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“I like to be of assistance when I can.” He paused and seemed to be searching for something else to say. “How are… your readings going?”

“Very well. Mrs. Hillman and I both love Pryor Corbett’s novels.”

“How wonderful that you share common ground with regard to… that author.”

Athena wanted to scream in frustration. Here they were, alone together, out of sight from the rest of the world. The perfect place for a stolen kiss. Why were they engaging in such ridiculous small talk?

“You have such a large library,” Athena heard herself reply. “And you… you are fond of reading as well. You ought to give Pryor Corbett a try.”

He lowered his gaze to hers. Those vivid, blue eyes were suffused with heat. “Perhaps I shall.”

Athena swallowed hard. “Perhaps we could… discuss the book afterward.”

“I would like that.”

With every fiber of her being, Athena longed for him to take her in his arms. Could she convey her want with her eyes?

Would he be able to read what she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud?

He seemed to do exactly that, for he leaned in close, and with his index finger, he traced her bottom lip, a movement that felt sinfully intimate.

“I haven’t forgotten what you said about marriage and freedom,” he breathed against her lips.

“Something about friendship? No romantic entanglement? No kissing .” His eyes glittered.

“However, the last time we tried this, I got the impression that you quite like kissing.” Without further preamble, he brought his mouth to hers.

Athena melted into his kiss. It was utterly delectable, at first soft and questing and then filled with need on his part as well as hers.

His arms enveloped her as he brought her tightly against him, until their bodies met and clung.

She returned the embrace, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, one hand sliding up his neck to thread through his sleek, dark hair.

Their lips met and parted and melded together again with a heat that threatened to consume her. As she kissed him, an unbidden thought resounded in her brain.

I love this man.

She had fought so hard to ignore her feelings, but they could no longer be denied. I love him. I love him. It was a revelation.

Far too soon, with a soft moan of pleasure, he released her mouth. Athena was still in the circle of his embrace, her hands resting along the curves of his neck and back, and her pulse was racing out of control.

“Now that was a fine kiss,” he said quietly.

Their eyes met and Athena returned his smile, which seemed to be filled with affection. She longed to tell him how she felt. But her mind whirred with sudden confusion. Should she reveal her heart? Where could it lead?

Just then, Athena heard the door to the stairwell opening from a floor above and the sound of footsteps descending. Mr. Vernon let her go.

“I shall see you soon, I hope?” he asked under his breath before disappearing down the stairs.

Athena grabbed the handrail and stood quaking in his wake. A maid, carrying an armful of used linens, clomped down the stairs and stopped at the landing, jerking in surprise when she saw Athena. Gathering her wits, Athena yanked open the door to the second floor and sped through it.

She found Mrs. Hillman’s bedchamber and completed her errand, struggling to banish all thoughts of the kiss, and what it might mean, from her mind. Her heart was still racing when she returned to the drawing room and gave Mrs. Hillman the skeins of yarn she required.

As Mrs. Hillman thanked Athena and picked up her knitting, she said casually, “Ian dropped by. Unfortunately, he had to leave, but he said he ran into you on the stairs?”

Athena’s face grew warm as she resumed her seat. “He did.”

Mrs. Hillman gave her a knowing look. “You seem flushed, my dear.”

“Do I?” Athena touched her cheeks self-consciously.

“Ian’s a very attractive man, isn’t he?” Mrs. Hillman’s lips twitched.

“Yes. Very attractive.”

“And so kind and attentive. I’ve always thought it a shame that he never married and settled down.”

“Perhaps he will one day.” Once again, an image presented itself to her, of Mr. Vernon sitting with his bride, intimately conversing by candlelight. But this time, it wasn’t Athena sitting at his side. It was a woman she didn’t recognize.

A cold wave of envy washed over her. The idea of Mr. Vernon marrying someone else cut Athena to the quick. Why does she get to have him? Athena thought, upset. I love him. If he marries anyone, it should be me. But she was still against the idea of marriage. Wasn’t she?

“He is as you say, kind and… thoughtful.” Athena sensed she was babbling but couldn’t stop herself. “It was good of him to check your attic for the mice.”

“I beg your pardon?” Mrs. Hillman glanced up from her needlework. “What mice?”

Athena squinted at her. “He said one of your servants… heard mice up there?”

Mrs. Hillman gave her a blank look, but then with a little gasp and a quick nod, she said, “Oh, yes. The mice. That’s right. I had forgotten.”

For the second time that day, Athena sensed that the person with whom she was speaking was hiding something.

But what?

*

“He kissed you?” Selena clasped her hands with undisguised delight.

She and Athena were sitting on high stools at the kitchen table at Thorndale Manor, enjoying a midnight feast of cheddar cheese, brown bread, sliced apples, and hot tea.

Athena had tried to keep her liaison with Mr. Vernon a secret, but Selena had ferreted it out of her, insisting that Athena had a new glow in her cheeks.

Athena set down her teacup and covered her face with her hands. “And I kissed him back. Twice.”

“ Twice ?”

“Yes. Once at the dower house—”

“I knew something had happened between you that day!” Selena interjected triumphantly.

“—and again, this afternoon. In a stairwell. At Darkmoor Park.”

Selena breathed a joyful sigh. “How was it? Kissing him?”

“They were the best kisses I’ve ever had.

