Chapter Twelve

T he next morning after breakfast, Felix ironed his clothes so he would look his best when Guy and Guy's friend arrived. He didn't want Guy's friend to get a bad impression of him. While he was certain the friend knew his financial situation, he didn't want the friend to dismiss him because he didn't look like he had enough money to invest.

Once he was done ironing the clothes, he put them on. Then he secured the door of his armoire. From time to time, he checked the back paneling, just to make sure it didn't lead anywhere. This was a silly habit he had picked up after he discovered those secret passageways at his country estate. On this particular day, he fought the urge to check the paneling in this armoire then finished getting ready.

Before heading out of his bedchamber, he opened the top drawer of his dresser. The ring Guy had given him was there. It wouldn't bring luck, of course. No item was capable of doing such a thing. The ring, however, was an attractive item. It would complement his outfit nicely. After a moment, he put the thing on then shut the drawer. Undoubtedly, Guy would assume he was wearing the ring for luck. That was fine. Felix would let Guy believe whatever he wanted. He only hoped Guy didn't mention it.

Felix arrived in the drawing room ten minutes before he expected his guests. He sat in a chair and closed his eyes. He could do this. He could play the part of someone who knew what to do with money. He had the funds ready to give to Guy's friend. If Guy was right about his friend, this would double his money in five years. After being such a failure with money, it'd be nice to finally get ahead.

"My lord, you have two visitors," the butler announced.

Felix's eyes flew open, and he jumped to his feet. "Did they say who they are?"

The butler nodded. "Lord Quinton and..." He paused. "I have not heard the title before, so you'll have to forgive me if I say it wrong. The other gentleman is Lord Dracon...how...sure?"

Felix's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't remember Guy saying he knew someone with that title.

The butler cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I didn't pronounce it correctly. It's similar to that."

Now Felix was intrigued. Exactly how was this gentleman's title supposed to be pronounced? "Let them in."

The butler, seeming relieved that Felix didn't offer a reprimand, hurried to get the guests.

Felix took a deep breath and slowly released it in an attempt to relieve his tension. He could do this. He might not have been good with money in the past, but he was now. This was a good opportunity, and he was going to make the most of it.

Two gentlemen came into the room, and sure enough, Guy was one of them. The gentleman next to him was taller with dark hair.

Felix approached them and gestured to the chairs. "Make yourself comfortable." Noting the butler, who had returned, he asked, "Would you like something to drink or eat? We have an assortment of things to choose from."

"I thought you didn't eat or drink in the drawing room," Guy said in surprise.

"That's mostly a rule I have for Oscar." With a smile, he turned to Guy's friend. "My brother has a tendency to be messy."

"I can't argue with him there," Guy told his friend as the two sat down. "I don't know anyone who leaves messes behind like he does. I'm fine with water."

"I'll have water, too," Guy's friend agreed.

Felix gestured for the butler to get the decanter with water in it then sat across from them. A moment of silence passed. Felix offered what he hoped was an assured smile. "I don't wish to be rude, but I'm not sure I heard your title," he told Guy's friend. "Would you mind telling me what it is?"

"I'm Lord Draconhawthshire," the gentleman said.

Felix's eyes grew wide. No wonder the butler had so much trouble saying it.

"You can refer to me as Algernon," the gentleman continued. "It's easier to remember."

Glad the gentleman was going to allow him that informality, Felix said, "I'm Felix." He glanced at his brother-in-law and, in an attempt to make a joke, added, "Of course, we both know Guy."

As he hoped, the two chuckled.

The butler came over to them with three glasses of water before giving a bow and leaving. He shut the door behind him.

"Oh, good, you're wearing it." Guy pointed to the ring on Felix's finger. "That's the one I was telling you about," he added with a look in Algernon's direction.

Felix resisted the urge to ask Guy why he would tell someone else about his marital problems. If he did that, it might bring up further discussion about the marriage, and that was the last thing Felix wanted to dwell on.

"A fine color," Algernon told Guy. "I don't see how anything could be better suited for luck than that."

Felix almost dropped his glass of water. Oh, good heavens. Algernon wasn't as superstitious as Guy was, was he?

"There's a key inside the stone," Guy continued with a pleased expression on his face. "I thought of that on my own. What better combination than a color signifying hope and joy with a symbol of opportunity?"

Algernon nodded in approval. "I can't think of a better combination. A key can unlock many things in life. By placing a key in a yellow gemstone, you have guaranteed that everything that happens to him will bring him fortune. And since I am here to discuss the investment, some of that fortune will pass on to me. You're a genius when it comes to things like this."

Felix couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took a deep breath before taking a drink of water. He pretended it was brandy in hopes he might fool himself into making sense of this conversation.

Guy's smile widened. "I gave him a tie pin with a four-leafed clover, too." He examined Felix's clothing. "I don't see it. Did you slip it into your pocket?"

