Lucy jumped at thesound of the door hitting the wall but continued to move forward. She looked right and left, making sure to scan under the cots. Duncan burst in after her, and she said, “All clear.”
“What the hell was that bang?” he asked.
“The door. I might have kicked it a bit too hard.”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded like,I just lost a year of my life. He peered out the drapes. “No sign of movement on the barge. I don’t think the sound carried that far.” He did his own sweep, checking more thoroughly than she had. She could feel the staleness of the air. She didn’t need to check to know the summerhouse was still empty.
She leaned on the table, taking a moment to wring her hair and shirt out. She was soaking wet and would start shivering badly if she didn’t start moving again soon.
“It just had to start raining.”
He glanced at her, and she held up a hand. “I know what you’ll say. The darkness works to our advantage. Well, it’s to his advantage as well.”
“I can’t argue. He’s out there somewhere, waiting for night and his chance to strike.”
“So we’d better find him before he makes a move.”
Duncan put his hands on his hips and stared at the wall behind her, thinking. His ginger hair was slicked back from his forehead, making him look older and more classically handsome. “If I were him, I wouldn’t hide too close to the house. If the rain lets up, the servants might come out. I’d hide somewhere I’d be well concealed until nightfall.”
“Well, that narrows it down. I can take the west side of the property if you take the east.”
“No, we stick together.”
“No, we don’t. We can cover more area apart than together.”
“And we’re more vulnerable alone than together.”
Lucy felt anger flood through her. He was wasting time with this foolishness. “Would you say that if I were Will or Hew?”
He didn’t answer.
“Duncan.”
“No, damn it. I’d say we split up because we can cover more area apart than together.”
She gave him a long look.
He let out a frustrated groan. “Fine. You take the east. I’ll take the west. Meet at the lodge after dark.”
“Be careful,” she said, starting for the door.
“You too.” At the door, he eased it open, checking that no one was within view. She put a hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you for treating me like your equal.”
***
HE DIDN’T WANT HERthanks. He’d only agreed to part ways because she was right. He’d been trying to protect her, and that wasn’t his mission. They were here to protect the prime minister’s son, not each other.
Duncan darted through the rain, heading east. The wind whipped about him, forcing him to hunch low and push through the lashing tree limbs. At least the sound of rain and thunder would hide his approach. He kept off the lawn, using the trees and the gardens to keep out of sight. Vanderville would not be out in the open. He’d take cover under a forgotten pergola or perhaps dig out a spot beside a fallen tree.
The wet and cold had long since seeped through his clothing, but now it seemed to penetrate his skin. Duncan shivered and rubbed his hands together to keep them nimble. He didn’t have a weapon, but he’d found a good-sized rock and switched it from palm to palm.
It wasn’t quite dark by the time he’d searched the box hedges close to the lodge. So far he’d found nothing—no evidence of anyone having approached the house from the east. Duncan wished he had realized Vanderville would come by boat earlier. He might have spotted footprints in the damp earth shortly after the rains started. Now everything was mud and running water. Even his own footprints were obscured in a matter of minutes.
Since he was at the lodge, he circled it. He searched the yard then stepped inside the servants’ wing. He didn’t bother to wipe his feet or shake off the rain. He went straight to the servants’ dining room, where Molly and Lady John’s maid sat sewing with a needle and thread. The women looked up at him and gasped.
Duncan held up his hands. “Don’t be alarmed.”
