Lord Melvedere's Ghost (24 page)

Silence
settled around them interspersed with the ticking of the clock on
the mantle. He made no attempt to burrow beneath the blankets that
engulfed her, but instead made use of her confinement to plunder
and scatter her wits further.

Despite
the onslaught, Cecily revelled in his ministrations. In fact she
was slightly shocked by his apparent need to ensure that she was
indeed alright. She couldn’t forget the worried look on his face
when he had first seen her stumble out of the passage, or the
fearless way he had lurched to her defence and chased after her
assailant. Sliding one hand out of the blankets, her fingers slid
into the soft curls of his hair and tugged his head
lower.

A small
part of her warned her that she needed to toughen up a little. When
she started life on her own, she would find things extremely
difficult and wouldn’t have Jamie around to hold her when she
wanted a hug. Right now though, with the memory of those
approaching footsteps still echoing in her ears, she couldn’t dig
deep enough to find the reserve of inner strength she needed to
push him away and leave, and instead tipped her head back,
savouring his closeness.

After
all, if she left the room where would she go? The thought of
returning to her room alone filled her with dread. Unless she went
downstairs and sat by herself throughout the night, there was very
little she could do except wait until Jamie told her which room she
could use.

A
discrete knock on the door heralded the arrival of Warren with a
heavily laden tray. He paused hesitantly inside the door as his
gaze landed on Cecily curled protectively in Jamie’s arms. Although
his face showed no sign of emotion, he was clearly at a loss to
know how best to proceed.

Jamie
ignored the discomfort of his body, and the gentle flush of
Cecily’s cheeks, and loosened his hold enough to peer down at her.
A conspiratorial look passed between them, accompanied by a gentle
wink from Jamie.

“
Did you see them at all?” He asked, nodding to the now firmly
closed passage door, grateful for Warren’s discretion.

Cecily
shook her head regretfully, struggling to keep up with the
breathless change of pace. “At first, I thought I was alone, but
then I heard shuffling behind me and it was coming at me faster and
faster.” Her breath hiccupped in her throat.

The fear
on her face was bad enough, but was the quivering of her voice that
made his blood boil. Cursing silently, he did a mental inventory of
the house and knew there was nothing else for it but to spend
another night in front of the fire in the sitting room of his suite
of rooms. It really was the only safest place for her right now. He
had no idea what they wanted with Cecily, but he was definitely
going to find out.

“
Take the tray into the sitting room, Warren,” Jamie sighed,
seeing no reason now for having to traverse the corridors with
Cecily’s dinner tray. “Take Cecily’s too. We will eat in there
together, but don’t bother setting the table because we can eat off
the trays for tonight.”

Cecily
jumped, embarrassingly aware of her position so very close to
Jamie. “I am sorry, I will go. I shouldn’t even be
here.”

“
Nonsense,” Jamie declared firmly, hauling her back against
him. “You can hardly go back to that room now, can you?” He didn’t
know whether it was the presence of Warren that stopped her
argument, or his own strength preventing her from leaving his side,
but he was relieved when she gave up and simply slumped against
him.

Cecily
didn’t know whether it was the events of the past week, Jamie’s
blunt proposal, her worry for Portia, herself or the fear of the
passageway but she simply couldn’t withhold the tears. With a
hiccup she tried to push against his arms in an attempt to break
free but was again relentlessly hauled back against his chest. In
the end, with a sniff she slumped against him and gave in to the
helpless wave of emotion that cascaded through her.

Jamie
sat and stared at the door blankly, one hand repeatedly stroking
her hair over and over while she cried into his chest. He had no
idea what had upset her so and hoped it wasn’t what had happened
between them. He had taken a long time to ensure she had enjoyed
the delights of her own body and he was certain she had enjoyed his
kisses just now. Surely it wasn’t his proposal that made her cry so
much? Was the prospect of being his wife really so bad? He frowned
darkly, and watched Warren re-appear with a second tray. Nodding
his thanks he eased his damp shoulder away from her face and tipped
his head down to look at her.

Lordy, she was even beautiful when she was crying,
he mused thoughtfully.

“
If you feel up to it, let’s get something to eat. Then we will
have a chat about where you are going to sleep tonight.” He kept
his tone low in respect to the presence of Warren in the sitting
room. He could see no reason now to keep his intentions toward
Cecily private, but he wasn’t going to announce her ruination
either.

“
I am happy to make up a bed in one of the other guest rooms if
you tell me where to find the sheets.”

“
Until I can take another look at that passageway, I don’t
think you should be venturing into any of the other guest rooms for
now,” Jamie argued, reluctantly pushing away from the bed and
holding his hand out to her.

“
I think that we should make a bed up in here for you for now,
until we can decide what to do. I am fairly certain that this room
is about the safest in the house. You can lock the doors. The other
two walls are external and don’t have any passages because the
windows are either side of the fireplace.” He didn’t know whether
he was saying this for Warren’s benefit, or Cecily’s, but was
grateful that neither of them tried to object.

“
I’ll find some bedding sir,” Warren offered. “I can bring in a
mattress from the guest room across the corridor and make up a
temporary bed in here if you don’t mind me shuffling some of the
furniture about.”

“
Good idea,” Jamie replied. “I’ll help you with the furniture
before we eat.”

The men
quickly rearranged most of the furniture, moving it toward one of
the walls and clearing enough space for one of the mattresses from
the nearest guest room. They disappeared again before returning
with a second mattress which they placed on top of the
first.

Cecily
watched in amazement as a makeshift bedroom was transformed right
before her eyes. She stared in delight at the results, and jumped
up to take the fresh pile of bedding from Warren.

