Seductive Secrets (Secrets of the Heart Series Book 2)

by Elizabeth Rose

  She looked through Sir Chester’s trunk next, finding something she wished she hadn’t seen. Hidden beneath the man’s clothes were the clothes of a woman. She knew he didn’t come here with a lady, so there was no reason for him to be carrying the clothes. Then when she picked up a gown and saw it was large enough to fit a man, she realized Sir Chester had a secret life as well. Now, she wished she had never snooped at all because these were secrets she didn’t want to know.

  Conrad closed the solar door and stepped out into the corridor, having stopped at his chamber to pick up his dagger, after dropping off Hazel in her room. He halted and stepped back into the shadows when he saw Willow entering the solar down the hall – with both the barons, Chester and George.

  “What the hell is she doing?” he grumbled under his breath. The door closed and the three of them disappeared inside the room. He took a step forward, meaning to storm the room and pull her out, but was stopped as his squire called to him from down the corridor.

  “My lord? Were you coming back to the great hall for the meal?” asked Toby.

  “Aye. I’ll be there in a minute. I need to check on Hazel once more first.”

  “Shall I do that for you?”

  “That would be fine. Thank you.”

  As soon as his squire left, he turned around again, only to see Sir Chester exit the room in a hurry. Conrad stepped back into the shadows again as the baron walked past. Then Sir George hurried out, following his friend.

  “What is going on?” muttered Conrad under his breath, storming down the corridor and throwing open the door to the barons’ room. Willow was down on her knees with her head buried in a trunk of clothes. “Willow!” he called out, surprising her. She jumped up and slammed the lid down on the trunk.

  “Conrad. You frightened me.” She held her hand to her heart. “I thought you were one of the barons. What are you doing here?”

  “I’d like to ask you the same thing.”

  She ran over to the door and looked out briefly and then pulled him into the room and closed the door.

  “Go away,” she whispered. “You are going to ruin everything.”

  “I hope I do!” His fury grew wild. “How foolish of you to lure the barons to the room and be in here without an escort. Do you know how improper, not to mention how dangerous that is?”

  “I had to do it. I am trying to find out if either of them is the thief.”

  “You are playing with fire. Now, I want you out of here right now.”

  “Nay,” she said stubbornly, looking around the room and then running over to the bed and patting it down, running her hands under the blanket and pillow. “I have to check the room and their things first to see if they’ve hidden the ruby in here. I don’t think it is either of them, but I want to be sure.” She ran across the room and started going through the pockets of a cloak hanging on a hook against the wall.

  “That’s enough,” he spat. “You have no right to go through anyone’s personal belongings.”

  “You can help me,” she said, with a nod of her head. “We only have a few minutes before they return so we need to move quickly.”

  “Me? We?” Conrad shook his head. “Oh, no. I am not getting involved in your devious schemes, so don’t try to convince me to do so.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, Lord Beaufort already had the barons, and their room searched.”

  “The guards might have missed something. After all, the ruby hasn’t been found yet.”

  “The thief is probably long gone from here.”

  “Nay. I don’t think so. There are only a few people who knew about the ruby and where the earl was keeping it. Everyone who was in the room that night is still here at the castle, and a suspect. But once the competition is over with, it will be too late because they will all leave. I don’t have much time to figure out the answer. Look for any clue at all that might tell us the barons are lying.” She pushed him aside and searched a small table holding some things.

  “You are crazy!” he exclaimed. “Willow, I am starting to believe that my sister’s madness has worn off on you. Why are you acting so reckless? Now, stop this anon.”

  “Hazel’s madness?” She stood up and looked at him in question. “What does that mean?”

  Before he could answer, voices were heard from outside the room.

  “They’re back already!” she whispered, her eyes opening wide. “You’ve got to hide. They can’t know you are in here or they will start asking questions.”

  “I am not hiding, nor am I leaving here without you. You are my ward until your father’s return. I am responsible for you and your obnoxious, outrageous behavior.”

  “Fast, get in the wardrobe!” She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the small, adjoining room. “This is the only place I haven’t checked.

  “Willow, I am not –” She pulled closed the hanging curtain and left him standing there in the dark. “Bid the devil,” he growled. He was about to storm out when he heard Willow talking to the barons. He couldn’t leave now. If he made his presence known, how was he going to explain being in there at all? There would surely be a problem with this. Nay, he had to stay silent and wait for all of them to leave.

  He heard Willow talking and laughing. It about drove him mad. He didn’t want to be stuck in a wardrobe while the barons were enjoying her company. She would hear about this later. There was a crack of light coming in through the partially open curtain. He peeked out to see Willow holding a goblet of wine and flirting with both the men. That made him angry. He turned back to see that the wardrobe was empty. Still, he found himself looking in the corners and feeling atop the shelves for the ruby. Damn, Willow convinced him to help her when it was not his intent. Why did she seem to hold such power over him?

  Thankfully, Willow was able to get the barons to leave. When he heard no more voices, he peeked out again to see the room was empty. He had just started across the floor when the door opened. He stopped, frozen in his tracks. Willow popped her head into the room.

  “Did you find anything?” she asked.

