Page 40 of Good Duke Gone Far

“Tea cups, saucers, and treats. Only the best and the like for our guests, please.” George announced.

Kat could have sworn she saw the servant flinch at the wordguests. But he had disappeared before she could be sure.

“What were we saying? Oh, that’s right. Egan will return by this evening.” He scratched his head. “Probably.”

Probably. That was not reassuring. Well, George was…something else. Could he be trusted? Did they currently have any other choice?

“George,” Kat neglected to acknowledge the cotton ball in her mouth as she called the still-to-her-stranger by his Christian name. “You said you don’t have that many visitors here.”

“Next to none, in fact.”

“Did you recently have a Bow Street runner visit the castle?”

George tapped on his chin again. “If that’s what you’d call the drunkard who asked for the Duke of Dumboshite yesterday…then, I suppose we did.” Sitting up straight in his chair, he placed his tea cup down. “Hey, what’s this all about? You look like a nice, happy couple. What are you doing asking me about Bow Street runners?”

Kat had to choose how many cards to reveal and when. George seemed harmless, but was it worth the risk?

She took a chance and glanced at Quinn. He nodded.

“Here’s the long and short of it, George. Your friend, Egan, His Grace, sent a proposal to my sister, and I’m here to find out why.”

For the first time since they had arrived, silence reigned.

Usurping that reign came a low, drawn out whistle. “Well, I’ll be. The bounder never told me a thing. What a–”

“I’ll remind you that there’s a lady present,” Quinn interrupted. “Is there anything else you can tell us about the Bow Street runner?”

The question hung in the air like a lost cloud amidst blue sky.

Even Kat could see they might not get much more out of George for the time being. He needed to be alone with his thoughts.

“George,” she called him out of his pity party. “I need to ask you two more questions.” She waited until his hazy gaze turned to her. “Do you know where the Bow Street runner might be now? I want to ask him some questions to ensure my sister’s wellbeing.”

“If he’s the drunkard I suspect he is, he probably didn’t make it past the local tavern.”

“Alright. My second request is this, if we go and have a conversation with that man, will you save two places at dinner for us to be your guests tonight?”

George was not fully snapped out of his haze, so Kat clarified. “May we return for dinner this evening?”

It was rude to invite them to his home. But it wasn’t even his home. It was more like she was asking a friend to invite them as his friends to his friend’s house. Or something like that.

Kat snapped her fingers. “George!” Her snap worked.

He jumped up out of his chair. “What’s that? Yes. Of course. Guests? Dinner? Yes. As I was saying, I would love to have more visitors here. It could only do us some good.” He tapped his chin. “I think.”

“That’s wonderful news, George. Thank you.” Kat rose and Quinn followed. “Now we must be off to find this Bow Street runner. We’ll return earlier if we leave now.” Kat turned to Quinn. “Let’s hope he’s only made it as far as the tavern.”

“However far we need to go, we’ll go.” Quinn said the words so only she could hear him.

Two footmen appeared at the door carrying trays.

“No tea?” George piped up.

“No time, George.” Kat disregarded the sandwiches and snacks on the trays. Almost. Her stomach rumbled too loudly to be discounted, so she snatched a few treats and stuffed them into her pockets. She didn’t care how it looked. Really only Quinn was watching her anyway. George was decidedly too busy woolgathering about Egan and the secret proposal to notice the pilfered trays.

The words were spoken so softly, Kat had to ask George to repeat them. “He’s like a brother to me.”

Then she saw the woolgathering for its deeper meaning. His feelings were hurt. She walked over to George, stood eye to eye, and said, “He’s like your brother. She is my sister. We will figure this out together.” With an uncommonly cavalier attitude, she patted his shoulder. “Don’t say anything until we return. When we come back, we’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t worry.”

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