Lady Rosabella's Ruse - By Ann Lethbridge Page 0,19

records of rents paid and collected. More emptiness.

She turned in a circle. This room still had all of its pictures. Perhaps they disguised a hiding place.

She pulled one of the straight-backed wooden chairs underneath a hunting scene adjacent to the hearth.

She hopped up on the chair. The picture shifted easily enough to reveal blank plaster painted blue like the rest of the walls. Disappointed, but not surprised, she slid the picture back in place. Something gave way with a snap. The picture slid through her hands. It was going to smash to the floor. She clutched it, wobbling on the chair.

‘Blast!’

‘Well, well,’ a menacing voice said from the doorway. ‘I had no idea you were an art lover, Mrs Travenor.’

Rosa gasped and almost dropped the picture. ‘Lord Stanford?’ Oh, no. What was he doing here?

He strolled to her chair and looked up at her. ‘It seems a call on the magistrate is in order.’

‘You followed me.’ Gripping the picture frame, she stared at the cynical twist to his mouth and the suspicion rampant in his dark eyes.

‘As well I did,’ he said. ‘Or you’d be making off with someone else’s property.’ He moved in close, too close, and grasped the picture by the frame. ‘I’m afraid I can’t allow you to steal this.’ He took the frame from her grasp and set it down, one edge on the floor, the other leaning against the wall.

He put his hands around her waist and lifted her. His hands were large and warm; he smelled of rain and cigars, and sandalwood. He set her down lightly, as if she weighed nothing at all. ‘Now then, madam, what are you up to?’

How to explain without giving too much away? ‘I know this doesn’t look good, but I am looking for something that belongs to me. I did not intend for the picture to come down off the wall.’

Stanford laughed. ‘Smooth, Mrs Travenor. Very smooth. You must think I’m an idiot.’

‘Then why do you think I have the key to the door?’

He frowned. Looked a little nonplussed. ‘Perhaps you have an accomplice.’

Her heart sank. She certainly did not want to implicate Mr Inchbold. Brazen it out. It was the best way—she’d learned that during her long years at school. And more recently in dealing with the doctor who had come to attend her sister, Sam. ‘I have the key, my lord, because I have every right to be here. I used to live here with my father and I believe he left something behind.’

If anything, the curl to his lip increased. ‘Money? Of course. You are looking for a safe. Expecting to find the family jewels, perhaps?’

‘There are no family jewels here.’ They had all gone to her stepmama. Even those her father bought for her mother. Blast Lord Stanford—why couldn’t he just stick to playing cards instead of chasing after her?

It was that business with Hapton in the linen closet, no doubt. A blush crept up her face. He thought she was no better than she should be. Apparently in more ways than one. ‘This really is none of your business.’

‘It is every man’s business to protect his fellow from thieves and burglars.’ He gave a rather nasty laugh. ‘Indeed, I’ll have you know I am sworn to uphold the law in my role as a member of the House of Lords.’

She gave him a sour look. ‘God help England.’

He cracked a laugh. ‘Indeed.’

Dare she trust him? She heaved a sigh. ‘Perhaps if I explain…’

He nodded, his eyes wary. ‘I’ll listen. But stick to the truth. I will know if you are lying.’

Not telling everything was not lying. All she had to do was convince him she wasn’t a thief. ‘As I said, I lived here once.’

He threw back his head and laughed. ‘Mrs Travenor, you are the most outrageous female I have ever met.’

‘It’s true. There is a servant here who can vouch for me.’

‘Where is this servant?’

She winced. ‘He had to go to Rye, but he will be back and he will confirm that my father was a tenant here before he died. We had to leave in a hurry.’

The laughter left his face, replaced by a swift frown. ‘Debts?’

Well, there were debts. Just not her father’s. ‘Yes.’

His mouth twisted in that cynical smile. ‘And what do you expect to find behind the pictures?’

He didn’t believe her. She swallowed. She couldn’t tell him about the will because then he would want to know the names of her relatives. If any word got