Page 2 of Secrets of a Duke’s Heart (Wayward Dukes’ Alliance #25)

CHAPTER TWO

C larissa wished she had waited to have the coach brought round. The afternoon had been sunny, but the weather could turn quickly here in Cavalier Cove. She eyed the storm brewing over the ocean with growing trepidation.

“This way,” she said briskly, pointing to the barely-discernible plume of smoke rising from a tidy cottage in the distance. “If we hurry and keep our visit short, we should be able to make it home before the storm.”

She hoped, anyway.

Ahead, a sturdy fence marked a vegetable garden. White geese waddled slowly near the edge of a small pond. Mr. Montague kept pace easily, his long legs eating up the ground. Not one to be outdone by a man, particularly one as surly as this one, Clarissa quickened her step. By the time they reached the flagstone steps, she was all but jogging and rather embarrassingly out of breath.

The door opened to reveal a pretty young woman with dark curls wearing an apron. She peered anxiously at them and said, “Yes?”

“My niece has been kidnapped,” said Mr. Montague. “I understand your husband may have information about smugglers.”

Clarissa winced. This wasn’t the tone she would have taken. The young woman’s brow furrowed.

“Thomas, you have visitors,” she called over her shoulder.

“Mrs. Davies, you might remember me from your husband’s store. We met last week,” Clarissa tried again.

“Miss Penfirth.” A noise like a kitten’s meow, but louder, snagged her attention briefly. “The viscount’s relative.”

“Cousin,” she confirmed. “I am sorry to disturb you at an awkward time, but as Mr. Montague has explained, it is an urgent matter. May we come in?”

“We don’t know anything about smuggling.” Again came that tiny cry. “We’re finishing our supper.”

“Who is it, Ada?”

“Viscount’s niece,” she muttered. Twin gray smudges beneath her eyes indicated tiredness. Clarissa chose to forgive the mistake. A man came to the door. He was tall and lean with a French air about him, and he spoke with a slight accent.

“Cousin,” she corrected. “You are Mr. Davies?”

“What’s this about?”

“They’re looking for a missing woman.” Mrs. Davies cast her husband a worried glance. “We don’t know anything, now, do we?”

“Not at all. But the weather seems about to turn. Come in for a few minutes.”

“We won’t keep you,” said Mr. Montague reassuringly as they were ushered into a cozy main room decorated with paintings of geese. The remnants of their dinner sat on the polished wood table, and a baby’s crib stood near the stove. The woman called Ada went over to it and scooped a tiny bundle into her arms.

A baby. That was what had made the mewling noise. Clarissa’s gut twisted. She hadn’t meant to intrude on the family’s evening.

The husband, Thomas Davies, ushered them to a sitting area with upholstered chairs. Mr. Montague dropped into one, making it squeak.

“I would offer you tea, but as you can see, my wife is occupied.”

“We didn’t come here for refreshments,” Montague declared acerbically. “I need information. Miss Penfirth says you know every smuggler in Cavalier Cove. We are searching for a man who goes by the ridiculous moniker Le Fant?me.”

Clarissa fought the urge to smack her forehead.

A sly smile curled up Thomas’ lips, there and gone. “Just because I was raised in France during the War does not mean I am disloyal to England. I know nothing of smuggling.” He shrugged. “I cannot help you.”

A muscle in Montague’s jaw ticked. Clarissa had to do something.

“We aren’t here to make trouble. We only want to find the missing lady. She is on her way to marry…” She glanced at the man beside her.

“In Ireland,” he bit out.

“That’s right, in Ireland.” She hesitated, tapping her lips, thinking. “Why are you coming through Cornwall, exactly? It would have been faster to go through Liverpool.”

“How do you know?” huffed Mr. Montague.

“Nathaniel said you were coming from the north. Near Newcastle Upon Tyne?”

“That is quite a distance,” observed Mr. Davies. “Would have taken weeks to go that far out of your way.”

