I admit it openly, throwing his scrunched tissue back at him. “No denial from me.”
“Knew it.”
Cas slides the last slice of cheesecake toward me, but I shake my head.
I take the excuse to float an idea about another of Ephraim’s puzzles. “Actually, you’ve reminded me about our portrait puzzle.”
“The spinner in the old man’s office?” Cas asks.
“How does cheesecake remind you of Ephraim?” Ben asks.
“Not the cheesecake. The puzzle talk. I’ve been comparing the portraits for days. There are definite differences between the two portraits. It took me a while to figure it out, but the first portrait has black and white stones randomly lying around; on the shelves in Ephraim’s reflected sight, and disguised as buttons,” I remark.
“Buttons? I missed those.”
“On his cuffs. It’s subtle.” I point out then continue. “However, in the second picture, they’re arranged like piano keys.”
“You think we’re looking for a piano?” Ben asks.
“Maybe, but that’s not all. There’s a scroll on the shelf behind him and it says something different in each painting. Also, the window is slightly too far to the right on the second painting, and the maze can be seen in the corner of the glass.”
“So?”
“So, Ephraim’s office doesn’t face the maze. None of his windows look onto it. Plus, the maze in the picture is in the bottom left pane of glass, like you are looking down on it.” I watch as both of them think about the ground floor office and recall where the widows align to the orangery and the lawn.
“Okay, that’s weird,” Ben says first.
Cas leans forward. Elbows resting on his knees as he thinks. “Is he directing us to the maze?”
I’d wondered the same but, just like the change in lighting, I think the maze is just a device to orient us to the building. I explain what I really suspect. “No, I think he’s directing us to his office. His real office.”
“No fucking way!” Cas hisses.
“But it’s exactly the same,” Ben argues. “The décor in each painting is the same as the room we were in. Why would you assume a second room?”
“Because it’s a perfect ruse,” I insist. “You said he was all about balance, but the flip side of that is duality. Like the two paintings there could be two rooms. Identical but in different places. The only other way it might make sense is if he moved his office downstairs at some time?”
Ben shakes his head. “No, the family has kept that room like a shrine to the old man all these years. If they suspected another office, they’d have not kept this one. Plus, Ephraim having two offices wouldn’t be out of the question. One for public and one for private. One for business and one for secrets. In that case, he would be far more likely to create a room with a hidden entry,” Ben reasons. His eyes flick up to mine. “Do you have lectures tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah, one is live and the other is recorded. I have to attend the first one, but I can push the recorded one back. Do you want to go hunting for the office?”
“Are you up for it?” he asks, and all three of us know it’s a stupid question.
“Of course.”
“Then it’s a date,” Cas cheers. “We can check out the ballroom floor too.”
Ben and I shoot awkward glances at each other before looking away. Ben mumbles something that I don’t catch, distracting Cas with conversation.
I tune them out. A strange buzzing sensation exists in both my stomach and my chest. Excitement and something else. The thought of running around this house in search of treasure and secrets is so childish and impractical, and yet it brings a smile to my face. No pressure, no Franz, no deep promises, no fear; just freedomto be silly. A chance to be with friends.
Then it’s a date.
Or more? That’s a throw away comment for Cas but is the same true for Ben? Is it okay to think of Ben that way? Am I attracted to him? Yes. Sure, he’s wiry, small, and has a kink in his slim nose that suggests he can handle himself in a scrap. He prefers to slink in shadows than to walk around a park in the sun, but he’s kind, honest, always there, shrewd, watchful, and smart. In the Vale, he’d rise through the ranks quickly. In the Heights, he’s a useful commodity. To me, he’s Ben. In the end, that’s what matters.
Whether he’ll approve of the open-style thing I have going with Dax and Aiden though, well, that is something altogether different.
“Jules?”
