Page 17 of Only a Duke (Ladies Who Dare #6)

L ouisa stepped into The Raging Stag, still irked at the irksome duke who questioned whether she was in collusion with her stepmother.

She inwardly snorted for the hundredth time.

How ludicrous! On some level, she knew he had been teasing her, but she couldn’t help being bothered by it.

She would rather chew glass than be cut from the same cloth as that woman!

She glanced at Mortimer.

Lawks, the man was tall. And aloof. And impossibly vexing. His facial muscles rarely moved. She supposed that hunting criminals as a duke, it was a rather good skill to possess. If one could even call it a skill.

“Keep close,” Mortimer said in a hushed voice.

“I shall be fine.”

Sharp eyes flicked over her face. “I suppose you are right. Nevertheless, don’t storm the castle’s soldiers.”

What is that supposed to mean? But she had no time to dwell on it for immediately she felt the prickle of four shrewd gazes falling on them.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” One of the men with a scar slashing through his left brow said, rising from his seat at the bar to his full height. “A little bird and a hawk.”

Louisa’s eyes widened to saucers before she caught herself and smoothed out her features.

Goodness, that man was even taller than the duke!

Bulkier too. Big and scary, just as Leo had said.

Her eyes narrowed on them. So, these were the men who approached a small boy?

She understood now why her brother had done what these men told him.

Scoundrels!

“Gentlemen,” Mortimer greeted.

“There are no gentlemen here.”

Lord, spare her the dramatics. Louisa narrowed her eyes at the man. Since he was the one who rose to speak, she focused her attention on him. “You are right, clearly there are only dogs. Were you one of them, sniffing around the boots of my brother?”

The man suddenly gave a low laugh. “The lady chirps.”

“Reaper,” the man behind the bar said. A scar split his lip, just like Leo had described, but big and scary did not do his presence any justice. The man looked nothing short of menacing. Deadly. “What brings a duke and the daughter of a duke here?”

And they knew who they were.

“Good,” Mortimer spoke up with a low drawl. “There is no need for an introduction. You must be Maxen Fury.”

The man didn’t smile. He also didn’t confirm or deny the duke’s assertion. “You won’t get what you came here for.”

“Hah!” Louisa exclaimed, annoyance flaring. “You resemble the likes of big, bad brutes, and yet you had to resort to browbeating a boy to get what you want.”

Those dark, almost black, eyes settled on her. “We still got what we wanted, didn’t we? And we merely asked the lad for a favor. He provided.”

“Then, do you owe him a favor now? This is how your world works, no?”

The man called Reaper laughed. “I quite like this one. If only she weren’t one of them .”

“One of whom?” Mortimer stole the question from her lips.

“That pesky women’s club or whatever they call themselves,” Reaper bit out with a scowl.

“I am not part of that club,” Louisa snapped, irritation surging anew. Of the four brothers present, he was the most talkative, and the most infuriating. Every word from his mouth seemed designed to prick at her patience, like stepping barefoot onto a bed of thorns.

Reaper’s eyes bore into hers. “Your mother, on the other hand, is very much the bane of our existence with her club and their shenanigans. Do you really expect us to believe you are not also part of it?”

“ Step mother,” Louisa pointed out through clenched teeth.

“Same thing.”

“They are not the same thing, you simpleton, and I don’t rightly care what you believe.”

“Reaper,” the one called Maxen interjected. To Louisa, he said. “Forgive my brother. His tongue is sharper than his head.” Reaper growled at that, but Maxen continued, ignoring him, “This book is something the duchess wants, so when we heard it fell into your hands, we had to retrieve it.”

“How do you even know if fell into my hands?”

“We have been following the book’s trail since it disappeared from White’s.”

“You mean you’ve been following the heiresses,” Mortimer said sharply, and Louisa sensed his displeasure.

Maxen said nothing.

Dear Lord, had they been spied upon from the very start? “How? You couldn’t possibly know who had the book at any given time.”

Reaper shrugged. “How else? A strategy as old as time.”

“Servants,” Mortimer muttered.

Reaper grinned. “And a bit of luck.”

Honestly, could you not trust anyone in this world?

“What’s done is done,” Mortimer said, his indifference back. “But we do require that book to deal with the matter of the secret women’s organization.”

“Well, what do you know, Duke ?” Reaper said. “We needed it for the same reason.”

“I refuse to accept we are at an impasse,” Mortimer said. “There must be a sort of compromise we can come to?”