“
I’ll make it up,” she smiled with delight at the speed in
which the men had turned the room into a secure bedroom for
her.

Warren
looked at first shocked, then pleased when Cecily began to
confidently make the bed, standing back moments later with a
satisfied sigh. Jamie was busy plucking lids off the trays and
eyeing the contents with an appreciative sniff and didn’t
notice.

“
Please keep all of this to yourself for the time being,
Warren. Also, stay away from the walls and keep an eye on the
ladies,” he said instead, casting a dark look at his
butler.

“
Of course, sir,” Warren replied, clearly affronted at the
possibility that he might not behave with the upmost
secrecy.

“
It is just that there is something far more sinister afoot,”
Jamie’s voice dropped to a dark whisper. His eyes met and held
Warren’s meaningfully for several moments. “Someone is using those
passageways for criminal purposes and, until we find out who, and
exactly what they are doing, I want you and Potter to keep a close
eye on everyone.”

Warren’s
back straightened and a militant gleam entered his eye. “I will
speak with Potter now sir. I will also take the liberty of being
the one who delivers and collects the trays, sir, and will also
disarrange the lady’s bed,” he cast a conspiratorial glance at
Cecily, “so Doreen doesn’t get wind of any changes and
inadvertently mention anything she shouldn’t.”

“
Good idea,” Jamie replied, delighted that there was at least
someone watching his back inside the house. It would help
considerably if Warren was on alert for any strange behaviour. Even
Potter, who spent most of his time outside, would be an extra pair
of eyes on the ground, and that could only help. “I’ll say
goodnight then.”

“
Thank you, Warren,” Cecily sighed, sitting on the edge of the
bed and giving it a testing bounce.

Jamie
smiled, relieved to see the mischievous side to Cecily back again,
and shook his head chidingly as she bounced a little too hard and
nearly left the bed altogether.

“
When you are finished, let’s eat.” He handed her a tray before
taking a seat beside her with his own.

They ate
in companionable silence until most of the food was gone. Cecily
couldn’t remember ever having eaten so much. It had only been a
short while ago that she had finished the tray in her room. Now
here she was, tucking into her second tray of the evening. At this
rate, she wouldn’t be able to fit into the passages much less run
down them if she was ever chased again.

Sighing
with delight, she carefully placed her much depleted tray beside
the door and turned back to the room. The chairs had been
rearranged beside the bed, with their backs to the wall, but it was
impossible to sit beside the fire there. Instead, she dropped
another log onto the fire and sat on the floor.

A knock
on the door heralded the return of Warren, who held a pile of
Cecily’s new clothing in his arms. He carefully placed them on the
table beside the door and nodded quietly before leaving. Jamie
locked the door behind him and turned toward Cecily with renewed
determination.

He
wanted to resume where they had left off earlier that morning but
knew from the slightly rigid way in which she was sitting that it
was the last thing she would be receptive to right now. She had
been faced with enough turmoil for one day. He still struggled to
control the emotions the sight of her tears had brought forth and
wondered if this is what love felt like. The constant need to
claim, protect and provide for a mate was almost
overwhelming.

His
mate.

Cecily.

He knew
without doubt that he would protect her with his life, and it had
nothing to do with his job, her father or the Star
Elite.

He sat
down behind her and drew her back against his chest. His back
rested on the end of her bed. At first she tried to resist,
glancing back at him with a frown.

“
Just sit back and relax,” Jamie murmured softly, holding his
arms still. She eventually acceded to his request and relaxed
against him with a sigh. Encircling her waist with his arms, he
tried to ignore the intimate way they were sitting and willed his
wayward body to behave.

“
I am sorry for being such a ninny,” Cecily whispered staring
at their toes so close to the fire. His feet were almost half the
size of hers again, and she was very aware of the way his large
body seemed to almost envelope hers. It was sinful. It was
strangely intriguing. She knew she was being foolish allowing such
closeness, but didn’t want the moment to end.

Her
stomach was full. She was nice and warm. The strong arms of one of
the kindest, gentlest, yet fiercely protective men she had ever met
were wrapped firmly around her. Life didn’t get any better than
this.

“
You are not a ninny at all. What you have been through would
have buckled most people.” Jamie’s voice was instinctively soft and
low. He was delighted with the evening’s progress and made no
attempt to hide the satisfied smile from his face as he rested his
head gently against hers. “The passage is claustrophobic because it
is so narrow and dark. It is a credit to you that you were able to
keep a level head and logically remember your way out.”

“
Do you think Miss Emstridge is involved in all of this?” She
frowned into the fire, wondering where Miss Emstridge went most of
the time. After all, for someone who was supposed to be
industriously making lists of the thousands of books in the
library, she was hardly ever in there. Surely the woman couldn’t be
in her room for all of that time, could she?

“
I think she is up to something. Whether it is stealing books
or something else entirely I am not sure, but I am certainly going
to find out,” Jamie replied, his voice dark and husky.

“
Have you heard anything about Portia and Archie
yet?”

There
was a slight pause. Jamie wished he had heard something, and it was
good news, but he hadn’t had any response to the missives he had
dispatched to Hugo and Simon. As far as he was concerned, no news
was good news, until they had word from Hugo to the contrary. All
they had to do was sit and wait for a while and, with nothing else
to do, they had plenty of time to uncover the mystery of the fake
book in the library, and uncover the identity of the person who
seemed to consider the secret passageways of Melvedere manor their
own.

“
I am afraid I haven’t heard anything. It could be some time
yet, especially if Archie has them someplace safe.”

“
Like here?”