Page 65 of The Marquess Method
“Not to worry, Lady Haven. I’ve already checked on dinner. Mrs. Dottie has been instructed to remove the mushrooms planned with the meal and further instructed that no mushrooms of any kind should be included in anything she prepares.”
Theo was taken aback by the comment. “Oh.”
“I was instructed to do so by Lord Haven,” Rolfe added.
“Ambrose says you don’t like them.” Jacinda took her arm. “Mushrooms. I quite agree. I’ve never liked them myself.”
“Indeed, I do not,” Theo confirmed, unsurprised that Haven had remembered. He was very good at that. Making Theo feel seen. Even when he drew incorrect assumptions. Just now, she missed him fiercely. All the more reason to speak to him as soon as possible.
“And we’re having gingerbread for dessert tonight aren’t we, Rolfe?” Jacinda made a noise of delight.
“Yes, Lady Jacinda.”
“Iadoregingerbread. Do you like it, Theo?”
Theo clasped her arms, warmth spreading across her chest. “I love gingerbread. Who does not?”
“And there is a surprise for you, Theo.” Jacinda gently batted Theo’s ankle with her cane.
“A surprise?” Theo looked at Rolfe. The stone lions manning the front door of Greenbriar possessed more expression than her butler. “More delicacies from the kitchen?”
“No. Rolfe isn’t involved.” Jacinda dragged her over to the spiral stairs at the edge of the library. “You must go up.”
Theo gave the steps a doubtful look. The entire staircase appeared to have been newly repaired. Had she sent the carpenters in this direction? Honestly, the entire house was buzzing with tradesmen, there wasn’t any telling. But at least the stairs no longer looked as if they’d fall to pieces if she climbed them.
“Are yousureit’s safe?” Theo asked. Shewaswearing her spectacles so she could see if she fell to her death.
“I took the staircase not a moment ago myself, Lady Haven. ’Tis safe,” Rolfe assured her.
Theo looked at Rolfe’s large, bulky form. If it could hold Rolfe, it would certainly hold her.
“Safe, Theodosia.” Jacinda looked about to burst. It was all she could do to contain herself. “Ambrose says it will remind you of home. Your surprise.”
Ah. So, the surprise had to do with Haven. Much like the lack of mushrooms and the baking of gingerbread. It seemed her husband had decided she’d thawed long enough.
Theo quite agreed. She had relived her wedding night repeatedly as Haven snored next to her, hidden by the row of pillows. Sheer torture.
Cautiously, Theo made her way up the spiral stairs, sparing a look at Rolfe, Jacinda, and Coates below. “Rolfe,” she said over her shoulder. “If I should fall, could you please set down that stack of books and catch me?”
“Without a doubt, Lady Haven,” came the rumbling reply.
“Very good,” she muttered. Moving upward, she paused every step or so to glance down at Rolfe and Jacinda whose faces were both turned in her direction, watching her as she climbed. When her foot met the solid wood of the second floor, Theo breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t ventured up here before, as the stairs had been in a state of disrepair. An empty space, meant to be a sitting area with lamps, was before her, identical to the floor below. What a perfect place this would be to spend a day lost in a book, hidden from the rest of the house. There were more shelves here, all filled with tattered books and bits of paper. The entire area smelled slightly of mildew and neglect.
In her mind, Theo immediately saw a lush Persian rug, possibly in rich gold and crimson, two or three overstuffed chairs in complementary colors, and a small table to hold a lamp. The windows were bare of any coverings, and Theo thought she would keep it that way, for the view outside was stunning. She could see clear into the woodland surrounding the estate. An old stone fence meandered well out of eyesight, crumbling and covered with bramble in places. The leftover remains of what looked to be a wagon sat nearby, now covered with flowering vines. She tried to imagine Haven as a child, running into the field, perhaps along the stone wall.
Turning from the window, Theo spied a narrow hallway partially hidden by a row of bookshelves. Atop a stack of moldering books on one shelf was a rock. Someone had taken red paint and drawn an arrow pointing forward.
Theo tapped her chin. How curious.
The scent of fresh paint assailed her nostrils as she strolled further and found another rock. This arrow pointed up to a narrow set of stairs. A door, painted the same brilliant red as the arrows, stood at the top.
Vermillion, her mind automatically whispered.
The door stood ajar, a silent invitation for her to come inside.
Verymysterious. Exactly the sort of thing Theo adored.
She climbed the stairs, gasping softly in surprise as she reached the top.
