An Invitation to Sin by Jo Beverley, Sally Mackenzie, Kaitlin O'Riley, Vanessa Kelly Page B

thought she’d considered the implications, but the avid looks on the faces of the gawking servants made her want to hide.
    Her father went swiftly to close the doors. “Where, Anna?”
    “In my bedroom,” she whispered.
    Lady Featherstone gave a small scream, and Maria said, “To speak of liars! How on earth would the Earl of Carne get into your bedroom, you foolish girl?”
    “There’s a secret door.”
    Her father shook his head. “Anna, my dear, I fear you are letting your imagination run away with you. This is not a novel but a very serious situation …”
    “I’m telling the truth! If you come up to my room, I will show you. As for the earl, you will have to believe me. We did nothing wrong. We were discussing the mystery of Lady Delabury’s death.”
    “Discussing …?” Her father rose to his feet. “Very well, miss, I will come and see this secret door. But if it is not there, there will be no more novel-reading for you.”
    Anna knew that proving the door was real was the least of her problems, but she led the way through huddled, whispering servants to her room.
    Having a man in her bedroom was enough to ruin her. It was enough to force a marriage …
    Was her tiny thrill of excitement at that thought very wicked?
    Yes, it was. She had never thought to trap the earl like that, and she would not let it happen.
    Once in her room, Lady Featherstone shuddered. “Poor Anna. It is this room that has disordered your wits! I knew I should never have allowed you to sleep here.”
    “My wits are not disordered, Mama. This room is a replica of one in a novel called Forbidden Affections by Mrs. Jamison, who was also Lady Delabury …”
    This summoned fresh exclamations from Lady Feather-stone. Maria, however, was looking paler, and even more frantic.
    “Oh, this is such nonsense,” she gasped. “Don’t listen to her …”
    “In the novel,” Anna continued, already having some terrible thoughts about her sister, “the heroine’s room had a secret door. I looked to see if this one had the same door.” She went to the fireplace and used the lever, then swung the door open. “And it does.”
    “Good Lord!” said her father. “But surely it doesn’t …”
    “It opens into the room where Lady Delabury died.” Anna pushed open the door, noting sadly that the earl had trusted her word and not replaced the chair. At least he wasn’t there.
    Maria had collapsed onto the chaise, and both she and Lady Featherstone were staring at Anna in horror.
    “How long have you known about this?” Anna’s mother demanded.
    “Since the first night we were here,” Anna admitted.
    “And you have left a way for that man to creep into this house without saying a word? You foolish girl. We could all have been murdered in our beds!”
    “He didn’t murder Lady Delabury!”
    “Oh, you poor, misguided child. What has he been doing to you?”
    “Yes,” said Maria spitefully. “What has he been doing to you, since you seem so eager to lie to protect him.”
    “Well, Anna?” asked her father quietly as he closed the door.
    “He’s done nothing,” Anna protested, determined to avoid entangling Lord Carne in just the scandal he’d wanted to avoid. “The earl didn’t know about this door himself until I told him. And he didn’t want me to use it. He even put a chair to block it, but I pushed it out of the way tonight because I wanted to talk to him about Lady Delabury’s death. He made me promise never to use the door again.”
    “If true, that shows some sense. It would have been rather better, however, if the earl had come to me to tell me of this foolishness.” He turned to Maria. “So, what does this make of your story, miss?”
    “I’ve told the truth,” said Maria stubbornly. “It’s clear to me that Anna has been behaving most improperly. She’s become infatuated with the earl and will say anything to protect him from the consequences of his wickedness. I don’t believe for a moment that