Louisa might be many things, but it wasn’t in her nature to be a shirker of responsibility. The book had been swindled from them onherwatch, and her brother’s actions were her responsibility as much as they were his. More even—since he was just a child, she would take full responsibility for them. Besides, she intended to look those men who had approached her brother in the eye and make it clear she was not the sort of woman to shrink from a few scars and menacing faces. Men like that—men who wore darkness like a cloak—had no business speaking to a child. The very idea of them circling Leo like vultures made her blood run hot. If they thought they could frighten her family, they were gravely mistaken.
Let them try to cowherwith their shadowy threats.
And the duke was hiding something from her.
Something important.
She could tell by the way... the way he... She could just tell! Call it instinct or intuition or a woman’s unique senses, but she was sure of it. But Louisa also knew that powerful men like the Duke of Mortimer, once they made up their minds aboutsomething, would not change them easily. Therefore, she could only resort to craftier ways to get his attention.
Such as sending a threatening note to his lodgings to wait for her, or else she would travel to Brighton alone.
Grim satisfaction clawed up from her belly. She could just imagine his face, and what a face it was. Let him seethe. Let him fume. Because like it or not, Duke, she was coming.
Louisa leaned against the carriage, staring at the door of his establishment. Her brother’s head popped out of the carriage window. A tail she hadn’t been able to shake no matter what. Stubbornness seemed to run thick in all Talbot blood.
“What if he doesn’t come?” Leo asked.
“He will.” Or he would have already left. In which case, Louisa would set for Brighton after on her own just as she had promised in her missive. She had suspicions. She wanted them confirmed.
“You know that Papa will turn so many shades of red when he learns about you and the Bow Street Runner.”
“Oh, I think the color will deepen considerably if he learns about you and those scary men. Shall we make a wager?”
Leo’s mouth clamped shut, and then after a few beats, ventured again, “It is best if we keep this between us.”
Louisa curled her lips into a smile. “What a smart boy you have become!”
He pouted. “You are mocking me.”
“Only a little bit.” Louisa’s senses leaped to attention when a tall man strode from the establishment with a familiar, cold look on his face. What a delightful sight.
His gaze moved from her to Leo. “What is the meaning of this?” It was the tone of a man who always got his way. Lord, it should repulse her, honestly, but instead, her pulse leaped, and challenge rose in her chest.
“I am waiting for you.” She pushed away from the carriage, pushed Leo’s head back into the carriage, and opened the door. “Shall we set off?”
Amber eyes bore into her, hot and cold at the same time. He said not a word, only nodded once, but she caught the slight tick in his jaw. Without a word, he strode to the carriage. Only then did Louisa glimpse two men emerge from the shadows. One disappeared around the corner and the other entered the establishment. They must be Mortimer’s men and would probably follow in their wake.
She turned and started to find the duke simply standing at the door waiting for her to enter. She smiled at him. “After you.”
He gave her a long, inscrutable look before entering the carriage. She followed after him, pleased as punch. Also, rather surprised that man would give in so easily.
“You brought the boy.”
“Why wouldn’t she bring me?” Leo asked before she could respond.
The duke arched a brow, but his gaze turned to her for an answer. What a morning grump! She almost repeated her brother’s response but thought better of imitating the duke’s surliness. “He refused to be left behind. I daresay he would have found a way to follow if I hadn’t brought him.”
“Like sister, like brother.”
“Of course,” Louisa said.
Leo gave a curt nod. “I must take responsibility for my actions.”
“That is commendable,” the duke answered, his expression unchanged. “So long as you keep out of danger, we won’t have a problem.”
“Oh, he shall do exactly as we say,” Louisa reassured. “Right, Leo?”
Her brother nodded. “I only wish to accompany you.”
