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She’d thought the same and was impressed by his deduction. “You’re good at this.”
“I’m good at many things.”
This was the first time they’d had any privacy since the night on the verandah. He was a beautiful, bearded god of a man who’d probably been tempting women since birth. “I’m not taking that bait.”
“Are you certain?”
His small ghost of a knowing smile and vibrant dark eyes were two of the most potent weapons in his amorous arsenal. Both made her senses unfurl and open like petals of a bloom under the morning sun. He had no right to be able to affect her by simply standing across a room. “Put your magic away, conjure man. Let’s go see what the kitchen has to offer to eat. I’m starving.”
“As am I.”
Determined to ignore the double meaning of those softly spoken three words and the way they made her nipples tighten and sensual warmth flow languidly through her thighs, she removed her bonnet and led him back outside.
Using the key, they entered the brick building and closed the door behind them. The air was stuffy and the interior silent as a tomb. Steele reopened the door again to let in what little breeze was to be had, and propped it open with two bricks that were on the ground beside it as if for that purpose.
A short hallway led into the kitchen.
“Larger than I expected,” Raven said, looking around. “Plenty of counter space for preparing things. Modern stove looks fairly new.”
“As does the cold box.”
She eyed a table and the two chairs set against one wall. It was large enough to sit and dine and could be used for preparation if extra space was needed. At the far end of the room was a large two-sided stone sink. There was a door beside it.
He walked over and opened it. “Pump’s right here.”
She liked knowing there was easy access to water when it was needed. “Not too bad, so far. It’s probably awful to cook in here during the summer months though.”
“What do you mean?”
“No window.”
He glanced around. “That makes no sense.”
“It does if you aren’t the person doing the cooking.”
A pantry held items like coffee, sugar, flour, lard, spices, and rice, along with jars holding put-up fruit like peaches. Jars holding green beans, cabbage, and succotash stood beside them. In baskets beneath were sweet potatoes and a wilted bunch of carrots that had seen better days. She disposed of those. In the cold box she found the remnants of a ham. A quick smell let her know it wasn’t rancid so she found a knife in one of the drawers and cut off a few pieces and laid them on a plate. There was a partial loaf of stale bread in the bread box. After checking it closely for mold, she made sandwiches. She planned to make a more substantial meal for dinner. If she didn’t drop from weariness first.
They ate the sandwiches, washed them down with water from the pump, and then went to explore the rest of the building. The laundry was across from the kitchen, with clotheslines strung above their heads. No windows in there, either.
A short flight of stairs took them up to the second floor, where they discovered two rooms. Each held four wooden bedsteads built low to the ground. The floors were covered with dust. “Sleeping quarters,” he said.
She nodded. The room had a lot of windows. “Do they open?”
He walked over. “They look painted shut.”
She shook her head at the lack of comfort afforded the people who spent their captive lives making life easier for the people who owned them. She glanced around with an eye for a place to hide something. On the surface there was nothing. “Let me try something. I’ll need you to be quiet for a moment.”
He grinned but didn’t ask about a reward, but she knew he was thinking it. She took a slow walk around the room and knocked on the plaster walls, listening for a change in the sound.
When that yielded nothing she examined the floorboards for colors in the wood that didn’t match, then with her eyes closed ran her hands slowly over the walls again to feel for seams or repairs. Nothing. The second room turned up just as empty.
As they walked back down to the main floor, he said, “You’re good at this.”
Echoing him, she tossed back with a smile, “I’m good at many things.”
Done with the searching for the moment, they washed up the lunch dishes and returned to the cottage.
Once inside, Raven dropped down tiredly onto the sofa. “I could sleep for a year.”
