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The footman tactfully nodded and retreated back down the hall.
“Why is Davey running around with a pistol?” Sabrina asked.
“Graeme and I have some of the servants on rotating watch.”
“Kendrick men always like to be prepared.” Ainsley waggled her eyebrows. “For anything.”
Royal ignored his wife. “Are you going to tell us what happened? That sounded like the entire ceiling of your room fell in.”
“Let them in, Sabrina,” Graeme said from behind her.
She sighed and opened the door.
Royal and Ainsley gaped at the bed.
“Good God,” Royal finally said. “That is . . .”
“Insane.” Ainsley whacked Graeme in the arm. “You and furniture. What in God’s name were you up to in that bed?”
“Nothing,” he protested. “The damn thing just up and collapsed.”
“He’s right,” Sabrina said. “We truly weren’t doing anything.”
The other couple exchanged an incredulous glance.
“Well, almost nothing,” Sabrina amended. “Certainly not enough to causethat. Graeme saved us, too. If he’d not moved so quickly, we . . .” She had to swallow.
Ainsley winced in sympathy. “How horrific. And not very romantic, I must say.”
“Rather the opposite,” Sabrina gloomily replied.
Royal glared at his brother. “I’m not best pleased with this situation, laddie, for a number of reasons.”
Graeme rolled his eyes. “No need to get fashed, since we’re getting married. Sabrina proposed to me. Before the collapse, fortunately.”
Ainsley gave Sabrina a hug. “Congratulations, darling. That is splendid news.”
“Thank you. It is rather exciting, isn’t it?”
“This conversation is entirely beside the point,” Graeme impatiently said. “We need to talk about why that blasted canopy collapsed.” He pointed a finger at his sister-in-law. “Donotsay it again.”
Ainsley mimicked locking her lips and throwing away the key. Royal moved closer to inspect the collapsed bed.
“It’s very old,” said Sabrina. “I suppose the joints might simply have worn out.”
“I suppose that’s possible, given how neglected the whole place has been,” Royal said.
“I’m not so sure.” Graeme pointed at the canopy. “Have a look.”
One corner where the canopy had separated from the bedpost looked clean, almost as if sliced through.
“That break looks very clean.” Royal inspected the other corners. “The others are splintered.”
“Wood rot?” Sabrina had seen it before in some of the truly antique pieces at their estate in Northumberland. Age, dampness, and poor maintenance all took their toll.
Graeme looked grim. “That seems implausible to me. The difference is quite marked.”
The floor seemed to tilt a bit, perhaps a trick of the flickering firelight.
