Page 12

Gavin

G avin stared at the pendulum swinging back and forth with each tick-tock of the clock. Adelaide should have been there by now. The sun had already risen, and, if he had to guess, Castle Belmont was bustling with activity.

Had she forgotten?

He shook his head. He doubted Adelaide could have forgotten the events of last night. Being assaulted wasn’t something so easily forgotten, and while he’d seen far worse sights—had personally experienced far worse circumstances—Gavin himself hadn’t been able to sleep thanks to the inquiry of his own mind. He needed to know why, why her, why last night, why any of it.

Tapping his fingers against the desk, Gavin turned the assailant’s replies over in his head once more. More importantly, his mind replayed the man’s mannerisms. The flickering eyes, the wide-eyed fear, the backtracking. None of it made any sense.

And then there was Adelaide to consider.

Could her disappearance have something to do with what happened last night? Was Gavin right to assume she was Mistress Scrabs’s thief?

“ Coopenell, ” Gavin whispered, waving his hand in front of the hidden drawer of his desk. The lock clicked, and the drawer popped open, allowing Gavin to grasp the edge and slide it out the rest of the way. He took up his notes and sat back.

There was at least one woman involved in Mistress Scrabs’s enterprise, aside from the Master of Thieves herself. A woman who appeared as a maid and disappeared alongside the various artifacts. A woman with green eyes, or possibly gray, and a quiet disposition. A woman incapable of leaving an impression…

Adelaide’s eyes were in fact green. The only other thing he knew about her that mattered in this sense was that she herself didn’t bear any ill intention toward Castle Belmont, but if she worked for someone who did, the barrier wouldn’t discern that. The latter he knew only because she hadn’t triggered the wards protecting the Belmont estate. Despite the fact that her arrival at Castle Belmont was suspicious seeing as it coincided with his returning with the Eye of Behelwer, Adelaide had successfully stepped over the protective measure without issue.

Her assailant had not.

The archduke rested his head against his hand.

How many instances could seriously be mistaken for happenstance before it was realized that they were a pattern, or some twist of fate?

Drawn from his thoughts by a soft knock at his office door, Gavin straightened. Sliding the papers back into the drawer and shutting it, Gavin drawled, “Enter.”

The door opened slowly. Adelaide stepped into the office and glanced about before her eyes finally landed on Gavin sitting at his desk.

“Adelaide,” he said, calmly standing and motioning toward the couches, “please, take a seat.”

She nodded and shut the door behind her carefully, her movements sluggish. Gavin watched her curiously. As he drew closer and sat on the couch opposite her, Gavin studied the slight downturn of her pursed lips. He noticed the hitch of her breath as she nearly collapsed and the flash of pain in her emerald eyes. His curiosity gave way to concern.

Adelaide had hardly settled on the edge of her seat before he asked, “Are you all right, Adelaide?”

Her face went slack, her lips parting slightly as if the question had caught her off guard. “Yes, Your Grace. I just had a difficult night’s sleep is all.”

Gavin doubted that was the whole truth. Crossing a leg over his knee, he hoped his appearance was casual and relaxed, not revealing the tension coiling in his blood. Unfurling his magic out toward Adelaide, he said, “I can imagine. Not many peo—” Gavin’s blood froze. His power flared and reared back against the shock of magic that emanated from her. It was like a scar against her soul, one Gavin certainly hadn’t expected to encounter. A scar that ran deep enough that the only explanation possible for it was that it had been reopened again and again. Rage boiled in his blood. The urge to ask who had done that to her overcame him.

Gavin coughed, clearing his throat. He couldn’t ask that, not without needing to explain how he knew what he did. “Sorry. What I meant was that I don’t think many people would be able to forget that so easily.”

Adelaide hummed. Her eyes strayed, taking stock of the office.

“Adelaide,” he started slowly and leaned toward her, “what happened last night?”

Truth be told, Gavin didn’t care about last night. Not anymore. What he wanted to know was what happened this morning to cause the shadows in her eyes that hadn’t even been there last night after she’d been attacked.

Adelaide shifted on the couch. “It all happened so quickly,” she said quietly. “I was just walking back to the estate. I could see the gate.” Her eyes withdrew, misted over by the memory. “And then I was being grabbed. It was so fast, I couldn’t even scream for help…I didn’t even think to fight. I just…froze. I’ve never been so terrified, Your Grace.”

She’d wanted to call for help? Gavin smoothed his hand against his knee to keep from making a fist, trying—and failing—to tamp down the anger simmering in his gut. There wasn’t anything he could do that he hadn’t done, or at least, not until Adelaide told him something. “Did he say anything, ask you to do something, threaten you?”

Adelaide shook her head. Glancing down at her lap, she stated more than asked, “I heard he was caught.”

“He was,” Gavin replied, watching for any indication that could help him gauge her thoughts. “Sir Maxwell is still looking into the information shared with us. The estate is perfectly safe again.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Your Grace,” Adelaide sighed. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask me about last night?”

Gavin shook his head. An idea sparked in his mind. “No, that was all. I do have one other question, though. What do you know about the Belmont estate?”

“I’m afraid not much, Your Grace.” Adelaide’s brows drew together.

He offered her a small smile. “A strong magic protects it. Those who willfully bear ill intentions against Castle Belmont or its inhabitants cannot pass through the wards undetected.”

“So…” Adelaide tilted her head. “Someone couldn’t enter the estate if they meant to do harm?”

“Not technically. It’s like an alarm, like the warning bells on the watchtowers.”

“Oh.”

“You’re perfectly safe here, Adelaide. And if it would help, someone could escort you the next time you wish to visit your family, or leave the estate.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” Adelaide’s lips pulled into a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s very generous of you.”

“I take care of my people,” Gavin said without hesitation. Shock flitted through Adelaide’s widened eyes. Gavin scrambled to explain what he’d meant by the statement, only to be met with a mind that fumbled for words. “I didn’t mean to imply that…I only meant that…I do not think of the house’s staff, or anyone, as possessions.”

Adelaide gave a small laugh. The tension in Gavin’s heart eased, and he found himself smiling. “That’s not how I took it, Your Grace. I heard it as someone who cares for those around them. I…I’ve never been in a place where someone cares about even the…lowest stations of their household.”

“You would tell me,” Gavin found himself saying. His heart thudded against his chest. The rapid beat echoed in his ears as his mind finally realized what his tongue was saying. But Gavin didn’t stop himself. “If someone hurt you, right?”

Adelaide tensed. Panic flashed in her eyes. “O-of course, Your Grace.”

“Then who hurt you, Adelaide?” he pressed, leaning forward. “And please, don’t lie. I know you’re hiding your pain. You’ve been hiding a grimace and a flinch since entering the room.”

“You said you take care of your people,” Adelaide replied slowly. Her chest heaved. Gavin studied her anew. Curiosity licked at his blood. This woman had no trouble meeting his eyes for simple conversation, but now that he’d asked about her specifically, her gaze had dropped. Was she ashamed? Did she not like talking about herself?

Why couldn’t she meet his eyes now?

Or was it that she was hiding something?

“Does that mean you would care for them even if they’d betrayed you?”

Gavin’s blood went cold.