Page 5

Adelaide

I t was impossible for dust to collect overnight, and yet Adelaide was proven wrong daily. She didn’t understand where it all came from, only that it had been her duty to dust the east wing of the castle every single day for the last week and a half.

And in all that time, she’d yet to uncover a single safe or hidden room. Everything was exactly as it should be in Castle Belmont. She began to wonder if the archduke even possessed the Eye of Behelwer. Adelaide wholeheartedly believed if he did, she would have found something by now to indicate its whereabouts in the manor. Or perhaps some rumor whispered amongst the staff.

Adelaide smiled. As she trailed the feather duster over a pristine vase, the memory of their first meeting lingered in the forefront of her mind. Archduke Gavin Hughes was nothing like she expected, and neither was his estate. Of all the places she’d been sent to during her time as Mistress Scrabs’s agent, Castle Belmont was by far Adelaide’s favorite.

All of the others had had an oppressive air, and mistrust loomed in every corner. Certainly, there’d been a few others she’d liked, but nothing compared to this estate. It was like they were a family. Adelaide had yet to witness conspiratorial whispers between the other maids or find herself the object of guarded scrutiny.

Humming quietly to herself, Adelaide moved along. Studying the empty third floor yet again, the forgotten portraits and gifts and precious family heirlooms offered none of their secrets. There wasn’t anything about this wing and this floor that Adelaide hadn’t already discovered. Nothing was ever out of place. From day to day, everything was as it had been previously. Adelaide didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

All it meant was that she’d have to stay longer.

But it also meant that the longer she had to stay at the estate, the more likely it was that she would be discovered—or worse, Mistress Scrabs’s patience would expire.

Adelaide’s heart clenched. Her mind went silent.

She needed to find the archduke’s vault, and quickly.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Adelaide flinched. The feather duster slipped from her loose hold as the archduke himself stepped into the hallway and paused some feet away from her.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying,” Archduke Hughes continued as he toed the carpet with the tip of his shoe. Oddly, Adelaide found she couldn’t catch his gaze. “You have a lovely voice.”

Adelaide opened and closed her mouth. She had only been humming—hadn’t she? Adelaide replayed the last few minutes over in her head in a vain attempt to figure out if she really had been singing aloud. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

She shifted on her feet. He didn’t reply, instead taking a keen interest in the floor. Adelaide spared a glance at the feather duster.

“How is your wrist? Better?” As Adelaide tore her gaze from the fallen duster, she was met by the full weight of the archduke’s attention. Her breath hitched, caught by the intricacies hidden in his blue eyes.

“Much better, thank you.” She clasped her hands together, fighting the urge to glance away again.

The archduke hummed, though remained silent. Adelaide couldn’t tell if she was mesmerized or hallucinating. Was she openly staring at the archduke? Was he openly staring at her ? Adelaide’s heart quivered in her throat. The archduke couldn’t possibly see her, not really. Her singing had likely interrupted his thoughts for only a moment.

Her cheeks heated. Even if it had been nice to believe that, even for a second, Archduke Hughes had experienced the same breathlessness she had, he couldn’t possibly be staring at her. He had no reason to, unless he was suspicious of her. Adelaide’s chest hollowed.

“Well.” Archduke Hughes cleared his throat as he glanced away. “I suppose I should be on my way then…and leave you to the, uh, dusting.”

“Oh.” Disappointment sank to the pit of her stomach. She shouldn’t let herself wish they’d had a moment longer. “Yes, thank you, Your Grace.”

The archduke’s shoulder accidentally brushed hers as he glided past. Adelaide’s heart pounded between her ears. Her mind spiraled as the archduke muttered an apology and nearly tripped over his own feet in an effort to put a respectable distance between them. She couldn’t even reply as her throat had gone dry. All she could do was watch him leave as her chest seemed to burn.

What had just happened?

Adelaide counted backwards from ten to compose herself. With her breath regained, she retrieved the duster from the floor and returned to her duties. From the corner of her eye, Adelaide realized the archduke had disappeared around the corner, leaving her alone once more.

Her mind sparked.

Why would the archduke make frequent trips to the all-but-abandoned third floor?

Could it be?

As quietly as she could, Adelaide darted to the end of the hall. Peering around the corner, she observed as Archduke Hughes neared the end of the next hall. Her brows furrowed. What could have brought him? Surely it wasn’t a hallway that led nowhere. The archduke raised a hand.

Adelaide’s jaw dropped.

The far wall rippled, and the archduke walked right through it.