anything his duchess did. In fact, he was the one member of his family who seemed not to exhibit the least amount of discontent with any of the others. He had thrown himself into his role as a ballad singer with relish, his cheeks red with drink, and he seemed to have no care beyond the moment’s pleasure.
Given the frenzied gaiety and the fissures beginning to appear in some of the merrymakers’ facades, as well as the continued consumption of strong spirits, my nerves became attuned for impending hostility and confrontation, blunting my enjoyment. So when Lord Edward announced his intention of leading a ghost tour through the castle, I leapt at the opportunity. Gage was less eager, but then his senses were dulled to the potential for discord. In any case, it didn’t take long to convince him to join me, especially when I declared my intention to go with or without him.
Gage was nothing if not protective of me, particularly since I carried his child. And this time, though I didn’t yet know it, I had more cause than usual to be glad of his escort.
CHAPTER FOUR
I’d expected the tour to be rather dull, but Lord Edward swiftly proved me wrong. For one, he was not nearly as drunk as I’d assumed him to be, and for another, he was an excellent storyteller. He caused the hair to stand up on the back of my neck at his tale of the maid whose own neck had been snapped during a fall down the ballroom staircase, and who hovered nearby, waiting to bestow the same fate on others. The green lady in the north tower and the courtier supposedly spiked on the gun terrace were similarly affecting.
Gage, on the other hand, was less impressed. But then again, he’d never been inclined to believe in the supernatural, even though we had both seen things that would make the most logical of humans question the possibility. My Scottish roots and the tales woven by my nanny since birth made me more susceptible.
“This is ridiculous,” he leaned close to whisper in my ear as we followed Lord Edward down a passage bustling with servants moving between the kitchens and storerooms and up to the staterooms two floors above. Further along the passage, the periodic flourish of fiddle music could be heard emerging from the servants’ hall as the door opened and closed. “I can think of four dozen things I’d rather be doing.” His teeth nipped my ear. “And one in particular.”
“Later,” I retorted.
He chuckled. “And the honeymoon is over.”
I swatted his arm playfully. “I said ‘later,’ not ‘never.’”
He sighed. “Yes, but you’d still rather go looking for some moldy old ghost.”
“Perhaps fright will have an amorous effect on me,” I countered, arching my chin upward.
His lips quirked. “It’s more likely you’ll wish to spend the evening debating whether these clankers his lordship is telling us are true, and how they originated.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but then stopped when I saw the gleam of affection in his eyes. He was teasing me. Something I should have realized sooner, for he’d always given every indication he enjoyed our unorthodox discussions as much as I did.
I clung tightly to his arm as we made our way down the circular staircase which led from the servants’ quarters on the ground floor down into the level below ground that Lord Edward persisted in calling the “doom.” Whether this epithet had been ascribed to it purely for our benefit or it had always been called this, I didn’t know, but it sent a frisson of unease down my spine.
“This part of the castle is most often used for coal storage now,” Lord Edward explained as we reached the bottom of the stairs. The musty stench of dirt, dust, and damp stone assailed our nostrils. An echo of the bustling noises from the floor above wafted down to us, but otherwise the space surrounding us was dark and quiet.
Lord Edward hefted his lamp, leading us along a stone passage. “But in days past, this part of the castle also housed the dungeons, complete with its own impressive array of torture devices. As children, we used to pass through here, but even as inquisitive boys, we never dared venture into the old cells and chambers that made up the larger part of the dungeon.” His eyes widened as if in fear, dark hollows in the shadows cast by the lantern. “Not when we could hear the chains