Page 18 of A Scandal In July
Had he ever brought a woman back to his chambers here? Wouldsheever get the chance to see inside?
They finally came to the entrance to a circular turret, with a winding staircase that got gradually narrower as they ascended. Rhys went up first, and she took the opportunity to appreciate the strong curves of his buttocks and the way the muscles of his thighs rippled under the soft buckskin of his breeches.
“This reminds me of that fairytale about the girl with the golden hair. Rapunzel.” Lenore panted, a little out of breath from climbing all the stairs.
She’d asked Caro to lace her stays quite tightly that morning, to accentuate her breasts, but now she was regretting it. She hated blasted stays. She’d gone months without them in the jungle, and the first time she’d had to put on a corset again, back in London, had made her long for the freedom she’d once had.
“I prefer getting to the top this way,” Rhys said. “Climbing up the outside is a lot more work.”
“That sounds as if you’ve actually attempted it,” she joked.
“Oh, I have. Several times, much to my father’s annoyance. I once got all the way up to the third floor, almost up to the gargoyles, then my boot slipped.”
She gasped. “Dear God! That’s so dangerous. You could have fallen and broken your neck!”
His chuckle echoed down the spiral stair. “I didn’t fall. Not far, anyway. I’d tied a rope around my waist, and Gryff was up here in the tower holding the other end. He looped it over the beam that holds the bell, so it would take my weight if I slipped. It worked a treat.”
Lenore shook her head, still feeling a little queasy over the idea of him being injured, or worse.
Gryff stopped on the steps ahead and reached up above his head. “Three years in the army’s cured me of such recklessness. I wouldn’t try something so idiotic now. At fifteen you think you’re invincible. By the time you reach twenty-five, you realize life’s far too precious, too easily lost, to tempt fate that way.”
He paused and Lenore nodded, even though he couldn’t see her in the darkness.
“Here’s the trapdoor, I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”
“I don’t think I am,” Lenore said truthfully. “But then again, I haven’t been up very many places like this.”
The hatch fell flat with a bang, and sunlight flooded the stairwell as she followed Rhys up and out into the bell tower. Instead of having windows, the sides were open to the elements, and two black ravens, startled by the noise, took flight through the open arches, cawing loudly.
The floor was wooden planks, and a circular wall, barely waist high, encircled the tower. Lenore’s breath caught in her chest. Her knees felt decidedly wobbly, and she had no desire to go any nearer the edge of the parapet.
A cool breeze fanned her hair back from her face as she steadied herself on a huge wooden crossbeam from which hung a large brass bell.
“That bell’s been there for hundreds of years to warn of impending Montgomery invasions,” Rhys said with a smile. “I wonder how many times it’s been rung?”
“Almost as many times as the one in the tower at Newstead Park,” Lenore countered pertly. “Designed to let everyone know when the Wild Welsh Davies were on the rampage with their torches and pitchforks.”
“Ah, the good old days,” Rhys chuckled. He gestured over the countryside which spread out before them in all directions like a verdant green patchwork quilt. “Isn’t that an excellent view?”
It was undoubtedly worth the climb. Far below, the small figures of Morgan and Harriet could be seen crossing toward the woods, and further away Lenore caught a flash of Caro’s pink skirts near the Davies menagerie.
The glint of sunlight on water in the distance made her squint.
“That’s the lake,” Rhys pointed, noting the direction of her gaze. “There’s a boat house too, by the water’s edge. We’ll need to head there in a bit for the boat and island clues.”
Lenore turned west. “Can you see Newstead Park from here?”
“Not even with a telescope,” Rhys grinned. “And believe me, we all tried spying on you Mad Montgomerys.” He pointed upward, toward the roof. “There’s a flagpole up there, where Gryff once hung Maddie’s shawl as a war trophy. That was years ago, but taunting you lot never seems to get old.”
Lenore bit back a smile, then a blur of movement below caught her eye, and a shrill avian screech filled the air.
“Oh! Morgan’s chasing that peacock!”
Rhys leaned over the parapet for a better look, apparently unafraid of the monstrous drop, and Lenore bit back the urge to grab the back of his jacket to steady him. His younger brother was indeed racing across the lawn after an aggrieved peacock.
“I wonder if it’s Geoffrey?”
“Look!” Lenore pointed. “Carys is hiding behind the hedge. Morgan’s chasing him toward her without even realizing it!”