  “Where are the barons?” he said in a gruff whisper.

  “Oh, they went back to the great hall to eat. They think I’m going to check on Hazel.”

  “I’ve had enough of this,” he spat, taking her by the arm and leaving the room, pulling her along with him.

  “Conrad, you’re hurting my arm. Let go of me.”

  “Nay, I won’t. I am not letting you out of my sight again. I don’t like the game you are playing.”

  “It’s not a game. I told you, I am trying to find the thief.”

  “Let’s go.” He hauled her back to her own chamber and walked inside to see one of Lord Beaufort’s guards going through a trunk. A page and handmaiden stood next to Hazel who held on to the bedpost, her body trembling. Toby looked on from over by the window.

  “What’s going on here?” Conrad demanded to know.

  “Lord Beaufort instructed me to search the ladies’ chamber,” replied the guard.

  “They were all here when I came to check on Hazel,” Toby explained from the other side of the room.

  Willow’s mouth dropped open when she saw the guard rummaging through her trunk. “Those are my things, and you have no right to go through them,” she spat.

  “Interesting to hear you say that,” mumbled Conrad. “It doesn’t feel good, does it?” He subtly reminded her that she was no better.

  “Branton?” asked Willow, seeing her friend, the personal page of Lord Beaufort in the room as well. “What is this all about?”

  “Lady Willow, everyone has been searched except for you and Lady Hazel since the earl couldn’t find you two yesterday,” said Branton.

  “Where were you?” growled the guard, making Hazel cry.

  “Stop it,” shouted Conrad, going to his sister and putting his arm around her. “They were with me. And I’ll not let this ridiculous behavior continue. These girls are innocent.”

  “The earl sent
the handmaiden to search you,” Branton told Willow. “She’s already searched Lady Hazel.”

  “I do not need to be searched.” The thought shocked and appalled Willow. It was so invading.

  “I’m sorry, my lady, but it is Lord Beaufort’s orders. If I don’t obey I will be punished,” said the handmaiden.

  Willow didn’t want to be searched but neither did she want the handmaiden to be punished because of her. Poor Hazel looked terrified, as if she were going to swoon. Willow wanted everyone out of here as quickly as possible.

  “I just need to check that you are not hiding the ruby in your hose or shift,” said the handmaiden.

  “That’s not possible since she doesn’t wear any,” mumbled Conrad under his breath.

  “Pardon me, Lord Conrad?” asked the girl. “What did you say?”

  “It was nothing of importance,” said Willow glaring at Conrad. “I don’t want you to get into trouble, so let’s go to the wardrobe so I can be searched,” she said. Afterward, she walked out into the room to hear Hazel shouting.

  “Nay, don’t touch my things! Those are mine. Don’t touch them.”

  “I just have your trunk to search, and I’m finished,” said the guard, opening the lid anyway.

  “Leave it,” ordered Conrad. “My sister doesn’t have anything to hide.”

  “She sure doesn’t act that way,” said Branton.

  Hazel started crying and shaking again.

  “For Heaven’s sake, this has got to stop.” Willow hurried over to Hazel and took the girl’s hands in hers. “Hazel, would it be all right if I touched your things and the guard watched over my shoulder?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “I – I don’t know,” she said, looking up at Conrad for support. Conrad nodded to Hazel.

  “It’s all right,” said Conrad. “We want to prove to them that you aren’t hiding anything and they will leave you alone.”

  “I suppose so, then,” agreed Hazel, hanging her head and looking at the ground.

  “Move aside,” commanded Willow, pushing past the guard, opening the trunk and going through Hazel’s things. The guard looked over her shoulder and finally nodded, satisfied that Hazel wasn’t the thief.

  “That’s good,” he said. “I’ll let Lord Beaufort and the earl know that you two have been searched and nothing has been found.” The guard left with the handmaiden and Branton following. Branton stopped in the doorway and turned around.

  “Lady Willow, if your cousins were here they would have found the thief by now. Lady Fia would have noticed something out of place, and Lady Maira would have used her weapons to bring him down.”

  “Branton, are you insinuating that I have no skills to find the thief on my own?” asked Willow.

  “I’m just saying . . . even Morag would have done something to figure it out by now.”

  “Get out!” she shouted, ready to throw something at the boy. Once he left, Conrad walked over to the door and held it open.

  “Let’s go. Both of you,” he told them.

  “I’m not hungry,” said Willow, feeling sick at Branton’s comment. Mayhap, she really had no skills at all and shouldn’t have been chosen as a member of the late queen’s secret group. Why did she feel stronger when she was around her cousins? Without them, she was starting to feel as insecure as Hazel right now.

  “We’re not going to the great hall, we are going to the secret garden,” Conrad told them. “Toby, saddle the horses.”

  “Aye, my lord,” said his squire, hurrying from the room.

  “I think you both need to root around in the dirt a little to relax,” Conrad told them.

  “I don’t want to go,” said Hazel. “Please, Conrad, don’t make me leave.”

  “It’s all right, Hazel.” Willow put her arm around the girl and tried to calm her so she would stop trembling. “Conrad is going with us. And he’s not leaving you anywhere, so you don’t need to worry.”

