As the people Ian had enlisted came and went from the outer room, I stood for a few minutes, staring up at the late afternoon sky. It wasn’t until I returned to the main bedroom that I realized that not only had the ladies Ian called carried the items up from the second floor, they’d also put everything away. The exception was the worn leather bag containing the laptop.
As I took the laptop back to the library, I saw there was an older man with Ian. Despite his small stature, he seemed knowledgeable in completing my request. Nearly a half hour later, Ian called to me to see the finished product.
“Miss Emma?”
I stepped out of the library as Ian met me in the main bedroom. “Is it done?”
He nodded as lines appeared near the corners of his eyes. The other man had disappeared, much as all of Rett’s men did. Maybe they were Miss Guidry’s spirits instead of living beings.
I extended my hand to Ian. “May I have the keys?”
Ian placed two old-fashioned skeleton keys in the palm of my hand. I shook my head as I closed my fingers around them. “This isn’t enough.”
“It’s what you asked for, ma’am.”
“You’re right. I apologize for not being more specific. Let me ask you a question: how many keys exist to open the lock on that door?” I nodded toward the main door to the suite.
It was a bit ironic that after the week I’d spent in this suite contemplating escape, I was now facilitating an ironclad barricade. The difference between then and now was that at this time, I intended to be the one with the power of locking and unlocking the door.
“This is an old house,” Ian began.
“It is. Do you have an approximate answer to my question? Say ten keys? Twenty?” My eyes opened wide. “More?”
“May I remind you that I’m here when Mr. Ramses isn’t? He has increased the security around and within this house. Truly the use of such locks is more of a risk than a benefit.”
“Why is that?”
“You could become trapped.”
Holding the old key in my palm, I walked to the window and opened the glass pane, revealing the shutters behind. “These windows don’t look down into the courtyard, do they?”
“No, they face the south corner of the house.”
I had never been an east-west-north-south type of person. I preferred instructions that included landmarks: turn right at the pharmacy or take the second left. Not only that, I had been beyond the walls of this house only once, and those memories were marred with the terror of my abduction. “If I recall correctly, this house sits on a street corner with a single neighbor to one side. In relation to that...?”
“The windows face the street.”
I walked into the library. “These windows are facing a different direction.”
“West, toward the back of the grounds.” As if to clarify, Ian added, “Above the conservatory.”
“I want these shutters removed.”
Ian inhaled.
“I’m not going to climb down a drainpipe. You said the concern with my door locking from the inside is the fear I would be trapped. Remove these shutters, and I will have a means of being rescued if needed. Of course, there’s always the skylight.” I opened my palm and looked at the key before smiling at my ally, the unlikely one who we both knew would report everything to Rett as soon as this was done.
I guess I found comfort in believing that Ian had yet to send that information. “Thank you for having the doorknob turned. I believe in light of the excessive number of keys wandering around and in the possession of God knows who, a dead bolt or latch of some kind on this side of the door is warranted.”
“Mrs. Ramses...”
“For the sake of argument, let’s say that name is accurate. Nothing that I’m requesting goes against what Mr. Ramses has stipulated. I’m in the house. I’m not leaving. I’m safe from my brother.” And from Rett. I didn’t say that part. “You’re simply complying with my wishes.”
Ian pulled out his phone. “I’ll have Thomas return.”
“Thomas is the man who switched the doorknob?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am. He’s been employed by the Ramses family since before Mr. Ramses’s father passed. He will get this taken care of right away.”