PROLOGUE
Thomas Hatcher, the only son of the Duke of Westcourt, sat back in his carriage, his thoughts moving twice as fast as it was. He’d found it impossible to relax all day long, and he knew that his worry had everything to do with the fact that his father was being less than honest with him as of late.
Something was definitely going on—something concerning—but Thomas had no idea what it was.
He was sure his father’s gambling had caused trouble for the family once again. It was always something to do with gambling. It was always his father losing money betting on card games or horse races, driving them into debt—a problem they wouldn’t have had if it hadn’t been for his father’s inability to stop putting money down on everything. The Dukedom of Westcourt should have been wealthy, but the current Duke ruined that with every move he made.
The last thing Thomas had heard his father say was that there was some sort of trouble with an earl. Money was owed to this earl, and somehow it would have to be repaid—although Thomas had no idea how that could be done. He wished he could have just reassured himself that it wasn’t his problem, that it was something his father would take care of, and that he could keep his hands out of it, but he knew that wasn’t the case. Whatever was going on, the repercussions were bound to affect him too.
No sooner had he thought this than the carriage came to a halt.
Thomas frowned. What was this about?
The carriage door opened. Thomas leaned forward, expecting to see his footman—
But the man who stood there was unfamiliar to him.
He had lank, unkempt hair, and when his lips parted, he exposed rotted teeth. One cheek was badly scarred. Thomas pulled away from him reflexively, but the man grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the carriage, sending him sprawling onto the ground.
Thomas scrambled to his feet.
The man advanced on him, a knife in one hand.
Thomas wasn’t the sort to run from a fight, but he also wasn’t the sort to stand in front of a man with a knife and permit himself to be attacked. He turned and ran.
A moment later, he heard the sound of footsteps pursuing him into the woods. He ran faster, pushing himself harder, but the man behind him was clearly more used to this sort of thing than he was.
He felt a hard shove between his shoulder blades and went sprawling. Then he felt a sharp pain in his gut. He looked down and saw the hilt of the knife. He had been stabbed.
His vision swam.
He did his best to get to his feet again, but he was weak now. The man was gone— he must have run away after stabbing Thomas, though Thomas had no idea where he had gone.
The world blacked out around him, came back into view, then faded again.
He had to get back to the carriage. It was his only chance…
Somewhere in the distance, a dog was barking.
Thomas had no idea which way the carriage was from here, so he abandoned that idea and followed the sound of the dog instead. Where there was a dog, there would surely be a master. Someone who could help. If he could just make it to the animal, surely he would be saved.
He couldn’t get to his feet, so he crawled along, fighting desperately against the darkness that threatened him.
The pain in his gut should have been worse than it was—he could hardly feel it now—and that frightened him as much as anything else had tonight.
I’ll rest for just a minute,he told himself, allowing his body to go limp on the ground.Just a minute, and then I’ll keep going.
The dog barked again. It was closer now.
And just before his eyes closed, he thought he saw the animal running toward him and, farther in the distance, the figure of a woman. But then consciousness left him, and he knew no more for a long time.
* * *
Thomas blinked his way out of sleep slowly.
He was in a well-appointed room, surrounded by low lighting, and unlike the last time he had been awake, he was in a considerable amount of pain. He became aware that he was lying in a bed and lifted the cover to look down at himself. His shirt had been removed, and his torso had been bandaged.
He struggled to sit up, and as he did, the door to the room opened, and a gentleman walked in.
