Page 36 of A Duchess to Unravel (The Devil’s Masquerade #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“ A h, lovers quarrels,” Everett sighed, pouring himself another drink.

“Everett, enough,” Dominic commanded, he and Alistair circling one another. “We are trying to box here.”

Alistair, struggling to remain focused through his rage, threw a jab at Dominic that he easily side-stepped.

“Yes, well, that seems to be the only time we box anymore,” Everett egged on, throwing an exhaustive look at the two men in the makeshift boxing ring. “When one of you lot have women problems.”

“Quiet,” Alistair growled, then ducked, barely missing the left hook that Dominic threw.

“I am just stating the obvious,” Everett went on, grinning like a fool as he raised his glass and looked on at his friends.

“Everett,” Alistair warned, taking his eyes off Dominic to glare at him.

“Well, is she here?” Everett asked. “No. Have we spent the last few days boxing and drinking instead of working? Yes.”

His anger turning into rage, Alistair sidestepped Dominic’s next hit then turned on his heel, delivering an illegal jab to Dominic’s face with his elbow.

Alistair cursed, dropping his gloved hands as he tried to apologize, but Dominic growled at the blast of pain and then launched himself at Alistair.

Alistair did nothing to stop the vengeful blow, and welcomed the pain as Dominic landed a heavy punch to his stomach. It knocked out his rage and his breath, and Alistair fell to his knees with a grunt.

Dominic muttered a curse, wiped the sweat and blood from his brow, and then dropped down on one knee in front of Alistair. He flung his gloves off and then grabbed him by the shoulders.

“That got a little out of control there,” Dominic huffed, “Are you quite well?”

Alistair drew in a deep, pained breath, and nodded.

“That was on me, all the way,” he coughed out. “I’m sorry, Dominic, that was poor form on my part.”

Dominic shook his head, clapped him on the shoulder, and then offered him a helping hand.

“Well, so was my vengeance,” Dominic replied, pulling Alistair to his feet. “I can get a tad reactionary.”

Alistair managed a pained chuckle and replied, “Which is why I am happy to have you on my side. Ye can be lethal when crossed.”

Dominic smiled devilishly, and the two men walked over to the table. Alistair swiped the bottle right out Everett’s hands just as he was about to pour another drink and took a long swig.

“Rude,” Everett grunted.

Dominic cuffed him on the back of his head, twirled a chair around, and sat down with his arms leaning on the back of it.

“Why are you being such a duckling and sitting out our practices, anyway?” Dominic asked Everett.

“Because that,” he emphasized, pointing to the fresh cut on Dominic’s brow, “Seems to be happening more often than not. “And I am far too pretty to be taking such blows to the face.”

Alistair finished his swig, chuckled, and then acted as if he were handing the bottle back to Everett. Just as Everett reached for it though, Alistair changed directions and handed it to Dominic. Dominic let out a rueful chuckle as Everett scowled and took a long swig himself.

“Scoundrels,” Everett growled. “The lot of you. Being punished just because I have made a factual point.”

Alistair’s smirk faded, and with a sigh, he sunk into his chair.

“Oh, give him the bottle Dominic before we make him weep,” Alistair sighed.

Dominic, having finished his drink, handed Everett the nearly empty bottle of whiskey and turned his focus to Alistair.

“He is right, you know,” Dominic acknowledged. “At least about Theo’s absence. Normally when you send for us we are elbows deep in paperwork and planning, yet this visit you have us constantly in the ring. What is going on?”

Alistair chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment.

Normally he was a man who was not afraid of the truth but on this particular subject he was struggling.

However, these men had come to his aid whenever he’d asked.

In just the few months he’d known them they had become his friends.

Whether it was painful for him or not, they deserved to know the truth.

“There is not much work left to be done because I am signing the businesses and accounts of Caldermere over to the two of you, Hugo, and Tristan,” he finally confessed. “That will take but a minute. Then I am going back to Scotland.”

Dominic’s wounded brow perked at the same time as Everett stopped pouring his next glass.

