Page 36 of Lady's Steed

A single set of steps had Avera holding her breath. The other man obviously waited so they wouldn’t be seen exiting together.

Avera didn’t move her eye from the peephole, hoping for a glimpse.

The man drew a hood over his head before shuttering his lantern so it barely glowed. He pivoted and headed for the wall from which she peeked.

In a panic, Avera let the wooden eyelet shut and flattened herself against the stone. At least the door into the secret tunnels had a bar holding it shut, meaning he couldn’t enter the tunnel.Then again, she didn’t really need to hide. She wasn’t the one conspiring against the throne or the one speaking of murder.

Her fingers gripped her dagger and she planted herself in front of the door. As she reached for the bar, Josslyn hissed, “What are you doing?”

“Killing the traitor.”

“He’s gone.” Josslyn had her eye to the hole as Avera removed the wooden plank.

“Maybe we can catch him.” She shoved open the door and stepped into the dark cellar. Josslyn followed holding up the lantern.

Nobody remained. Avera raced for the steps only to see them empty. Whoever had been talking to Venne had disappeared, indicating another secret passage. “He’s gone,” she echoed Josslyn’s observation. She couldn’t help a note of disappointment.

“Did you see their face?” Josslyn asked.

“No. But I know that voice. I’ve heard it before. I just need to remember who it belongs to.”

“We need to tell Gustav.”

Her rook wouldn’t be pleased with their discovery, but at the same time, they’d gained invaluable information.

Someone still wanted her dead. Several someones.

In silence, they made their way back through the tunnels to Avera’s office with Josslyn murmuring, “That was a most disturbing thing to overhear.”

“But enlightening.” The plot, as suspected, encompassed more than the duke.

“What are you going to do?”

Avera could only offer a wan reply. “Do my best to not die.”

Chapter 9

Avera hadto tell Gustav what they’d learned, despite knowing Gustav would be angry they’d gone into the passageway. Didn’t have a choice since he entered her office as they emerged from the secret door. As predicted, he didn’t react well.

“What are you doing?” he bellowed.

“Exploring?” Avera offered with a shrug.

“Without any guards? After what happened? What if there’d been assassins inside those tunnels?”

“There weren’t, but we did hear a disturbing conversation.” It didn’t take long to relay what they’d overheard.

A simmering Gustav paced. “I should have known the duke wasn’t conniving enough to engineer the plot to overthrow the throne.”

Josslyn sat in a chair sipping on some tea, the picture of relaxation if one ignored the slight shake of her hands. “In your defense, you’ve never had to deal with this level of deceit.”

“I’ll have Venne arrested immediately.”

“Is that wise?” his sister countered.

“He’s guilty of treason. He must be punished!” Gustav insisted.

“I think what Josslyn means is, if we arrest him then we might never find the others. Keep in mind we never saw the second man’s face.”