Read Online The Secret Kiss of Darkness by Christina Courtenay - Free Book Online Page B

oblivion,’ she told him. ‘You know, deep sleep, the kind where people like you can’t reach me. Then I’ll be better in the morning.’
    ‘Very well, as you wish. Sweet dreams,’ was the last thing she heard before the deep, dreamless sleep claimed her at last.

Chapter Eight
    The weather wasn’t always co-operative and Jago was often left standing in the pouring rain for hours, waiting to no avail. He knew deep down that Eliza couldn’t pretend to go for a walk in such weather, but he didn’t want to leave just in case she found some other way of escaping the house. It never happened though and one evening, when frustration was gnawing at his insides particularly badly, he decided drastic measures were called for. He hadn’t seen Eliza for over a week, despite the fact that John was away, and he was sure he’d soon go mad with wanting.
    It was not to be borne.
    Although he normally preferred to stay as far away from Marcombe Hall as possible, that hadn’t always been the case. He had often ventured into the gardens and grounds as a boy, curious about his half-brother’s existence and because, despite paying to have Jago educated, Sir Philip never allowed his illegitimate son to visit his home. And it wasn’t until he was an adult that Sir Philip told his other son about Jago, or so Jago understood. The two boys had never been officially introduced.
    On one such secret visit, Jago had been skulking in a shrubbery and eventually fell asleep, bored with spying on a boy who did nothing other than play with a hoop. When he woke, darkness had fallen and he knew he’d be in trouble with the curate in whose house he was lodged at the time. He was about to set off for home, but as he stood up to leave he noticed movement over by the house. A man emerged, seemingly from nowhere. Jago stood still and just stared.
    It was his father, appearing as if he’d come through the very walls of the house. When he set off down a path, Jago waited a moment, then crept closer to peer at the stonework. Eventually he found a door, cleverly concealed so as to blend in with the stones around it, but if you knew where to look, it wasn’t hard to find. Jago was elated and determined to go inside at the earliest opportunity, and soon after entered his father’s house several times, roaming through the rooms on silent feet. Eventually though, he got bored with having to hide in the shadows. If the man didn’t want him there openly, Jago decided he’d prefer to stay away altogether. He hadn’t set foot inside the Hall since.
    Now, however, he perceived that door might have another use.
    He made his way into the gardens, making sure no one was around to notice his approach. Fortunately the rain kept everyone indoors and he reached the house unseen. He wondered if anyone else knew about the secret door. It seemed not, since the wall had recently been painted white and looked pristine and untouched. Perhaps Sir Philip had never had a chance to tell his other son about it? He had died rather suddenly. Jago quite liked the thought that he might be the only person in the world with this knowledge.
    He felt his way along the stone façade until his fingers encountered a little hole that contained the catch he remembered. The door didn’t budge. Jago guessed the door had been locked for obvious reasons, but he wasn’t about to let that stop him.
    He took out the dagger he carried in his boot and inserted it between the door and the frame until it rested on the locking mechanism. Then he picked up a rock from the ground and struck the top of the dagger repeatedly until he heard the lock give way. As he’d thought, the lock was old and rusty from the salty draughts of the nearby sea. And although he’d probably ruined his knife blade, he didn’t care.
    Inside the door was a steep staircase, which he knew led to one of the bedrooms. The last time he’d been here, it had been empty, but as he put his ear to the wall that contained an inner