Regretting the fact that he even had to answer the question, Felix shook his head. "I left it in my bedchamber."

Guy gasped. "Why? There is no better way to complement the luck in the ring than with that tie pin."

Face warm, Felix shrugged. "It didn't go with my clothes."

Unfortunately, Guy remained undeterred by Felix's logic. "That's why you can slip it into your pocket."

Algernon agreed with Guy, and Felix felt a knot of anxiety twist in his stomach. Felix stood up and poured more water into his glass. Pretending this was brandy wasn't helping. He would need real brandy to calm his nerves. Too much depended on this meeting. He couldn't allow something as small as a tie pin to ruin things.

"What's that?" Algernon asked.

Felix was about to tell him he was only putting water into the glass when he realized Algernon's focus was on the fireplace mantle. His eyebrows furrowed. What could possibly have caused the worried tone in Algernon's voice? "Are you talking about the fireplace?" Felix asked.

"No, I'm talking about the—"

Before Algernon could finish, Guy bolted to his feet. "Felix, how could you allow that thing in this room?"

At that moment, Felix realized what had caused Algernon's alarm. It was the statue of the owl. Guy headed for the fireplace mantle. Felix dropped the decanter and rushed over to stop Guy before he could take the owl off of the mantle.

"Don't touch it," Felix said. "Your sister-in-law put that there."

Guy paused for a moment. "Do you mean Elizabeth?"

Felix nodded. "Yes, this is hers. She put it in this room because she wanted it here."

"But that's an owl," Algernon spoke up as he rose to his feet.

"It is an owl." Guy turned to Felix. "Don't you remember all of the trouble these things were at your country estate?"

"I have no secret passageways in this townhouse," Felix replied. "My ancestor didn't put this owl here. Elizabeth did."

"But owls are bad luck," Algernon said. "Those things foretell death."

"They do," Guy added. "I am shocked you would allow this. You need to get rid of it. This is going to undo everything you're trying to accomplish."

"I will not get rid of it." Felix grabbed Guy's hand before he could touch the owl. "No. This is not your townhouse. You can't dictate what belongs here. Elizabeth is the one who does that. This is her home, and she says what will be here and what won't."

"Even if it brings you bad luck?"

Knowing it could ruin the chance he had with Algernon, Felix said, "This owl is not a bad luck symbol. It's a statue of a bird that someone put a lot of attention into creating. It's really quite impressive if you put aside all of this bad luck nonsense."

Algernon and Guy both looked as if Felix had slapped them with a glove. Their eyes were so wide Felix thought they might fall out of their heads.

Felix sighed. "We can go to the library if it'll make you feel better."

Guy shook his head. "I can't be in this townhouse with that owl here."

Felix didn't know what to say to that.

But, as it turned out, he didn't have to think of something since Algernon pointed to a pair of drawn drapes in the room. "We are not alone."

Felix and Guy looked in the direction he motioned to. A pair of slippers poked out from under the drapes. The person made an attempt to hide their feet, but it was too late. They had noticed. If Felix had been drinking alcohol, he would believe he was imagining this. But since he was in his right mind, he was assured this thing was real.

Guy and Algernon backed away from the curtain.

Realizing they weren't going to confront the intruder, Felix marched over to the drapes. He pulled them back and gave a jerk when he saw it was Elizabeth. He hurried to pull the drapes shut then turned back to the gentlemen. "There's no one hiding behind the drapes."

"Yes, there is," Guy said.

"No, there isn't. All of this talk about owls and bad luck has confused you." Felix went over to them and took each one by the arm. "I think you two make a good point. You can't be anywhere near an owl. Owls seem to make your minds go astray."

"That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard," Guy protested as Felix propelled them to the door. "I'm not the one who imagines strange things; you are."

"I haven't had a single drop of alcohol in months," Felix replied. "That means I'm in a sound state of mind today. You two, on the other hand, saw the owl and lost your wits. I suggest you two get to a place where there are no owls so you can regain your senses."

"I am quite sure I saw a pair of feet," Algernon argued.

"Those drapes will do that," Felix lied. "I think it's the fabric. Too thick along the bottom." He reached the door and opened it for them. "I regret today didn't turn out the way we hoped. Perhaps we might meet at a place that doesn't have any owls in the room?" He only said the last part because he hoped to get them to think about the statue rather than the fact that there really was someone behind those drapes.

"All right, we'll leave since you're so insistent about it." Guy straightened his frock coat then pointed a finger at Felix. "You better hope that ring is lucky enough to stop the bad luck that owl is going to bring on this place." He hurried out of the townhouse with his friend.

Felix heard the front door slam, and his shoulders slumped. The meeting had turned into a disaster. There was no way he was going to be a part of the promising investment now. He didn't know if he would find another chance like this again. He and Oscar didn't have the prominent connections that Guy did. And while he could probably work things out with Guy, he doubted Algernon would be interested in giving him another chance.