Louisa nodded. She was not leaving Brighton without the book. No matter what they had to do. Lord, what if Mortimer decided to break into these men’s property to find it next? They weren’t the sort of men to merely brandish a knife without drawing blood, were they?

“Maxen,” a voice came from the shadows. Another bulky man, but his face was partly obscured by a cap. Louisa couldn’t make out his features.

The brothers shared a brief look before Maxen inclined his head. “We shall exchange the book for something else.”

Louisa folded her hands over her chest, not the least bit surprised that she wasn’t surprised. There was always something with men like this. “Whatever it may be, you still owe a favor to my brother.”

“If you can deliver this,” Maxen responded, his dark eyes meeting hers. “Even though I never promised one, I don’t mind owing the future Duke of Talbot a favor if it’s within reason.”

Heh. Within reason. As if approaching a young boy to steal a book from his sister was within reason! “What do wish to exchange?”

“A ledger from the Countess of Havendish. It will most likely look like a brown leather journal of some sort. If you get it for us, you can have the betting book.”

Louisa paused, frozen, which drew a look from the duke.

“What is it?” he asked softly.

Her head tilted to him, meeting his gaze. “My father and stepmother ought to be at the Havendish estate in Worthing at the moment.”

“I see.”

“Why do you want this ledger?” she asked Maxen. “Is it the same as the betting book?” It had to be as useful—if not more so—if they’d exchange the book for it.

“More or less,” the man answered. “At least we won’t be at a loss trading the book for the ledger.”

In other words, they’d still have their leverage over the women’s club. Perhaps even more. He didn’t say it outright, but he didn’t have to. The answer rested plainly in what he left unsaid. Her gaze returned to Mortimer.

“Is there a problem with this exchange?” Reaper’s annoying voice came.

Louisa ignored him, her mind racing. She didn’t know how to feel about this request, or demand, she should say, but one look at these men... They weren’t going to give in, and she and Mortimer certainly wouldn’t be able to pry the book from their beefy hands.

To her shock, Mortimer asked her, “What do you want to do?” He stared at her steadily, and although those facial muscles—which she just wanted to pinch and poke and pull apart—remained smooth, she perceived the earnestness underlying his question.

“We...” she broke their gaze and turned to Maxen, “shall do it. You have a deal.” And if they couldn’t find the ledger in question, they would just forge one for the book.

Or steal the book back in some way or the other.

That shouldn’t be a problem given the duke’s capabilities and connections. Probably.

That brute turned his gaze to Mortimer and raised a brow. God bless his soul, Mortimer didn’t hesitate to say, “As the lady said, you have yourself an arrangement. The book for the ledger.”

Louisa snuck a peak at Mortimer. Why did it seem another meaning lay beneath his agreement? An edge slightly veiled.

Maxen nodded. “One last thing.”

Louisa scowled at the man.

“We’ll want collateral,” the man finished.

“For what purpose?” Louisa snapped.

“So you keep your word.”

Why wouldn’t they keep their word, for Heaven’s sake? They were the ones that wanted the book! Something seemed off here. “And what about your word?” she countered. “What collateral do we have?”

“I’ll send a man with you.”

Honestly! “That’s not collateral—it’s intimidation. And just what collateral do you want exactly?”

“Your brother traveled with you, did he not?”

Louisa stiffened, and almost immediately a hand circled her wrist gently.

“You can send one of your brethren with us,” Mortimer’s unaffected voice came. “But we are not handing the young heir over to you. If you must, you can send another brother to him at Helgate’s estate. I trust you know where that is already.”

Louisa’s head whipped to him. He didn’t return her probing gaze, yet she could feel his decidedness, and for some unfathomable reason, she did not resist. The fingers on her wrist squeezed slightly.

She trusted him.

For some reason, she believed deep within that this man would not disappoint her. And he would never let any harm come to Leo. Whoever they sent to Mr. Helgate’s cottage... God save his soul, for that person’s life would be on the line if anything happened to her brother.

Maxen arched a brow. “Helgate? Are you sure it’s fine to have one of our men go to his residence?”

“He’ll have no problem with it,” Mortimer said.

“That still doesn’t seem fair,” Louisa said. “So you have my brother and the book. What do we have?”

Maxen motioned to Reaper. “You get him.”

“Like I said,” Louisa muttered. “What do we get?” This stinky man? They were most definitely at a disadvantage here while the Furys got to keep a close eye on them.

Reaper narrowed his eyes to slits. “Can you handle it, little bird? One of my dog brothers will be approaching yours again.”