Page 35 of Only a Duke (Ladies Who Dare #6)
Two days later
E xhaustion tugged at Louisa’s eyes as she plopped onto her stepmother’s bed. They had been traveling hard to Ashford these past days, or perhaps it just felt hard because she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink since their evening in the carriage.
The very carriage they had traveled back in.
It was only natural for her to get distracted by the memories of their carnal night.
And imagine carnal days.
Nevertheless, she did drift off some of the time, but it could hardly be considered deep sleep.
At best, she simply rested the heaviness of her eyelids.
However, Oliver, the unescapable scent of sandalwood, the carriage —her awareness of these things never abated.
The moments she drifted off, she only floated between their dreamlike night and the present that would surface with the drone of Leo’s voice as he peppered the duke with questions and opinions.
Fortunately, that particular torture was over.
The mattress of the bed sank deeper, and Louisa glanced at Oliver, who lowered down beside her. His thumb traced beneath her eye. “You look tired.”
“Tired? My body is practically begging for my lavender-scented pillows. Though sadly, my best ones are in London.”
“Do they help you sleep?”
Louisa nodded. “But they will have to wait. First, we must try and find that ledger.” Her gaze swept the chamber that she purposely never entered. She’d imagined wallpaper and bedding would be blood red or charcoal black. But the room seemed entirely normal. Entirely unlike Camilla.
“Then where do you suppose we search first?”
Louisa pursed her lips in thought, her gaze falling on her stepmother’s writing desk.
“I suppose it would be much too easy if she were to hide it in the same spot as Lady Havendish.” She rose and strode over, bending over to search for any hidden compartment.
“But perhaps we will be lucky. You look under the bed and mattress.”
A few minutes later, they both had come up short.
Louisa strode over to the curtains and inspected them, then made her way over to the duchess’s dressing room and started to rifle through her clothing items. How could one woman have so many red items?
Though, was she really all that surprised?
Camilla might secretly be the devil’s bride. “It must be here somewhere.”
“Unless she took it with her.”
Louisa paused. Yes, that could very well be the case, but it would be an extreme loss.
Unless they were to travel back to Worthing and hunt for that ledger.
However, that would be a catastrophic blunder if Lady Havendish’s ledger had already been missed.
But, then again, would her stepmother really trust her friends enough to take her ledger with her?
Somehow Louisa didn’t think so. That woman was too shrewd to trust anyone blindly.
Also, many things could happen while traveling. Why, Theodosia had been robbed by highwaymen, who had absconded with the betting book. Her friend had been forced to chase them down and steal it back. Camilla wouldn’t be quick to risk that either.
No, it was here somewhere. Louisa was sure of it. It was just a matter of trying to step into her stepmother’s shoes.
If I were Camilla, where would I hide a ledger with detailed accounts of my criminal enterprise?
Her gaze fell on a stack of books on the bedside. She padded over and picked them up one by one, tossing the ones with titles and printed pages onto the bed, until the only two brown, leather bound journals were left. Or were they?
“I wonder.” Could it honestly be this simple? Would Camilla be this confident?
Oliver came up behind her, peering over her shoulder.
Louisa didn’t leave him in suspense. She opened one of the books to a random spot, revealing neat penmanship.
April 7: Today the scab on my leg...
Dear Lord, no. Louisa flung the journal onto the bed.
She didn’t want to know about any scab on that woman’s body.
Oliver chuckled but didn’t say anything.
She inhaled a deep breath, opening the second journal, this one exposing an array of meticulously organized entries.
Each page was filled with rows of dates, item descriptions, quantities, prices, and a column for Camilla’s notes.
Louisa’s eyes widened as she scanned the contents. The first entry read:
January 5: Silk bolts (imported from China): 20
Smuggled through Dover: 50 guineas
Notes: Silk received in excellent condition. Paid the customs officer to look the other way.
Farther down the page, another entry caught her attention:
February 12: Brandy barrels (French) : 10
Delivered to Worthing: 30 guineas
Notes: Sold to Lord Hamilton’s estate. Extra payment for discretion.
As she flipped through the ledger, the entries revealed a wide range of illegal activities: smuggling of luxury goods, bribery of officials, and illicit sales. One particularly disturbing note read:
March 3: Opium (Bengal): 5 crates
Distributed to local apothecaries: 100 guineas
Notes: Demand increasing. Secured higher price due to risk. Need to reinforce security.