“You mean in another month and a half you will be leaving for Scotland,” Dominic clarified.

Alistair shook his head, his heart heavy.

“Nay, I am leaving in three days. And I dinnae think I will be coming back.”

“Oh, balderdash,” Everett sighed, setting the bottle down. “Tristan is going to kill you for taking Theo away.”

“No, he is not,” Alistair answered somberly, “Because she is not coming with me.”

The stretch of silence was palpable but short-lived.

“No,” Dominic stated, standing up. “You cannot just abandon Theo here. You did not know her before. You do not understand how much she has changed since your marriage. She is getting so much better. If you leave her here she will flounder, Alistair.”

On some level Alistair was flattered by the news. He was aware of Theo’s struggles and it felt good to know that a positive change in her had been noticed. Still, it did not change the present. In fact, it only made Alistair’s pain grow more intense.

“She has left me,” he admitted, then coughed as he felt that annoying lump in his throat once again. “I have sent her a letter, requesting to see her one more time before I depart, but I doubt that I will hear back. She was … she was quite sure of her decision when she left for the country.”

Another tense silence settled over the three men as the news was shared, and Alistair turned his focus to his hands.

Flashes of memory came back to him. Of Theo, of the way she reacted so sensitively to his touch.

Whether it was the brush of his fingertips or the spanking of his hand.

He clenched his fists as he felt pain soar through his chest, and he shook his head.

“You are in love with her.” Dominic said. It wasn’t a question.

Alistair slowly raised his head to look at the man across from him, then gave a subtle nod.

“I did not handle the realization well,” he begrudgingly admitted. “I distanced myself from her the moment I discovered what was happening to me … Theo did not fare much better than I.”

“Well that just means she is in love with you too,” Everett piped up. “Trust me, I’ve seen enough of these fools fall in love to understand the pattern.”

“Even if she does,” Alistair said, ignoring Everett’s attempt at humor, “She is far more hurt than she is in love. And I do not believe she will allow me to fix it. So, I did the only thing I could do. The thing I promised to do. I gave her her freedom.”

“Alistair,” Dominic said, coming around the table, “You cannot just--”

The doors to the makeshift gymnasium burst open, slamming into the walls with a foreboding echo that had all three men standing tall and on alert.

Mr. Mackenzie, who had not done so much more than a brisk walk in over two decades, was running toward them, his breath puffing out in uncomfortable wheezes.

“Mr. Mackenzie, what in God’s name--” Alistair began to say as he hurried toward the old man.

“Your Grace,” Mr. Mackenzie wheezed, “The Duchess of Caldermere, she … she ….”

Mr. Mackenzie erupted into a coughing fit as he stopped and doubled over. Fear skittered through Alistair’s veins and he wrapped his hands around the old man’s shoulders.

“Breathe, Mr. Mackenzie, and tell me what has happened,” he commanded.

“She’s gone,” Mr. Mackenzie huffed, trying to talk and catch his breath at the same time. “Someone … someone broke into the Caldermere house … took her … shot her maid ….”

Alistair’s world began to spin. His heart dropped into his gut like a heavy stone. He screwed his eyes shut, took a steadying breath to fight his sudden nausea and asked, “ What?”

“One of the kitchen boys managed to escape the attack. He was simply knocked out. He’d tried to stop the man, but when he woke up, he was too late. The rest of the staff have injuries. Norma has been shot, and Her Grace is missing!”

The heavy sadness Alistair had been fighting through the last several days suddenly transformed into an adamant rage. It caused the hairs over his body to stand on end, and it felt like a lightning bolt had hit him in the spine.

Gone. Theo was gone. He had told her he had taken care of her stalker, and he had failed. Pure, unfiltered vengeance surged through his veins, and he let go of Mr. Mackenzie before his grip became bruising.

“I have to go,” he grunted, then stalked toward the door.

“Alistair, wait,” Dominic insisted, running up beside him. “Think first, where would you go?”

