11

THE SECRET CHAMBER

KATELYN WINCED WHEN THE GRAND oak stairway to the third floor creaked beneath each step she climbed. She couldn’t be certain that Moxie was still outside hanging wash on the clothesline that stretched across the pathway to the garden edge. It was laundry day, and Moxie was apt to be busy all afternoon, but she always moved in and out of the quiet house to complete other chores as well. Jasper had taken Lady Genevieve to her standing appointment with the hairdresser, so it was the safest time for Katelyn to search for stored documents in Lord Milburn’s desk. As planned, Andrew had dropped Katelyn off a block away so she could creep into the house without being seen or heard. If she encountered Moxie, she’d explain that her return home was “to collect additional clothes” for her extended visit with the Dempsey family. There would be no need to explain why she was staying longer. Both women knew it often took weeks for her aunt Genevieve to resume a civil disposition after getting enraged over a matter.

However, a visit to the third floor would arouse suspicion, so Katelyn had to be as secretive as possible and not get caught. She needed information on Lilly’s family origin, as well as personal documents for her passage on a seafaring vessel crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

The room was dark with the rank odor of cigarette smoke that caused Katelyn’s nose to run. She collected a handkerchief to wipe her nose before continuing toward the desk. The room was dimly lit because only a small amount of light seeped into the room through the crack of the closed curtain. She quickly jerked back the heavy window curtain. Aided by the light now illuminating the room, she continued her quest to find the missing pieces of the puzzle. Her hands trembled as she pulled open the small mahogany desk drawers that produced nothing but stray buttons, loose coins, hatpins, and a metal tin of pipe tobacco. A larger drawer attached to the desk was locked, and Katelyn whirled around to study the room for possible clues. Where would the key be hidden? Her aunt’s room was kept tidy by Moxie, and her dressing table held nothing but glass apothecary jars of skin cream and lotions.

Time was short, and she had to get that locked drawer open before her aunt returned home. Her hand groped beneath the panel of the desk, hoping the hidden key was held secure by a nail. She reopened one of the smaller drawers to retrieve the hatpin to insert in the keyhole. She jiggled the pin in the lock, but to no avail. Feeling defeated, she glanced toward the lit window. The room was hot and stuffy, and she was dripping with sweat. For a moment, she felt faint and realized she needed to eat something to settle her queasy stomach. She opened the window to allow some air to come into the room. As she unlatched the window, her eye caught a gray metal key tucked into the corner of the oak framed windowsill. Her heart leaped at the discovery. After opening the drawer with the key, she found several leather laces binding various stacks of letters and other important papers that her uncle had properly stored. She tucked a set of bound letters in her side pocket, a dress she purposely wore that had deeper pockets. She would not take the time to read anything now. Her back was to the door as she sat at the desk leafing through the piles of documents.

“Looking for something?” The voice was icy and filled with controlled rage.

Katelyn felt her heart stop at the sound of her aunt’s voice. She turned to see Lady Genevieve looming over her from the doorway like a towering black panther ready to attack its prey. Katelyn stood to face her predator square on. This was not the time to back down because Lilly was depending upon her strength to escape the madness in that home.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Katelyn’s steady voice didn’t reveal the terror in her heart. She squared her shoulders and braced for a battle. “I need information about my inheritance. There are rumors circulating this town that you have a gambling problem and have spent it all.”

Genevieve’s face went ashen. She slowly crossed the room toward Katelyn like a snake slithering toward its mark. Her eyes never left Katelyn’s look of defiance.

“That’s not true. Your heart must be evil to think such a thing about me. My husband left us financially secure, so you need not worry about this matter. I have everything under control, and just remember that you are my ward.”

“I am aware—I sought the advice of the legal consultant that my dear uncle employed to secure my future.”

“Let me guess.” Genevieve snickered. “That dimwit Andrew Dempsey? He’s a fool, and his mother is a bigger fool. You’re wasting your breath talking to him. He knows nothing of my affairs.”

“That remains to be seen. In the meantime, I am checking into my financial estate with the help of a legal team to prevent you from taking illegal measures, especially concerning Lilly.”

Genevieve was now in front of Katelyn, bearing down on her with piercing green eyes probing her face with the wrath of a crazed woman.

“Lilly!” She screamed her name as a curse word. “So this is what this is all about?” Her teeth were clenched as she seethed with rage. “I should have known it was all about that little viper! She has you wrapped around her little brown finger with her peevish little mannerisms and strutting around here as if she is queen of the manor. She’s nothing more than an impoverished pic-a-ninny orphan who is worth more as a slave among her kind than living in grand style with us. You need to forget her. She hid my ring, and she’s going to pay for causing me so much anguish. She needs to be flogged for such a trick!” She snatched the papers from Katelyn’s hands and drew her hand back to strike her face.

“Stop!” Moxie burst into the room and rushed toward the two women by the window. “What’s all this fuss about? Miss Katelyn, you are upsetting your aunt. Jasper is outside waiting with your carriage to leave.”

Katelyn quickly turned from her aunt as if being released from an evil spell. She brushed past the stout woman. Her mind raced faster than her feet as she rushed from the room, down two flights of stairs and out the front door, banging it shut for emphasis.

Jasper’s head jerked up and the horse reared in fright when the door slammed. He pulled the reins back to calm the animal before jumping down to help Katelyn aboard. No need for words; Katelyn’s anguished face revealed everything.

She patted Jasper’s arm to reassure him. Her heart longed for someone to reassure her that this doom would disappear like a bad dream. She was alone in the world as Lilly. She managed to hold back a flood of tears. There was no getting past her aunt without taking legal action. Her money was probably all spent, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her destiny was resting in the hands of a powerful woman wearing a bloodstone ring on a bony finger as crooked as her stony heart.