Page 56 of A Duke Changes Everything
She strode across the lawn, keeping her eyes ahead as she passed the window that led to the duke’s study, and stopped at the bottom of the tower.
“Emma?” Her voice echoed eerily in the empty stairwell. She scanned the field and gardens near the tower.
“Shhh.” Footsteps sounded on the spiral stairs, and Emma appeared steps up. “I’m trying not to frighten her.”
Mina didn’t have to ask. A plaintive meow echoed down. “Millicent.”
“I think the kittens are coming. She’s gotten herself into an old trunk and won’t come out.” Emma kept her voice low and flicked glances over her shoulder. “I got her some blankets, but I’m not sure what else to do.”
“She knows what to do, but it’s not safe in here. You should come down.”
Emma descended until she was a step above Mina. “There must be some way to help her.”
“Maybe a bit of water in a dish.”
“I’ll fetch some right away.” Emma bolted past, and Mina gazed up at the top of the tower. Much of the interior had been constructed of wood, and the planks were warped and softened with water damage. Yet even in its ruined state, the structure evoked a certain charm. What history had passed by these rounded walls? And why was Nicholas so adamant about its destruction?
Above her, Milly continued to cry, little mewls of effort and distress. Mina tiptoed up and took a tentative step onto the tower’s main chamber. The space was small, the ceiling low. Mina was shocked to see a small cot, a narrow wardrobe, and the trunk Emma mentioned. Almost as if someone had lived in the space.
“You all right, miss?” Mina called to the cat as she approached. Peering over the trunk’s side, she found Milly panting, her eyes closed, concentrating on her painful task. When she stroked a finger between the feline’s ears, Milly leaned into her touch. “We’re getting you some water, but I’m sorry to say there’s not much more we can do.”
Settling back on her haunches, Mina noticed writing on the trunk and inhaled sharply.
Nicholas Lyonhad been engraved below the lock.
She looked again at the small bed and noticed a pair of ragged slippers underneath. Small slippers, the size a child might wear.
A chill crept up her back.
She crossed to the wardrobe and wrenched open the door hanging on rusted hinges. A few pieces of clothing, dirty and mildewed, lay in the bottom. With trembling fingers, she lifted a child’s shirt. What stitches remained were neatly sewn, but most of the buttons had been lost, and moth-eaten holes dotted the fabric.
Writing scratched into the backside of the door drew her gaze and she dropped the garment. Tears pricked her eyes. Bile rushed up her throat. She traced the letters with her finger.
Let me out.
She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs clogged with the room’s musty scent. As she stumbled toward the threshold, pain radiated out from a spot beneath her ribs. A fearsome thrumming in her head made her dizzy.
What had they done to him?
Mina tripped on a rotted slat of stairs and her body bumped against the stairwell’s rough stones. Pressing a hand to the hard granite to steady herself, she felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
She didn’t understand.
Emerging from the tower, she knelt on the ground, swiped at her cheeks, and fought to catch her breath.
“Mina, are you all right?” Emma stood over her, resting a hand gently on her shoulder.
“The duke. Have you seen him?”
“I haven’t, but Mrs. Scribb says he’s gone out to inspect the hedge maze. Says he wants to destroy the lot of it.”
Mina stood, grasping Emma’s arm for balance. “Take the water up and then stay out of the tower. It’s not safe.”
Emma nodded, her brows knitted in a worried frown. “Yes, miss. But what about Milly?”
“As soon as she has her kittens, one of us can find them a safe spot in the kitchen or the stables.”
When the girl was out of sight, Mina started for the maze. Her body felt heavy, sluggish. But she had to find him.
