A Spy's Devotion (The Regency Spies of London #1)(49)

No, she must speak with him in person. Tomorrow she would take the risk.

Julia went into the hall and listened for her uncle’s voice or footsteps. Not hearing either, she walked downstairs to the small room where her uncle kept his riding crop, walking stick, and the hat he wore when he rode his horse. All three were missing.

Julia went back up the stairs, hoping not to encounter anyone who might ask her what she was doing there.

She hurried back toward her uncle’s study. Voices came from behind her, two of the servants talking, so Julia kept walking until she reached a sitting room. She went inside and then waited for the servants to pass.

Her heart was hammering in her throat as she stepped back out into the corridor and walked as soundlessly as possible to the door of her uncle’s study. She tried the doorknob. It was locked.

What could she do now? Would the key that fit her own room also fit her uncle’s study? Probably not. If he would take the time to lock his door, and if there were incriminating documents in his study, then he would take care that the lock and key were unique from others in the house.

Where did he keep the key?

His valet, Rogers, would probably have it on his person. But since Mr. Wilhern was away, might the valet leave his key ring in his room while taking his leisure elsewhere?

Julia hurried up the stairs to the top floor. She vaguely remembered someone saying that the male servants’ rooms were at the west end, while the female servants slept at the east end. What would she say if someone saw her here? What excuse could she possibly give? She would say she was searching for Betsy, the upstairs maid, because she had misplaced something and thought Betsy might know where it was.

The corridor was bare and did not look like the rest of the house. The floor sagged in places, and the walls were dull and bare of wallpaper or paint. Which door could be Rogers’s?

Three of the doors were the same distance apart, with a fourth and fifth closer together. Could the closer doors be single rooms instead of for multiple occupants?

Julia stepped forward, listening at the first door. Her heart was beating so hard it seemed to affect her hearing. Still, she didn’t hear anything, so she tried the doorknob. It turned freely and opened, creaking slightly.

“Anyone there?” Julia said softly.

No one answered. She entered the room. It was very neat, with everything in its place. Surely this was Rogers’s room, as he seemed like such an immaculate and meticulous person. And there, on the wall near the small, narrow bed, was a metal ring of keys.

She could hardly breathe, her chest was so tight, but she walked toward the ring, reached out, and took it carefully in her hand, trying not to rattle it too much. She held it tight to her breast and turned to hurry away. She stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind her and then scurried toward the stairs.

Still no one was around as she made it safely to the first floor with the keys in her hand.

She reached the door and quickly tried the first key. It did not fit. Her hands shook as she tried the second one, the metal keys rattling against each other.

Someone was coming. Footsteps sounded from the back stairs.

Julia hid the keys in the folds of her skirt and turned to walk down the corridor. She met Betsy, who dropped a quick curtsy.

“Good morning, Betsy.”

“Morning, miss.” Betsy continued down the corridor.

Julia slipped into the sitting room, closing her eyes and pressing her hand against her chest where she could feel her frantic heartbeat. When she had caught her breath, she stepped out into the corridor and made her way back to the door. Not sure which keys she had already tried, she fumbled until she managed to insert one into the lock. It wouldn’t turn. She tried another and another. Finally, after the fifth one, she was able to turn a key in the lock. It clicked and unlocked the door.

Julia pulled out the key, held the ring close to her, and entered the room, closing the door behind her.

Her knees were weak as she pressed her back against the door, peering around her in the semidarkness of the room. Even though it was morning, this room faced west and the windows therefore let in very little light. But Julia’s eyes adapted quickly, and soon she was moving toward his desk.

Several papers lay stacked there. Julia looked at them, but mostly they were receipts for household items and lists of recent expenses. Nothing looked important.

She opened a drawer and began looking through it, lifting out ledgers and loose papers, but nothing resembled a secret message or code. She did her best to put things back the way they were. Finally, she remembered that desk drawers sometimes had false bottoms where one might conceal something thin, a few sheets of paper, for instance.

She opened another of her uncle’s drawers and felt around the bottom of it. Suddenly, her finger touched a tiny knob, which she pressed, causing the bottom of the drawer to swing down. When it did, a paper fell out, folded into fourths.

Julia picked up the paper and unfolded it. She tried to read it, but it did not make sense. There were letters on the page, but they only formed nonsense.

Julia sat down and took a sheet of her uncle’s paper. She picked up his quill pen and dipped it into the ink and began copying the sheet as quickly as possible. She forced her hand to steady and her mind to concentrate. After what seemed like a very long time but was probably only a few minutes, she finished.

Julia folded the original piece of paper and put it back in its hiding place in the drawer. She quickly folded the copy she had made into a very small square and held it in her palm. Too nervous to look anymore, she closed the drawer and stood up, grabbing the keys off the desk. She strode to the door and listened. Not hearing anything, she carefully opened the door.