Free Second Sight by Amanda Quick Page A

carry it.”
    “The notice in the newspaper mentioned that there was an accident in the museum,” she ventured. “Something to do with a heavy stone artifact falling on the unfortunate victim, as I recall.”
    “I believe that was the way the death was reported, yes.”
    “I don’t understand. Why did the Willards identify the dead intruder as you?”
    “The staff at Arcane House is very well trained,” Gabriel said expressionlessly. “And very well paid.”
    The servants had lied, she thought. Another icy shiver trickled down her spine. She felt as though she were wading into very deep, very dark waters. She did not really want to know any more about the secrets of the Arcane Society. But in her experience, blissful ignorance of a potential problem had a variety of unpleasant consequences.
    “Can I assume that there was no fire and that no artifacts were destroyed, either?” she asked.
    “There was no blaze and the relics are all in excellent condition, although many have been moved into the Great Vault for safekeeping.”
    “What did you hope to accomplish by letting it be known in the press that you were the one who was killed?” she asked.
    “The intent was to buy some time and confound the villain who sent those two men to Arcane House. It is an ancient strategy.”
    “I would have thought that going after villains was a job for the police.”
    He turned his head and gave her his cryptic smile. “Surely you learned enough about the eccentricities of the Arcane Society to realize that the very last thing the members would wish to do is involve the police in the society’s affairs. Tracking down the villain is my task.”
    “Why would the society select you to perform such an investigation for them?” she demanded suspiciously.
    His mouth twisted in a humorless smile. “You could say that I inherited the problem.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Believe me, Mrs. Jones, I am very aware of that tact. Unfortunately, in order to bring you to a full realization of the danger you may be facing, I am going to have to tell you some of the Arcane Society’s most closely guarded secrets.”
    “Frankly, sir, I would rather you didn’t.”
    “Neither of us has any choice. Not now that you have elected to call yourself Mrs. Jones.” Me studied her with his sorcerer’s eyes. “We are man and wife, after all. There should be no secrets between us.”
    She felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her lungs. It took her a few seconds to collect herself and find her voice.
    “This is not an appropriate moment in which to indulge your obviously warped sense of humor, sir. I want an explanation and I want it immediately. I deserve that much.”
    “Very well. As I said, I more or less inherited this situation.”
    “How did that come about?”
    He began a slow prowl of the room, halting in front of one of the two framed photographs that hung on the wall. He examined the picture of the dark-haired woman first and then turned to the portrait of the robust, larger-than-life man.
    “Your father?” Gabriel asked.
    “Yes. He and my mother died a year and a half ago in a train accident. I took both pictures shortly before they were killed.”
    “My condolences.”
    “Thank you.” She paused meaningfully. “You were saying?”
    He resumed his prowl. “I told you that I was in pursuit of the individual who sent the intruders into Arcane House.”
    “Yes.”
    “I did not tell you what it was those men went there to steal.”
    “One of the more valuable artifacts. I assume.”
    He stopped, turned and looked back at her. “The exceedingly odd aspect of this affair is that the relic those men tried to take was not considered particularly valuable in either a scholarly or a monetary sense. It was a heavy, two-hundred-year-old strongbox. Perhaps you remember it. The lid was inset with a sheet of gold inscribed with a design of herbal leaves and a passage in Latin.”
    She sifted through her recollections of