looking for signs of
spectral phenomena. I doubt that you tore up every board in the house looking for a ghost.”
“No, of course not,” she agreed.
“Then how did you know which boards to remove?”
“Oh, that was easy, my lord,” she said. “I rapped.”
“Rapped?”
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Prudence chuckled. “With a cane. The legend of the Pembroke jewels was connected to the Pembroke
ghost, you see. I knew that if I could find the jewels, I might be able to prove or disprove the tales of the
ghost.”
“So you went looking for the jewels in hopes of finding the ghost. Naturally you reasoned that the
jewels, if they were still hidden some-where in the house, would have to be in a concealed safe of some
sort.”
“And a safe hidden in the floorboards or the walls would likely produce a hollow sound when I rapped
on the wood above it,” Pru-dence concluded happily.
“Very logical.” There was genuine admiration in Sebastian’s gaze.
“I went through the entire house with a stout cane and rapped on every wall and every floor. When I
discovered a place that sounded hollow, I instructed that the boards be removed. The jewels were
hidden in a secret opening beneath one of them. Lady Pembroke’s grandfather had forgotten to pass the
secret of his hiding place down to his descendants, so the jewels had been lost.”
“Very clever.” Sebastian looked down at her with cool approval. “I’m impressed.”
Prudence’s flush deepened at the praise. “I am happy for Lady
Pembroke, of course, but I must admit it was rather disappointing not to find some evidence of spectral
phenomena.“
Sebastian’s smile was ironic. “I’m certain Lady Pembroke would far rather have the jewels than the
Pembroke ghost.”
“That’s what she says.”
“How did you become interested in such an unusual hobby?” Se-bastian asked.
“The influence of my parents, I suppose.” Prudence smiled remi-niscently. “They were both devoted to
the subject of natural philoso-phy. My father studied meteorological phenomena. My mother made
extensive observations on the species of animals and birds that lived in the vicinity of our farm.”
Sebastian watched her intently. “And they taught you how to make observations?”
“Yes. And how to conduct a logical investigation to discover the answer to a question. They were very
expert at that sort of thing.” Prudence smiled proudly. “Both of them had papers published in the journals
of several important scientific societies.”
“My father had portions of some of his journals published,” Sebas-tian said slowly.
“Really? What sort of studies did he carry out?”
“He kept extensive records of his travels and explorations. Many of them were of interest to scientific
societies.”
“How exciting.” Prudence was fascinated. “I collect you were al-lowed to accompany him on his
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
travels?”
Sebastian smiled briefly. “When I was growing up my father took all of us—my mother, myself, and my
little brother—with him nearly everywhere he went. Mother had the knack of being able to make a home
in the middle of a desert or on an island in theSouth Seas .”
“What happened when you grew older?”
“My mother and brother continued to travel with my father. But I went off on my own. I looked for
interesting investment opportunities in foreign ports. I did some observations of terrain for the military
during the war. That sort of thing.”
“I envy you the sights you must have seen and things you must have learned,” Prudence said.
“It’s true that I learned a great deal about the world.” Sebastian’s eyes were as hard, brilliant, and cold
as faceted gems. “But the price of my education was too high.”
“I don’t understand,” Prudence whispered.
“Four years ago my parents and my brother were
spectral phenomena. I doubt that you tore up every board in the house looking for a ghost.”
“No, of course not,” she agreed.
“Then how did you know which boards to remove?”
“Oh, that was easy, my lord,” she said. “I rapped.”
“Rapped?”
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Prudence chuckled. “With a cane. The legend of the Pembroke jewels was connected to the Pembroke
ghost, you see. I knew that if I could find the jewels, I might be able to prove or disprove the tales of the
ghost.”
“So you went looking for the jewels in hopes of finding the ghost. Naturally you reasoned that the
jewels, if they were still hidden some-where in the house, would have to be in a concealed safe of some
sort.”
“And a safe hidden in the floorboards or the walls would likely produce a hollow sound when I rapped
on the wood above it,” Pru-dence concluded happily.
“Very logical.” There was genuine admiration in Sebastian’s gaze.
“I went through the entire house with a stout cane and rapped on every wall and every floor. When I
discovered a place that sounded hollow, I instructed that the boards be removed. The jewels were
hidden in a secret opening beneath one of them. Lady Pembroke’s grandfather had forgotten to pass the
secret of his hiding place down to his descendants, so the jewels had been lost.”
“Very clever.” Sebastian looked down at her with cool approval. “I’m impressed.”
Prudence’s flush deepened at the praise. “I am happy for Lady
Pembroke, of course, but I must admit it was rather disappointing not to find some evidence of spectral
phenomena.“
Sebastian’s smile was ironic. “I’m certain Lady Pembroke would far rather have the jewels than the
Pembroke ghost.”
“That’s what she says.”
“How did you become interested in such an unusual hobby?” Se-bastian asked.
“The influence of my parents, I suppose.” Prudence smiled remi-niscently. “They were both devoted to
the subject of natural philoso-phy. My father studied meteorological phenomena. My mother made
extensive observations on the species of animals and birds that lived in the vicinity of our farm.”
Sebastian watched her intently. “And they taught you how to make observations?”
“Yes. And how to conduct a logical investigation to discover the answer to a question. They were very
expert at that sort of thing.” Prudence smiled proudly. “Both of them had papers published in the journals
of several important scientific societies.”
“My father had portions of some of his journals published,” Sebas-tian said slowly.
“Really? What sort of studies did he carry out?”
“He kept extensive records of his travels and explorations. Many of them were of interest to scientific
societies.”
“How exciting.” Prudence was fascinated. “I collect you were al-lowed to accompany him on his
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
travels?”
Sebastian smiled briefly. “When I was growing up my father took all of us—my mother, myself, and my
little brother—with him nearly everywhere he went. Mother had the knack of being able to make a home
in the middle of a desert or on an island in theSouth Seas .”
“What happened when you grew older?”
“My mother and brother continued to travel with my father. But I went off on my own. I looked for
interesting investment opportunities in foreign ports. I did some observations of terrain for the military
during the war. That sort of thing.”
“I envy you the sights you must have seen and things you must have learned,” Prudence said.
“It’s true that I learned a great deal about the world.” Sebastian’s eyes were as hard, brilliant, and cold
as faceted gems. “But the price of my education was too high.”
“I don’t understand,” Prudence whispered.
“Four years ago my parents and my brother were
Similar Books
