placed their glasses on the silver tray and said their good nights. For a few minutes after they left the drawing room, conversations were quiet. With the help of a bottle it soon picked up again.
“ I do not know what to believe,” Anne said with laughter as she held out her glass for more of the finest brandy she’d ever tasted. “Charlotte assures me that the palace is haunted and the ghosts are a wild bunch of rogues, but you men say otherwise.”
Charlotte, who was seated beside Anne on the sofa, also raised her glass to allow Blake to pour more from the sparkling crystal decanter. “Our ghosts are most definitely a terrible band of scoundrels. I have not set foot in the catacombs for years. Why...I still have nightmares about those wretched howls, and the dark enclosed spaces that seemed to go on forever with no way out. Many times I thought I’d met my maker down there.”
Anne decided to play along. She regarded the men with horrified umbrage but spoke sympathetically to Charlotte. “How dare they presume you were imagining it? I think there is something to these legends. Is it not true that a monk was murdered here?”
Garrett sat down beside her and casually lounged back on the sofa. “Be careful, darling, you are dredging up the shocking details of our family’s dark history. We have wicked beginnings, and in fact, ghosts are not at all out of the question. Perhaps we are all better off not knowing the truth.”
Darling? The teasing in his voice sent flames of excitement shooting into her veins. She could not help but turn her body in his direction. He was sitting very close and she could feel the thrilling challenge in his blue eyes.
She spoke flirtatiously. “You should know better than anyone that I am not the sort of woman who hides from the truth, no matter how shocking or scandalous. Therefore, I challenge you to prove whether or not there are ghosts, otherwise I’ll likely believe it was just you and your wicked brothers taunting your poor sister all those years ago.”
She became aware, suddenly, of the others in the room who were staring at them in silence. Anne looked up at them.
Rebecca smiled. “Count me in. I wish to join you in the challenge.” She turned to face Devon. “Darling, you have never once taken me into the underground. Your father has gone to bed. Now is the perfect time.”
Devon tipped his brandy back and swallowed the contents in one gulp. “Very well, then. If you ladies are brave enough to venture into the deepest guts of this house, how could we not oblige your curiosities?” He turned to Blake and Garrett. “What do you both say? Should we shield them from the otherworldly forces by remaining here in the drawing room, or escort them into the fray and act as their protectors?”
“ I say we escort them into the fray,” Blake replied, “though I doubt any of them will require our protection. They all seem rather confident.”
Charlotte stood up. “My sisters-in-law and soon-to-be sister-in-law do not yet understand what they will be facing when we venture below ground. I think perhaps we should bring that decanter of wine.”
Devon immediately picked it up by the neck. “I have it. What else shall we take with us? Think carefully now, in case we do not return for a time.”
“ What exactly constitutes a time?” Anne asked playfully as she stood up. “Should I bring a change of clothes?”
Garrett moved to pick up a small candelabra. “I do not believe that will be necessary, for you shall have very capable protectors at your side. We shall all emerge unscathed; I am almost certain of it.”
“ Almost certain?” Anne chuckled as she followed him out of the drawing room. “Perhaps this is too great a risk and we should all behave like sensible adults and go straight to bed.”
“ And let them continue to think I never really heard those ghostly howls all those years ago?” Charlotte argued. “No, I think not. I require witnesses to prove I
“ I do not know what to believe,” Anne said with laughter as she held out her glass for more of the finest brandy she’d ever tasted. “Charlotte assures me that the palace is haunted and the ghosts are a wild bunch of rogues, but you men say otherwise.”
Charlotte, who was seated beside Anne on the sofa, also raised her glass to allow Blake to pour more from the sparkling crystal decanter. “Our ghosts are most definitely a terrible band of scoundrels. I have not set foot in the catacombs for years. Why...I still have nightmares about those wretched howls, and the dark enclosed spaces that seemed to go on forever with no way out. Many times I thought I’d met my maker down there.”
Anne decided to play along. She regarded the men with horrified umbrage but spoke sympathetically to Charlotte. “How dare they presume you were imagining it? I think there is something to these legends. Is it not true that a monk was murdered here?”
Garrett sat down beside her and casually lounged back on the sofa. “Be careful, darling, you are dredging up the shocking details of our family’s dark history. We have wicked beginnings, and in fact, ghosts are not at all out of the question. Perhaps we are all better off not knowing the truth.”
Darling? The teasing in his voice sent flames of excitement shooting into her veins. She could not help but turn her body in his direction. He was sitting very close and she could feel the thrilling challenge in his blue eyes.
She spoke flirtatiously. “You should know better than anyone that I am not the sort of woman who hides from the truth, no matter how shocking or scandalous. Therefore, I challenge you to prove whether or not there are ghosts, otherwise I’ll likely believe it was just you and your wicked brothers taunting your poor sister all those years ago.”
She became aware, suddenly, of the others in the room who were staring at them in silence. Anne looked up at them.
Rebecca smiled. “Count me in. I wish to join you in the challenge.” She turned to face Devon. “Darling, you have never once taken me into the underground. Your father has gone to bed. Now is the perfect time.”
Devon tipped his brandy back and swallowed the contents in one gulp. “Very well, then. If you ladies are brave enough to venture into the deepest guts of this house, how could we not oblige your curiosities?” He turned to Blake and Garrett. “What do you both say? Should we shield them from the otherworldly forces by remaining here in the drawing room, or escort them into the fray and act as their protectors?”
“ I say we escort them into the fray,” Blake replied, “though I doubt any of them will require our protection. They all seem rather confident.”
Charlotte stood up. “My sisters-in-law and soon-to-be sister-in-law do not yet understand what they will be facing when we venture below ground. I think perhaps we should bring that decanter of wine.”
Devon immediately picked it up by the neck. “I have it. What else shall we take with us? Think carefully now, in case we do not return for a time.”
“ What exactly constitutes a time?” Anne asked playfully as she stood up. “Should I bring a change of clothes?”
Garrett moved to pick up a small candelabra. “I do not believe that will be necessary, for you shall have very capable protectors at your side. We shall all emerge unscathed; I am almost certain of it.”
“ Almost certain?” Anne chuckled as she followed him out of the drawing room. “Perhaps this is too great a risk and we should all behave like sensible adults and go straight to bed.”
“ And let them continue to think I never really heard those ghostly howls all those years ago?” Charlotte argued. “No, I think not. I require witnesses to prove I
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