Page 46 of Mesmerized

He shrugged. “They gave you a scare. With some, it might have been enough to convince you that there were ghosts, or even make you decide to pack up and leave. They could not have known it would make you more determined to uncover their perfidy.”

There was an admiration in the tone of his voice that warmed Olivia, but she pulled herself back to the point at hand. “However, even if it’s possible they explored the house, it seems unlikely that they would have thought of prying up all the tiles around the fireplace in the nursery to see if they could be heard downstairs.”

“Perhaps Roderick’s ghost told them,” Stephen said wryly, then sighed. “I don’t know how they found out. Maybe they discovered them in the same way Roderick and I did—they could hear faint voices, and they investigated and realized the tiles came up.”

Olivia nodded slowly. “It wouldn’t be surprising if they were investigating the room above the sitting room your mother uses most to see if they could rig up some trick through the ceiling. And the nursery is someplace people never go, so they wouldn’t fear being discovered.”

“Possible. Even plausible. But not enough, I’m afraid, to convince my mother.”

“Tom went through the other wing of the house this morning,” Olivia told him. “He opened the windows and took a lamp to search the dust on the floor for footprints.”

“Did he find any clear ones?”

“Much of the halls was a mess, with you and Tom having walked them, and Belinda and I backtracking several times. But he did find in two hallways a single set of footprints in the dust on the floor. Belinda and I were never apart. He also found footprints apart from the two pairs together that Belinda and I made. There was obviously another person up there.”

Stephen nodded. “Of course, we were sure of that to begin with. Convincing my mother is another matter. I am afraid it is going to take something much more blatant.”

“I know.” Olivia sighed. “I should have caught them yesterday. I was foolish. I said right out loud that the sounds must be coming from the fireplace. I didn’t even think about the fact that whatever was said in the sitting room probably traveled right back to them. So they knew I was coming after them, and they were able to get away.”

“Don’t fret over it.” Stephen smiled and took one of her hands in his. “You have been doing an excellent job. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

She looked up into his face, her heart fluttering a little in her chest. When Stephen smiled at her in that way, she didn’t know what to say or do. He stepped closer to her, still holding her hand.

A voice came from the doorway. “Oh! My goodness! Have I interrupted something?”

Olivia took a quick step back from Stephen, blushing, as she turned toward the doorway to see Pamela standing there, an amused smile on her lips.

“I am so sorry,” Pamela said, her tone indicating she was anything but, and strolled forward into the room.

“Hello, Pamela.” Stephen’s voice was stony.

“My lady.” Olivia glanced around uncomfortably. Pamela had a knack for making her feel wrong and out of place, and the fact that she did so bothered Olivia even more. It was also most annoying that she felt guilty, when she and Stephen had been doing nothing wrong—and Pamela had no rights over him, anyway.

She cast a quick glance up at Stephen, who was looking at Pamela, his face unreadable. She could not help but wonder if, when he saw Pamela, he still felt the same rush of passion he once had. Was it anger or love in his heart—or a combination of both? Whatever it was, Olivia had a sudden urge to get away from the sight of them.

“I—um,” she began. “I was just about to go, um, work on something. If you will excuse me...?”

She turned and quickly left the room.

Pamela did not spare a glance at Olivia’s retreating figure. She looked at Stephen, her head tilted a little to one side, a slight smile curving her lips, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Really, Stephen,” she drawled. “Don’t tell me you are trying to make me jealous.”

His eyebrows rose. “I beg your pardon?”

She nodded toward the door through which Olivia had left. “That little scene with the duke’s dowdy daughter that I just witnessed. Holding her hand, looking into her eyes. Going riding with her...oh, and that touching moment last night when she came dragging in from the other wing, your arm solicitously around her waist.”

Stephen gazed at her coolly for a moment. “I am certain it will come as a great shock to you, Pamela, but nothing I have done with Lady Olivia has had the slightest thing to do with you.”

Pamela strolled forward, her skirt swaying gracefully, her eyes intent on Stephen’s. “Come, now, my dear, you can’t expect me to believe that you have any interest in the little thing. You forget, I know you.”

She stopped in front of him, only inches away. She put a finger on his chest and trailed it down the front of his shirt, saying, “I know your passion. She could never satisfy that. I know exactly the sort of woman a man like you wants.”

Her eyes glowed as she looked up at him, the full power of her charm turned onto Stephen. Smiling seductively, she slid her hands up the front of his chest, then went on tiptoe and kissed him.

Chapter Nine

STEPHEN’S HANDS CLAMPED like iron around Pamela’s wrists, and he jerked them down. She blinked at him, her mouth slightly open in surprise.