Chapter Thirteen
She could see thatDuncan didn’t believe the dagger had anything to do with the mission. Lucy was far more skeptical. She held out a hand, and Duncan lifted the dagger from the debris and handed it to her. She placed it in the remains of the cloth and studied it.
“There are vagrants in the area,” she said absently. “Ada, the nursery maid, told me she had been returning to the Lodge after her day off and was accosted by one.”
“When was this?” Duncan asked.
“I didn’t ask, but it can’t have been more than a few months. Before you and I came, she was the newest member of the staff.”
Duncan held out his hand for the dagger, and she gave it over. It looked small and insignificant in his large hand. That meant it could easily be hidden—tucked up the sleeve of a shirt or secreted in a woman’s pocket.
“Was she hurt?”
Lucy shook her head. “Just frightened. He demanded her purse, and she gave it to him and ran away.”
“And this was after the former nanny caught a person coming in through a window?”
She understood his point immediately. If there was another concerning incident at Pembroke Lodge recently, why hadn’t Baron included it when he’d briefed them?
“I think it was before, and I don’t think anyone connected the two.”
“They may not be connected.” Duncan glanced at her, his brown eyes dark now. She could all but see him thinking things through. He called her clever, but she hadn’t thought much of the story about the vagrant until just now.
“She’s a sweet girl,” Lucy said staring at the dagger. “I think she wanted me to be careful when I was out with Johnny.”
He glanced at up her, his mouth twisted ruefully. “Little did she know it’s the vagrant who needs to watch out for you.”
“I can throw a punch, can’t I?”
“I’d say Hew can vouch for that. His jaw hurt for a week after you hit him.”
“Iknewyou would bring that up. It was an accident. He feinted left when he should have gone right. I didn’t mean to actually hit him.”
“He made sure to pair with Will or me in hand-to-hand training after that. Should we leave this here or take it with us?”
Lucy considered. “If we left it, we could come back periodically and see if it’s been moved or disturbed.”
“And in the meantime, whoever left it might use it to slit Master Johnny’s neck. I say we take it.”
“Fine. But leave the cloth. If someone comes back for it, they’ll think it lost, not discovered.”
Duncan agreed and bent to replace the cloth. He covered the fabric with leaves and dirt, so it was concealed. Lucy couldn’t help but watch his shoulders move as he attended to this simple task. She would have liked to see him work without his coat...and those sorts of thoughts were nothing but trouble.
She couldn’t seem to stop them from popping into her mind. Earlier, when she’d stepped into the doorway of the parlor, she’d seen Duncan moving a couch. Lucy had to bite her lip and step away to fan herself. What was wrong with her? She’d never looked at Duncan like this before. She supposed he’d never kissed her before, though. And he certainly hadn’t had his hands and mouth up her skirts before either. Now that she knew what he was capable of, it would not be easy to put him from her mind.
But that was what needed to be done to focus on this mission.
Duncan rose and peered at the sky. “We had better get back. It looks like rain, and I’ll be needed for dinner service soon.”
But, as it turned out, he was not needed for dinner service. The rain had come and had been heavy enough that Lady John had remained behind at her friend’s house. That meant Lucy had no duties and took supper in her room then bathed and washed her hair. She had thick hair, and it took ever so long to dry. By the time she’d finished her toilette, she had to hurry to dress and meet Duncan at the summer house. Her hair was still damp and curling, but it wouldn’t matter. The rain had continued, and even with a cloak, she was bound to be wet and chilled by the time she walked to the rendezvous.
No one would choose tonight for a meeting, but an agent for the Crown was ready for anything. So she pulled on her boots and trudged to the summer house.