He was ready to head for the library to take solace in one of his books when he heard Elizabeth say, "Thank you."

Surprised, he faced her. She was standing close to the doorway of the drawing room with a book in her arms. For the first time since he met her, she wasn't glowering at him.

Not sure of what to say, he replied with the only words that came to mind. "You're welcome."

They stood in silence for a long, awkward moment. The only saving grace to this was the fact that none of the servants were nearby to witness this.

He cleared his throat. "I didn't realize you were in the room. I wouldn't have stayed in here if I had known."

"To be fair, I didn't tell you I was in here. I heard you coming, and I panicked. The butler said you like to stay in the library when you're home."

"Usually, I do. I was only in here because of Guy and his friend. I thought they might feel more at ease in here because I left a book on my desk in the library that they would probably consider unlucky." He glanced at the owl on the mantle. A lot of good that idea had done him.

The corners of her lips curled up. "Was it a book about owls?"

Despite the tense situation, he found himself grinning. "No, but close. The book is a collection of short stories, and the one I'm currently reading involves seven brothers who were cursed to be ravens."

"I think I read that one. Did the Brothers Grimm write it?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they did."

"So it's the one where the sister comes to their rescue."

He nodded. "That's the one. I didn't think anyone else read that particular story. I've only heard people comment on ‘Hansel and Gretel' and ‘Rumpelstiltskin'."

"That's a shame since there are so many good tales in that book," she replied.

Intrigued, since he couldn't get Oscar or Lydia interested in reading the stories, he asked, "Which is your favorite?"

She pondered the question for a long moment then said, "If I had to pick one, I suppose it would be ‘The Robber Bridegroom'."

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Why that one?"

"It is the most suspenseful one. You're left wondering if the lady will go through with marrying someone who kills and eats people."

"When you put it like that, you're right. The tale did take us up to the wedding day."

She nodded. "Fortunately, the lady knew ahead of time what kind of person she was marrying, so she was able to avoid calamity."

He caught a sparkle in her eye that let him know she was enjoying the discussion. "It would have been tragic if she married him before she found out her future husband went around marrying ladies and then eating them." For a moment, he wondered if she was subtly letting him know that she found marriage to be nothing but trouble for all ladies, but that didn't seem right. She wasn't the type to hint at something. She would rather come out and tell him what she thought of him and their marriage. In fact, she had already done so. "However, even as dark as that story was, ‘The Juniper Tree' was worse. In that one, the father ate his own son in a soup the step-mother made."

"Yes, that was quite dark," she consented. "However, if you think about it, ‘The Juniper Tree' could never really happen. The boy came back to life after the step-mother's death. So his fate was no worse than the bride's in the other story."

"No, but the boy was beheaded, cut up, and eaten first. The bride didn't have to go through all of that. That makes ‘The Juniper Tree' darker."

She tapped the book in her arms. "You make a good point. If I had to choose which character to be, I would be the bride. All she had to do was announce what the bridegroom had done, and her father had him executed."

His gaze went to the book. "May I ask what book you're reading? It looks too thin to be a Brothers Grimm collection."

She smiled. "It's not at all like the stories you'll find in their book. This one is Northanger Abbey . It's comical. Are you familiar with it?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm currently reading The Rector of Veilbye . I don't suppose you've heard of it? It was only published last year."

"I haven't had the pleasure of reading it. Is it comical?"

"No," Felix began, "it's based on the true story of an actual murder that happened in Denmark. I heard good things about it so thought I would read it."

"Based on what you've read so far, what would you think?"

"I'd say the reviews on it are well-deserved."

"It's always nice to come across a book that delivers on being worth the read," she commented. "Those are books that are worth keeping."

"Yes, they are," he agreed.

They fell into silence. The silence wasn't as awkward as it'd been before, but it wasn't exactly comfortable, either. This was a chance to ease some of the tension between them. He would be wise to take it. But how?

After a moment, an idea came to him. "It's not often I come across someone who has a passion for reading. I have a lot of books in my library. You are welcome to read any of them. You'll find all kinds of books there. I have so many books, in fact, that I am going to pay someone to put in more shelves in the library. I also need to get a higher ladder so I can reach them after the shelves are put in."

She laughed. "That is a lot of books."

He relaxed and grinned. "Yes, well, I don't think it's possible to have too many."

"I agree with you on that." She glanced down the hallway. "I think it might be nice to check out the library, if you really don't mind?"

He shook his head and pointed down the hallway where she could find the library. Since there was nothing else he could think of to talk about, he cleared his throat. "I'll let you go there so you can see it. If you love books half as much as I do, you'll want to spend at least an hour in there." Which meant he should be somewhere else. It would probably make her feel better about checking the library if she knew he wasn't going to show up there. While they were sharing a pleasant conversation, he didn't dare press his luck. "I think I'll go out for two or three hours."

She offered him a nod but didn't say anything.

He cleared his throat again then left so she could enjoy the library.