Page 91 of The Jewels of Halstead Manor (Ladies of Devon 1)

Hattie had offered Giulia a home as well, but Mabel lived the farthest away, and that was appealing to Giulia. It had been a buoying revelation when Giulia had explained that she wanted to set off on her own, and they’d immediately come up with ways to keep her around. Giulia cried tears of gratitude and joy and was hugged in three directions by her new friends.

She was creating her own life, her own adventure, and the control she had over her direction was exciting and thrilling. But would Nick understand?

Oh, what did that matter? The man had just been trifling with her, anyway.

Nick held up a hand, pulling her from her thoughts. “No need to explain. I know you are leaving.” He swallowed, glancing around the room. “When do you go?”

“I planned to stay a day or two after the ball to help return the castle to its natural state. Perhaps Monday, I suppose.”

Nick nodded curtly, his gaze flicking about the room.

“Listen, Nick—”

His eyes narrowed. “What is that?”

The most glorious light streamed through the stained-glass window, landing upon the sofa in a colorful reflection. “It looks like a rainbow,” Giulia answered quietly.

“Yes, a perfect rainbow,” Nick agreed in awe.

They moved to the center of the room in unison, drawing their hands through the flawless arc and marveling at the simple beauty.

“My father had a fondness for rainbows,” Giulia said softly.

“Perhaps this was why.”

She nodded as her hand followed the rainbow to where it ended on the sofa, sitting softly and playing with the light on her fingers. Nick followed her over and she glanced up when he grew still.

“What is it?” she asked.

“A crack in the wall,” he answered quietly. Giulia leaned over the sofa and saw what he was referring to. The walls of the room were the same gray stone as the rest of the castle, but there appeared to be a crack along the bricks behind the sofa. “I am going to move the couch,” Nick explained as he crossed to the end of the furniture. Giulia moved to the other side and helped him push it away from the wall. She gasped. The crack moved down and formed a perfect rectangle about as long as her forearm.

“Could it be?” she asked.

“Perhaps,” Nick responded, kneeling on the floor. “This whole place is littered with trapdoors and hidden cabinets.”

Giulia knelt beside him and watched as his fingers dug into the cracks of the rectangle, perfectly illuminated by the beam of rainbow light from the stained glass. The stone gave way, scraping as Nick slid it from the wall, revealing a small, dark space.

He gestured to the space. “Would you care to do the honors?”

Giulia swallowed before reaching into the dark compartment in the wall. She quickly pulled her hand back and shivered. “You may. I don’t fancy pulling out a dead rodent.”

Nick laughed. “Or a live one? It is too bad we don’t have a candle.”

Giulia shuddered again but the humor only partially covered the anxiety building in her gut. She watched as Nick’s large and capable hand moved into the dark space in anticipation.

“There is something here,” he said, his voice full of excitement as he slid something from the dark recess in the wall.

Giulia gasped. Then she felt herself grow cold, her gaze seeking Nick’s. If this is what she thought it was, Lily had been right all along.

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