Chapter 3
The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed the quarter-hour, the heavy sound echoing through the empty dining hall. The silence that followed was heavy, pregnant with the unspoken reality of what had just been uncovered.
“I don’t know what that is,” Celine lied. The veneer of her sophisticated elegance was cracking rapidly. Her midnight-blue dress suddenly looked more like mourning attire than celebratory fashion. “The jeweler… the jeweler must have been compromised. You have enemies, Bastian! Why are you blaming me?”
Audrey kept her hands folded over her white apron, striving for invisibility now that the immediate danger to the boy was neutralized. But her mind was racing. If the jeweler was compromised, how did the patch get onto the underside of the strap after the box was opened? She had seen Celine holding the watch just before dinner.
“Do you expect me to believe a master watchmaker slipped a chemical agent onto the leather without your knowledge?” Bastian asked, stepping slowly toward his fiancée.
“Yes!” Celine cried out, stepping backward until her spine hit the carved walnut paneling of the wall. “They know I was picking it up today! They must have intercepted my driver! You know how the Morettis operate, Bastian. They’re ruthless!”
“Did the Morettis wrap the box and hand it to me, Celine?” Bastian asked, stopping just two feet from her. His immense height and broad shoulders cast a dark shadow over her trembling form.
Audrey knelt beside Felix, wrapping her arms around the boy’s shoulders to muffle the sound of the confrontation. “Let’s look at the roses, Felix,” she whispered, turning the boy toward the elaborate centerpieces.
“She’s lying, Bastian!” Celine screamed, pointing at Audrey. “Look at her! How does a maid know what a transdermal patch is? She planted it! She’s the rat in your house, not me!”
Audrey froze, her breath catching in her throat. The accusation hung in the air, heavy and venomous. She slowly stood, meeting Bastian’s cold, perceptive gaze as he turned his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder.
“Are you the rat in my house, Audrey?” Bastian asked, his tone terrifyingly neutral.
“No, Mr. Wells,” Audrey answered steadily, refusing to break eye contact. “I noticed it because the strap was sitting too loosely on Felix’s wrist. I only wanted to make sure he was comfortable.”
“Are you going to believe a servant over your future wife?” Celine demanded, her voice breaking into a sob. “She’s obviously a plant! Look how calm she is!”
“Should she be hysterical, Celine?” Bastian inquired, turning his full attention back to the woman pinned against the wall. “Would her screaming prove her innocence?”
“I loved you!” Celine cried, sliding down the paneling slightly. “I did everything for you! I would never hurt Felix!”
“If you would never hurt Felix, why did you look so terrified when you saw the watch on his wrist?” Bastian asked. The question dropped like an anvil in the quiet room.
Celine had no answer. Her mouth opened, but only a choked sob escaped. She squeezed her eyes shut, the tears finally spilling over her expertly contoured cheekbones.
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Bastian stared at her for a long moment, his face a mask of absolute coldness. He reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a sleek, encrypted phone.
“Silas, would you come to the dining room and escort my fiancée to the cellar?” Bastian asked into the receiver, never breaking his gaze from Celine’s weeping form. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned to Audrey. “Shall we take my son to the study, Audrey?”
