from looking pleased to see his much liked successor, a grunt of disapproval left his pursed lips. ‘Took you long enough to get here!’ he growled.
Nathan ignored the less than friendly greeting, and strolled over to the desk. ‘Unlike you, I haven’t retired,’ he countered. ‘I came as soon as I could.’
‘You took as long as you thought you could get away with!’ Linus harrumphed knowingly, and Nathan grinned unrepentantly.
‘I was born with a dislike of being ordered about. I take after you in that respect, Linus,’ he replied teasingly, but the older man did not look one whit abashed.
‘The trouble with you, my lad, is that you’ve no respect for your elders.’
‘On the contrary, I have nothing but respect for you, sir. What was it you wanted to see me about this time?’ He made the question sound long-suffering, but Rachel knew better. He wasn’t taking this at all lightly.
Having remained just inside the door until that moment, she now took a step forward. ‘I’ll go and check on those points we were discussing yesterday, Grandfather, and leave you two to talk in private. Shall I bring you some coffee before I go?’
‘Don’t run off, Rachel. I want you to sit in on this.’
This request was so out of the ordinary that Rachel exchanged a startled look with Nathan. ‘But surely if this is a private matter, then…’ Silently she sought his guidance.
Nathan didn’t look best pleased, but his response was to give the merest hint of a shrug which suggested they humour the older man. At least for the moment. ‘You’d better make a pot and bring three cups, Rachel. We’ll wait for you.’
The kitchen was a high-tech dream, with every modern appliance, and was generally ruled over by a very efficient housekeeper. However, Mrs O’Malley was away for a few days, and, though Linus was quite capable of looking after himself, Rachel was quite happy to make the odd cup of tea or coffee in her absence. It took her very little time to brew the coffee, place the pot and three cups on a tray and carry it back to the study.
In the interim Nathan had pulled another chair up beside the desk, but he rose when she came in and took the tray from her, setting it down on the desk. Taking her own seat, she dispensed the coffee, and it was only when they were all seated again that Linus Shaw took a deep breath and revealed what was on his mind.
‘I need your help on a matter of the greatest delicacy, my boy.’
‘You know I’ll help in any way I can,’ Nathan responded, and received a rather wry smile for his pains.
‘You may want to take that back when you hear what I have to say, but I’m going to hold you to it, just the same.’
Nathan grinned. ‘You always do, sir,’ he returned, sitting back in his chair and making himself comfortable. ‘Fire away.’
However, having been given the encouragement he required, it was a long moment before Linus finally nodded to himself and began to speak again. ‘What I am about to reveal to you is a secret that has been kept for the better part of fifty years. It concerns an old and dear friend of mine.’
‘I take it this old and dear friend is a woman,’ Nathan remarked dryly.
‘A lady,’ Linus corrected firmly. ‘In every sense of the word. And before you ask, Rachel, she was never more than a friend, to both myself and your grandmother. Of course there was a man involved— I cannot tell you his name; suffice it to say he was a noble personage of a somewhat obscure European enclave. They would most certainly have married, had that been humanly possible. Sadly, it was not.’ The regret in his voice was very real, and, recognising the implications, Rachel asked the obvious question.
‘What stopped them? Were they both married already?’
‘He was; she was not,’ Linus amended. ‘Being who he was, divorce was out of the question. The marriage had been a necessary joining of two powerful families. It was not a love match. Though I do believe there was mutual respect, and genuine love for their children, there was no grand passion. My friend and—we’ll call him the Archduke—met by the merest of chances, and fell deeply and irrevocably in love. They were, however, sensible people. Neither given to reckless or ill-judged actions. They had a choice to end the matter there, before getting in too deep, or continuing the romance as discreetly as possible.’
Rachel was utterly fascinated by this unexpected tale of romantic intrigue. ‘What did they decide?’
‘They chose to end it, of course. Too many people could have been hurt. Neither was happy, but they stood by their decision. Their lives drifted on, as lives tend to do, until one day, a long time later, their paths crossed again. It seemed to both of them that fate had taken a hand. Unable to walk away a second time, they began an affair.’
‘How long did it last?’ Nathan queried.
‘For more than thirty years,’ revealed, surprising both his listeners. ‘Of course the couple were discreet. They had a difficult life, picking up moments here and there, treasuring them, because they did not know when the next would come. Only death could part them, and that was how it turned out to be. The Archduke died not so very long ago.’
Nathan gave a soft whistle. ‘And nobody knew?’
The old gentleman’s face took on a grim expression. ‘Just a few good friends—or so we all thought. But it seems not to be so.’
‘Somebody spilled the beans,’ Nathan remarked gravely.
‘In a manner of speaking,’ Linus confirmed. ‘There were letters.’
‘Love letters?’ Rachel checked, with a wince, and he nodded.
‘They were written over that thirty-year period, and always kept safely locked away from prying eyes. Unfortunately during a recent party at my friend’s house the letters were removed from their hiding place.’
‘What did the police say?’ Rachel asked, naturally, and Nathan quirked an eyebrow at her.
‘She wouldn’t have told the police. Police make reports. Reporters ask questions. The next thing you know, the whole story is on the front of the tabloids and on prime time TV.’
‘Exactly,’ Linus agreed. ‘After nearly forty years of discretion, the very last thing she wanted was for the whole of her private life to come out. Not to mention how distressing it would be for the man’s family. No, there could be no police, which was why she wrote to me.’
‘She wants you to get the letters back?’ Nathan asked in no little amazement.
‘But how?’ Rachel frowned.
‘The method is up to my discretion,’ the old man replied, and her lips parted on an ‘o’ of surprise.
‘Are you saying she knows who took them?’
‘The thief was a man called Luther Ames,’ Linus revealed, with such a wealth of distaste in his voice that it was obvious to Rachel he had some prior knowledge of the man.
She had never heard of him. ‘Who is Luther Ames?’
It was Nathan who answered. ‘A playboy. A man with no visible means of income yet who always has plenty of money to throw around. His main hobbies appear to be collecting expensive antiques and gambling.’
‘He also happens to be my friend’s nephew. He attended the birthday party at her home on the day of their disappearance. The letters were kept in a drawer of the bonheur du jour in her bedroom. Unfortunately she had been called away upon some errand earlier in the day and had forgotten to lock it. Forgetfulness is one of the curses of old age. During the evening she discovered Ames coming out of her room. Oh, he made some believable excuse for being there, but later she found the letters were gone.’
‘But the affair ended years ago. What point is there in taking these letters now?’ Rachel argued.
‘Because