A Fine Caprice - A Regency Romance (18 page)

‘Where does it go?’ a voice hissed behind him.

There was a wooden door at the top of the stairs, surprisingly solid, with a hefty lock. He grimaced, and tried the handle. To his surprise, it opened
, although something on the other side rattled and fell noisily to the floor
. Once again, the hinges had been attended to and there was no tell tale groan of hinges. Cass stuck his head out and
found himself in another subterranean room
, this one a great deal bigger than
the one they had tumbled into
.

‘It looks like the main
cellar.’

‘Heavens!’ Jem sounded
thoroughly disgusted. ‘This place is certain
ly keen
on cellars! Why
back at -’ t
he sentence stopped abruptly.

‘Back at? Yes?’

‘Never mind.’

Cass grinned to himself. Nearly had him…

T
he second cella
r, which Cass was fairly
sure
was the one he had investigated the previous morning
, was empty of people but full of rubbish. When h
e
had looked it over yesterday he hadn’t noticed the
entrance but then,
it had been
the
ingeniously concealed behind
a
moveable set of shelves, rendering it invisible to a casual survey
. Several containers and a candleholder had been sitting on the shelves and had fallen when Cass had pushed the door opened. He examined the wall with interest. A section of the shelves had been made to
pivot outwards when opened, cut around the entrance they had come through
.

‘That was cleverly done.’

‘More like cunningly done,’ Jem muttered, shivering. ‘They obviously didn’t want that second cellar to be discovered. Still, they wouldn’t would they if they were smuggling illegal brandy.’

Or anything else, Cass acknowledged silently. He hadn’t seen any signs of obvious occupation down in that sub cellar but that didn’t mean that nobody had been there. It was a perfect hiding place for those who might not wish to be found.  They headed for the stairs that l
ed upwards once again, Cass light
ing the way
with the lantern
.
He opened it and found himself staring into the florid countenance of Hadley’s man Bessant. By the look on his face, he was as much startled by the unexpected appearance
of Cass
in the door
way
of the cellar
as Cass was to find him hovering on the other side.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Hadley’s light, rather supercilious voice broke the silence
, drifting
over the shoulder of
his manservant
.

‘Ah cousin… there you a
re. Been exploring your domain
?
Do
tell. Did
you find anything of interest in the bowels of the building? Because you know, there is quite the mystery attached to this place. Or so rumor has it…’

Chapter Seven

Unobserved f
rom behind the tall form of Lord Cassius Merridew, Caprice
made a face, somehow unsurprised to discover
they were not alone. No doubt the fellow she had run into in the kitchen had hurried upstairs and told his master that something was afoot. And if Hadley Ravener
were
up to no good, he would undoubtedly want t
o know what his cousin was doing
.

‘Hadley,’ his lordship said pleasantly, stepping through the door. It led into the s
cullery off the kitchen itself, Caprice noticed as she followed on. Bessant had taken a step back, crowded out by the commanding figure of Lord Merridew
as he emerged from the cellar doorway
. The servant’s ruddy face was watchful and she felt the same surge of instinctive dislike for him that she had experienced earlier.
He’s not to be trusted, that one.
Just like his master
…

Hadley Ravener was standing in the doorway of the scullery, one eyebrow arched in comical surprise. ‘My dear Merridew, you turn up in the most unexpected places.’

‘Don’t I? I was merely looking through my uncle’s stocks of wine.’

‘And are they impressive?’

‘More like non-existent,’ his lordship returned placidly, ‘so disappointing when the man had a reputation for smuggling.’

‘Smuggling?’ A woman’s voice sounded from beyond Mr. Ravener. The Gr
and Duchess was also present
.
She was carrying her bulldog under her arm and his round dark eyes regarded them without favor.
‘What is all this talk of smuggling?’

‘Do not trouble your pretty head about it, my sweet,’ Ravener said, finally turning his gaze away from his cousin, ‘for it is nothin
g more than innuendo and rumor, I can assure you.’

‘Speaking of rumor, you were saying?’ Merridew inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

‘I was?’

‘Indeed. Just now, about a mystery being attached to the place. You knew our uncle so well. I was assuming that he had imparted some of his secrets to you.’

‘To me?’ Ravener laid a thin white hand on his chest and purse
d his lips. ‘Oh, I think you ov
erestimate the closeness of our relationship. Uncle didn’t trust anybody enough to confide in them. No, the
mystery is, of course, about the caves that are supposed to be accessed from down there,’ he fluttered a hand towards the door behind Merridew in which Caprice was still standing. ‘Rumor has
it that there is a tunnel that
leads directly
to the beach
. Isn’t that why you were down there?’

‘Why should I want to find a secret tunnel?’ Merridew demanded with a lazy smile. ‘Knowing Uncle Abel – and if the state of his cellars are anyt
hing to go by – he dra
nk anything that migh
t be have been brought in by his free-trading friends
.’

‘Yes,’ Ravener agreed pensively, although his pale blue eyes were watchful, ‘he was rather a tosspot.’

