by Abby Ayles
He pushed open the door and entered the main storage room, where the three easels were propped up in a row.
Mr. Covington stopped so abruptly, the Duke of Cardinal bumped into him from behind. Mr. Covington looked back and stepped to the side. “I apologize. The duke must have moved the paintings to a different place.”
The Duke of Cardinal looked around him at the empty easels. He frowned. The Duke of Norrend had said nothing about moving the paintings. He did not know where the man would have moved them to.
“They have not been moved,” he said in a low voice. “I believe they have been stolen.”
Mr. Covington’s eyes snapped back to the empty easels. He seemed to be having a little trouble grasping the situation. “Why do you say that?” he asked. “Surely we will find them stacked to the side or…”
“Those are extremely valuable paintings, Mr. Covington,” the Duke of Cardinal interrupted him.
“That was one of the reasons I was worried about their authenticity. He would not stack them to the side. You see how carefully he has boxed and crated these? He would not move them. It would take a great deal of trouble and he knew we were coming in this morning to look at them.
Mr. Covington stood for a moment, thinking. “We need to tell him what has happened.”
The Duke of Cardinal felt a stir of frustration in his chest. Why did these things keep happening to him? It was as if he was not meant to be with Lady Annabelle. But he could not accept that. He knew the connection they had was not like any other.
“Yes. Of course we do. But what is it we will tell him?”
“The truth, of course. We arrived together this morning and the paintings were gone.”
The Duke of Cardinal sighed. “This is turning into the strangest business deal I have ever had. Before we go, there may be other paintings that have gone missing. Do you remember what was here?”
“I doubt that I would remember each painting he had in here. It is enough that these three are gone. We must tell him now. He can make his assessment of the rest of them when he is down here.”
They turned to go back to the main wing and find the Duke of Norrend. The Duke of Cardinal had a bad feeling. He was so recently accused, how was this going to look with Duke Cartwright?
He passed through the parlor and went through the door into the foyer, Mr. Covington on his heels. They turned in the direction of the Duke of Norrend’s study. It was the one place they knew to find him, though they were not sure he was there at the moment.
A knock on the door and his answer of “Enter” made the two men look at each other with apprehension.
The Duke of Cardinal opened the door and the two men went in the study. Lady Annabelle stood up from the high-backed chair, turning in their direction. Lady Julia was standing on the other side of the chair, looking at them curiously.
“Duke Cartwright, Your Grace,” the Duke of Cardinal said. “I am afraid the paintings, which we were going to inspect further this morning, have been removed from the storage wing. Did you order this removal, my lord?”
The Duke of Norrend frowned, standing up and placing his fists on the surface of his desk, knuckles down. “Removed? What do you mean? They are not on the easels?”
“They are not on the easels, my lord,” Mr. Covington confirmed. “My first thought was that you had moved them.”
“I did not move them. I had no reason to. I knew you were going to look at them again today.”
The Duke of Cardinal nodded. “That was my reasoning, my lord. Please, you must come down and see if anything else is missing.”
The Duke of Norrend was around the desk and to the door in a flash. Lady Julia and Lady Annabelle hung back but followed the men through the foyer, the parlor, and the narrow passageway. They all filed into the main storage room and stared at the empty easels.
The Duke of Norrend was speechless. He took a few steps toward the easels and stopped. He turned with a face as white as a sheet, staring at the Duke of Cardinal.
“I… I am simply beside myself. I do not know who could have done this.”
“Unfortunately, there are many people who have access to this storage wing, my lord,” Mr. Covington said. “You do not keep your parlor door locked when you open your home for breakfast and lunch. We know the paintings were here before lunch but the Duke of Cardinal and I did not return after lunch. Did you or anyone else return after lunch?”
The Duke of Norrend shook his head. “I did not. I know of no one else who would have had reason to come back here.”
“There are strangers wandering your halls every day,” Mr. Covington pointed out. The duke shook his head.
“Most of them are not strangers. They are people from the nearby city, they are country fellows with their families. They have been coming here for years, since we opened our home to them. I cannot believe that any of them would do such a thing.”
The Duke of Norrend turned and went back to the door, looking as though if he had to see the empty easels any more, he might be sick. The rest of them followed him back through the passageway to the parlor.
Lady Annabelle walked as quickly as she could to keep up with the Duke of Cardinal, who was in front of her. His face was painted with worry. She knew he was thinking about his bad luck at Norrend.
She hoped it would not change his mind about her. So far, she had not brought him anything but aggravation.
They came out into the foyer to see that the Duke of Norrend had passed through without acknowledging the presence of a very guilty-looking Lady Joanna. She was staring at the card table and swirled around when the duke came through.
“Your Grace!” she said in a frightened voice. “Are you all right, my lord? You look… distraught.”
