“It’s worth an investigation,” she agreed.
They left the music room and walked down the corridor, passing by Rafe and Vaughn, who were whispering in the doorway of the morning room. The two men stopped talking immediately when they spotted Peregrine and Sabrina.
“Papa, we saw stars!” Isla said.
Rafe narrowed his eyes. “You saw what?”
“Stars.” Isla giggled, but Sabrina put a fingertip to her lips, and Isla covered her mouth with one hand to silence herself.
“All right, my dear. Where did you see these stars?” Rafe started toward his daughter.
“I don’t think so. This brilliant little creature is on our team.” Peregrine scooped Isla up and stepped back, keeping her away from Rafe.
“Good luck.” This time Sabrina was the one who giggled as the three of them left Rafe and Vaughn behind.
The viewing gallery that held the marble statues was a long room with tall windows on one side and a large set of tapestries opposite them. In the middle of the room were six marble creations. Most of them were easily identified as Roman statues. One toward the middle of the sculptures had a bow and arrow and was far smaller than the rest. Two little wings had been carved coming out of his back.
“It’s Eros—Cupid!” Sabrina cried in delight. “A marble statue that is white and looks cold and it also has a bow and arrow.”
Tucked beneath the wings on the statue’s back was another strip of paper. Peregrine picked up the paper and whispered the words since sounds reverberated in the viewing room. Sabrina bent her head close to his. As he spoke, he brushed back a strand of her hair that had escaped the ribbon holding it back.
Look not west, for that is my test,
The sun rises in my eyes,
Far beyond where the crow may fly.
“If one doesn’t look west, one looks east?” Sabrina guessed. “Which if one thinks about where the sun rises, that is also east.”
Peregrine nodded in excitement. “Yes, and if one thinks of something as too far for the crow to fly, it must be the far East . . . China! What of the fire screen in the Chinese drawing room?”
They rushed into the next room and searched the black-and-gold fire screen to find another clue wedged between the folded portions. Sabrina read the words on the paper. The final clue.
This is my last breath, but not my death,
For I am the Lord of Thunder,
Yet no man my gold shall plunder.
“Lord of Thunder . . . You don’t think . . .” Peregrine imagined the mighty golden Zeus fountain that was in Lawrence’s garden.
“Yes! Oh, we’d better hurry.” Sabrina and Peregrine left the room with Isla between them and rushed to the steps of the terrace, then down to the lavish gardens of the Russell house. A large square pond in the middle of the gardens held a tall gold statue that was too big to steal—which no man could plunder. The figure of the god was blowing wind from his lips, and only water came out.
“His last breath, but he isn’t dead. My goodness,” Sabrina murmured.
Rafe and Vaughn appeared at the top of the terrace steps behind them, and from the far side of the house, Lonsdale and Lysa could be seen. Peregrine saw the other men start to run.
“We’d better make a run for it.” Fortunately, he and Sabrina had a head start.
“You go—I’ll stay with her.” Peregrine clutched Isla in his arms. “Go, Sabrina!” he hissed. With a laugh of delight, Sabrina lifted up her skirts and ran straight toward the statue, where she glimpsed a scroll tucked under one of Zeus’s arms.
There was a shout behind her, but she didn’t stop or look back. She grasped the scroll and clutched it to her chest as she stopped and breathed hard before turning back to the terrace. Peregrine still held Isla in his arms, but a tangle of male bodies lay at his feet. Charles, Rafe, and Vaughn had all fallen on top of each other on the grassy lawn halfway between her and the statue. Lysandra stood not too far off, covering her mouth as she did her best not to laugh. Charles and Rafe scuffled as they untangled themselves and got up. Vaughn brushed grass off himself in a far more dignified manner.
“Well done, Miss Talleyrand,” Vaughn said politely. Charles and Rafe echoed this in mumbles.
Peregrine winked at her from behind the other men and mimed sticking his foot out. He had tripped them to give her a chance. It would have been a close thing if he hadn’t.
“Oh? Is it solved already?” Perdita called out as she appeared at the doors of the home leading to the terrace, along with Linus. Behind them, the rest of the teams followed them outside.
“Yes, Sabrina has done it,” Rafe said, offering her a grudging nod of respect.
“It wasn’t me alone. Lord Rutland and Isla also assisted.” Sabrina blushed wildly, while praise rained down on her for several minutes.
“Read the scroll!” Linus called out.
She took a breath and began to read.
Congratulations, riddle solver, you have mastered this task,
And for that glowing victory, our hosts you may ask,
For any favorable prize you please,
But do not ask the cook for peas.
She burst out laughing.
“Peas?” Zehra asked in confusion. “Oh dear, our butler must’ve run out of proper rhymes.”
“Well, he is right,” Lawrence added. “For God’s sake, do not ask our cook for peas. I can’t stand them.”
“Well, what will you ask?” Charles demanded. “Make it good.”
Sabrina, still flushed, shook her head. “Whatever I would have asked has already come true. You have been so welcoming to me. I cannot thank you enough for that.”
Zehra and Lawrence exchanged pleased looks.
“Well, the foal award still stands. And anything that you think of, we shall do for you,” Zehra promised her.
“And I shall write a letter to Cedric to tell him who owns the horse. A split of ownership between you and Rutland.”
“I waive my right to the foal. Please give it to Miss Talleyrand.” If he could do anything for her, he was happy to give her a horse that if she was able to care for it could be quite profitable and would help her achieve some measure of financial independence. She deserved that, after all she’d been through.
Sabrina turned stunned eyes to Peregrine. He merely smiled back at her, and it sent a wild flutter through her belly. Her midnight masked man was living up to every dream. She could not imagine any man willingly giving up his ownership interest in a potential racehorse.
“Well, it’s nearly dinnertime. Shall we retire and change?” Lawrence suggested.
Rafe came to retrieve his daughter from Peregrine’s arms, and the little cherub clapped her hands together.
“We won, Papa!”
“I saw that, darling. Next time, you must give me a hint.”
“I believe it’s called cheating,” Charles informed Isla. “And you must never do that for your papa.”
Isla looked between the two men and giggled.
“Shall I take her, Mr. Lennox?” Sabrina asked. “She likely needs to rest after all that excitement.”
“I will accompany you so we can discuss the matter of the horse,” Peregrine added.
“Thank you, Miss Talleyrand,” Rafe said, and he shot a warning look at Peregrine.