“I had business with your cousin, Miss Penfirth, which is unrelated to Harriet’s disappearance and therefore irrelevant to this discussion.”

The glare he leveled at her was stormier than the sky outside. Message received: Don’t ask questions about why he was here. Which only piqued her curiosity further.

“All I am saying, Mr. Montague, is that if the lady was not altogether happy about her impending nuptials, it wouldn’t have been difficult to arrange for her to be ‘kidnapped’ from Cavalier Cove.”

“A fascinating theory, Miss Penfirth.” Mr. Davies tented his fingers. She had the distinct impression that he was enjoying their little spat.

“I cannot imagine it would have been difficult to tempt a smuggler into playing kidnapper. Every man has a price, and I doubt a scoundrel’s price is too high for a lady with adequate pin money to bribe.”

“Harriet didn’t run away. She is a good girl. Very obedient.”

Clarissa knew how that went. She, too, had been a very good girl. Like a dog. Yet her obedience failed to attract a suitor, and in the end, she decided she didn’t need one anyway. She was content with her quiet life—at least, she had been until Mr. Montague blew in with all his secrets. Now, she couldn’t resist the temptation to poke and prod him.

“We cannot help you,” insisted Ada, who had finished changing the baby and had returned with her cradled on her hip.

“May I hold her?”

Mr. Montague held out both hands. To Clarissa’s astonishment, Ada reluctantly relinquished her daughter. To her even greater surprise, Montague cradled the child expertly. A twinge somewhere near her heart at the sight of the tiny baby nestled against his broad shoulder shook her to her core.

Was she lying to herself?

“If you want to find out about smuggling, you’ll need to ask at the Cock and Bull Tavern in town.” Mrs. Davies plopped inelegantly into the chair beside her husband’s. “There is a ship called the Spectre that runs between Cornwall and France carrying illicit goods. My uncle, Mr. Patrick Leacham, is in the Waterguard. He has been searching for the captain of this ship, Le Fant?me, for years.”

From his sly smile, Clarissa had the distinct impression that Mr. Davies knew far more about the Spectre than he let on, but she was too distracted by Monty and the baby to glean further insight. There were too many questions bouncing around inside her skull, yet all her brain could say was: baby.

“You are comfortable with infants,” Ada said when no one responded to her statement about her uncle’s role in the Waterguard.

“I will never forget the moment I first held my newborn niece. I can still recall the faintly sour smell of her tiny, fuzzy head. Her pudgy legs and her shuddery infant sighs.”

Clarissa’s mind, already scrambling for purchase on anything remotely intellectual, crumbled in the presence of a man who liked babies. She had to help him find his niece.

Outside, a clap of thunder brought her back to the present.

“That storm is moving fast. You ought to be going if you want to make it home without getting drenched.” Mr. Davies rose to his feet and loomed over his tiny daughter. “I need Lilou back now.”

Ada concealed a smile behind her fist. Clarissa gathered up the pieces of her shattered mind and said, “Thank you for seeing us. We shall visit the Cock and Bull as soon as feasible.”

“There is no point,” Montague grumbled as he placed the tiny baby in her father’s arms. For some reason, seeing her in Mr. Davies’ arms didn’t provoke the same strange mix of feelings that had taken her off guard with Mr. Montague. “The Cock and Bull is where this all started. The pirate absconded with her down a hidden passageway.”

“I have heard of caves carved into the rocks leading out to the sea,” said Mr. Davies. “It seems you have come here for nothing. Sorry we cannot help.”

Within moments, they were rushed out into the gloomy evening. Minutes down the path, the sky broke open. Rain pelted them as they ran.

“In here,” Montague said, pointing to an old lean-to. “We can wait out the worst of the storm.”

She picked her way through the mud and pressed her back against the rough wall, watching the rain come down in sheets. Shivering, she licked her lips and tasted raindrops.

“Since it appears that we will be stranded here for a while, tell me more about Miss Harriet.”