Page 36 of Only a Duke (Ladies Who Dare #6)

“Camilla?” Another voice intervened, and a tall man came up behind her. The Duke of Talbot.

Oliver flinched. There would be hell to pay.

Perhaps not today, though it was hard to say just yet.

But this man, he would make sure Oliver never forgot this moment.

This moment when their eyes met and Talbot’s cheeks flushed several shades of red before his gaze fell on his daughter.

One color surfaced above the others—vermillion.

He pushed past his wife and marched into the chamber. “What the devil is the meaning of this, and why the devil is your hand on my daughter?”

Oliver jerked, his hand still resting on Louisa’s back, a touch meant for comfort, but now an infernal brand on his palm. One that would now cause a damnably rousing tempest. His fingers curled, then his hand fell to his side as Louisa stepped forward, taking up a defensive stance before him.

“What is going on here? That is what I would like to know!” She snatched the ledger from Oliver’s hand. “Did you know your wife has been dealing in detestable, illegal schemes? That she is the head of a criminal organization of women?”

All the color drained from Talbot’s face. His gaze darted to the ledger, then back to Louisa. His lips parted as if to speak, yet no words emerged.

Oliver clenched his fists, but he also caught the look of surprise on Talbot’s wife’s face.

“So you knew,” Louisa said, her hands falling to her sides, the ledger still gripped in one hand. “Were you a part of this? Did you help her? Distributing opium? Kidnapping children? ”

That brought Talbot to his senses. “Of course not! I would never do anything so despicable.”

“Then what?” Louisa demanded, a tremor in her voice. “I am dying to know.”

The man dragged a hand through his hair. “Where is your brother?”

“Bathing.”

Talbot nodded before his gaze passed over Oliver again. “You are investigating this matter?”

“I am,” Oliver said stiffly. “And before you accuse me of anything else, I started my inquiry not knowing your wife was at the other end.”

The duchess lifted her chin, her eyes chilling. “I have done nothing wrong.”

Oliver gently took the book from Louisa’s clenched fingers. “This ledger says otherwise.”

The woman lifted her chin. “That is not mine.”

“We found it in your chamber!” Louisa snapped with indignation.

“Then someone must have placed it there to frame me,” the duchess argued.

Oliver wasn’t about to let her off. “It’s a simple matter of comparing your handwriting to another source, Your Grace.”

“Hah! If you think—”

“Camilla,” Talbot said in a warning voice, “it’s over.

I’ve suspected you were up to something for a while now, ever since Havendish got foxed and blabbered about some silk.

He rambled on about his wife’s intelligence and how the two of you made such a splendid pair.

It didn’t take long to find more clues, inconsistencies. ”

Oliver did not expect that.

“Then why didn’t you do something about it?” Louisa demanded.

Oliver had to wonder the same thing.

“And what would you have me do?” Talbot countered. “I had to think of a way to deal with the matter without damaging our name, your name, your brother’s name.” A glare fell on Oliver. “That is not up for debate anymore, is it?”

“Do not look at him, Papa!” Louisa suddenly exclaimed. “ I say that it is not up for debate anymore, and if you ask Leo, he will agree!”

“Your brother is only ten years old!”

“And yet he knows right from wrong better than you do!”

“James,” the duchess started, “you must know I’m innocent of whatever they think—whatever you think—I’ve done. I have nothing to do with criminals or these crimes they’ve mentioned.”

“We will talk about it later, Camilla.”

The room fell into sudden silence after that last, darkly-uttered statement. All the occupants were in a strange, tense standoff. Oliver wanted to object, but he was in no position to drag the woman away. Her title, her position in society, made this an annoyingly delicate matter to navigate.

After a moment, Talbot inhaled a deep breath and directed at his daughter, “I did what I thought best at the time, which is a moot point at the moment. But what are you doing with Mortimer here?”

“Helping him find evidence against your wife.”

“Louisa!” He swallowed whatever outburst might have followed, to say lowly, “And how did you know to help him find evidence? Did he approach you?” Talbot’s dark gaze landed on him.

Oliver didn’t dare interject and speak for Louisa.

He would follow her direction. Unfortunately for them both, a little Leo darted into the room at that moment.

“Papa!” His gaze fell on them. “Louisa? What are you and the gardener doing here?” His eyes widened. “I mean, I mean the Bow Street Runner!”

Oliver sighed. His explanation would be required after all, it seemed. “Would you believe me if I said I had no ill—”

“I will not!” Talbot interrupted, his glare turning wrathful. “This won’t be the end of it. Now get the hell out of my house.”

“What?” Louisa exclaimed and pointed at the duchess. “What about her? She is the real culprit here!”

“This is a family matter and will be treated as such.”

“You cannot be serious!”

“I shall not forgive her for bringing shame to this family, Louisa. What would you have me do?”

“Have her arrested and account for what she’s done!” Louisa didn’t stop there but continued with a threat. “I shall never forgive you if you let her off, Papa!”

“And what about my forgiveness?” Talbot demanded.

“My daughter is consorting with the enemy! I knew something was afoot when you arrived at the Havendish estate and the next day their house was turned inside out looking for a book, which just happened to coincide with your sudden disappearance. Then I return home to find you with a bloody Cavanagh?”

“I approached your daughter first, Talbot,” Oliver said. “She is not in the wrong here.”

“Why would you damn well approach her in the first place?”

“Because I had the betting book from White’s which, along with the list of heiresses, also contains evidence of your wife’s illicit transactions,” Louisa exclaimed. “Would you have done any differently if you had been in his shoes?”

“Louisa?” Leo asked hesitantly before Talbot could say anything. “What is going on? Who is this man? Is he not a Bow Street Runner?”

Oliver cursed inwardly. “I am not a Runner, but I do help Bow Street on occasion.”

“Do not poison my son’s ears with your nonsense,” Talbot snapped. “He is the Duke of Mortimer,” he said to Leo, “our family’s oldest enemy.”

Leo’s eyes widened even as Louisa’s snort came from beside him. “Enemy? He might be the oldest rival, but the true enemy of our family is standing next to you, Papa!”

Oliver’s grip tightened on the ledger. The duchess, who this whole mess was about, stood still as a delicate rose, with a look of pure innocence on her face.

No wonder she had gotten away with so much.

Even now, her husband was hesitant to take action.

He finally understood what Louisa had meant by her stepmother putting on a face in front of the duke and dropping it the moment he was gone.

There would be no reasoning with the duke. The only reason the man had tolerated his presence up till this point was because he’d been rattled by events. But Oliver could sense that feeling was fading.

“I have what I came for,” Oliver said to Talbot.

He didn’t want it to end like this, but what other choice did he have?

He didn’t dare look at Louisa, afraid he might give away too much in front of her father.

“I shall take my leave. Bow Street will be in touch to discuss the proceedings with your wife.”

“Are you delighted?” Talbot growled. “You finally get to ruin our family.”

“I have ruined nothing.”

“Nothing, you say?” Talbot suddenly laughed. “Your family started this damn feud with us! We might have come to some sort of accord with time, but that ended ten years ago.”

Oliver froze.

No.

“The day you kidnapped my daughter.”

A soft gasp filled his ears, and his heart plunged to his boots. He never wanted her to discover the truth. Never wanted her to loathe him.

“That’s right, take a good look at the man you aided, for the blood in his veins is the reason you were afflicted beyond measure when you were but a little girl.”

“Is this true?” Her soft voice stabbed at him.

How the hell had things turned from the duchess’s atrocious dealings to his family? But he couldn’t deny it. He had no right, for his family had done that to her. He glanced over to her, his gaze meeting hers.

“It’s true.