Page 59 of Road Trip With a Rogue
No. It was their wedding day. He had to be nice.
“I have,” he said coolly. “I think she must have set off back toward Carlisle. You two take the carriage and head to Carisbrooke Hall. I’ll find her and meet you there.”
He headed back out to the yard, and since there was still no sign of the stable hands he’d seen earlier, he set about saddling a horse himself. He was just adjusting the girth on a feisty-looking chestnut when a shuffle of straw caught his attention and he turned to see a small, nervous-looking housemaid lurking just inside the doorway.
“Can I help you?” he growled.
The girl sent a hurried glance back over her shoulder, then shuffled forward. “Happen it’s the other way round, sir,” she said. “Are you the duke? ’Is lordship?”
“I’maduke,” Lucien qualified, speaking more softly so as not to frighten the girl. She couldn’t have been morethan fifteen, and she looked like she might flee at any moment. “And since I’m probably the only duke here, I expect I’m the man you’re after.”
The girl wrung her hands in a nervous gesture. “I’m sorry, sir, but your lady? The one wearing the breeches? She’s been taken, sir. I seen it.”
Every muscle in Lucien’s body tensed. “What do you mean, taken? By whom?”
The girl shrank back at his harsh tone, and he forced himself to try to look less menacing. “Please, tell me what you saw.”
She pushed a thin strand of mousy-brown hair behind her ear. “It was the Maxwell brothers, sir. The three of ’em work ’ere in the stables, when they’re not drinkin’ an’ fightin’. Mistress Gordon is their aunt. But they’re nothin’ but trouble, sir. Connor just got out of jail for stealin’ a goat from the magistrate. And Jem, the youngest, ’e’s not right in the head. Always tryin’ to take advantage o’ the maids.”
She shuddered, and Lucien winced inwardly at the bleak look in her eyes. Jem had doubtless managed to corner her somewhere, and he sent up a silent prayer that she’d escaped with nothing worse than an unwanted kiss. His blood ran cold at the thought of Daisy in the hands of such men.
“Why would they do anything to my… woman?” he demanded.
“Happen they’ll want a ransom,” the girl said sorrowfully. “I saw the three of ’em leave with an open-top cart, and your poor lady lyin’ in the back, not movin’. Alan, the middle one, is ’andy with ’is fists.”
Lucien’s chest felt like it was being ripped open, but a cold fury was building behind his breastbone, the same sensation he’d always felt when he’d seen his comradesdie, or witnessed the senseless carnage after a battle. “When?”
“A few minutes ago, sir.”
“Which way did they go? Do you know where they’d be taking her?”
The girl glanced over her shoulder again, clearly uncomfortable with telling tales on her employer’s nephews but determined to prevent another injustice. Lucien delved into his pocket and withdrew a handful of guineas.
“Here. Take this. Just tell me where she might be. Please.”
“The Maxwells live over at Blackford, ’bout ten miles east,” she said quickly. “Take the Carlisle road, but after ’bout six miles there’s a crossroads for Todhills and Rockcliffe. Head toward Todhills, and Blackford’s another few miles after that. The Maxwells farm all the land thereabouts.”
Lucien nodded and shoved the coins at her. “Thank you, miss.”
“Elsie,” the girl mumbled.
He compressed his lips. “Elsie. If you want to leave here, use that money and make your way to Carisbrooke Hall, near Barnard Castle. I’ll make sure you’re found a position that doesn’t include being molested by the stable hands, you hear me?”
The girl nodded again and a relieved smile brightened her face. “Oh, yes, sir. Thank you, sir!”
Lucien didn’t listen to the rest of her gratitude. He led the prancing chestnut into the yard and mounted in one swift move, then clattered out onto the road, his heart pounding against his ribs.
God, Daisy would never have succumbed without a fight, which meant those thugs would have had to hurther. He kicked the horse into a canter. Hewouldfind her. And he’d make the men responsible for taking her wish they’d never been born.
Thoughts of bloody retribution filled his brain as he galloped back toward Carlisle, and after a few miles a familiar figure sitting atop his ducal carriage came into view.
Finch sent him a wave, but Lucien cursed as he realized the toothless stable hand he’d ordered to bring replacement horses must have been one of the bastard brothers who’d abducted Daisy.
He reined in and Finch’s brows rose as he saw his expression. Years of fighting together meant he immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation.
“Where’s the trouble?” he demanded.
“Daisy’s been taken. Three men and a cart. Did they come this way?”