Page 55 of The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes

Emmeline frowned. “Unless what?”

To her surprise, Freddy reached into the pocket of his sack coat and withdrew a silver pocket watch. And not just any ordinary sort of pocket watch.

Before he even placed the timepiece in her hand, Emmeline knew what it was. It was a priceless Markwick that bore a striking resemblance to the one she’d seen at Pembridge’s all those weeks and weeks ago. The one that Mr. Howell from Howell’s in Chancery Lane had outbid her for.

“Freddy,” she breathed, turning it over and examining the hallmark before flipping it open and studying the watch face inside.

“Where on earth did you get this? It’s worth a fortune.

” Then her heart almost stopped. “You didn’t st—” She broke off before she could complete the horribly insulting thought.

“No. I didn’t steal it,” said Freddy. “It was gifted to me by an anonymous stranger. Just yesterday. It was delivered to the Oberon with a handwritten note proclaiming that if I took it to Christie’s or Sotheby’s it would fetch at least five hundred pounds at auction. If not more.”

“Really? That much?” whispered Emmeline. Then she cleared her throat and said, “You said that you don’t know who sent this.”

Freddy rubbed his stubbled chin. “There was no name on the note. But I did wonder if it might be… your employer.”

Emmeline’s eyebrows shot up. “The Duke of St Lawrence? Why would you think—” She narrowed her gaze. “Do you have the note with you?”

“I do,” said Freddy. Again, he reached into his pocket and then withdrew a fine parchment envelope which he handed to Emmeline.

As soon as she saw the handwriting, she knew it was true. “Freddy, you’re right. The duke is your mysterious benefactor.” She lifted her eyes to her brother’s. “But why?” She was truly baffled.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but two nights ago, he came to the Oberon with two of his friends to see a show.

We had a brief, private exchange in which he said that sometimes certain people deserved a second chance.

I thought he was referring to Father because he settled his debt so he could be released from prison. But maybe he meant me too.”

“I don’t think there’s any ‘maybe’ about it,” murmured Emmeline. Her throat suddenly felt far too tight and her gaze was so misty, she could barely see the flowers in the knot garden or the bright sea beyond.

Why, why would the duke do this? His generosity appeared to know no bounds.

He’s done it for you, Emmeline, you pigeon-wit. Despite the fact he said he doesn’t think his heart functions properly.

She handed the Markwick pocket watch and the duke’s note back to her brother. “You should take the duke’s advice and sell it. You’ll be able to pay off all your debts. Start afresh.”

Freddy nodded as he pocketed both items. “The Duke of St Lawrence clearly values you, Em. One might even venture to say that he likes, even cares for you.”

Emmeline swallowed. “I… Perhaps he does. A little. I honestly don’t know what to think.”

Her brother nodded. “Toffs, eh?” Then his expression changed, his forehead furrowing.

“There’s something I need to tell you. Something rather unsavory.

Perhaps even alarming. And it doesn’t portray me in a flattering light either.

” He blew out a breath then said, “Sod it, I have to tell you, Em. Your duke has a powerful enemy.”

Emmeline frowned in confusion. “How? Why would you know anything about that?”

Freddy wiped a hand over his brow and looked out to sea before meeting her gaze. “The day I encountered you near St Paul’s, when the duke and I had words, two strange men turned up at the Oberon a few hours later. One was rather large with a distinctive scar across his face.”

Emmeline sucked in a breath. “What? Did you learn his name?”

Freddy nodded. “He told me his name was West. His friend, a smaller wiry fellow, never gave his name.”

“What did they want?” asked Emmeline. “They didn’t threaten you, did they?”

“Not in so many words, but they were intimidating to say the least. The scar-faced man, West, said that he and his friend had observed the altercation between me and the duke. And then they offered me money to spy on him… and you. They said they were employed by a well-to-do gentleman—I never learned his name either—who, for his own reasons, wanted to unsettle and intimidate the duke by disrupting his life as much as possible.”

Emmeline gasped. “What did you say? Don’t tell me you agreed.”

Freddy looked shamefaced. “I did. I was desperate, Em. And the money they offered allowed me to pay several outstanding bills, including the wages of my cast. I was able to place an advertisement in the Illustrated London News to garner more attention for my new show.”

Emmeline shook her head. She was unable to hide the disappointed disapproval in her voice as she said, “I can’t believe you would do something so sneaky and underhanded. At least it explains why I thought I saw you twice.”

“Yes, I did spy on you, Em… and Father. And the duke,” he said, remorse weighting his words.

“You won’t believe me, but I missed you and I was worried about you.

West and his crony told me the duke had lost his marbles, so I wanted to see for myself.

I wanted to make sure that you and Father weren’t in any danger.

So over the next two weeks, I watched you. ”

“I saw you in Belgrave Square and at the Great Exhibition.”

Freddy’s mouth curved with a ghost of a smile.

“That day you were in the park in Belgrave Square, you looked so happy, Em, playing with the duke’s wards.

And the way you and the duke both looked at each other in the Crystal Palace, I could see you had a special rapport.

I couldn’t betray you. So I fed West a load of balderdash about where I’d seen you and what you’d been doing.

I think they wanted me to wheedle my way into your good graces again.

To perhaps persuade you to join their cause.

But in the end, my stories weren’t enough. ”

Emmeline’s skin prickled and she suddenly felt cold. “What do you mean?”

“West tried to talk me into doing other nefarious things to upset the duke. Petty criminal things such as throwing rocks at the ground floor windows of St Lawrence House late at night, and breaking into his stables in the mews to let out the horses, or tampering with deliveries left at the servants’ entrance, but I refused.

Spying was one thing. Breaking the law was an entirely different kettle of fish.

I could sense West was starting to get annoyed with me for not doing his bidding. ”

“This West and his partner,” said Emmeline, “are you sure they never gave you even the slightest hint about who might be employing them?”

Freddy shook his head. “No. Never. They only ever referred to the man paying them to pull the strings as the guv’nor.”

The guv’nor. Hot anger fizzed and flared inside Emmeline like a firecracker about to explode. If she ever found out who it was—

“But,” added Freddy before she could complete her thought, “the last time I met West in a public bar off Fleet Street late one night—the night before the Duke of St Lawrence came to the Oberon—he was farewelling another man who mentioned something about needing to get back to St Lawrence House before he was missed. He also intimated he had a sweetheart waiting for him. West used the man’s name when he said goodbye. ”

Emmeline’s pulse immediately leapt. “Who? What was his name? What did he look like?”

Freddy worried at his lower lip. “I only caught a glimpse of this chap, mind you. And I might have misheard his name. The tap room was noisy—”

“Freddy!” Emmeline gave him a light punch on the arm. “Out with it.”

“All right, all right, Em. Calm down,” said her brother, rubbing his bicep. “The fellow was tall, about my height, with a slender build and brown hair. About my age, too, or slightly younger. And the name I heard was Ollie.”