Page 53 of From Duke Till Dawn
Then her breath caught. “There!” She pointed toward the stables.
Martin hurried past the stalls, away from them. Cassandra’s pulse thundered, fearful that he would slip through their fingers.
Before she could move, Alex took off, outpacing her. He ran full speed toward Martin, but she was close at his heels. Anger pushed her forward, urging her faster and faster.
Alex reached Martin first. Grabbing his shoulder, he spun Martin around, and pushed him into the side of a stall. The horse inside nickered in surprise, and a distant part of Cassandra winced at the force of Alex’s shove. Even after everything, she still feared hurting Martin.
But the person who gaped at Alex wasn’t Martin.
A younger man stared at Alex, his face turning chalky with fear. Cassandra saw now that he wore Martin’s checked coat.
As for Martin, himself, he was nowhere to be found.
“How did you get that coat?” Alex demanded as Cassandra reached them.
The young man gulped. “A bloke bought mine and gave me his.”
“A switch,” she muttered angrily. An easy dodge, and she’d fallen for it. “What does your coat look like?”
“It’s brown,” he answered.
That wouldn’t be much help, since half the men in attendance wore brown coats.
Alex released the stranger and pulled out several pound notes. “I’ll purchasethatone from you.”
Befuddled but intrigued, the young man stammered, “Done.” He slipped off the coat and handed it to Alex, who exchanged it for the pound notes.
“Odd day at the races, but profitable,” the stranger muttered before hurrying off.
Cassandra turned to Alex. “Why’d you buy that?”
“It might hold some indicators as to where Hughes might be.” He held it up and studied the garment. As he did, a horse poked its head out of the stall and nuzzled Alex’s shoulder. He gave it a distracted pat.
“Let’s go somewhere quiet.” She stepped quickly behind the stables, and he followed.
They stopped by one of the stalls. She waited tensely while Alex rifled through the pockets. He found a pencil, a stub of a cheroot, and a sheet with the horse race odds listed. A few of the horses had been circled, marking them as possible bets.
“Nothing here that’s worth a ha’penny,” Alex muttered.
“I’ll have a go.” She took the coat from him. “Secret pockets are my specialty.” She ran her hands up and down the garment, sensing slight variations in the fabric. A little lump caught her attention. “I need a knife.”
A small gleaming blade appeared in Alex’s hand. It was a beautiful little silver folding knife engraved with his ducal crest. He handed it to her without a word.
She slid the blade between the coat’s lining and outer fabric. A bright circle flashed before it fell into the dust.
He bent down and picked it up, then handed it to Cassandra. She held it aloft so both she and Alex could study it.
The object was a circular token of stamped brass. One side of the coin bore an inscription she couldn’t translate.Amici secreta tuentur.
“Friends keep secrets,” Alex said.
Naturally, he knew Latin. She turned the token over, where the image of a masquerade mask had been stamped.
“It’s not currency,” she murmured. “There’s no amount on it.”
Alex plucked the token from her and examined it. “Looks familiar somehow.”
“How?”
