when Lord Pembroke would no doubt return to London. What on earth had happened at Ravengrove?
Rebecca, however, would not breathe a word of it, merely smiling that meaningful, but utterly secretive smile of hers and then changing the subject.
Of course, who was Caroline to complain? After all, she, too, knew how to keep a secret. Many of them, to be precise!
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Rebecca said all of a sudden, her green eyes sparkling with excitement as she reached for Caroline’s hands, pulling her to the side of the path and out of the way of others enjoying a beautiful autumn day in the park. “I simply didn’t dare in the house where your parents could have overheard.”
Caroline’s gaze narrowed as she watched her cousin intently.
“One night at Ravengrove,” Rebecca whispered, her eyes darting left and right, “an intruder broke into the castle.”
Caroline drew in a sharp breath, her own thoughts immediately drawn back to the night she’d been called to the orphanage. “An intruder?” she asked, a little breathless.
Rebecca nodded. “No one knows who he was because he was wearing a mask.”
As though her cousin had slapped her, Caroline flinched. “A mask?” she gasped as another masked face rose before her inner eye, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Yes, and he disappeared out the window before anyone could stop him,” she continued, her green eyes alight with excitement.
Caroline frowned. “You sound all but happy about this occurrence.”
Grinning, Rebecca shrugged. “You have to admit it’s fascinating.”
“Fascinating?” In all honesty, Caroline could have done without making the acquaintance of her own masked bandit that night. Or could it perhaps have been the same man? How many masked men were currently on the loose in England? “What did he want?”
At her question, Rebecca’s gaze moved from Caroline’s as though by coincidence and she sighed, looking out at the Serpentine glistening in the distance. “Oh, we never found out,” she said nonchalantly, lifting a hand to shield her eyes against the brilliant autumn sun. “He disappeared before providing any answers.” With a grin, she turned back to look at Caroline. “That was very rude of him, wouldn’t you agree? Keeping us all in suspense.”
Caroline nodded, but refrained from saying anything. Quite obviously, Rebecca had at least some idea what it was that nightly intruder had wanted, and equally obviously, she was determined to keep it to herself.
When had life become so complicated? Caroline wondered. And so secretive?
“What shall we do tomorrow?” Rebecca asked, sliding her arm through the crook of her cousin’s.
“I have my needlepoint circle,” Caroline replied, knowing that it was about time she looked in on Mr. Wolsey. Although the repairs of the roof had gone through without a hitch—fortunately, she’d been able to hold on to the other half she’d owned Mr. Carpenter!—more needed to be done for the children, and Mr. Wolsey was clearly not up to the task. In fact, the man was not to be trusted! There was something about him that made her skin crawl.
Rebecca pouted. “Even now? I thought everyone had gone to the country.”
“Not everyone,” Caroline pointed out. “However, you’re right, at least half the ladies in our little circle are wintering in the country.” She squeezed Rebecca’s arm, a devilish thought coming to her mind. “If you’d like, you could join me. I’m certain no one would object.” In truth, some might!
Rebecca stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Caroline. “Do you secretly dislike me, dear cousin? Why else would you suggest such a heinous thing?”
Caroline laughed, and Rebecca joined in. “We’re quite different people, are we not?”
Rebecca sighed, her green eyes meeting Caroline’s. “You know, sometimes I don’t think we truly are.”
Caroline nodded, wondering at the depth in her cousin’s gaze. “Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps one day, we’ll realize we’re not so different after all.”
Arm in arm, the two cousins walked home, feeling refreshed after an afternoon out in the chilled air. Unfortunately, upon returning home, their butler presented Caroline with a note from Lady Woodward, which had arrived in her absence, saying that some of the ladies had caught a chill and, therefore, their little circle would not meet the following day.
Caroline’s heart sank, and she quickly tried to hide the note. However, Rebecca was quicker, stealing it from her before she could. “What are you hiding there?” Reading it, her face brightened. “It seems you’ll have time tomorrow after all.”
Caroline tried to smile. “So it would seem.”
Chapter Ten
A Fateful Night
With time on