She knew she was taking a risk. Although a large number of the servants would be busy in the kitchens, either assisting with the meal or enjoying their own, there were always a few drifting about the house, their sharp gazes missing nothing.
But what choice did she have? She might try and convince herself that giving in to Stefan’s skillful seduction was the perfect means of keeping him distracted from her true purpose for being in Surrey, but she was not stupid.
Her violent explosion of pleasure had nothing to do with plots or schemes or her loyalty to Russia. She was quite simply incapable of resisting the handsome Duke of Huntley. And every moment that she spent in his company only deepened her fascination.
She had to find those letters and flee before her revulsion for deceiving Stefan overcame her devotion to her mother.
Her decision made, Leonida had sent word to the kitchen that she preferred a tray in her room and, waiting until she was certain that both Stefan and Brianna had gone down to dinner, she had posted Sophy near the stairs and darted through the shadows to the state rooms.
Grasping a candle in her hand, she entered the Duchess’s bedchamber, casting a quick glance around the vast room.
Unlike most of the estate, the Duchess had chosen to remove the aging wainscoting and replaced it with crimson damask wall panels. The ceiling was molded and trimmed with gilt, and in the center a cut glass chandelier reflected the candlelight with a shimmering beauty. Set near the white marble fireplace, the four-poster bed was draped in emerald-green velvet that matched the cushions on the gilt gesso chairs.
Despite the air of emptiness, the chamber was kept ruthlessly clean, reminding Leonida that a servant might enter at any moment. The quicker she finished her search, the better.
The question was…where to begin?
Beyond the fabulous gilt-framed pictures by Gainsborough and Reynolds that could all possibly cover a hidden safe, there was a pair of mahogany cabinets, a rosewood writing table and a French marquetry pedestal bureau.
And she had not yet entered the private parlor that was just beyond the connecting door.
With a sigh, she moved toward the writing table. Surely it was the most obvious place to begin her search?
Obvious, but fruitless, she soon discovered, finding nothing more than the usual items. Parchment, quills, ink, wax and the Duchess’s formal seal.
“Mon Dieu. Where can they be?” she muttered.
She was just moving to the pedestal bureau when the door to the room was pressed open and Sophy was waving a frantic hand.
“The Duke is coming up the stairs,” she hissed. “You must hurry.”
Muttering a curse, Leonida raced across the room, shutting the door behind her. Then, grasping Sophy’s arm, she hurried them both toward her chambers.
“Why does the aggravating man not leave me in peace?” she hissed, as aggravated by the joyful leap of her heart as by his untimely approach.
Sophy snorted, casting Leonida a knowing glance. “Aye, I wonder.”
Leonida blushed. “He is suspicious of my presence in Surrey.”
“Why would he be suspicious?”
“He seems to believe I am here to lure his brother into some plot devised by the Emperor.”
“Ah.” Sophy nodded. “Well, the rumors were that Lord Summerville did put himself at risk on a number of occasions for the Czar Alexander. Perhaps the Duke has cause to worry.”
Leonida’s lips twisted. “If Alexander Pavlovich desires Lord Summerville’s assistance I would be the last person he would send. He rarely even recalls that I exist.”
“Such a man has much on his mind,” Sophy murmured.
Of course he did. Alexander Pavlovich carried the weight of a vast empire upon his shoulders. But that did not lessen Leonida’s sense of abandonment when months, even years passed without a word from the Emperor.
Perhaps it would not have been so noticeable if her mother had been a more…affectionate parent.
Oh, Nadia loved Leonida, but she had no interest in raising a child. Not when she could be devoting her attention to ensuring her place as a leader among society or dabbling in the dangerous games of politics as she sought to protect Alexander Pavlovich’s throne by whatever means necessary.
As a result, Leonida had been raised by her English nurse and a series of governesses who rarely remained more than a few months.
Was it any wonder that she had never truly felt important to anyone?