Page 67 of Eternal Surrender

“Where?”

“I’ll find out.”

“William, you’re one of them, aren’t you?”

I neared the portrait. “In 1726, Voltaire insulted Chevalier De Rohan, an influential nobleman.” I took hold of her hand and swept her fingertips up and over the canvas. “Voltaire was given two options, imprisonment or exile.”

Her hand trembled beneath mine.

“Ingrid,” I whispered, “which one would you choose?”

The artist had captured Voltaire’s intelligent eyes, a reflection of hope, his desire for freedom. I wondered if she’d caught it too; that and his wise presence revealing a lifetime contemplating reason.

I left Ingrid standing there and headed back toward Blake and Sebastian. The knight’s jaw had slipped again only this time without any help. I paused briefly to ram it shut.

“We have a problem.” Sebastian greeted me. “Exhibit A.” He squinted at the warrant. “This stipulates a search of the grounds only. No entry into the castle has been granted.” He handed it back to Blake.

Blake folded up the warrant and swapped an uneasy glance with Ingrid, who’d rejoined us.

“A misunderstanding?” she asked. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt to take a peek here and there.” Perhaps it was something in her expression or the way she shifted her position when I slowly approached her that revealed her intrigue.

She flashed the sweetest smile. “Let’s start in the dungeons.”

I gave a look of frustration. “Haven’t had time to clear out all the cadavers.”

Sebastian let out a nervous laugh. Ingrid pouted, trying to disguise the fact that she was taking mental notes and threatening to draw on them later.

I gestured to the door, relieved that Blake took the hint and headed for it. Ingrid hesitated for a moment and then turned and followed him. My hand reached for the lower curve of her back, lingering there though not actually touching.

Sensing my gesture, her brown eyes found mine, and unwittingly. she let me in. A thrill shot up my spine as I realized I’d just glimpsed her psyche, exposing her secret obsession with the underworld and its intoxicating promise of forbidden pleasures yet to be discovered.

I lingered on the top step waiting just outside the front door, watching her stroll away down the pathway, daring to recall the vision of her shackled to the wall at Belshazzar’s, helpless, fear oozing from her pores twinned with her innate need to be cherished.

To be saved.

Squeezing my right hand into a fist and then relaxing it again, I regretted not being able to tell her who I really was. The door to Ingrid’s world had to close, and I was the only one preventing it

Having watched Ingrid and Blake set off toward the mainland and satisfied they were really leaving, I went back inside and found Sebastian sitting halfway up the staircase.

“Never a dull moment here,” he said.

I made a discreet scan of the foyer wondering if Alex had caught any of Ingrid’s visit. I headed up the staircase taking two steps at a time, soon passing him.

Sebastian stood up. “How about a thank you?”

I paused, my grip tightening on the banister.

“I did after all prevent them from looking around,” he said.

I turned to face him. “Brilliantly executed.”

“Why were they here?”

I gave a shrug. “They have nothing better to do?”

“What’s Alex done?”

“Nothing.”