“You know that despite what I did?” he asked softly.

She lifted her gaze to him. “I can be angry and hurt by what you did and not judge that you are an irresponsible person on the whole. Those are two separate things.”

“What’s in the trunk?” he asked, stepping closer as they closed the painful topic.

“Clothes,” she said with a sigh as she picked up some of the items and held them out. She moved her hand through them and only found cloth. “Nothing that could be called a treasure unless this Maitland has a desire for waistcoats.”

He smiled despite the tension on his face and relocked the trunk before he carried it to the corner. They worked like that for a while, silent except for comparing what they found in trunks and boxes. She found it was not an uncomfortable quiet between them. They simply focused on the matter at hand, both serious about what they might find here.

Had she not discovered his lies, she would have felt the silence, the ability to work together, was further proof of their growing bond. Only right now she wasn’t sure if she’d seen the truth of that at all. She’d imagined they were coming together. Now they felt so far apart, and she was a fool to love him when he was hiding so much.

He stood up from a crouched position and wiped his brow with the back of his arm. “Dusty work. I apologize about the state your gown is in.”

She looked down to find her dress was grayed with dust. It put her to mind of that night he had hidden under her bed from Juliana. She couldn’t help but smile. “It will wash out,” she reassured him. “Why don’t we—”

She didn’t get to finish the question, for the door to the cottage opened and a footman stepped inside. “I’m sorry to intrude, my lord, my lady, but Willard wanted you to know that it’s seven o’clock. Supper shall be served at eight.”

Jasper let out his breath in a frustrated sigh. “Thank you. We’ll come up.” The young man left and Jasper looked at her with a shrug. “Two hours of miserable work and nothing to show for it.”

She tilted her head. “Is that what you think? It’s only if you win your prize that you’ve succeeded?”

“Yes,” he said. “Of course. How can you succeed if you don’t win?”

“Well, you learn, for one thing,” she said with a laugh. “Gracious, Jasper, we have gotten through ten trunks in what…a couple of hours? We likely only have fifteen left to examine, and then we’ll know for certain that the items out here are not related at all to Maitland and his supposed treasure. That will close out this part of the search at least and let us move to another place in the investigation with a clear conscience.”

He seemed to ponder that a moment, then nodded. “I suppose I’ve never looked at it that way before.”