‘Well I do not like all this talk of secret tunnels,’ the Grand
Duchess declared with a
shudder
, holding the little dog closer to her
. ‘If I thought such a thing were true I would not be able to sleep soundly in my bed
. Thank God I have my little Minouche. You would protect me, wouldn’t you my sweet?
’
The dog gave a small bark, still eyeing his lordship and Caprice with disapproval.

‘Dearest,’ her fiancé assured her earnestly, ‘rest easy. If such a thing ever existed, and the excise men could never find such a tunnel, then I’m sure it would have been long since forgotten.’

‘
Why? Did Uncle Abel give up his more dubious pursuits as he grew older?’ his lordship demanded
.
They had
all moved into the more spacious confines of the kitchen.
The Grand Duchess went to the back door and opened it, setting Minouche down and shooing him out, undoubtedly to do his business.
‘Don’t be coy, Hadley. The entire family knows that our uncle smuggled brandy and wine
and I doubt very much he would have mended his ways before his demise
.’

‘But that is
shocking,’ Maria murmured, eyes running over Lord Merridew thoughtfully. She was looking very fetching in peach damask, the square neck of the gown setting off the creamy skin of her full breasts, which it seemed to emphasis
rather too boldly in Caprice’s opinion
. A strand of emeralds sparkled around her neck, a matching pair of earrings glittering on her lobes.

A little much for morning
in the country, Caprice
thought
sourly
.
The woman
looked as if she was
dressed for an evening of dancing rather than a day
in the rather squalid confines of an over crowded country house.
Perhaps she was try
ing to impress. If that were the case, there was only one man to impress as she had already snared Mr. Ravener. Clearly the lady was keen on capturing Lord
Merridew’s interest, speculation
that was
supported
by the fact
that she was eying him
as if he was a
particularly tasty
breakfast
morsel
and she
had been
without a meal for a week.

‘It is all speculation, entirely u
nproven, my dearest cuz,’ Ravener sniffed. His outfit was even
more stunning than Maria’s, a
scarle
t satin jacket coupled with a jade green waistcoat embroidered with golden wreaths. His neckcloth was arranged a la Mathematical and he wore black moleskin breeches that fit like a second skin and black boots, buffed to a high gloss with gold tassels on either heel.
His version of country wear, Caprice thought with an inward curl of the lip. Why, the man was nothing but a dandy.
‘The Merridew’s have always d
isapproved of poor Uncle Abel
.’

‘That’s because he never gave them anything to approve of
,’ Me
rridew pointed out
. ‘May I say, incidentally, that I’m very im
pressed with how early you have
risen
again
dear Hadley
? Three days in a row.
For a man who once told me that he could not abide rising a minute before noon that’s q
uite impressive.’

‘I
t cannot be helped. I
can hardly be expected to sleep on the dreadful mattress that had been my lot since arriving,’ Ravener sniffed. ‘I’ll have you know that I am in
absolute
agony with my back.’

‘Oh yes… your delicate back.’

‘Exactly. Are you enjoying
your
bed?’

‘It’s tolerable. You could always quit th
e place and take up residence at
the inn
which is no more a few miles
from here. Surely the prospect of three meals a day and a comfortable bedchamber must find favor.
Rest assured
I will send word when Uncle Abel’s man of business arrives.’

Mr. Ravener’s mouth tightened a little. ‘Your solicitude does you credit, Merridew. I am touched
by your concern for me
.’

‘But I do not want to stay in an inn,’ the Grand Duchess Maria interposed quickly. ‘My dearest Ravener has been sharing his fond memories of this place
since we met
. While I know it is
you
rs
,’ she shot Merridew a dazzling smile, ‘I thought it mi
ght be nice to be shown the house where my
dearest
fiancé had spent so many happy days.’

‘Really?’ his lordship said, voice full of polite disbelief.

‘
But of course. Now then; t
here is
the small matter of breakfast to be dealt with, yes? There is no food
,’
Maria
said with a purr, moving forward
to stand a little closer to Merridew
. ‘My dearest Lord Merridew,
I fear I shall have nothing to eat and I am so
very
hungry
.’

Did the woman mean to sound so suggestive? Caprice wondered. Probably. She was what her mama would call a
donna
scandalosa
or, as her far more prosaic Aunt Leticia would label no better than she should be. The Grand Duchess, for all her purported royalty (yet to be proved as far as Caprice was concerned –
anybody
could probably call themselves a Grand Duchess), was a great deal more forward than was appropriate for a female of her station.

To Caprice’s critical eyes, his lordship did not seem overcome by the fluttering eyelashes or throaty
tones
.
‘No,
’ he agreed cheerfully,
‘
I was
thinking it was time to go and find some more food.’

‘Send
this young one,’ Maria suggested. She gave
Caprice
a sweet smile. ‘You will not mind going to get some food for me, no?
’

‘If you’re that eager, I suggest you send B
essant,’ Lord Merridew interjected
. ‘I intend to hire some staff while I am there and I might be some time.’

‘Some staff?’ Ravener repeated, a little sharply. ‘Is that necessary?’

His lordship lifted
an eyebrow. ‘It’s imperative.
I would have thought you would agree wholeheartedly.
The state of the place is appalling.
’