She was with her back to him, but she knew that he wasn’t taking his eyes off of her. Susannah was also there, but she was also standing to the side, not wishing to interrupt Lydia. She inspected the bed, although she doubted she would find anything. It had been two years. The bed had certainly been made a million times already, and if there were something in the sheets, it would have been found, just like in the books.
Lydia looked around. Her gaze fell on the closet.
“May I?” She pointed at it.
The Duke nodded, walking over there himself and opening the door, so Lydia could take a closer look.
“We already –” he started then cut himself off. “Sorry,” he smiled.
“It’s all right,” she smiled back, feeling that wave of tenderness towards this man. He wasn’t trying to be obnoxious. He was simply worried beyond comprehension about his sister. She could not blame him for being impatient and for being anything other than calm and composed.
She looked inside the closet. Her initial feeling was one of sadness. The gowns hung from the hangers solemnly as if anticipating that they would never be worn again. Lydia tried to banish that sensation. They would find her.
Strangely, she was already invested in this mystery more than she thought she would be. She believed it would simply be something she could occupy herself with, something to satiate this thirst for mystery solving she always had. But this was so much more than that. She wanted to help this man. He seemed so kind and sweet. She could not imagine his sister being anything other than that. She wanted to see them together again, under this roof. She promised herself that she would do anything in her power to help him.
She started to move the gowns. The smell of lavender permeated her nostrils. It was too strong as it lingered for far too long in a closet that wasn’t opened that frequently. She looked up on the shelf. There were two boxes. She took them down and opened them. They only had hats inside. Nothing else.
She pressed the sides of the closet and the bottom, knocking, listening to the sound. It was the same everywhere which meant only one thing. There were no hollows inside. No hidden compartments.
She turned to him. “Did your sister have a favorite jewelry box or a music box?”
“Yes,” he nodded, walking over to a small vanity table and taking a pale pink box then handing it to Lydia.
She took it into her hands gently, cautiously. At first, she inpected it from the outside. It was big enough to hide something. She opened it. It revealed a small ballerina, who raised herself upon the lid being opened, and a gentle music started with her twirling around her own axis.
“It is lovely,” Lydia gasped at the intricate little ballerina and the soft insides of the box.
“It was a gift from our late grandmother,” the Duke explained. “Rachel loves it very much.”
“I can see why,” Lydia smiled at him then, quickly, returned her attention to the box in her hand.
She could see two rings and two pairs of earrings lying at the bottom of the ballerina’s feet, almost like an offering. Gently, Lydia started to feel the box. Everything seemed to be in perfect order. Then, she looked underneath the box. The paper was peeling from the upper left corner, almost as if someone peeled it off then tried to put it back as it was.
She took out the jewelry then turned the box around. The Duke jumped to be by her side as she did so.
“Did you find something?” he asked, eagerly, drinking in the sight of her fingers touching the corner of the box.
“I don’t know,” Lydia said, not wishing to raise his hopes. “Did you see this?” She showed him the raised paper.
He shrugged. “It’s an old box. Maybe it started to peel off on its own.”
“Possibly,” Lydia murmured to herself. She looked up at him. “May I peel it off completely?”
He hesitated before answering. She could tell that he didn’t want her to. For a moment, she considered just returning the box and continuing her search elsewhere, but something told her not to. Something would not allow her to let that box out of her hands.
“Please?” she asked, sensing that he needed it.
He looked at her, his eyes filled with grief. She had never felt such a dire need to embrace someone. It took all her conscious effort to fight this feeling, waiting for his to say yes. Finally, he gave her his permission.
Slowly, with a trembling hand, she peeled off the bottom part. That was when they both saw a little indentation, the size of a finger. Lydia cautiously placed her finger there, pressing gently. A barely audible click was heard, and an invisible drawer popped out from the side of the box.
The duke’s eyes widened with shock and disbelief. No matter how much she wanted to be the one to take out the contents, Lydia offered the box to him. At first, he seemed to be paralyzed, unable to move a single part of his body. Then, his hand moved, accepting the box. His fingers fluttered like the wings of a petrified butterfly who wished to fly away, but something kept it still in place. Painfully slowly, he took out a folded piece of paper, and underneath it, he found a dainty golden necklace with a heart pendant attached to it. It sparkled in his hand, taunting them both.
He looked up at her, and for a moment, she thought she could see the flicker of a tear in his eye. Then, he did something which left her stunned. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him, so close that their hearts were pressed against each other, feeling each other’s ticking away.
It did not occur to her, even for a single moment, to push him away. It did not occur to her to leave her arms hanging in the air around him. The only thing that she could do, the only thing that felt natural, was to return the hug. She wrapped her arms around him as well, resting her head in the soft indentation of his neck, inhaling his scent.
She had no idea how long they were like that, embracing and silent, when suddenly, he pulled away, clearing his throat.