Page 31 of Only a Duke (Ladies Who Dare #6)

L ouisa stared at the big hand that encased both of hers. She’d retracted it earlier from his grasp, determined to keep her composure, but after she started nibbling the tips of her fingers, they had both been caught again, trapped in the warmth of his steady grip.

She ought to pull away.

However, no matter how much she debated the issue with herself in her head, her fingers remained nestled in his.

In truth, the duke’s comfort certainly distracted her from the real matter at hand—retrieving her brother.

It was a touch embarrassing with Mr. Helgate’s sharp eyes on them, though God bless the man, he looked everywhere but their hands.

Looking at him now, pity rose in her breast—his face was turning bluer with each passing minute.

“We’re here.” Helgate peered through the window, letting go of the curtain as the carriage drew to a halt. “Time to beat some Furys.”

“No,” Oliver said, finally withdrawing his hold on her hands, her fingers twitching at the loss. “No violence. Where is the brother you caught?”

“He should be with my man in another carriage, waiting.”

“Is he conscious?” Oliver asked.

“That we shall have to see,” Helgate said with a cold grin.

Louisa hoped the one they caught sported more bruises than Mr. Helgate! “Let us go.” She caught Oliver’s eye. “You have the ledger?”

He glanced at Helgate.

The man patted his chest. “Right here.”

She let out a shaky breath. “Then let us make the exchange.” They exited the carriage one by one, Oliver offering a hand when it was her turn. She accepted it, not questioning how he only withdrew his hold after they entered The Raging Stag where they’d all first met.

She had hoped never to return here.

However, now that she was here, she steeled herself, and the first thing she saw was the man called Maxen Fury seated at the bar on a stool.

Another man, similar in looks, stood behind the counter, leaning over and conversing with the lone occupant.

The same smoky scent filled the dusky space, even though not a single cheroot was lit.

Her gaze flicked over the empty tables, landing on a small boy who had looked up when they entered. His eyes lit up when they met hers across the room.

Leo leaped to his feet and rushed over. “Sister!”

All her anxiety melted away with that one exclamation.

The men didn’t stop him, and soon she hugged her brother tightly, not forgetting to shoot a nasty glare at the two men who watched with infuriating indifference.

She grabbed Leo’s cheeks and inspected him. “Are you all right? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Leo shook his head furiously. “I’m not hurt.”

What a relief. “Were you very afraid?” Louisa asked her brother, searching his gaze for any sign of terror masked as bravery.

He shook his head again.

Her brows furrowed. “You weren’t?” She stared at him more intently. Dare she believe him? They hadn’t locked him up, and though she hated to admit it, they seemed to have given him most of his freedom.

“No! I knew you and your gardeners would come for me!”

“Honestly, you are hopeless.” She straightened, not forgetting to shoot another glare at the men at the bar for good measure. “This is why I don’t like powerful men, fortune hunters, and criminals .”

“Can I resent a part of that statement?” Oliver remarked in a low voice from the side.

Louisa, feeling much better now that her brother was back at her side, murmured back, “You’re a duke, aren’t you?”

“And yet I have felt powerless ever since the moment you jabbed a knife at me.”

Helgate cleared his throat. “Is this the time for this?”

Louisa averted her gaze. Probably not.

“You’ve reunited with your brother,” Maxen said in a low drawl. “Are you not going to allow us to reunite with ours?”

Mr. Helgate turned back to the door and to a man who stood there.

Louisa hadn’t even noticed him until now.

She hadn’t given much thought to the Fury that Mr. Helgate had apprehended, but now, grim satisfaction curled in her breast. That’s right—they had the ledger and a brother.

However, the feeling didn’t last long. Indulging that sort of satisfaction felt very much like she was engaging in the very thing she loathed in powerful people.

She nipped it right in the bud.

A short moment later, he reentered with a lump of man on his shoulder, striding over and unceremoniously dumping the unconscious figure at the feet of his brother.

Dear God, was that Reaper?

The outspoken ruffian had turned into quite a pitiful sight.

Maxen Fury stared at his brother before lifting his hard gaze back at them. “Was this truly necessary?”

“Was it necessary to snatch a young boy from the beach?” Louisa snapped, unable to hold herself back upon hearing that vexing question in that equally vexing tone.

“We treated your brother like royalty,” the man said calmly.

