“Over here!” her sister called.
Clem retraced her steps and went left off the hallway to find her sister standing in the doorway to a study. Books lined one wall and the desk was neat and free from dust, as though someone had cleaned and used it recently.
Clem placed hands to her hips. “I’ve searched high and low for this letter. The chances that—”
“In the safe?”
Clem followed her sister’s finger to spy a locked safe tucked to the side of the bookcase. She stilled. It couldn’t possibly be as simple as that. Nevertheless, she fished her lock-picking set out of her reticule and kneeled to peer at the safe.
“It’s a simple one thankfully.” Her sister bent over and Clem had to bat her back with the wave of a hand. “I can scarcely see as it is.”
“Sorry.” Lily took several steps back.
The safe was as easy to pick as it looked and Clem eased it open, breath held. She shoved a hand inside, images of something jumping out and crawling up her arm making her pulse race. She pulled out a stack of papers and a jewelry box.
“Oh goodness. Could it be?”
Straightening, Clem opened the jewelry box with an unsteady hand. Inside twinkled a blue sapphire and diamond ring.
“Ignore the jewelry,” Lily demanded. “Let’s look at the papers.”
Clem nodded and inhaled through a tight throat. She wasn’t certain she was even ready to find the letter. If she did, she would have a difficult decision to make and her time with Roman would be over.
She spread the letters across the table. Some were signed by Mary’s late-husband and were mostly letters of business. There were some love letters between Mr. Jones and his late wife too.
“What about this?” Lily plucked a fragile, aged letter from the pile that Clem had almost missed thanks to how thin the paper was.
“Oh.” She took the letter from her sister and unfolded it with the tip of her fingers. It felt as though it would deteriorate with the lightest of touches. As soon as she saw the slanted writing and the strange letters, she knew. “It’s the letter.Theletter.”
“The letter,” her sister repeated. “What does it say?” Lily took a step back and held up her hands. “I know, I know, it’s none of my business.”
Clem scanned the letter, her eyes misting as she read the words. She swallowed. “It talks of a great, great love.”
“Goodness.”
“Yes.”
Carefully refolding the letter, Clem clasped it in her hand, unwilling to place it in her reticule in case it tore in there. She eyed the piece of paper that had admitted their love and condemned two people to live in misery. How would she ever hand this over to Roman simply for him to destroy? She wasn’t certain she could do the two lovers the injustice.
∞∞∞
“When exactly were you going to tell me you kissed Clementine?”
Roman tugged the horse to a halt and peered at Duke with a lifted brow. Had his friend gained skills in the occult all of a sudden? Or had Clementine confided in him? The latter seemed the more probable. Duke was the least likely person to believe in anything intangible.
Duke smirked, bringing his mount to the side of Roman’s so as to avoid the many people strolling along the wide path. Clear skies brought people to the gardens in droves, and they mingled around the long, straight river that sliced through the park, with children dipping their toes in the water and throwing sticks off the ornate bridges.
“In my office no less...” Duke continued.
Roman resisted the desire to curse under his breath.
“She didn’t tell me, you know.”
He glared at this friend, who shrugged.
“It was obvious. You dashed from my office without saying a damned word and she was all pink.”
“If you know everything, why the devil are you quizzing me?” Roman snapped.