The duke stopped and looked at her. “Did you see anyone pass through here before you went to lunch yesterday, Lady Joanna?” he asked, his voice stern and angry.
She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. “No, my lord. I saw no one. What has happened?”
“The paintings we were looking at yesterday have disappeared. Are you sure you saw no one?”
Lady Joanna shook her head again. “No, I am so sorry. Those… those were the very valuable paintings, were they not?”
The Duke of Norrend was about to go through the door when he stopped and looked back at her. “Yes. They were three of the most valuable paintings in my possession.” The duke knew Lady Joanna knew next to nothing about art. He thought it was odd that she would question him about them.
“Do you have something to tell me, Lady Joanna?” he asked, taking a few steps back into the room in her direction.
She swallowed. Lady Annabelle could see how nervous she was. When she moved her eyes to the Duke of Cardinal, Lady Annabelle felt nausea rise into her throat. “Did you not say you were anxious to purchase those, Duke Colbourn?”
Lady Annabelle sucked in her breath sharply, her eyes darting to the Duke of Cardinal’s face. She saw his jaw clench in anger. He nodded. “Yes, I am anxious to purchase them.”
“Have you found the money you needed?”
The Duke of Cardinal frowned. The Duke of Norrend moved his eyes back and forth between the two, trying to figure out what was going on. “The money I needed? What do you mean, my lady?”
“I overheard you telling Mr. Covington that you might not have the funds to cover purchasing all three of the paintings. It seems a coincidence that now the paintings are gone.”
Lady Joanna’s voice was remarkably smooth for the words that came out of her mouth. Lady Annabelle’s anger was tingling under her skin. Lady Joanna’s reputation for telling the truth was in question.
The Duke of Norrend looked at the girl in frustration. “What are you saying, Lady Joanna? Are you accusing the duke of theft? If you are, I do hope you are right. You will be in serious trouble if you are making false accusations against a high-ranking member of society.”
Lady Joanna kept her eyes focused on them, innocence painted all over her fa
ce. She was enjoying the look on Lady Annabelle’s face. She could see her world coming apart in front of her. No duke, no marriage, no children.
“I am merely suggesting that everyone is suspect until the paintings are found. Even my room. But you may search my room if you like. I certainly did not carry three heavy paintings and put them with my things.”
“Are you saying I should have someone search the duke’s chambers?” The Duke of Norrend sounded flabbergasted. He shook his head. “I will do no such thing. The duke is in fine standing with this family and I will not put him through such humiliation. Kindly keep your thoughts to yourself, young lady.”
The Duke of Cardinal lifted one hand. “If it will make the young lady happy, Your Grace, I would be happy to let you look through my room.”
Lady Annabelle noticed the look of satisfaction on Lady Joanna’s face. She was suspicious. The girl was up to something. But she hadn’t removed the paintings. That was a fact.
“Are you sure, Duke Colbourn? This must be completely voluntary.”
The Duke of Cardinal nodded. “I have nothing to hide, my lord.”
Chapter 27
The entire group went up the stairs, Lady Joanna included. She trailed along behind everyone else, looking satisfied with herself. She had thrown suspicion on the Duke of Cardinal.
Lady Annabelle did not understand her friend’s motives. It seemed excessive to keep accusing the Duke of Cardinal just because he rejected her advances.
They all gathered around the door to Duke Colbourn’s room, which he reached out and opened himself. He went in and looked around. The room looked the same way it had when he’d left that morning.
He was not a messy sleeper, so his bed was barely touched. He stepped to the side and let the duke come in. The others followed after, looking around the room.
“I see nowhere the paintings could be kept,” the Duke of Cardinal said, his eyes turning to Lady Joanna, who was the last one to come in. He was far from a stupid man. If Lady Joanna said that the paintings could possibly be in his room, she had to have a reason for doing so.
When she came in, the lady was looking down at the floor, watching where her feet went. He looked down at the floor but it made no sense to him. The paintings could not be hidden under the floor. He watched her face when she finally lifted her eyes. She was looking at the Duke of Norrend and did not move her eyes from him.
The Duke of Cardinal was doing his best to hold on to his temper. He was exhausted with being accused of things he had not done.
“Your Grace,” he said, addressing the Duke of Norrend. “I have stolen no paintings. I have done nothing to you or your family. I tire of being accused. I would ask that the lady provide proof that the paintings are in my possession or leave me be.”
The Duke of Norrend looked at Lady Joanna. “If you would be so kind as to respond to the duke, it would be appreciated.”
Lady Joanna looked around the room. “I am sure there is somewhere the paintings can be hidden. You have not looked. They would not be in plain sight.”
Lady Annabelle was watching Lady Joanna as closely as the Duke of Cardinal. She watched as Joanna ran her eyes around the room, hesitating only once. When she looked at the hutch.