“I dinnae know!” Alistair bellowed, “But I willnae find her standing here!”

“Find her we will,” Everett stated, suddenly appearing quite sober despite his copious drinks. Gone was the drunken fool from moments before and now in his place stood a man prepared to do anything to help.

Alistair clasped a hand on each of their shoulders, fighting for a moment of calm. They were right. He wasn’t going to accomplish anything by running off without a plan.

“Everett, go fetch the constable and go with them to the country house,” he commanded. “Take a physician as well, I want anyone who was injured to be examined. Especially Norma.”

Everett gave a single nod, then took off.

“Mr. Mackenzie,” Alistair said, turning to the head butler next, “Is Lord Briarwood aware?”

Mr. Mackenzie shook his head.

“I dinnae believe so, Your Grace,” he replied. “The kitchen boy, Travis, rode straight here.”

“Then he needs to know what is going on,” Alistair replied, turning then to Dominic.

“I will handle Tristan,” Alistair commanded, “There’s some things he needs to know, and they need to come from me.

In the meantime, Dominic, you are the only other person who knows what William looks like.

I boarded him on a ship to the Americas, but he must have come back.

Go the gaming hells, the clubs, see if anyone has seen him or knows where he is residing now. ”

“I shall,” Dominic stated, “But Alistair, are you sure you want to handle Tristan alone? When he finds out the truth of how you and Theo met, that you kept the stalker issue from him, he might very well kill you.”

Alistair gave an absolute nod.

“He may,” he agreed. “And if that is what he wishes, I shall give him the opportunity. But we will find and save Theo first.”

Even though Tristan was a much smaller man than Alistair, the punch he threw at Alistair’s face had him stumbling backward. Alistair did not raise a hand or his voice as Tristan stalked toward him, his face a mask of pure rage.

“I knew you were no good for her,” Tristan snarled, raising his fist again. “I knew you would not protect her!”

Alistair had only spent a second to throw on a shirt before he saddled his horse and rode at a hard gallop to London. He’d made it in half the time, left his heaving, quivering steed in the hands of Tristan’s stable boys, then knocked on the door, looking no doubt, like a mad man.

He’d barely waited until Tristan came to receive him before spilling out the entire truth.

How Theo and he first met. The man that had caused them to be introduced.

The threat said man had left for Theo that had caused her to lean into her marriage to Alistair.

He hadn’t been able to get to the part where he’d found her stalker before Tristan had thrown his first punch.

“I thought I had taken care of it,” Alistair explained, feeling a warmth trickle down his now-split lip. “I paid him off. I put him on the ship myself. He acted so cowardly I thought for certain he would not come back. I was wrong, and you have every right to be mad at me.”

Alistair stopped talking, waited for the second punch. Yet instead of throwing his fist at him again, Tristan unfurled his hands and wrenched hold of Alistair’s lapels.

“You should have told me,” he seethed, his blue eyes a mixture of fear and rage, “You should have let me know that Theo was in danger. Don’t you understand? She is all I have left!”

Tristan’s voice rose to a shout as he said the last, and shoved Alistair away from him.

“I know!” Alistair growled, righting himself, “But don’t you understand? She is all I have left too! My family gone. I never thought I could care for someone the way I do her and I hurt her! Then she was taken before I got the chance to make it right!”

He dared to move closer to Tristan, risking another assault.

“You can rage at me all you want. I deserve it. But trust when I say you will never be as enraged as I am. I know this is my fault, Tristan, but I will make this right! What we need to focus on now is getting her back.”

Tristan growled as he pushed his chest against Alistair’s. Stepped back, turned around, and rubbed his face. Then whirled on Alistair again, a finger raised.

“We will get her back,” Tristan demanded, his eyes wild. “But once we do just know I am going to thrash you within an inch of your life, do you understand? And if she is not quite all right? I shall kill you.”

“And I will not stop you,” Alistair replied, knowing he deserved the man’s threats.

Tristan let out another growl of rage, but he nodded.

“Where are we going first?” he begrudgingly asked.