Louisa’s jaw tightened as she took in the scope of Camilla’s dealings. She had understood her stepmother was busy with illegal things, but reading about them in such plain language made her heart burn with anger.
Louisa turned another page, her blood suddenly chilling as one particular entry caught her eye:
May 15: Kidnapped (for ransom): daughter of CHL.
Ransom demanded: Open port for opium distribution
Notes: Transaction went smoothly.
Kidnapping . . .
Transaction . . .
The book slipped from her fingers, and a dark, heavy fog settled in her chest. Memories she’d long buried tried to push to the surface.
No, not now.
She clutched at her breast, feeling as though the walls of Camilla’s chamber were bearing down on her. She tried to inhale deeply, but her breath came out too quickly, and in too shallow, too frantic.
Then Oliver was there, hand on the back of her shoulders, rubbing in slow soothing circles. “Breathe, Louisa. Just breathe.”
She followed the instruction of his voice, breathing and exhaling at his command until she could draw a breath without the threat of choking on air. Though honestly, the air in this chamber should be considered tainted.
“That woman is horrible,” she bit out.
Oliver’s hand lowered to the small of her back as he bent to retrieve the book. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. That woman...” She looked at Oliver, jaw clenched. “This is enough to send her to the bowels of hell, isn’t it?”
He squeezed her waist. “Yes, and I shall be able to cross reference the dates with the betting book to expose all who have been involved in some way.”
“That is good.” She paused a moment. “I... words fail me. How could she do such things? How could she see kidnapping as a mere transaction? Well, you did say confidence was the downfall of all criminals. She must be stopped at all costs.”
“I agree,” he murmured softly. “And we shall do just that.” He suddenly shook his head. “Your stepmother is a confident woman, leaving such damning evidence on her bedside table. I suspect no one enters this chamber except for her and her trusted servants.”
“But she is not here.”
“Her servants, on the other hand, are. She must believe no one would ever think she’d hide the ledger in plain sight.”
Well, it would certainly be her downfall. A reckoning would be heading Camilla’s way soon, and Louisa couldn’t wait. One thing did bother her, though. “My father...” Her gaze met Oliver’s. “What if he is involved?”
“I don’t believe he is.”
“But you cannot be certain beyond any shadow of a doubt.” He might very well be involved. And if that were the case, Louisa didn’t know what she and Leo would do. The last thing she wanted was for her brother to be raised by a criminal, even if that criminal was a birth parent.
“Not beyond any shadow, no.” His fingers squeezed hers in quiet promise of support.
Louisa swept an unforgiving gaze around the chamber. “We should probably leave. Leo must almost be done with his bath, then he will come looking for us. Will you stay to say goodbye to him? He will never forgive you if you don’t.”
She would not let him off, either.
An overwhelming sense of finality sank in. This was the end. Even if he lingered an hour or two, he would be leaving soon, and they would likely not meet again for a long time. And even when they did— if they did—there would always be an insurmountable distance between them.
“Oliver, I...” Louisa trailed off, uncertain what she even wanted to say. That she didn’t want him to leave? That she wanted to sleep in his arms one more night? That she fancied him a touch more than she should?
“ What , pray tell, is going on here?”
Both of them jerked.
Ah, a reckoning had come all right—a bit quicker than expected—and judging from the look of fury on the Duchess of Talbot’s face, it seemed it was to be Louisa’s.
*
Oliver stared at the woman he had been after for a while now.
Slippery as a snake, calculating as a fox, and ruthless as a tiger.
Camilla Talbot had been a ghost in his world too long, always elusive and hard to see, always floating just out of reach.
But at this moment, she was no ghost. At this moment, she stood before him, the very embodiment of cunning and pride.
Her gaze, sharp and cold, dropped to the ledger in his hand, her expression turning ugly. It was a look he had seen too many times from those who thought they were untouchable—those who had built criminal empires by grinding the world beneath their heel.
They got their comeuppance.
One way or the other.
Her lips twisted into a mock smile, but it was strained. Her eyes flicked to Louisa and back at him. “You shouldn’t have come here, Mortimer.”
“You are done, Camilla,” Louisa snapped out. “We know everything, and this ledger will be your undoing. It’s over.”