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“Who is with you, Rose? Will they not show themselves too?”

Rose turned her head and whispered something to her companion.

“ ’Tis me, Lady Meredith,” a proper male voice announced.

“Perkins?” Meredith stepped back into the shadow of her doorway to avoid being seen by her butler in her nightgown.

“I apologize if we woke you,” Perkins said.

Meredith moistened her dry lips with her tongue. There was something in the butler’s tone and manner that disturbed her. “Is something amiss?”

“Oh, my lady.” Rose rushed forward, her face a mask of fear. “ ’Tis Lord Fairhurst and Mr. Jason.”

Meredith stepped forward. “What has happened?”

“Nothing,” Perkins said, as he too came forth. “A harmless incident below stairs has been given far too much attention and dramatic interpretation.”

Perkins gave Rose a pointed stare, and Meredith saw the glimmer of fear in Rose’s eyes flare.

“Please explain,” Meredith demanded.

Perkins sighed. “Apparently a member of the staff noticed your brothers leaving the house a half hour ago and became concerned. The ensuing commotion woke several other servants, and I was called upon to set things to right. I assure you the matter is under control.”

“Leaving the house? Surely they were mistaken. This is the time of the morning my brothers generally return home.”

The butler gave her a strange half smile and shrugged his shoulders. Meredith quickly glanced over at her maid. Rose’s hands were by her sides, but they were clenching and unclenching fistfuls of her skirt.

“What are you not telling me?”

“There’s going to be a duel!” Rose blurted out in a horrified whisper. “Lord Fairhurst and Mr. Jason are going to avenge the insult to your honor. One of your brothers will fight the Marquess of Dardington and the other will act as his second.”

“Rose!” Perkins cast a sharp look of reprimand at the maid, but the maid appeared too distracted to notice.

“George, the stable boy, heard Mr. Jason’s valet tell the coachman and he told Roberts, the underfootman, and he told—”

“Idle kitchen gossip,” Perkins interrupted. “I instructed Rose not to disturb you with such drivel. I apologize for interrupting your sleep, my lady.”

Meredith barely heard the butler’s apology.

Could this possibly be true? Her brothers were not known for their level heads, but even they would not be so foolish as to engage in an illegal and possibly deadly ritual.

Meredith looked sharply at her maid. Rose was in most instances a levelheaded woman, yet she was on occasion prone to exaggeration. And she did have a real love of gossip.

Still, there was no doubt the maid’s agitation and fear were very real. Meredith’s stomach tingled with the rush of sudden fear. “Is it true that my brothers have left the house, Perkins?”

The butler nodded solemnly.

“Where have they gone?”

“I do not know.”

There was a crack in the butler’s rigid countenance, and Meredith’s fear heightened.

“Well, someone in the household must know their whereabouts. I want every servant questioned. Immediately.” She turned to her maid.

“Rose, you must help me dress. Assemble the entire staff in the drawing room. By the time I appear below stairs, I want to know exactly what is going on.”

Fighting her rising panic, Meredith allowed Rose to dress her, but the haste in completing her toilet made no difference. All that could be confirmed after questioning the entire staff was that the duel was to take place at dawn. None of the servants had any idea where.

“I am sorry, Lady Meredith,” Perkins said regretfully. “Perhaps Lord Fairhurst or Mr. Jason’s valets could have been of some assistance, but they are well and truly gone. I checked their sleeping quarters myself.”

Raw emotion filled Meredith’s heart as a feeling of total helplessness swept over her.

But she tamped down the emotion. She must think!

Lives depended on her acting quickly and rationally.

“I must do whatever I can to stop this lunacy. Where, in your opinion, is the most likely location for this ... this event?”

Perkins looked miserable. “Since the activity is not looked upon with great favor, these incidents often occur on private estates. Considering the hour of the morning the gentlemen left the house, they could not have been traveling too far out of London. There might be time to catch them, if you knew where to look.”

“Then I must discover where to look,” Meredith declared grimly. “And quickly.”

She summoned the coach and waited impatiently for it to be brought out, all the while trying to decide who she could call upon for help. Her mouth curved in an ironic frown when she realized her first instinct was to call upon the Marquess of Dardington.

A chill went through her as she stepped onto the deserted street. Meredith’s eyes hastily scanned the quiet, sleepy mansions that lined the square and came to rest on an impressive stone structure three doors down.

