Intrigue that should make this all worth it.
“Are you going to tell me about Juliet?” Damien asked, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other as he tugged at the collar of the livery, reminding Xander just how itchy it truly was.
“What about her?” Xander asked, crosser than usual, but Damien knew him well enough to simply roll his eyes.
“Do I really need to question you about this?” Damien asked, crossing his arms over his chest, causing the fabric of the jacket to stretch over the breadth of his shoulders with a most uncomfortable sound. “Why is she here? And what is this going to mean for us?”
“She is apparently here because the baron is courting her.” Xander attempted to keep his voice neutral.
Damien’s eyes widened in astonishment. “That old prick of a man?”
Xander couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Yes, unfortunately,” he said wryly. “I, however, have a feeling that I know the exact truth of why Juliet is here. For the same reason we are.”
“What does that mean for you?”
“What do you mean?”
Damien looked at him with knowing exasperation.
“You might think you fooled us all, but we know why you left her, Xander. You didn’t want her to be part of the life. Of our life. You thought she would be better off without you. You were never the same after she got hurt.”
“Perhaps,” Xander said gruffly. He had wanted them all to think it was because he had no wish to settle down with one woman. But Damien was much closer to the truth.
“Are you going to tell Arie?”
“She has nothing to do with Arie,” Xander said sharply, hearing the vehemence in his voice but unable to help it. Their brother was not known for seeing anything beyond the figure in front of his eyes when it came to a big steal. He also had never been completely supportive of Xander’s relationship with Juliet and had been quite adamant that Xander did the right thing in leaving her.
Xander turned to Damien. “Don’t say anything to him.”
Damien held up his hands in front of him. “Of course. But be careful, Xander.”
“I will,” Xander said. “But I must make sure she gets out of here safely, despite what happens with the jewels. Like it or not, it is my fault she got into this life, and one way or another I will get her out of it this time.”
“Of course,” Damien murmured.
“As for tonight—”
He stopped talking as his notice was suddenly caught by an all-too-familiar presence coming up the walk. She kept herself away from the rest of the crowd, standing close to a woman who Xander didn’t recognize. Juliet wore a soft pink muslin gown, nothing like the brilliant fabrics she had worn when they were together. Although when they had been together in those days, she had usually been playing one role or another, depending on what scheme they had currently been involved in. Until she had been hurt, her life put in peril, and she had nearly died because of him.
He had left her enough to make a new start for herself. So why was she here, now? She couldn’t truly want a man like Lord Wilington… could she? As though reading his thoughts, Juliet looked up now and again, and gone was the innocent expression of a woman trying to impress a lord who wanted a gullible beauty.
No, when she looked up, assessing the people before her and the house in front of her, it was with the face of the woman he had known five years ago. The woman who had been his perfect partner in every way. The woman he had loved, who was his equal, who he had never been able to get over.
And it was in that moment, he knew without question. Juliet was here for the very same reason he was.
“What was that?” Damien asked, a smirk on his face as he followed Xander’s gaze.
“I was just saying tonight we will try a few more doors. Perhaps even this afternoon one of us can go in through the passageway we found in the study.”
He fished through his pockets for the keys to give to Damien, as Damien waited patiently.
“Is something wrong?”
“I can’t find my keys,” Xander said, looking around, panicked for a moment.
He looked up, seeing Juliet on the step just as she was about to enter the house. As though feeling his gaze upon her, she looked back and met his eye. Then with a slow smile, she reached into a pocket within her dress, pulling out an object and holding it up before her between her finger and her thumb.
Xander could only grin as he saw the keys hanging from her fingers.
Chapter 3
Juliet looked furtively around the hallway before letting herself into the baron’s study. It was one of the few rooms she had yet to search, for it was always locked, and while she had become rather proficient at lockpicking from her years with Xander, the door was in a rather conspicuous location and she was worried about getting caught.
The key turned in the lock like butter, and she let herself into the study, instantly wrinkling her nose at the smell of spirits and aged papers… but not the aged papers of a book that had been shuttered away in the library but of papers that were near rotting.
She allowed her eyes to adjust to the dark room, then crossed it and pulled back the curtain to allow a bit of light in. She had no idea what she would say if Lord Wilington were to enter and find her here, but he was currently in the midst of a luncheon that she had managed to steal away from, excusing herself by saying she felt unwell.
There wasn’t much apparent beyond the few bookshelves, a massive desk, and a sideboard. Juliet walked around the room, running her fingers over the shelves, trying to find anything of note. She checked the desk for secret drawers, anything the baron might be hiding. A special closet, perhaps? She doubted this would be the room in which he’d hide away a treasure trove of jewels, but then why did he keep it locked at all times?
