Chapter Fourteen
Before Duncan couldeven blink, Lucy had made it to the cot and slid underneath. Duncan was ready to follow but peered out to make sure he had enough time before the door opened.
And then he swore.
“What now?” Lucy hissed.
“It’s Molly.”
“So? She could be part of the plot.”
Duncan doubted that very much. But he didn’t have time to slide under the cot, so he stepped back into the shadows as the door opened.
“Duncan?” Molly said. “I know you’re in here.”
Well, there was no point in hiding now. He stepped out from the shadows. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“The real question is what areyoudoing here?” Her voice was much too loud. “And where isshe? I know she’s here.”
“Lower your voice,” he said.
“Why? Are you afraid she’ll hear me?”
“Who?”
“Yoursister,” she sneered. “I saw you coming back yesterday morning...or perhaps it was this morning. The two of you. I couldn’t sleep and looked out my window, and there you both were. Sneaking back to the lodge and looking guilty for what you had been doing all night.”
“What are you implying?”
“I don’t think Miss Smith is your sister at all. I think she’s your lover, and somehow you two contrived to find a position together so you might continue your sordid affair.”
“Molly, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Go back to bed.”
The maid put her hands on her hips. “I’ll go back to the house, and I’ll wake up Mrs. Cox and McAlpin and tell them what I know.”
Duncan could sense Lucy waiting for a signal from him. A look in her direction or a nod of his head and she’d spring out.
And then what?
This was a situation that had to be handled carefully and Lucy’s appearance would only further aggravate Molly.
“Listen to me, Molly,” Duncan said, voice low and menacing as he advanced on her. She retreated a step and then another until her back was against the door. Duncan put both hands on either side of her head and bent down until they were nose to nose. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Yes, I—”
“No, you don’t.” He felt her shudder and felt badly that he’d scared her. But it had to be done. For her own good and her safety. “This is not what you think—and before you ask, I can’t tell you anything more than that.” He stepped back and took her wrist, pulling her away from the door then opening it and thrusting her out into the night. He held onto her wrist, applying enough pressure to cause her discomfort. “This is what you will do. You will go back to the lodge, get into bed, and say nothing about this or about me to anyone. You will forget you were ever here or that you ever saw me or Miss Smith.”
“And if I don’t?” Molly asked.
