Like the rest of the house, the dark room was made darker with blackout curtains. I would have to see the safe to work on it, and I’d rather not walk through a strange room without any knowledge of what furniture might be lying in wait to trip me.
“Shall I turn on my torch?” I asked.
“Wait a moment.” His voice, appearing suddenly, practically in my ear, was so quiet I might almost have imagined it.
I hadn’t realized he had moved so close. He had made absolutely no noise. I couldn’t even hear him breathing now that