She walked over to the bookshelves, pushing against each shelf to see if there was anything suspicious. Nothing. Except… she eyed a row of books that were lined up all too perfectly, while the rest of the shelf contained books that were rather scattered as though they had been thrown there. She pushed on the tight few. Nothing. Pulled backward and… she yelped as the entire bookshelf began to turn, moving until it was standing perpendicular to the room. Without considering too carefully what she was doing, Juliet lit a candle, picked up the holder, squeezed through the hole, and then pushed the shelf closed behind her.
She raised the small flame and tried to see exactly where she was and what was around her. There was no other sign of light, and the passageway was not overly high. She could imagine that anyone with a bit more height would have difficulty walking through without pulling his back..
She wondered if Xander and Damien had discovered the passageway, a smile teasing her lips at the thought of the two hulking men crouching through the tunnel.
Juliet took tentative steps forward, the dirt floor not offering anything that might trip her, but still she was slightly trepidatious as she wondered just how long it had been since someone had been here, and what she would do if she did happen upon another. Her light caught something to her right, and she turned to find that she was standing in front of another door, this one with a complicated lock.
What could the baron possibly be hiding behind here?
She hadn’t realized she had murmured the words aloud until a voice answered her.
“We’ve been trying to figure that out ourselves.”
“Xander!” she cried out as she placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart, turning to find him standing just behind her wearing a grin on his face, Damien a step behind him, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes at his brother.
“You scared me half to death,” she admonished.
“Well, that’s what happens when you find yourself somewhere you shouldn’t be.”
Juliet straightened her neck and shoulders, which she took great delight in as Xander couldn’t possibly do the same in this small tunnel.
“I could say the same thing for you.”
/> “Yes, well, I, at least, was given a key to the study,” he said, raising his eyebrows in challenge. “One which no longer seems to be in my possession.” He gave her a stern look as he held his palm out in front of him. “Give them back.”
“But—”
“Juliet,” he eyed her. “I will lose my position if I do not have my keys.”
“Perhaps that would be best for all of us.”
He made a sound low in his throat that could only be described as a growl, while behind him, Damien coughed into his hand, and Juliet had the impression that he was trying to stifle a laugh.
She sighed dramatically. “Very well.” She reached into her pocket — a pocket that she had ensured was sewn into each and every dress for items such as these — and tossed the keys at him. “But you must tell me more about this passageway.”
“Oh, must I?” he said, this time just one eyebrow rising, as Damien reached out and placed a hand on Xander’s shoulder.
“We’d be happy to,” Damien said, which earned him a brilliant smile from Juliet. She had always liked him. “Come, we’ll start this way.”
The pair had obviously spent some time in these passageways, and Juliet begrudgingly found that they moved with ease despite the restrictions due to their height. They held their candles aloft, but showed her the various doors, describing the rooms beyond. Some, Juliet had already visited or searched; others were still a mystery.
Thankfully, the baron’s bedroom remained one of those doors. She was surprised, however, to find that it was the most heavily barricaded.
“Our suspicion is that the baron is hiding something in his suite,” Damien said, pointing to it.
Juliet nodded, her brows furrowed. “I suppose it would make sense.”
“So tell me, Juliet,” Xander said, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall across from the door leading to the baron’s bedroom, “are you here because of the baron’s good looks and winning personality? Or is there another reason you find yourself at Lochrich, playing the role of a kept woman?”
His expression was guileless in what Juliet was sure was supposed to be an innocent gaze, but she knew better. Xander was as great an actor as he was a lock picker. He could convince any maid to share all of the secrets of her employer, could charm the most happily married woman into giving him everything he could ever ask for.
And now he wanted to know her secrets. After everything he had already taken from her.
Yet, when she looked at him, she couldn’t help the warmth that pooled in her belly as she remembered everything that they had been to one another, everything she thought they had shared, all of her emotions that were still wrapped up within him. She had convinced herself since he had left her that it had all been a lie, that he had been deceiving her as he had every other person who came into his life.
She just didn’t know why. But now, seeing him here in front of her, she knew what had been missing, and she was determined to fill that hole. She would learn why he had made the decision he did, even if it meant finding out that Arie had told her the truth — that Xander simply didn’t love her and had only been using her for their scheme. She needed to hear the words from his lips, for her own sake if nothing else.
She reminded herself why they were all here at the moment, however, and straightened her shoulders as she eyed them, wondering if perhaps she might get more from Damien than Xander.
“Are the two of you inclined to share just why you are working as footmen in the house of a man like Lord Wilington?”
She could barely see Damien, however, as Xander’s solid frame blocked her view.
“Perhaps we will answer you at the same time you tell us just whether or not you are really going to follow through and marry the man.”
She and Xander stared, their gazes fixed on one another, locked in a silent battle of wills.
Damien finally cleared his throat.
“I think we can all confess that we are here for the baron’s legendary stash of expensive jewellery, can we not?”
