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Hyacinth shook her head, herinto an expression of concentration as shethe back panel of t

he cabinet She couldn’t find any cracks or cutouts Slowly, she slid down, bending at the knees until her hand reached the lower edge And then she looked down A small piece of paper lay on the floor

“Was this here before?” she asked But the words were mere reflex; she knew it hadn’t been

Gareth dropped to his knees beside her “What is it?”

“This,” she said, unfolding the s hands “I think it fell from somewhere when I twisted the knob” Still on hands and knees, she ht the narrow shaft of h theGareth crouched beside her, his body warly close as she smoothed the brittle sheet open

“What does it say?” he asked, his breath dancing across her neck as he leaned in

“I-I’ her eyes to focus on the words The handwriting was clearly Isabella’s, but the paper had been folded and refolded several ti it difficult to read “It’s in Italian I think it ht be another clue”

Gareth shook his head “Trust Isabella to turn this into a fancy hunt”

“Was she very crafty, then?”

“No, but inordinately fond of games” He turned back to the cabinet “I’m not surprised she would have a piece like this, with a secret compartment”

Hyacinth watched as he ran his hand along the under-side of the cabinet “There it is,” he said appreciatively

“Where?” she asked,beside him

He took her hand and guided it to a spot toward the back A piece of wood seeh to allow a scrap of paper to slide through and float to the ground

“Do you feel it?” he murmured

She nodded, and she couldn’t be sure whether she was referring to the wood, or the heat of his hand over hers His skin arh, as if he’d been out and about without his gloves Buthers completely