“Father,” she said, moving her eyes from her father to the Duke of Cardinal. “May I ask that the hutch be moved?” There is a space behind it and below it. Or the paintings might be in the hutch.” She wished she could send her thoughts to the Duke of Cardinal so he would not think she was going along with Lady Joanna’s lies.
She did not enjoy the look he gave her but she would explain herself at a later time. She met his eyes and shook her head just slightly, hoping he would understand it. He looked confused and then turned his eyes to her father.
“I will move the hutch, my lord.”
“Nonsense. I will have someone on the staff move it. You will not lift a finger to support these accusations. If the paintings are behind the hutch, we will have our guilty party. If not, there are still questions about where the paintings might be.”
Lady Annabelle could not tell what her father was thinking when he went to the side of the bed and pulled on a small rope. A speaking tube from the servant’s quarters sticking out from the wall made a small sound and they could all hear a male voice through the speaking tube.
“My lord?” the voice said.
“Albert, come to the Duke of Cardinal’s room and bring William with you.”
“Yes, my lord.”
They all stood in silence waiting for the servants. Lady Annabelle could feel the tension in the room. It was so thick, it was like a thundercloud surrounded them. The men came in the room only a few minutes later.
“Albert, you and William move this hutch to the side, please. We want to look behind it and underneath it.”
“Yes, my lord.” Albert and William took places on either side of the hutch and with a hefty grunt, pulled the hutch away from the wall.
Lady Annabelle watched as the hutch was moved.
There was nothing behind it. Her eyes darted to Lady Joanna’s face. She looked shocked. Lady Annabelle was covered in chills. Lady Joanna had expected to see the paintings there. When she realized everyone was going to look at her, she made her face as neutral as she could. Guilt covered the neutral look and her face turned red.
Her hands moved to cover her mouth. “I… I…” She stared at each of them as they all glared at her.
“Lady Joanna, do you know where the paintings are?” the Duke of Norrend asked in an angry but calm voice.
Lady Joanna stared at him with wide eyes, shaking her head. “No, my lord, I…” She could say nothing more. She turned on her heels and darted out the door as quickly as she could.
“Lady Joanna!” Lady Julia ran to the door after her sister, giving Lady Annabelle an apologetic glance. However, she was unable to reach her before Lady Joanna had disappeared out of sight.
Lady Annabelle, the Duke of Cardinal, and the Duke of Norrend stood in the room for a moment longer, staring at the empty space behind the wall.
“I do not think the paintings are here,” the Duke of Norrend said in a low voice. He looked at the Duke of Cardinal. “Do allow me to apologize for Lady Joanna.”
The Duke of Cardinal shook his head. “You need not apologize, Your Grace. It is not our fault when young people seek attention in the wrong ways. I am not certain what Lady Joanna has against me, but apparently, I have done her wrong somehow. I simply do not understand.”
The Duke of Norrend gave him a sarcastic frown. “I have lived with my daughters and wife for more than half my life, my lord. I will never understand them myself.”
Lady Annabelle watched the dukes speak, keeping her mouth shut until she felt she was not interrupting them. When the Duke of Cardinal looked at her, she decided to speak.
“Did you see how she looked when the paintings were not behind the hutch, Father, my lord?” She moved her eyes from one duke to the other. “She looked surprised. She thought they were there. Why would she think they were there unless she put them there?”
“Lady Joanna would not have been able to move that hutch by herself. I must assume that she had servants help her, if this is the truth. In the meantime, the paintings are still missing. What do you suggest?”
The Duke of Cardinal sighed. “I do not know why this is happening. I did not come here to cause problems.”
The Duke of Norrend nodded. “I know you came here with only good intentions, my lord.” He instructed the servants to move the hutch back. When they were finished, Albert approached the Duke of Norrend.
“My lord, I could not help overhearing what you said about some of us assisting Lady Joanna. I beg of you, sir, not to believe such a thing. We are loyal to you. You have no member of your staff in this house who would do such a thing.”
The Duke of Norrend looked at Albert appreciatively. “I thank you for that, Albert. However, if you overhear anything that might help us, come to me immedi
ately.”
Albert bowed his head and left the room with William. Lady Annabelle moved to stand next to Lady Julia. “Father, we will go find Lady Joanna and see if we can coax the truth from her. Do we have your permission?”
The Duke of Norrend nodded. “Yes, that is a good idea, my dear.”
Lady Annabelle followed Lady Julia from the room, looking over her shoulder at the Duke of Cardinal. He returned her gaze with one of worry. She wanted to talk to him privately but it was not the time. There would be a chance later that evening at dinner.
The two young women walked quickly to the other rooms, looking in for Lady Joanna. She was not in the rooms.