Page 30 of A Scoundrel in the Making

She snorted. “He has his hands full placating Lady Julia. He won’t want her to stew overnight.”

No, he wouldn’t. “Shall I take the wardrobe?”

“I searched it earlier when I arrived. The secretary, if you will,” she said, and he realized he’d offended her.

She gave him no time to reply, but added, “Be careful to replace things as you found them. If Mr. Russell finds anything out of place, he will know we searched his room.” She hurried to the nightstand, opened the drawer and began searching.

Fatigue tugged and he had a sudden longing to escape to his room. Description de l'Égypte awaited him—along with peace and quiet, away from contentious women who seemed to go out of their way to irritate him. The sooner he searched the desk, the sooner they could leave.

The secretary had one drawer and several cubby holes. He found only writing paper, quills, two old bills for suits and…a partially composed letter to…

My Dearest Sister,

I am pleased to hear that you will visit next month. It is my greatest hope that by then our plans will have reached fruition. Alex assures me things are going well in London. Take heart. We shall soon take our rightful place in the world.

I know how much you wanted

“Bloody hell,” Reade muttered.

“What is it?”

He looked up. Abigail knelt beside the bed and peered at him over the edge of the mattress.

“Do you know the name of the Scottish separatist in London who is leading the accusations concerning the Honors?” he asked.

“The leader?” She frowned. “I didn’t know they had a leader.”

He nodded. “His name is Alex Hayes.”

“Why is that important?”

“I have a letter here that Russell wrote to his sister. Come have a look.”

She pushed to her feet and hurried around the bed. When she reached him, Reade handed her the letter.

A moment later, she looked up at him. “Alex, as in Alex Hayes?”

“We can’t be certain, but it is a coincidence. Russell hopes their plans will come to fruition next month. Someone named Alex is telling him things are going well in London, and that part about them taking their rightful place in the world fits quite well with the theft of the Honors. What do you make of it?”

“I have come to conclusions based on much less evidence than this,” she said. “I just wish this letter gave some clue as to the whereabouts of the Honors. Caithis castle isn’t massive, but there are likely a hundred places the jewels could be hidden.”

“Perhaps there are more passageways in the dungeon,” he said.

“Perhaps,” she said. “I will search more down below another time.”

“For now, we had better go,” he said.

“Aye. Tomorrow evening, during the ball, I will search the private rooms in this wing more thoroughly while you keep him busy.”

Reade didn’t like the idea of her searching the castle alone, but she had a point. Plus, she would be far safer if he kept Russell busy with cards. That probably meant letting Russell win. Not a bad idea, now that he thought about it. That meant Russell would feel confident betting more money down the road.