Page 25 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
ChapterEight
“There are two entrances, the front door, and the servants’ door,” Jasmine said as she showed the men around. The Nordic Beast turned to his groundskeeper.
“You should go through the front door while we enter through the back door,” he suggested.
They separated while the pair headed to the servants’ door. Jasmine opened the door, and they slipped in.
They then thoroughly searched all the nooks and crannies of the house. The broken window and puddle of water on the floor were the only signs that there had been a disturbance. Before long, they ran into the groundskeeper, who also had not seen anything out of the ordinary. Jasmine was disappointed.
“We could also check the grounds. I am certain the intruder must have left something behind,” she urged.
With that, they headed to the grounds, searching from the garden to the gate to no avail.
“There just is not anything here, Your Grace,” the groundskeeper observed.
“Curious. If there had been an intruder, there should have been a trace,” he pointed out. Jasmine could tell that the Nordic Beast was beginning to doubt her story.
“Maybe he is a criminal mastermind, and he made an effort to clean up behind himself,” she suggested.
“With your description, the intruder seems like a petty thief, not a mastermind,” he replied.
“There was an intruder,” she blurted out. She needed him to believe her.
“What did the intruder look like?” he asked. “What detail did you see about him that seems remarkable? This could help if we have to talk to the constables about the intruder.”
Jasmine thought deeply, but she could not remember a thing.
“I did not see the intruder, so I cannot remember any details about him,” she replied.
“Wait, you did not see the intruder?” he asked.
“Oh, no,” Jasmine realized too late that her statement would only make him disbelieve her even more.
“I did not see the intruder, but I saw shadows. The intruder broke the kitchen window and also tried to get the front door open. And…and I heard him. He yelled,” she rattled on, bent on making him believe her.
“But if you did not see an intruder, then we cannot be entirely sure that there was an intruder,” he pointed out.
Jasmine’s frustration began to grow.
“I promise there was an intruder. I…”
“I am not saying there was not an intruder,” the Nordic Beast said, and Jasmine was elated, “but you may also have had a fright and imagined things.”
Jasmine frowned. “That is simply not true. I know what I saw.”
“But you did not see anything,” he responded. Furious that he did not believe her, Jasmine was silent as they headed back to his house.
“Dinner will be served soon,” he said.
“I would rather not. I am very much satisfied, Your Grace,” Jasmine declined formally.
He looked at her quizzically, obviously surprised at her tone.
“What is the matter?” he asked.
“I would rather head back home and stay there for the night,” she said, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Are you jesting?” he asked. “It is dangerous for you to be there all alone.”
