Page 94 of The Replacement Duchess

“Diana?” came a man’s voice. “Is that you?”

“Your Grace!” Samantha called back. “We are here, come quickly!”

CHAPTER 28

Colin had expected a few things when he went to find Diana.

A long journey, that was the first. He had not bothered to burden his footmen with such a journey; there were certain things that were better done alone, and chasing down one’s wife on the way to a monastery was one of them. Besides, he enjoyed horse riding a great deal, and there had to be something enjoyable about the entire ordeal.

He had also expected a sleepless night. He would have to arrive at an inn, of course, and then he would have to wrestle with himself to force himself to rest. He did not know how he would do it, as all that he could think about was Diana and how much she must have hated him to run away. To be sure, their marriage was not perfect, and he had hardly been the ideal husband, but he never would have thought that she would run away from him entirely. Then again, it was her sister who had asked her to, and she was not one to say no to her sister.

“Please,” he begged as he rode there. “Please just come home.”

He was prepared, in all honesty, to grovel and beg forgiveness. It was not the done thing for a duke to act in such a manner with his wife, but he no longer cared. He wanted her to come home, and he was prepared to do anything to make that happen.

What he was not prepared for, however, was to see two carriages at the same inn he had arrived at with his family crest on them. Part of him was relieved, of course, as it meant he could find them sooner rather than later, but another part of him felt uneasy about it all. Colin did not quite know what was unsettling him so, but something was not right.

His suspicions were confirmed the second he entered the inn.

“Oh, thank goodness you are here, Sir!” an elderly woman exclaimed the moment she saw him. “You must go quickly and send for help!”

“What is it?”

“There are two ladies here, and two men are—well, I do not know what they plan to do.”

Colin did not blame the woman for not doing anything, of course, as she would have been in no fit state to do a thing. Instead, he blamed himself entirely and ran for the stairs.

Diana, Diana, Diana, Diana. Be alright, please just be alright.

Once more, he was surprised by something he had found. At the top of the stairs were his own footmen, who turned pale upon seeing him.

“Your Grace!” one exclaimed. “Thank goodness you are here!”

“Yes—the two girls—ladies, they have tried to run away from home.”

“Indeed, and the two of us followed after them. We have tried our best to convince them to return, but?—”

“Do not lie to me,” he thundered. “What have you done to them?”

“We have done what was necessary,” the first argued. “They are like wild animals, Your Grace. Utterly unhinged.”

“If you speak of my family like that once more, I will bury you beneath this inn. Do you understand me?”

The two footmen glanced at each other before nodding quietly.

“Now, I will not ask a third time. Where are they?”

The second footman raised his hand, pointing in the direction of a room. Colin went to go inside, but then one of them—he could not be sure which—laughed.

Helaughed.

“Might you tell me what that was about?” he asked, turning back.

He could smell alcohol on the man, and he wondered just how much that had affected his behavior and how much was pure insanity.

“Just that I heard a rumor about you that you are a murderer, and then you threaten to murder us. It does not bode well for your reputation, is all.”

The second man then laughed with him.

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