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the room, and Zach looked inside it only to find more clothes undoubtedly tailored for him.
    There was even a carpetbag, as if he’d brought them here himself.
    He shook his head in amazement. What about a bathroom? There was only one door in the room other than the entrance, and it was located past the bed, near the windows.
    It was also locked. Did it go to an adjoining room?
    In the opposite corner was a folding screen covered with tapestry. Behind it was a table with a pitcher and ewer. There was a lidded pot discretely tucked beneath the bed, which answered Zach’s question. No compromise. It was Rex’s way.
    The wall with the fireplace was all bookcases with glass doors, all the way to the ceiling, the shelves crammed with leather-bound volumes. Zach opened a door, fully expecting them to be fake, but they were real books.
    Classics, too.
    He could have just holed up in this room and read. No doubt they would bring him tea and crumpets in the morning, and brandy at night. He could lounge around and catch up on everything he’d meant to read over the years and then some.
    But he was here for a more earthy fantasy than that.
    He heard a clock chime, as if there was a grandfather clock somewhere in the house. Seven. That was when Fletcher had said he would be expected for dinner. Zach checked his reflection one last time, tugged at his vest, then opened the door to the corridor. Should he leave the lantern burning? What about the fire?
    He paused on the threshold as Caitlyn stepped out of the room to his left, and he couldn’t help but stare. When they arrived on the island, she’d been dressed in a tweed traveling suit with a long skirt for their journey to the house. The outfit had been flattering, but had nothing on the dress she wore now.
    Her dark hair was coiled up so that her neck was bare, and the sweeping neckline of the pink dress left her shoulders almost bare, as well as displaying a lot of creamy flesh. Her waist was so narrow that they must have laced her into a corset, and there were jewels gleaming against her skin. Garnets maybe. She wore lace gloves and carried a fan, and when she turned to him, her eyes were alight with the pleasure that only the prospect of seeing Luke could give her.
    Some things didn’t change.
    Her room was on the same side of his room as the locked door, which he now assumed connected the bedrooms. Caitlyn must have it locked on her side, which was reasonable enough.
    It was probably safer to have a locked door between them, in case he forgot himself.
    “Isn’t it wonderful?” Caitlyn demanded in a delighted whisper. “I can’t believe how awesome it is!” She lifted her skirts and spun, making them swish against the floor. He caught a glimpse of satin slippers, dyed to match the dress, and wondered if she was wearing stockings and garters.
    The idea of stripping her out of that dress and admiring the view made his cock hard and thick. Fortunately, his trousers were pleated and no one would know about the state of his arousal other than himself.
    “The clothes are exquisite,” she said. “Every period detail is exactly right.”
    “Well, you’d know better than me,” Zach said. Caitlyn had a degree in fashion design and slaved away in a little boutique in a funky corner of town, where she made and sold her own creations.
    “Look at your suit. It’s practically Saville Row. I’m blown away by the attention to detail—and the expense! They don’t cut corners at The Phoenix.”
    “No, they never did at the Plume either,” Zach said without meaning to do so.
    Caitlyn glanced at him in surprise. “How would you know that?”
    A pretty maid came out of the room in that moment, saving him from his own slip-up. Her expression was as demure as her uniform was provocative and Zach seized the opportunity to look astonished. The skirt was cut high so that her bare ass was visible, with the garters stretching down her thighs to her stockings. She, too, was laced into a