Two Lady Scoundrels and a Duke - Tessa Candle Page 0,37

fur closer around her, thankful for the extra warmth, and for the comfort of having something of her mother's to touch. Her mother had been a woman of grander tastes than Eleanor. It sometimes made her feel like a little girl playing dress up in the attic, but wearing something of her mother's reduced the ache of loss to a dull throb.

The clump of trees thinned to reveal a rocky outcropping. Shovels and other work equipment leaned neatly up against the side of the stone face. This must be where the marquess' pirate's cave was under construction. It seemed silly, but Frobisher was expanding a natural grotto on his property and fitting it up to look like some hiding place for exotic criminals. The curse of being rich and idle was that one had to go through extreme effort to find novelties with which to amuse oneself.

She laughed bitterly. She understood desperate bids for diversion. If she were not forced into seclusion by Auchdun, she would probably be back in London, scheming how to sneak into another late night gambling party. But at least her diversions were—what a scandalously crass thought—profitable. But it was probably just as well that she was out of town, and away from the worst of the whispering.

Eleanor approached the cave's opening and peered into the dark interior. It was worth exploring. It might be useful to have a hideaway such as this, in case Auchdun remained in the area.

She stepped inside. The air was cold and still, faintly laden with that earthy smell that some wine cellars had. She walked as far as she could down the tunnel before she lost most of the light from outside.

As her eyes adjusted, she began to see glimmering will-o'-the-wisps of luminance here and there in the passageway. The walls were in a partial state of decoration with coloured glass beads, exotic shells and gold leafing. She wandered further inside, realizing that there was a faint glow creeping into the chasm from deeper within.

Curious. Could someone be there? Rutherford had mentioned that the men were putting the finishing touches on Frobisher’s project, and only worked in the afternoon when it was a bit warmer for some of the adhesive materials, and when full light from the west lit up the entryway. There should not be anyone there so early.

She crept further down the passage, keeping one hand on the wall to steady herself until her eyes grew more accustomed to the gloom. When she turned left to follow the light into another passage, she became aware of faint voices.

More curious by the moment, she continued further until she could make out the conversation. She paused, stifling a giggle, to eavesdrop.

A man's voice said, "I think you will find it more habitable now that I have made this little chimney to the outside and you can have a fire. But do not start feeling entitled, or I will stop bringing coal."

A muffled epithet came from another person.

"Well, yes, I may indeed go to hell, Wormshit, but you are already there. And cursing the devil will not help you. You will do what I say and you will tell me what I want to know. I can do anything I wish to you, and no one will be any the wiser. Just remember that."

Eleanor shivered at the squeak of a wheel and a screeching hinge. The sounds grew fainter for a while, before the voice emerged again.

"Do not make yourself too comfortable. I will be back."

The hinge squealed again, and Eleanor realized with sudden alarm that the man was probably coming her way. She ran back through the passageway as fast as she could in the darkness, then hastened through the ornamented upper portion and out of the cave mouth, thankful for the daylight that promised a return to the natural order of things.

What madness had she just witnessed? But she did not want to be caught running away like a guilty spy. Eleanor forced herself to slow down from her sprint to a brisk walk back up the path, and did not permit herself to look behind her, despite every impulse of her shivering nerves.

She had almost caught her breath, as she rounded the thick copse of trees, but her heartbeat surged again as she nearly collided with a gentleman strolling down the path from the other direction.

Sample Chapter 2

Delville stepped into the daylight from the shade of the cave mouth and congratulated himself on completing his secret chamber. The