” Not that she’d had that many. Until recently, she had only been kissed twice in her entire life.

Once, at age fourteen—a brief peck behind the village hall after a dance lesson, by a boy who had moved away soon after.

And once by Giles Shaw, a kiss that she had considered quite nice at the time.

But Mr. Vernon’s embraces had given her an entirely new perspective on the kissing experience.

His kisses had been tender, body-shaking, and thrillingly intimate.

“Oh, Athena! I’m so happy for you!” Selena stood and hugged Athena with fervor. “I will be so glad to call Mr. Vernon my brother!”

“Wait, wait! Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Athena withdrew from her sister’s embrace. “They were just kisses. Not a proposal.”

“Perhaps, but a kiss often leads to a proposal.” Selena sat down again and took a bite of apple topped with cheese. “You can’t fool me. I have seen this coming. I’ve noticed how you look at Mr. Vernon, and how he looks at you.”

“What do you mean, how he looks at me ?” But Athena could guess the answer; she had glimpsed it in his eyes.

“The man adores you.”

“Does he?”

“Yes! Anyone could see it. And you’re just as much in love with him, aren’t you?”

Athena took a long, deep breath before admitting, “Yes! Oh, Selena! He’s the most fascinating, intelligent, and wonderful man I’ve ever met. I think I’ve loved him for a while now but couldn’t admit it to myself.”

“He’s going to ask for your hand. I’m sure of it.”

“But—I can’t marry him !” Athena’s heart sank. “You know my position on marriage.”

Selena crossed her arms over her chest. “And you know that for years, I have felt the same way. I love our work here as much as you do. But I am starting to think that the wedded state might actually be advantageous for some women, if they are careful about whom they choose. Look at Diana. She is so happy! Look at Mother and Father. It’s sad that Mama became ill, but they were so well-suited.

Don’t you want to have children of your own? ”

“I do,” Athena admitted. “But I’ve accepted that, if I want to continue our work, I will have to give up that pleasure.”

“Perhaps you won’t have to give it up. I have a suspicion that Mr. Vernon is more open-minded and forward-thinking than many gentlemen. He said he is very much in favor of girls’ education, after all.”

Athena hesitated, recalling something else he had said to her, the day they had walked to the dower house. “But if you met a man who felt as you do? Who allowed you to keep your freedoms?”

Had he been talking about himself? If Mr. Vernon was truly thinking of proposing to her, was it possible that he would accept her desire for a kind of independence, and to continue working and running the school?

It still bothered Athena that if she married, the law would instantly turn over everything she possessed to her husband, including this very house.

But perhaps Mr. Vernon was the kind of man she could trust to do the right thing with that kind of control.

After all, he had loved Thorndale Manor all his life.

It had been his birthright long before she had acquired it.

Athena smiled. If Mr. Vernon loved her as she loved him —the idea of marrying him was becoming quite appealing. More than appealing. It was absolutely intoxicating.

*

It rained that night, a torrential downpour that continued until the wee hours of the morning.

Although Mr. Vernon had checked the attic once for leaks after fixing the roof, this was a much heavier rainfall.

Athena decided to check it herself one more time.

She quickly ventured upstairs while Selena was teaching period two.

A dim light filtered in through the row of attic windows, enabling Athena to make her way across the cluttered space without the benefit of a candle.

To her relief, there was no sign of dampness in the problem spot.

She was about to leave when a rustling made her pause in her tracks.

It was coming from the far end of the attic, which she had never explored. Was it mice?

Mr. Vernon had warned her not to explore up here on her own.

“This attic is old and not particularly safe,” he had said .

“The floor is not sound in places.” But Athena had seen no evidence of an unsound floor.

She didn’t like the idea of rodents nesting in her attic.

Once you let them breed, they would be even more difficult to eradicate. She must—she would —investigate.

Athena pressed on, past several red-brick chimney stacks that shot up to the roof, finally reaching one last chimney at the far end of the house. She heard the rustling sound again and realized it was just a pair of pigeons flapping their wings outside one of the attic windows.

She was about to turn back when her attention was drawn to the last chimney stack in front of her.

Something about it felt odd. It was much larger than any of the other chimneys.

Moreover, Athena seemed to recall that there were no fireplaces on this side of the house. What was a chimney doing here?

After studying the brick expanse, she deduced that it wasn’t a chimney stack at all. It’s a wall. All the other attic walls were made of rough, unfinished timbers. Why was there a finished brick wall at this end?

It appeared to be an ordinary brick wall with a typical running bond pattern.

Some instinct compelled Athena to inspect the wall more closely.

She detected a hairline crack that ran along the edge of the mortar in a more or less rectangular shape.

It almost resembled a door, except that it was edged on the right side by the pattern of the staggered bricks.

Doors don’t belong in brick walls. Unless…

Athena recalled, at the Darkmoor Park dower house, Mr. Vernon pointing out a hidden door that opened by a spring mechanism. Could this be a hidden door as well? If so, it was a clever spot for it. Anyone inspecting the attic would simply think this wall to be the end of the building.

Fascinated, Athena pressed hard on the wall. Nothing happened. She tried again, pressing with all her might as close as she could to the edge of the door-shaped pattern.

A soft click pierced the silence of the attic.

To Athena’s fascination, a heavy door, edged on the right by the alternating bricks of the running bond pattern, swung open on unseen hinges.