Daring the Duke (23 page)

"Not now. You don’t know how many others are inside. They don’t appear to be in any hurry We'll come back later with reinforcements."

"No."

"Yes. I’ll call the constable and set up men to watch. These men will still be here in the morning."

She read the look on his face. "Fine." Her brows lifted, and she smoothed her hair. It would be better for her to return alone under cover of darkness anyway She could even walk the distance.

His eyebrows rose.

She answered his look. "You make a good point, and I'd rather have my sister in one piece."

He didn't look convinced--she’d have to do a better job at dinner, or he’d never let her out of his sight.

"We are working together." She shrugged. "So, that means I have to wait for you."

"Sometimes I wonder if our definitions of certain words in the English language might have different connotations." He quirked an eyebrow, but held out a hand to her.

They led their horses back to the south and exited the woods into the valley. They ended up farther away from the manor, but with the tracks leading the wrong way They mounted and trotted back to the house.

A movement to her right alerted her. She turned toward the woods, but no one was there. Her senses went on alert. It was not an animal, she was sure of it. It might be a villager or even a poacher but there was someone in the wood. She edged closer to Stephen. If it were one of Flanagan’s men, she would need to protect Stephen.

Stephen made no comment, but he kept trying to guide her to the side. It was damn hard work protecting him when he kept putting himself in harm’s way.

But they reached the manor without incident.

After she retrieved Faye she’d find out who was watching them. And which one of them they were watching.

Stephen spoke with the butler, and Audrey meandered into the library, tension still thrumming though her. Volumes towered from floor to ceiling. She loved books. They were at the same time an escape, safe haven, and hope for the future. She had books of her own, tattered and well used, but nothing like what Stephen and the previous dukes possessed.

She put her hand on the back of a Rousseau and started to pull it out.

Someone coughed and she snatched her hand back.

Stephen stood in the doorway, lounging as usual.

"I wasn’t going to take it."

"I never said you were. Did you want to borrow something to read?"

"Maybe later." She absently walked to the window. Darkness had descended upon the country.

"Why do you assume that I think you are stealing?"

"That’s what I do, right?"

"And you automatically assumed I would find you guilty this morning with no facts to back any of the allegations."

"I’m a criminal. You hate us."

Although he appeared outwardly at ease, she felt him tense. "I don’t hate you."

She shrugged.

"You don’t trust me," he said.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Have I given you reason not to?"

She jerked a bit. "You don't trust anyone, Chalmers. I know you. So why would you ask it of me?"

"I trusted in you this morning."

"No, you used logic and reason to sort through the lies."

He shook his head and leaned back against the door, that same inner stillness at odds with his posture. "No, I knew you weren’t guilty before applying logic and reason."

She remained silent, unsure how to respond.

His eyes were penetrating. "Dinner will be served soon. I’ll see you there." He pivoted on his heel and left.

An uncomfortable feeling spread through her, and she walked away from the window. He was being nothing but kind and helpful. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a simple lark. She had tried pretending it was, but it hadn’t been a game for a long time now. She needed to harden her heart if she was going to make it to the end and save Faye. The plan had never included saving Audrey.

Audrey moved listlessly upstairs to change her clothing, then dragged herself to the immense dining room. Chandeliers gleamed across the expanse, creating an intimate mood at odds with her feelings.

Dinner was excellent, but she barely did it justice. Stephen was consumed with his own thoughts as well, and there was little conversation. She didn’t know how to break the silence and wasn’t even sure she wanted to.

As long as he was preoccupied she could develop her own strategy however depressing the thought of their lost intimacy.

After dessert and an uncomfortable silence, she stood. Stephen rose as well.

"The constable will take care of everything tomorrow."

She shrugged, not feeling what the motion indicated. The constable would just as well come to arrest her on the morrow. "Fine. Good evening."

She felt him watching her as she walked slowly from the dining room.

She shut the door to her room, then locked it for good measure. She couldn’t forget her mission.

She stripped to her shift and tucked herself under the covers. They were warm, bless the maid. A nap would restore her energy before she returned to the cabin. Time for Stephen to go to bed, time for the servants to go to bed, and time for the bastards who had her sister to become drunk and lazy.

Revenge would be sweet. Right now the men in the woods were the perfect scapegoat for her pentup feelings--the confused ones for Stephen, the terrified ones for her sister, and the vengeance that she craved against Travers.

Audrey napped lightly and woke when she heard the footfall approach her door. There was an infinitesimal pause before they continued down the hall to the master suite. She stared at the ceiling. An hour later she was still staring at the same spot. By now he should be asleep. She tossed the covers and stepped on the plush oriental rug.

lt took a few minutes to find her coat and trousers. As soon as her weapons were in place, she cracked open the door and peered into the hall. The corridor was clear.

She made her way down the steps, slipped into the kitchen and through the back door. A half-moon provided enough light to illuminate her way.

She trotted to the east. Once inside the woods she stepped onto a trail and increased her pace. Years of running from the law gave her speed. She spotted the large oak tree she had mentally marked earlier and turned from the path. Slowing, she picked her way through the forest, trying to avoid stepping on anything that crinkled or rustled. She wasn’t accustomed to the terrain and found it much more difficult to traverse than it had been in the daylight.

Finally, the thatched cottage came into view. Three men sat around the fire. She skirted to the A back and sent up a prayer when she saw the partially open door. She snuck inside and stayed low to the ground. The idiots had left lamps glowing throughout the place. She poked her head into the first bedroom. Empty. Second one. Empty. A sound from outside caused her to crouch lower on the floor, knife in hand. Silence.