  “I want to go home,” cried Hazel.

  Willow looked up and her gaze interlocked with Conrad’s.

  “That’s not possible right now,” Conrad told her in a soft voice.

  “Why not?” asked Hazel.

  “Aye, why not?” Willow repeated, wondering what his reply would be. Hazel was insecure and always frightened. One minute she wanted to be noticed and acknowledged and the next she wanted to hide away. Willow didn’t understand why she acted this way. All she knew was that when she spent time with Hazel, the girl was calm and even happy. But that would all come to an end soon. When Hazel left Castle Rothbury, Willow could only hope that the girl could be happy with Conrad as well.

  “We can’t leave because the competition isn’t over yet,” stated Conrad. “Besides, I’ve made a deal with Lord Rook. I must watch over Lady Willow until his return.”

  “And what about Hazel?” asked Willow. “Who will watch over her?”

  “I want you to do it, Willow,” said Hazel in a soft voice. “Please . . . don’t leave me alone. I don’t want to be alone.”

  Willow didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t used to being a caregiver of any kind. Neither was she good at it. But her heart went out to Hazel. Before she realized what she was saying, she agreed. “All right, Hazel, I will. I’ll be with you. You don’t have to be frightened anymore.”

  Hazel smiled, and her trembling stopped. But when Willow looked up, Conrad was frowning and shaking his head. Suddenly, she had doubts about all this. Willow was used to going where she wanted and talking to whomever she chose. She also needed to be alone with some of the nobles because she had a feeling one of them was the thief, and she wanted to prove it. She had to find a way to help Earl Alnwick because without the ruby, he was doomed. What had Willow just agreed to, and how was she going to get out of this mess?

  Chapter 14

  “It is amazing how calm Hazel gets working in the garden.” Conrad took a swig of ale from the goatskin, watching his sister from the porch of Imanie’s cottage. Willow was next to him, having been working in the garden for the last hour. Hazel seemed to be taking extra care of weeding and turning the soil atop Imanie’s grave. The last few times they were here, Hazel spent a lot of time at the gravesite. Even Conrad had helped by digging up roots. Toby watered and took care of the horses. Willow was starting to enjoy working with the earth. The garden was regaining its beauty, just the way it looked when Imanie once cared for it. Willow could see now why it calmed Hazel’s nerves and made her stop shaking. It was very relaxing.

  “I don’t understand what is wrong with your sister. Why does she act so . . . so . . .”

  “Addled?” Conrad handed her the ale. She took a drink as well. The day was proving to be a hot one. Willow felt sticky and uncomfortable. What she really wanted was to go back to the castle and continue her mission to find the thief.

  “Has she always been that way?” asked Willow.

  “She’s getting worse.” Conrad sat down on a wooden bench and Willow settled herself next to him. “It all started when my father died. Then, my mother became sick, and she and Hazel never talked or spent time together anymore. They became distant as time went on. Hazel turned into a recluse. My sister is a shy girl and also afraid of everything. I feel she needs to be mentored by another woman. I can’t help her, Willow. I don’t know how. I came to Rothbury hoping the earl would take her as his ward, but he refused. I am thankful your father is going to do it.”

  “I wonder why the earl refused?”

  “I think he has his hands full with all the wards he has already. Some of them can prove to be quite challenging.” Conrad lifted an eyebrow, nodding at her.

  “Do you mean me?” Her hand flew to her chest. “I’m not the challenging one, I assure you. My cousin, Morag, is the troublesome one who is a handful. I have never caused the earl any trouble at all.”

  “Does Morag act like you do around the men?”

  “Stop it, Conrad.” Her heart dropped to hear him ask this. “When you talk like that it makes me think th
at you don’t believe I act like a lady.”

  “Do you?” he challenged her, making her angry.

  “I have a skill with people. I can’t help it. It is just a natural thing that the men are drawn to me.”

  “Face it, you use your beauty to manipulate others. If you were ugly or dressed in a plain gown and hidden under a wimple, do you think you’d have the same results with others?”

  “Of course, I would.” She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Sir Conrad Lochwood, you don’t know me if you think that everything I do is based on my looks.”

  He raised the goatskin to his mouth, looking out at the garden as he replied.

  “Prove it.” He took a drink and swallowed.

  “What did you say?” she asked, hoping she’d heard him wrong.

  “I said, prove it.”

  Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Never before had anyone thrown down the gauntlet like this. She didn’t want anything to do with it. “I have no idea what you mean.” She reached up and pulled back her hair, trying to cool her neck.

  “If you want to prove to me that your beauty isn’t just skin deep and that you don’t use it for your own benefit, then do something about it. Get rid of the jewelry, the fancy clothes, and the face paint. Wear a plain gown and bind your hair under a wimple the way a true lady dresses. And for God’s sake, wear a shift and hose and stop showing so much skin.”

  “Humph,” she said with an aggravated release of breath from her mouth. “I don’t have to prove myself to anyone, and certainly not you. Now, I’m going back to the castle with or without you, and you can’t stop me.” She stormed away but heard Conrad’s reply from behind her.