Chapter 102

A chair scraped loudly across the floor inside, and she took it as her cue to flee.

Ruth slipped quietly around the corner and disappeared into the adjoining passage just as the study door opened behind her.

Nathaniel emerged from the study with his guest close behind him. The two men spoke briefly in low voices, their words too indistinct for her to make out, before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Ruth continued down the corridor for several moments, fighting the urge to look back. Only when she was certain they had not noticed her did she allow herself to breathe normally again.

She had uncovered something important, but the discovery only strengthened her suspicion that Nathaniel was hiding far more than he had revealed.

And Ruth intended to find out what it was.

—

Ruth waited for nightfall before making her move.

The household had settled into its usually nighttime quiet. Servants had retired to their quarters, hence the chances of getting caught were small.

She shared her room with two other maids and slipping out of her bed stealthily was one of the toughest parts of her plan. She moved as quietly as she could toward the door, placing each foot carefully to avoid making a sound. Before leaving, she glanced back to ensure that both women remained fast asleep.

Quiet footsteps carried her through the servants’ passage toward Nathaniel’s study. The house at night felt entirely different from the bustle of the day. Every sound seemed magnified, while her heart remained lodged firmly in her throat.

She kept close to the shadows. One careless movement could draw unwanted attention and she had no intention of being caught wandering the house at such an hour.

When she finally reached the study, she stopped outside the door and listened.

Nothing.

No voices. No approaching footsteps. Not even the faint scrape of a chair from within.

She placed her hand on the handle and turned it slowly, sighing in relief when she confirmed the door wasn’t locked.

Nathaniel must have forgotten to

Ruth slipped inside, never one to ignore a golden opportunity.

The first thing she did was survey the room, carefully noting where everything was and the order in which it had been arranged. Once she finished snooping, the study would have to look exactly as she had found it. Any misplaced object or sign of disturbance could be enough to make Nathaniel suspicious.

She began with the desk.

Every drawer was opened and examined in the order she believed Nathaniel would have used them. Papers were lifted one at a time and returned to precisely the same position. Letters were inspected and carefully replaced. She checked the dates, the names, the seals and the handwriting before moving on.

She searched the cabinet next, skimming through correspondence, accounts, past records— anything she could get her hands on.

Still she couldn’t find anything incriminating.

Ruth’s frustration grew, but she forced herself to remain patient. From experience, she knew that a man who went to such lengths to conceal something would hardly leave the truth sitting in plain sight.

Then she found a locked compartment.

Ruth paused.

She studied the small lock, running her finger lightly over its edge. It was not particularly sophisticated, but opening it without leaving evidence would take time.

She glanced toward the door before crouching closer and examining the lock. From her pocket, she drew a slender hairpin and carefully worked it into the keyhole, feeling for the mechanism inside. After a few tense attempts, she felt the lock give slightly. She adjusted the pin, applied gentle pressure and heard a soft click. Ruth eased the compartment open, pausing to listen before looking inside.

Inside were older documents and some of the ink had faded with age. Several sheets were tied together with thin ribbon, while others had been folded and stored without such care.

Ruth picked up the first document and began reading.

Her pulse quickened.

Mine reports.

She picked up another. A report concerning the condition of one of Nathaniel’s tunnels.

Another was an old letter from a man named Frank Reynolds. From its contents, she gathered that he was some sort of engineer. Frank had written to warn Nathaniel that one of the tunnels was in urgent need of reinforcement.

One correspondence described concerns raised by men working below ground.

Ruth read faster. There were records of horrors that were kept hidden. Deaths attributed to accidents. Complaints from workers. Payments made to families to keep them quiet.

The deeper she went, the more her unease grew. Apparently, the collapsed tunnel from ten years ago wasn’t the only thing Nathaniel swept under the rug.

The tunnel was previously declared unsafe and several warnings were issued. It was a catastrophe waiting to happen yet Nathaniel refused to pause work.

He sent men to their deaths. Forty-two of them.

Forty-one died. One survived.

Adam Dawson. And Nathaniel was currently hunting him down.

She had dealt with many horrible people in her life but Nathaniel Ashford might be one of the worst.

Ruth slowly lowered the paper, forcing down the lump stuck in her throat. She had to keep searching.

Older documents revealed previous incidents at the mine, smaller disasters that had been handled quietly. Workers suffered life threatening injuries due to unsafe working conditions.

Families were once again compensated in exchange for silence, that way he could preserve his good name. Warnings were ignored and complaints had been dismissed.

There was a pattern.

Under the previous king, Nathaniel’s wealth and connections might have protected him.

But Queen Delfine had made reform one of the defining principles of her reign. She had become a champion of the poor and had little patience for men who believed their wealth placed them above the law.

Had she discovered Nathaniel’s crimes, she would have seen him prosecuted regardless of his station. That was likely why he had gone to such lengths to keep the truth buried.

Ruth carefully separated the papers, forcing herself to think rather than react.

She could not take everything. Too many missing documents would be noticed, and if Nathaniel discovered that someone had been through his private records, whatever advantage she had gained would disappear.

She selected only the most important documents, taking those that established the chain of events clearly enough to be useful: the warnings, the decision to proceed, the aftermath, the payments and the efforts to suppress the truth.

She left the remainder exactly where she had found them.

Before leaving, she checked the desk once more. Nothing appeared disturbed.

Satisfied, she slipped the documents beneath her clothing and left the study.

She returned to her room through the same route.

Tomorrow, she would find a way to send them to Cassandra. For now, she hid them where no one in the house would think to look.

Ruth and Cassandra currently had something in common, they both wanted Nathaniel Ashford to suffer.