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She nodded her agreeh the house It was quiet, just as Gareth would have expected The baron lived alone, and when he was out, the servants retired early

Except one Gareth stopped short, needing a moment to reassess The butler would be awake; he never went to bed when Lord St Clair was still expected back and ht require assistance

“This way,” Garethback to take a different route They would still take the et there

Hyacinth followed his lead, and aup the stairs Gareth pulled her to the side; the steps had always creaked in the center, and he rather doubted his father possessed the funds to have them repaired

Once in the upstairs hall, he led Hyacinth to the baroness’s office It was a funny little rooular with oneand three doors, one to the hall, one to the baroness’s bedroo rooe since there was aarea directly off the bedchamber

Gareththe door carefully, his hand tight on the doorknob as it turned

It shut without a click He let out a breath

“Tellback the drapes to allow in a bit of ht

“She said it was in the armadio,” Hyacinth whispered back “Which is probably a cabinet Or maybe a set of drawers Or—” Her eyes fell on a tall but narrow curio cabinet It was triangular in shape, tucked into one of the rear corners The as a dark, rich hue, and it stood on three spindly legs, leaving about two feet of space under its base “This is it,” Hyacinth whispered excitedly “It has to be”

She was across the room before Gareth even had a chance to move, and by the time he joined her, she had one of the drawers open and was searching through

“E She knelt and pulled open the bottom drawer Also empty She looked up at Gareth and said, “Do you think sos after she passed away?”

“I have no idea,” he said He gave the cabinet door a gentle tug and pulled it open Also empty

Hyacinth stood, planting her hands on her hips as she regarded the cabinet “I can’t iers over the decorative carvings near the top edge

“Maybe the desk,” Gareth suggested, crossing the distance to the desk in two strides

But Hyacinth was shaking her head “I don’t think so,” she said “She wouldn’t have called a desk an armadio It would have been a scrivania”