Page 73 of Weeping Roses
My anger bubbles to the surface as she tears open the drawer and, like me, checks underneath and is obviously searching for a false bottom.
“Wow, she really does know her stuff.” I say with a slight giggle, and Valentin grins.
“She obviously knows something because she went straight there.”
We observe with interest as she slams the drawer shut and stares around the room with a growing impatience. As she moves through it, checking every shelf and every drawer, cupboard and even cushions, I have a growing sense that there is something hiding in the room. I sensed it when I first came here and it’s obvious Marsha knows it is too, and I wonder how well she knew my aunt.
As the men study the screen, I whisper, “You should research her relationship with my aunt. If she is convinced there is something in that office, she must know something. Perhaps my aunt told her, confided in her and she is here to guard her secret.”
“Or use it for her own gain.” Valentin adds with growing anger as she searches behind the paintings on the wall and then turns her attention to the rugs.
“She is concentrating her efforts on that room alone. That tells us the location at least,” Artem says thoughtfully and Valentin growls. “I’ve seen enough. Time’s up.”
He catches my hand and as we leave the room, I suppress my mounting excitement because this is the most exciting week of my life. Mystery, passion and a marriage. My marriage and I still haven’t come to terms with that and as we head back to the house, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life, despite the situation I find myself in.
As planned, we gave Marsha thirty minutes, and it was obviously unsuccessful because as soon as we venture into the room, I note the strained frustration in her eyes and her obvious displeasure.
“I’m so sorry. That took longer than we thought.”
Valentin surprises me by staring at Marsha with a frown and she’s obviously uncomfortable about it because I detect the alarm deepening in her eyes.
“Um, well, I’m sorry to take up so much of your time.” She begins by saying and before I can answer her, Valentin says roughly, “Take a seat please, Miss Steele.”
The tension in the room has increased like an approaching storm and she is obviously unnerved by that and says falteringly, “I’m sorry, I have overstayed my welcome already and should really be heading back to London.”
“It was not a request, Miss Steele.”
I stare in astonishment as six of Valentin’s men crowd into the room. Two remain by the door, two head to stand on either side of Marsha, and the other two station themselves opposite her.
“What’s going on?” She hisses and Valentin says calmly.
“I am not my brother, Miss Steele. The information you gave him was indeed helpful, but it wasn’t the complete story, was it?”
I note the wild panic in her eye as she’s caught in a trap and my heart is beating wildly as I sense Valentin’s impatience. I dare not even breathe because it’s as if the air would choke me, poison me with its toxicity, and Valentin points to the settee and says roughly, “Sit down.”
She drops into the chair on command and I don’t blame her. This is a scary situation, even for me and I’m not the focus of his rough attention.
Valentin points to one of the chairs opposite her and says in a softer voice, “Take a seat, Polly.”
I don’t even miss a beat and drop into it and as Valentin takes the one beside me, Marsha says quickly, “I gave your brother what he wanted because he threatened me. It appears you want more, Mr. Romanov, but I really don’t have anything left to give.”
“Are you sure about that?” Valentin cuts off her speech and leans forward, his eyes glittering dangerously.
“You seemed interested in Veronica’s office a few minutes ago. So interested, you raided it and were obviously looking for something.”
The blood drains from her face and Valentin snaps, “You take us for fools, Miss Steele. You came here to exploit Polly for your own gain. When you realized it wouldn’t work, you were desperate, so you took a chance, which I always anticipated.”
“You set me up.” She hisses, and he laughs softly, a sound that chills me to the bone.
“Yes, I set you up. You see, you aren’t the first unwanted visitor to this house. Somebody got here before you, but they focused their attention on the coach house. Did you send him, Marsha? Did his search come up empty, so you turned your attention to another room? Is that why you offered to buy this house, to conduct your search more thoroughly?”
He leans back and frowns. “There must be something extremely valuable here to go to all that trouble. To kill for, in fact.”
“I haven’t a clue what you are talking about.” She feigns ignorance, but she doesn’t hide the terror in her eyes well and it’s obvious to anyone with a working pair of eyes that she’s lying.
We glance up as Artem heads into the room straight over to Valentin and whispers in his ear. Valentin nods, his angry glare never leaving Marsha for a second.
She shifts nervously on her seat as he says evenly, “Are you acquainted with a man named Nikolai Barinov, Miss Steele?”