She moved to the final room. Empty. She twitched her hand and straightened. Walking into the living area she noticed that no one had been held here, now or in the recent past. Anger and frustration whipped through her, and she sidled up to a curtained window, peeking through.

The three men were still drinking and smoking around the fire. The stranger she had seen earlier was smoking, a man with his back to her was staring toward the trees, and the older man was leaning against a log drinking from a huge jug.

She opened the door. "What the hell are you three rats doing here?"

The older man dropped the jug, spilling ale on himself. "By the devil, Hermes, what are you thinking of, sneaking up on us like that?"

She walked over and tapped her foot on the log. "Why are you here?"

The man who had been staring at the trees whipped around and stepped forward. She grimaced in recognition. "Flanagan told us to keep an eye on you so you’d not weasel out on paying up."

Audrey frowned and continued tapping. "Flanagan said you two had split from the ranks."

The older man grunted. "He needed help. Too many spoons in the kettle, so you might say."

They occasionally hired men from other rings or independents to do simple tasks when they had many irons in the fire, but why would Flanagan send anyone after her?

"I told him I'd ante up. And why would he send you, Beefy? Trying to get you out of his hair?"

The man who had been studying the trees glared. "Someday I’m going to tear off a chunk of yours. We’ll see how fine you look then."

"Awww, Beefy, it sounds like you missed me."

"Call me that one more time, and I’m going to—"

"Leonard, cut it out," the older man said, picking up his jug.

Leonard's hands curled into fists.

Audrey turned to the jug man. "Chalmers knows Beefy." She smiled falsely at the large man who was tightly gripping his hands, "Oh, excuse me, I mean, Chalmers knows Leonard."

She returned her attention to the jug man. "If you are going to be here, you should have at least left him behind. Was one of you in the forest today

watching us?"

Leonard smirked. "Chalmers ain’t going to recognize me. We’re just keeping an eye on the two of you. Chalmers can’t see two feet in front of his face."

She pulled her foot down from the log and rolled her eyes. "Right, and that's why he escaped from you on the bridge last year against the odds of twenty to one."

Leonard smirked, but it didn’t touch his eyes. "Looking pretty cozy with the bloke, Hermes. Always knew you were after the fancy pieces." He spat. "Too good for the likes of us, weren’t you?"

"Too good for you, most definitely."

The third man, the stranger, snickered. Leonard moved forward menacingly, but the jug man put a hand on his leg. "Leave her alone."

Jug man resumed drinking and leaned back against the log. "This is just a friendly follow along. As long as you’re straight with us, we won’t bother you or interfere in your plans, Hermes."

Audrey frowned but nodded. It was not an uncommon practice, but she had never been taxed with followers before. "Fine. See that you don’t."

She checked Leonard’s position before turning her back to the trio. He was too far away to reach her without warning, but she kept her eyes strained as far back as possible as she walked with her head forward.

What a mess. Her least favorite thug and two extra dimwits to boot. She’d be lucky to get out of this without Stephen finding them.

While keeping an eye on Leonard was a very wise move, it also precluded her from seeing the person who stood directly in her path. She nearly collided with him, but a slight movement jerked her attention forward at the last minute.

"Plotting with the enemy, my dear?"

The jug crashed for a second time, and Stephen watched the three men scramble. The man smoking showed the quickest reflexes and dove behind the log. The man with the ale fell forward before following the man behind the log.

And the dumb lug who had been threatening Audrey didn’t disappoint him as he lumbered forward, his fists clenched. Oh, this was going to feel good. Audrey put herself between them. Stephen pushed her aside and ducked as Leonard swung. Stephen used Leonard’s forward momentum to pull him into a flip. The thug hit the ground hard.

"I’m sorry to say that I do not have a bat, Leonard. I’ve been looking for you." Stephen waited for him to rise. Better to have kicked him while down, but he had some pent—up aggression to spend. "Now I see why they bring you in for the jobs where the person is already bruised and beaten. Not much of a fighter, are you?"

Leonard rushed him again, and Stephen flipped him into a cluster of plants. He prayed they were poison ivy.

The other two men came out of their hiding places, guns trained.

Audrey stepped in front of Stephen. "We are going back to the house.

You three are welcome to stay here."

The man who had been drinking stopped moving, but the smoker continued forward. Stephen was prepared to push Audrey out of the way.

But the drinker stopped the smoker and nodded to them.

Audrey turned and pushed Stephen into the woods. Leonard was trying to rise and was begging for a few more lumps. Audrey must have divined Stephen’s intent because she pushed him harder.

He allowed it only because now that Leonard was out of hiding he’d be easy to find. But he had threatened Audrey. Stephen’s lips tightened, and he turned around, the smoker nervously raised his gun again and glanced to the drinker.

Audrey sighed and grabbed Stephen’s hand. The gesture was so unexpected that he allowed her to pull him the rest of the way to the house. It was a silent journey. He had overheard the men say they would stick around to shadow Audrey. Leonard could wait.

She went in through the kitchen door, and he followed behind, not releasing her hand. She led him to the library.

"You followed me. Did you know I was going all along?"

She poured a glass of brandy, handed it to him, and sat on the sofa. He swirled the liquid, feeling no desire to dull his senses.

"Yes."

"Why didn’t you stop me?"

"I had to know if I could trust you."

She leaned back against the sofa. "And do you?" The question was light, but he saw the tense line of her jaw.

"I might." He continued to swirl his brandy. "Or I might not."