Page 34 of Claimed By Her Forbidden Duke
Gritting his teeth, Edmund rounded his last corner and faced the front of a gambling den. Suddenly, his townhouse seemed very, very far away. His chest tightened at the thought of not returning to it, as he hadn’t all those years ago on the day he was kidnapped.
But he shook his head. He was cleverer now. He knew what he was getting himself into, even though Julian’s warning rang clear in his ears.
He took one step towards the gambling den, only to pause, sighing.
“You can come out of hiding now, Benjamin,” he said, turning back to the corner he had just rounded.
The shadows moved, and his cousin emerged from them, his face tight with surprise.
“How… how did you know?” He laughed, both impressed and likely annoyed. “Do you know how long I have been trailing you?”
“Yes,” Edmund muttered. “You are terrible at sneaking and have always been. You thought yourself stealthy enough to follow me ever since you came out of the Knave Tavern. Whatever were you doing there?”
“Many things, Cousin. Many things.” Benjamin flashed him a smile, one that made Edmund not wish to ask further questions.
“Then return to those things and leave me be,” Edmund said. “Better yet, go home.”
But Benjamin was already crossing the street, hurrying to Edmund’s side. “No. I will stay at your side and ensure you are thoroughly protected?—”
“I do not need protecting,” Edmund snapped, not wanting to hear the full sentence that revealed his vulnerability. “And—well, Benjamin, I do not need you following me everywhere to atone for whatever guilt you feel over the night I was taken.” Again, he said, “I do not need protecting.”
Benjamin flinched slightly at his words, but he shook his head, insistent. “No. It is not atoning, but making sure it does not happen again, Cousin. I care deeply for you, but I do not care for your estate or living in it. If you are to disappear, I’ll have to take up my role as interim Duke again.”
He pretended to shudder.
Perhaps so that neither had to face the real reason he had mentioned—that Edmund did not know why he was taken, or if he might be taken again for that same, unknown reason—Edmund humored him.
“Fine, then. But stay close and stay quiet.” The last part of his warning was a growl. He paused, looking his cousin over, and cursed under his breath. “Heavens, you are not prepared for anything like this.”
“What exactlyisthis?” Benjamin peered up at the gambling den.
“The Eagle’s Claw,” Edmund told him. “And it is not a place for you, so do remember this warning when you find that out for yourself.”
Benjamin swallowed noisily right as a burly man left the gambling den and went in the other direction without noticing them.
He met Edmund’s eyes and nodded firmly. He was still going to join him.
With one last irritated sigh, hoping he wouldn’t regret this, Edmund entered the Eagle’s Claw with his cousin in tow. Immediately, the din assaulted him, and he fought to keep from snarling at the violent contrast to the quiet streets outside.
Coins clinked, and voices hollered over one another—accusations and curses, bellows of names, and thumps of fists and glasses. Inside, a riot of gambling chaos was going on, and Edmund found himself being wound into the knowledge of a place like this.
He knew how it all worked; he knew how to play the part to get what he wanted.
“Shuffle them again!” a man shouted from a nearby table. “I ain’t having no fool like you cheat atmygame.”
“Your game?” Another laughed, smacking the first man on the shoulder as if in jest. “You will not win tonight.”
Edmund went on, his eyes scanning the many filled tables. Some games were quieter than others. Lords without the prestige to play in an established, well-to-do gambling hell settled for a place where more common men and sneering nobility challenged one another, each thinking themselves better than the other.
Dice clacked against tables, followed by calls to place bets, and Edmund delved deeper into the room.
“Well, this is a far cry from the quiet game of cards I usually play with Lord Telford on Thursday afternoons,” Benjamin said, clearly trying to make light of the situation.
Edmund cut him a glare. “I thought I told you to be quiet,” he warned.
“You did, but I can hardly be heard over these herds of elephants, can I?”
Edmund didn’t answer him, only kept walking.
