Caught Like Thieves

Rhea struggled to hide her grimace as she took a small sip of soup.

Augustus had been confined to a limited selection of food after his accident, consisting mostly of lightly seasoned soups, puréed vegetables, and fruit juices.

To encourage him to bear with the bland diet, she had joined him in eating the same thing for most meals and regretted every single second of eating what might as well be gruel to her palate.

They were in his bedroom, seated by the table that Rhea had brought in for every meal. A single red candle, halfway melted, was mounted at the centre, providing a warm candlelight glow.

Augustus had wanted their last dinner together to be as romantic as propriety would allow in her matrimonial home.

"Tonight is warmer than yesterday. Perhaps a stroll to the gazebo one last time?" He suggested, setting down his spoon next to the empty bowl.

"After you have concluded your daring investigation, of course." He teased, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.

Rhea had told him everything before dinner began, unable to find a reason not to, and the young Duke had taken it all in stride.

"You sound sure I will come up with nothing in Felicity's room. Why is that?"

"Because I saw the look in her eyes the day Lonan attacked you. No actress has ever been so great she could replicate that fear and horror."

Rhea pursed her lips and remained silent.

She did not know what she was feeling, and the gentle woman feared that if she spoke, she would burst into tears at the injustice of suspecting a dear friend of something so sinister.

"Rhea," he whispered her name like a lover's song, and she raised her head to meet his eyes. "If she really has been poisoning you, you would not be here to question her loyalty."

"So you also believe it could be a matter of theft, right?" She asked with wide hopeful eyes. "That I can forgive. I would forgive without a moment of hesitation."

Augustus' frown was not encouraging.

"I believe, from your description, that it is a purchase of something."

She frowned in increasing confusion. "So you do believe it is poison. Perhaps a slow-acting one meant to make it appear like a natural deterioration of my health."

"Death is not the only reason one might drug someone. I myself have been fed a number of libido enhancements and sex potions by a considerable amount of women over the years." He laughed as he recalled, like it was not the most horrifying thing Rhea ever heard.

"I truly believe she has been feeding you something, not to kill you but to..." He suddenly fell quiet, eyes flickering down to her plate then back up to meet her eyes with carefully schooled features.

"To?" she pressed, with a small pout of her lips.

He smiled at the action and shook his head. "It is best you find out on your own. What says the time?"

Rhea grabbed her pocket watch clipped to the sash of her dress and flipped it open. "A quarter to ten. Felicity should be out of her room by now, giving me about an hour or so to find the book and do the search."

He cleared his throat loudly and threw her an apologetic glance before he committed his faux pas.

"GREGORY!" Augustus yelled for one of the guards just beyond the door and quickly began explaining himself before Rhea could huff.

"I am injured and frail; I could not possibly be expected to get up and walk all the way to the door." He bemoaned, dramatically rubbing at his bandaged chest.

She shook her head softly but made no move to reprimand. She was not his mother, and a Grand Duke could run through the town naked and flushed in the face with alcohol and still be considered the most noble of all nobles; what was yelling in comparison?

Sometime in his speech, Gregory made his way into the room and quickly arrived at the table.

"You shrieked, My Lord," the towering guard greeted with the most sarcastic bow Rhea had ever had the pleasure of seeing.

"Yes, our fair Lady here is doing a bit of snooping in her servant's quarters and as I would only be a drag if I accompanied her, I want you to join in and take care of her."

"I do not need a guard to visit a room in my own home, my Lord," she laughed, quietly flustered and appreciative of his protectiveness.

"People do the most wicked things when they are frightened, my Lady," he advised with a hint of bitterness that spoke of experience. "If not for your safety, then take Gregory with you for my peace of mind, and come right back to me when you have found something."

It would do no harm, and it would be nice to have some company other than her raging thoughts, Rhea debated.

With a small sigh, she nodded, and Augustus smiled in triumph.

"Run along then," he waved them off, smile growing tenser as Rhea rose from her seat. "And no sticking your fingers in pies on windowsills, you naughty boy!"

Gregory grunted in response, but it was hard for Rhea to miss the small smile on his lips as he opened the door for her.

With company of the quiet man, Rhea guided the way to Felicity's room, all while her hands trembled and grew damp in the white gloves she had slipped on to complement the dress she had chosen for dinner.

When they arrived at the servant's wing of the house, Rhea encountered a few more people than she had expected, but Gregory's looming presence frightened them to nothing more than hurried greetings and bows.

After what felt like an eternity of walking down the short hall, she finally arrived at Felicity's bedroom door and found herself frozen by the door.

As if sensing her fear, Gregory carefully reached around her and twisted the doorknob, revealing the empty room inside.

"I'll wait here to make sure you are not bothered and if you need any help, call out to me."

"I..." She glanced into the dark room as if a beast was about to jump out and grab her, then turned around to face him with big pleading blues.

"Why not go in together? The job would be quicker if we both searched." She rationalised, to hide her fear.

Nothing but a minuscule twitch of his lips that she only noticed beacause she was standing so close to him gave away Gregory's knowledge of her discomfort.

"Of course, My Lady," he gestured for her to lead the way.

Rhea quickly found the light switch as Gregory closed the door behind them and the room exploded in light.

Tasteful and decorated in pastel colours, Felicity's room reminded Rhea of her late grandmother's bedroom, and she felt her fears subside.

"I do not see the log book anywhere," she said to him as her eyes swept over the room.

"I'll check the closet while you get started on the chest," he pointed at the white chest at the edge of Felicity's bed.

Rhea nodded and hurried over to begin their wor.

He made his way to the wardrobe and, in a move that caused her heartbeat to stutter, pulled the it away from the wall to check the back before moving on to its contents.

A steady twenty minutes went by of searching the wardrobe, chest, dresser, underneath the floorboards, and even in the walls when Gregory searched for openings, and still nothing.

Rhea was quickly losing steam, and she began to worry she had misread the whole situation and bothered everyone with her paranoia.

Defeated, all she wanted to do was leave as quickly as possible, put it all behind her and hope Felicity never found out about her betrayal.

"Maybe I was wrong, Gregory, and I have wasted so much of your valuable time," she sighed, tiredly, perching on the edge of Felicity's soft bed.

Gregory looked away from the radiator he was observing and focused his attention on her disheartened form. "You can never be too suspicious in the world we..."

He suddenly paused, eyes snapping to the shut door.

Frightened, Rhea quickly jumped to her feet with a question on the edge of her lips.

She was answered when the doorknob twisted and in walked Felicity, twenty-eight minutes earlier than expected, humming a cheerful song.