When both Xander and Juliet looked at him in surprise, he shrugged. Juliet remembered that he had always been the peacemaker of the family. “It’s not much of a secret. Perhaps we would all be better off if we worked together rather than against one another.”
Juliet considered him and his idea for a moment before returning her attention to Xander.
“He’s right, you know,” she said, lifting a hand in front of her. “I can access places that you can’t, and you can keep an eye on things that I don’t have the ability to.”
Xander didn’t say anything for a moment, and Juliet got the impression that something was bothering him, something he first needed to resolve.
“Before we agree on anything, I have to ask, Juliet,” Xander said, his eyes darkening for a moment, “do you have access to the Wilington’s bedroom?”
Silence reigned for a moment, heavy in the dark corridor, and Juliet studied him in return as she tried to figure out just why he would suddenly care.
“No, I don’t,” she said, before tilting her head. “Although, I suppose I could try to, if it was absolutely necessary, although I refuse to sleep with him.”
“I would never ask you to,” Xander said with more vehemence than she could ever remember hearing from him before. “In fact, I would hope you wouldn’t.”
“What does it matter to you?” Juliet asked, shrugging a shoulder, even as she inwardly grinned at his displeasure. He may have left her, but it seemed there was some lingering jealousy on his side as well.
“It just… I wouldn’t… that is, I—”
He rubbed at his temple as Damien started laughing. “I haven’t seen Xander this upset in some time. It’s good to have you back, Juliet.” He began to lead the return journey down the passageway.
Xander waved a hand in front of himself, gesturing for Juliet to follow as he took up the rear, an uncharacteristic frown on his face as she passed.
“We’re wasting time,” he muttered. “Damien and I will continue to determine just how we can get through these locks without the baron or his valet noticing. The damn valet is always there, always has his eye on everything. I’m beginning to give up on his ever leaving. The best opportunity would be during dinner, but that’s when we are required more than ever.”
“I’ll try to come up with something,” Juliet promised. “How can I let you know if I have an idea, or ask you a question without raising suspicion?”
“Outside, near where you were walking with your friend this morning, there is a small gazebo,” Xander said, and Juliet hid her smile at the realization he had been watching her. “If you ever need to talk to one of us, give us a nod when you see us serving at the table. We’ll meet you later that evening, at midnight in the gazebo.”
“Very well,” Juliet said, not wanting to give him the benefit of knowing that he had come up with a rather good plan.
They passed the study door she had used to enter, continuing on until they came to another door, this one without any locks.
“There’s a small parlor through here,” Xander explained, brushing past her to open the door, the warm skin of his hand grazing against her hip as he did so, causing heat to rush through her, starting from where he touched her. “This is the best way to enter as it doesn’t seem to often be in use and there aren’t any locks. I’d imagine it was kept open because the baron likely assumed no one would ever see it from where it’s located. The passageway is easily hidden from the room, which is currently to our advantage. Even if someone is within, you’ll emerge behind the sideboard.”
He pushed open the door, entering first. Juliet was about to follow when Damien placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Juliet,” he said softly in her ear, so low that Xander would never be able to hear it, “there is something you should know.”
“Oh?” she asked, lifting a brow as she turned to him in surprise.
“Xander still loves you.”
Juliet’s mouth
rounded into an O as her ears began to ring, her shock growing at hearing the words.
“He does not.”
“He does,” Damien said with an emphatic nod. “I’ve never seen him with another woman the way he is with you.”
“Then why did he leave me?” she hissed, but just then Xander called softly through the passageway to ask if they were coming, and Damien nodded forward instead of answering her question.
Juliet couldn’t even look at Xander as she walked by him. For what Damien said could never be true.
Even as the words lit the tiniest flicker of flames deep in her belly, amongst embers that she had thought were burned out forever.
Chapter 4
Xander and Damien had been arguing for the past hour.
“Why would you show her that?” demanded Xander. “Share with her the entire passageway, tell her everything we are doing, without once asking me whether I thought we should?”
“You could have refused.”
“And what, look like a bastard?”
“A bit late for that, isn’t it?”
Xander lifted his head sharply at that. Damien had never expressed his opinion on Xander leaving Juliet, not like Calli had, but it seemed had his opinion been sought, it would have been much different from Xander’s decision.
“Well, it worked out, didn’t it?” Damien countered and it took Xander a moment to return to the present and realize he was speaking about their sharing of information. “She is here for the same reason, and now she can help us. We can figure this out and be away from here much faster.”
“Yes, but—”
“But what?”
Xander nearly growled. He hated to expose his fears, even to his brother. But there was no going back now.
“Now she is in even more danger than before.”
Damien placed his hands on his hips, a knowing grin on his face now as he stared at Xander. “So that’s what this is all about.”
“What?”
A Jewel for the Taking: Thieves of Desire Book 2 Page 3