Page 38 of A Rake's Revenge


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He looked far more disheveled than George, who, for all his ranting and raving, had not even loosed his perfectly tied and still snowy-white cravat. The prince’s hair stuck out at odd angles, and he had thrown on an ermine-trimmed velvet smoking robe over what appeared to be silk pajamas.

“What is the meaning of this abominable racket?” the prince demanded, sounding none too pleased. Stephan suspected the noise had interrupted an interlude in bed with his mistress, Isabella.

George stomped over to him, not bothering with a bow. “I was practically murdered and my wife raped! On the King’s Road, no less! A road that is supposed to be safe!”

Prinny lifted his chin and looked down his nose at the Duke of Danworth silently, displeasure apparent in his expression. Whether that was from lack of protocol for not acknowledging him or whether he was insulted by the insinuation that the King’s Road was not safe, Stephan didn’t know. Didn’t really care. George was receiving his comeuppance, for once. As the silence continued, George finally seemed to recognize what it meant. Stephan bit back another grin.

“Your Highness, forgive me.” George made a slight bow. “I am simply overcome with the fact that I—and my wife—were nearly killed this evening.”

The prince frowned. “Killed? By whom?”

“That damn French bandit!” George’s voice rose, and he made a visible effort to lower it. “The one that calls himself the Midnight Marauder.”

One of Prinny’s eyebrows rose. “The Midnight Marauder? From what I have heard, he is known more for stealing kisses than threatening murder.”

“It was him.” George started to sputter again. “It…it was him.”

“Come now. Gather your wits, Danworth. Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely.” George took a deep breath, apparently to steady himself. “He had a short beard and wore a black domino and spoke in French. That matches the description of him, does it not?”

“It seems to,” the prince answered. “Was your wife harmed?”

George nodded. “That highwayman ripped her necklace off her person! Sapphires, Your Highness. They were her favorite and cost a fortune.”

Stephan fingered the necklace he’d slipped into his pocket. The stones might set Danworth back a few hundred pounds, but he made it sound as though Stephan had made off with the sapphire atop the Crown Jewels.

The prince lifted a hand, and two of his guards approached. “Assemble three score men and spread out across the countryside. Since it is late, the bandits are probably still in the area. Check every inn within ten miles.” The soldiers snapped their heels and bowed. Once they had left, Prinny turned back to George. “I am sure we will have the culprits brought in by morning and the necklace recovered.”

“I want that damn highwayman hanged!” George said. “And the rest of those men as well.”

The prince lifted his chin and looked down his nose once more. “I will take yoursuggestioninto consideration, Danworth. Now I suggest you get a good night’s sleep.” He gestured to another servant who came forward quickly. “Please show the duke to his rooms.”

Stephan kept his face impassive as the group dissipated. He considered slipping out and riding to Newhaven to warn Eric, but with sixty men spread across the countryside, what excuse could he use if he were caught? Even worse, what if he led the soldiers directly to his crew? They were aboard the small schooner they used when assisting with the pirate raids. Stephan couldn’t risk exposingthatoperation, since it would have far-reaching and dire consequences for a lot of folks. He could only hope for the best. His crew should be safe since Prinny’s soldiers were looking for two dozen men.

Stephan fingered the necklace again. The irony of diverting attention from the piracy by resurrecting the marauder wasn’t lost on him. It certainly had worked.

But had taking the sapphires been worth it?


Caroline awoke the next morning with a sense of dread and a feeling like a lump of coal had settled in her stomach. Sunlight filtered through the window, and she knew she should get up, but she lay looking at the canopied top of her bed instead. Amelia’s certainty that George would have the marauder hanged still rang in her ears, or at least silently in her mind. Worse, the whole episode last night had drawn not only the prince’s attention, but also his ire since it interrupted what was probably a tryst in his bedchamber. That did not portend well for the marauder’s fate, either.

But she had no way of knowing who the Midnight Marauder was, let alone contacting him.

Elle burst in the door without bothering to knock. Caroline sat up in bed and looked at her maid’s flustered face. “What is it? Has something happened?”

“Yes, miss. The jewels—them sapphires Her Grace was crying about last night—they’ve been found!”

“Found?” The lump of coal crumbled as Caroline swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her wrapper. “Where?”

“Ana, her maid, spotted them first thing this morning in her room.”

“In her room?”

Elle nodded. “Right on the floor by her shoes. Ana thinks maybe when the bandit broke the clasp, the necklace slipped inside Her Grace’s bodice and must have fallen out when she undressed last night.”

Caroline stood and walked over to the basin on the dresser to splash some cold water on her face. It was plausible that Amelia had been in such turmoil over being accosted that she hadn’t realized what actually happened to her precious sapphires. As vain as Amelia was, she’d probably corseted herself within an inch of being able to breathe, and that would have left plenty of cleft in her cleavage for the strand to have fallen. The stones weren’t huge. Caroline narrowed her eyes in thought. She couldn’t recall Amelia saying she’d actually seen the marauder walk away with her necklace.