It belonged to the Duke of Shrewsbury, but Meredith distinctly remembered that Julian Wingate had told her he was residing with the duke, who was his maternal grandfather, while in town. Did she dare call upon him at this uncivilized hour?

Meredith’s coachman’s knock upon the front door of the duke’s home was answered by a hastily garbed butler who looked most annoyed at the interruption. Peeking behind the drawn shade of the carriage, Meredith held her breath as the two servants exchanged words.

“Mr. Wingate is not at home, but his valet has agreed to speak with you,” the coachman reported when he returned to the coach. Meredith let out a sigh of relief.

After what felt like an eternity, the valet at last appeared, with a mulish expression and a scornful attitude. Meredith’s hopes plummeted, but she refused to be defeated. Opening the carriage door wide, she graciously invited the valet inside the coach.

“You are so kind to see me,” Meredith said softly. “I’m afraid I must beg your indulgence in a most delicate matter, Mr.—”

“Hawkins, my lady,” came the stiff reply.

Meredith folded her hands in her lap and looked steadily at him. “Do you have any siblings, Mr. Hawkins?”

“A sister,” the valet answered in a surprised tone.

Meredith let forth a small grin of relief.

“Ah, then you understand the obligations of family. I love my twin brothers dearly and fear they have put their lives in grave danger. I’ve heard rumors of a duel that is to take place sometime this morning, involving my brothers.

I was hoping Mr. Wingate might be able to tell me where this will occur. ”

Hawkins’ eyes narrowed. “My employer does not engage in illegal activities.”

“I apologize if you misunderstood,” Meredith added hastily. “I never meant to imply Mr. Wingate was involved in any way. Yet I would suspect a gentleman of Mr. Wingate’s stature certainly knows about such things. And you, as his valet, would naturally be privileged to the same information.”

“I might.” The servant’s chest puffed out slightly.

Meredith nearly screamed with worry. She was well aware the servant was under no obligation to tell her anything. Her fingers clutched the small leather pouch of coins she held in the palm of her hand, but for some reason she resisted offering him the money.

While she knew from experience that many of her own servants would easily respond to a monetary inducement, she suspected Wingate’s valet would not.

He seemed a man more interested in his importance.

Fearful that if she insulted him he would stalk away without revealing anything, Meredith took a deep, calming breath and forced herself to proceed slowly.

“I know I can rely only upon a man of your stature and importance to assist me in this most delicate matter.” Though her stomach was churning with emotion, she managed to gave him a wavy smile. “Will you help me, sir?”

The valet’s expression never faltered. In desperation, Meredith began pulling out the bag of coins from her pocket, but before she could offer them the servant spoke.

“I suspect if you drove to a large clearing on the south edge of Hyde Park, my lady, you would find something of keen interest.”

Meredith sagged forward. “I am forever in your debt,” she whispered emotionally.

The valet inclined his head and exited the coach. The moment he stepped down, Meredith gave the coachman their destination and the carriage raced off.

The first streaks of dawn were beginning to light the distant horizon. Meredith remained glued to the window of the carriage, watching with mounting concern as the deep gray of night gave way to a lighter hue. Then shafts of pale yellow, red, and blue began to emerge.

On any other day, she would have enjoyed watching the brilliant colors of the morning begin to light the sky. But today the coming dawn meant she was running out of precious time.

They could be mortally wounded. It was far too easy to imagine one of them with a gaping black bullet hole in his chest, lying in the grass, still and silent as his life’s blood stained the ground a shocking crimson red.

It could be any of them. Jasper. Or Jason. Or Trevor. Meredith closed her eyes and shuddered, then firmly repressed the pain she felt.

At long last they reached the park. As they rounded the corner, Meredith craned her neck out of the window, desperate for a better view. Her eyes darted across the horizon, as swirls of fog and mist obstructed her sight.

“There!” she shouted. “On the edge of that secluded stretch of lawn. Do you see them?”

“Aye, my lady,” the coachman grunted. “Hold fast.”

Meredith gripped the edge of the seat as the coach lurched awkwardly to one side. Pulling herself up, she straightened and looked out the window. Hope stirred within her breast. There was a group of men milling about on the crest of the hill. All were standing upright—for the moment.

“Let me out here,” she called, fearing it would take too long for the cumbersome vehicle to gain the top of the knoll.

Gradually the carriage began to slow. Giving no thought to her own safety, Meredith leaped from the still moving vehicle, landing upon the soggy grass with a loud thud. The moment her feet touched the earth, she picked her skirts up above her ankles and broke into a run.