“If I were to guess,” Freddie replied, shrugging, “I would say yes. This house is old and has tunnels built into the walls, cellars that no one ever uses. Lord, it has rooms that have not been used in centuries.”
“So it would be easy for a stranger to be in here, listening to what goes on.” Feeling a tremor of fear clutch her heart, Thea gazed at the stout wall of the kitchen. “He would know when you are going out riding, now fishing. Freddie, this is frightening me.”
“It is frightening me, too. But how can we find out if someone is hiding in the bloody walls? We go in there, he just hides away in the dark like a rat. Those tunnels are vast, and we would never see him.”
“And if he got his hands on a footman’s wig and livery,” Thea added, “he can come out into plain view. We have so many servants, he would blend in instantly. Or better yet, a groom. Not all the grooms know each other.”
“Now that is a depressing thought.”
“A disadvantage to having so many servants.”
Standing, Freddie took the blanket from him and set it on his chair. “I reek like lake water, Thea,” he said. “I am headed for a hot bath and a change of clothes. I will see you at supper?”
Thea replied, “Of course,” as Freddie kissed her cheek and left the kitchen. Pondering the implications of having someone right there in their home, she gestured for the cook to approach. She did so, curtseying, her apron pristine clean despite all the stoves, ovens and hearths that had food being prepared on them.
“Tell me, Mrs. O’Bannon,” Thea said, “is it possible for you to know if food is being taken without your knowledge?”
“Oh, no, Miss Miller,” the butler’s wife replied. “We have so many storerooms about the place, food coming in and going out. The staff often come in late to fetch something if they are hungry. It is not against the house rules.”
“No, of course, it is not. Thank you.”
As the cook curtseyed and left her alone, Thea rose from the table and left the kitchen, making her way through the house and outside. She discovered Charles Noonan, along with no few grooms and footmen at the dock, staring at the overturned boat and talking in low tones. They all bowed as she approached.
“Will you show me where the pegs were, Mr. Noonan?” she asked.
“Certainly, Miss Miller.”
Bending, he pointed to the empty holes where the pegs had been. “With these out, it was only a matter of time before substantial weight on the boards would force them apart.”
Thea nodded. “How much expertise would that require to remove them?”
“Why, hardly any at all,” he said, rubbing his cheek. “A little knowledge of boats would be helpful, but once you put it out and overturn it, it is easy to yank out the pegs.”
“So, say someone did this,” Thea said, walking slowly around the rowboat, examining it, “he could come in the middle of the night, pull it to shore from the dock, pull the pegs and put it back?”
“Dead easy, Miss Miller.”
“And if the boat sank fully, we would never know it had been sabotaged.”
Mr. Noonan nodded. “Mr. Carter all but killed himself pulling it in. Fortunately, the boat remained buoyant enough that it did not sink completely. Had it done so, yes, you are quite correct, Miss Miller, we would never know why it sank. No evidence.”
“Then we must be glad, and grateful, for Mr. Carter,” Thea said with a small grin. “He saved both our lives and brought this to us for inspection. I wonder, how is it he knows how to swim so well when so many of us do not?”
Mr. Noonan smiled. “Actually, I have that answer, Miss Miller, as it turns out. Mr. Carter’s father was a sailor who was lost at sea. His mother, the head housekeeper as you know, insisted he learn to swim at a young age. In case he ever followed in his father’s footsteps to become a seaman.”
“Then we must bless Mary Carter.”
After thanking the steward and the staff, Thea returned to the house. Deciding to go to the library to read until it was time to change for supper, she went to the second floor where the library was situated. Astonished, she found Liam, clad in a fresh livery, his red-gold hair brushed and dry, standing outside the library door.
She glanced around for any watching eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked, approaching him.
Liam bowed with a wicked grin. “I knew you would come here. I wanted to see you.”
“What if my brother comes?” she hissed, opening the door and beckoning him inside. “Or anyone for that matter. My reputation is ruined if we are caught in here together without a chaperone.”
“I will not stay long,” he assured her, gazing down at her with those incredibly green eyes. “And there are no other servants about – I checked.”
“Thank you for your courage in saving Freddie,” she said, stepping close enough to him that she had to tilt her head back in order to gaze into his face. “You have remarkable courage.”