Louisa’s fingers twitched. “Is this your castle, then?” she challenged. “You are the ones in the wrong.”

“And what about you, my lady?” Maxen asked. “You and your friends gave both my brothers the slip, and then he got beaten to this degree.”

Honestly! “Who told you to send them to keep an eye on us?”

“If we hadn’t, would you have brought us the ledger?” The man behind the bar cocked his head. “Seems to me the answer is no.”

Maxen smiled, and not sweetly. “That’s not it. They were forcing us to come to them.”

Smart man.

“And you did,” Oliver said dryly. “Though your methods leave something to be desired. You must want this ledger badly.”

“I do.”

“The book?” Oliver sent simply.

The brother behind the bar reached down and placed it on the counter. “The ledger?”

Louisa watched and Helgate removed it from the inner pocket of his jacket and tossed it to Oliver.

She almost thought the duke would flick it onto the floor beside the crumpled Reaper—she almost wished he would—but he surprised her by striding up to the bar and placing it right next to the betting book.

Both men then pulled their desired book toward themselves.

That’s right.

A man such as Oliver wouldn’t lower himself by doing anything else. His actions showed courtesy and respect. Not for the men, Louisa thought, but for their treatment of her brother.

There was something breathtaking about that.

He retreated from the bar, walking backward until he was beside her, never once showing his back to the men.

He didn’t trust them.

Good. He shouldn’t.

They shouldn’t.

Louisa glanced at Oliver’s face. Not an ounce of emotion was visible to the eye. His mask—no, his shield—was firmly in place. Her gaze drifted back to the Fury men. They too, had their shields in place.

Urgh.

How tiring.

She didn’t know how they did it or how they kept it up. She certainly wouldn’t be able to. Her emotions tended to explode out for the world to see.

“Our business is done here,” Oliver announced. If there had been no emotion on his face, there was even less in his tone. He could have been speaking to an ant, for all the feeling those words conveyed. It did, however, carry a note of finality.

Maxen inclined his head.

“Hah!” Mr. Helgate suddenly exclaimed. “ Your business with him is done. Mine business with him has just begun.”

Louisa’s shocked face turned to Mr. Helgate.

“And what business is that?” The brother behind the bar asked.

Mr. Helgate’s smiled rather fox-like. No, utterly fox-like.

He rubbed his jaw as he stared the man down. “You have my attention now. That’s not a good thing to have.”

Silence followed his statement. Not a comfortable one, but one filled with unspoken calculation.

She’d been so concerned about her own feelings that she’d never truly, deeply considered how Mr. Helgate must have felt that a charge had been snatched on his watch. Given the bloody state of the man on the ground, she could just believe that his attention was not the sort you wanted on you.

Best to leave.

“Let’s go,” she said to Oliver. The sooner they left, the sooner her heart would settle.

She wanted to take a day to rest. Then, tomorrow, they would leave for Ashford again.

Even though all she wanted to do was fall onto her bed with lavender pillows and forget this disaster, she couldn’t imagine being enclosed for hours upon hours in a carriage today.

A hand settled on her back and guided her and Leo from the tavern, Oliver and Mr. Helgate following closely behind. No words were spoken between the two parties as they left.

What she needed was the view of the beach from Mr. Helgate’s cottage. The smell of the ocean breeze blowing away the unease of those memories of her own kidnapping. And then there were those brief flashes...

Who was that young man from her memories?

Would she ever remember?

Did he even exist?

*

Oliver’s boots sank into the sand as he made his way down the beach, a blanket draped over his shoulder, toward Louisa, who wandered along the shore.

She’d once again surprised him when she’d asked Helgate if they could spend another night at the cottage.

He’d thought she might insist on returning directly home after the fright they’d had, but she’d wanted to breathe in the ocean air, she had claimed.

He was happy she’d made that choice.

She deserved a moment to catch her breath, and he was glad to help provide that moment.

He’d told her the truth earlier in the tavern.

Ever since the moment she’d jabbed a knife at him, she had claimed all the power between them.

No, perhaps even before that. Ten years ago, when he’d discovered his father had abducted a little girl and held her in the run-down cottage where he had always before found his escape, ruining his once sacred sanctuary with that one act.

He lifted his chin and inhaled deeply, dragging the smell of salt and seaweed into his lungs.

Ah, yes, this was why she wanted to stay another night.