Emil smiled at her and waited patiently.
Jane made a mental note that one of them would definitely make sure he got up the stairs okay that night. But as the wine flowed, the conversation became more casual. And when Chef and Harry headed to the kitchen to return with the dessert, Jane slipped away, determined to step outside for a few minutes. She headed out to the front. There were dangerous cliffs in the rear of the property, and she didn’t intend to become a victim of the castle herself. She walked down toward the caretakers cottage where Mr. Green lived, then kept going, toward the guard house and Mrs. Avery’s home.
She turned and looked back at the castle and saw the windows to her own room. They’d left the lights on. She stared upward for several seconds before her breath caught.
Someone in the room.
At one of the windows.
Watching her.
As she watched them.
Jane was a special agent, the same as he was. She’d passed the academy and was in law enforcement. But she was still the woman he loved, the woman he was supposed to have married that day. So when Sloan realized Jane was out of the Great Hall, he followed. He didn’t know why he felt such a sense of anxiety, but he did. He saw her, far down the path to the castle, as soon as he exited and came down the few stone steps at the entrance.
She was just standing on the path, looking back.
He hurried to her. She smiled as he came to her and pointed up at the castle.
“Someone is there,” she said.
“Someone?” he asked.
“Were they all in the Great Hall?” she asked.
“When I left, yes.”
“Then I believe Elizabeth does haunt our room,” she said.
Sloan looked up. There was nothing there then.
She smiled. “No, I’m not losing it. Someone was there. Now, they’re not.”
“I believe you,” he said.
“You know, I’m really not losing it in any way,” she said, turning to him so that he slipped his arms around her. She smoothed back a lock of his hair. “I don’t care where or when we marry one another. It doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t matter that we weren’t married today. It does matter that a man died. A good man.”
He smiled and nodded. “I know that.”
Impulsively, he went down on a knee and took her hand. He kissed it both dramatically and tenderly and looked up to meet her eyes.
“I love you with the depth and breadth of my heart and soul. In my heart, you’ve already been my wife, my love, my soul mate, my life mate. Not to mention one hell of an agent. And artist, of course.”
She laughed, drawing him to his feet and giving him a strong buff on the arm. “That started off so beautifully!”
“Hey, you are an amazing artist. And agent. You want to be an agent tonight, right?”
“I do,” she told him. “It’s just that speech, it could have stayed romantic.”
“Want me to try again?”
“No!” She laughed. “I say we get back up there and make sure that Emil Roth makes it to his room.”
“And then we’ll make it to ours,” he said.
“And then we’ll make it to ours,” she agreed.
Hand in hand, they made it back to the house. In the Great Hall, Mrs. Avery was saying that she needed to get some sleep. Chef told her that breakfast came early, and Phoebe Martin was headed upstairs, but when she saw Jane and Sloan come in, she stopped.
“Thank you so much, Jane, for the sketch. It’s wonderful. And thank you both for somehow making a nice evening out of a horrible day. Good night. And don’t forget, if you need anything—anything at all—we’re happy to oblige.”
“Thank you, Phoebe,” Jane told her.
She scampered on toward the stairway. Jane followed her. As she did so, she heard Sloan and Logan talking to Emil Roth, convincing him that they’d see him to his room. It was time to sleep. The men and Kelsey were looking to see that Emil was safe. Jane followed Phoebe up the stairs, and then on up to the third floor.
Phoebe turned to look at her when she reached her door.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
“You’re worried about all of us.”
“There was a lot of wine flowing down there at the dinner table.”
But Phoebe looked at her with wide eyes.
“You don’t believe that the reverend’s death was an accident, do you?” she asked.
“Actually, we found out that he had a heart condition. That might have caused him to stumble. But we’ll know more when the M.E. makes his report,” Jane said.
But Phoebe still watched her. “That won’t make any difference to you, will it? You think that he was killed.”
Jane said, “The police seem to believe it was an accident.”
“Do you think we’re all in danger?”
“No,” Jane said.
That wasn’t a lie. Whoever the killer was, they were part of the castle crew. And the killer certainly wasn’t in danger.
Phoebe shook her head. “Thank you for tonight.”
“Of course,” Jane said.
She left Phoebe to descend the stairs to the second level.
Careful as she did so.