Page 19 of The Miracle of Love
“He may not. But what have you got to lose by allowing me to try? My father has done a terrible thing, but he was influenced by my brother…my half-brother. Richard’s mother was my father’s first wife. Well, I suppose you know this. I expect you have made it a point to learn everything you can about each member of my family.”
She took a breath and continued. “Truly, my father has done foolish things. Dishonest things. But he is not a cruel or evil man. I know he will want to make matters right. He may not even realize he knows something relevant about the crown’s theft. Let him open up to me. Do I not have as much at stake in the outcome as anyone else?”
“All right,” Wooton said with a curt nod. “However, Quinton stays with you and your father while you speak.”
Deklan shook his head “No, Your Grace. He needs to be alone with his daughter.”
Grace cast him an approving smile.
The duke was not yet persuaded. “The situation is enough of a mess. I don’t need the Montfords planning an escape and using Miss Montford here as their go-between to pull it off.”
“She has no intention of helping them out,” Deklan said, not about to give in. “Aunt Miranda trusts her and that is good enough for me.”
Grace smiled at him again. “Nor do I intend to be held prisoner by some foreign government. I don’t even know which country suffered the loss of their royal crown.”
“We cannot tell you that, Grace.” Deklan cast her a warning glance. “All hell will break loose if word gets out to the newspapers. The matter is so sensitive, this foreign government will not even acknowledge the crown has been stolen.”
“I see. Do you think my brother arranged for its theft because he was paid by an opposing faction hoping to bring down their reigning monarch? Should you not start by looking there for the missing crown?”
“We have done, Miss Montford,” the duke said. “Mr. Quinton spent the last month infiltrating their operations abroad. We are fairly confident they do not have it since they have now sent agents here who are also desperately searching for it.”
Grace turned to Deklan in alarm. “Then it isn’t only the foreign government I ought to be worried about, but the opposition factions, too. What if those men come after me?”
Wooton exchanged a look with him.
No, he hadn’t told her all of it.
Was it not bad enough a major foreign power wanted her as hostage? He did not need Grace falling apart when she learned the opposition parties also wanted to abduct her. Damn it. She was realizing it now and was not at all happy with him for withholding the information. “When were you going to tell me this? As they bound and gagged me?”
Well, he preferred seeing her angry rather than whimpering or cowering. “I was going to tell you today. I dared not say more last night. Too much was already being tossed at you. I knew about the danger and that was enough.”
She was a soft thing, but looked ready to punch him. “I want to hear all of it now. What else have you not told me?”
“We’ve hit a wall at every turn. Do not toss daggers at me, Grace. There wasn’t time to tell you all of it last night. What we do know, besides the opposition faction also wanting to get their hands on you, is there were two bidders for this crown and each made a hefty deposit into a secret account held by your father and brother. These two are powerful private gentlemen, wealthy as Croesus, who might have funded this sort of theft simply for the thrill of possessing something uniquely valuable.”
She turned to regard the duke. “Your Grace, have you spoken to these gentlemen? Is it possible one of them received the crown?”
“They haven’t, my dear. We know they are just as hungry to get their hands on it as we are. Nor do they have any idea where your brother might have hidden it. We’ve questioned them, searched their properties, and managed to recover a good quantity of stolen valuables.”
“But not the crown?”
The duke grimaced. “Not this elusive crown. They are now being held under house arrest and I have several of my best men investigating their recent activities. In addition, I have planted reliable informants in their households. We take nothing for granted and are using all means possible to discover its whereabouts. Every precaution is being taken to intercept them should they discover its whereabouts before we do.”
“And we have not dismissed the possibility they may also send men to abduct you,” Deklan added. “For some reason, everyone involved in this blasted mess has gotten it into their heads that holding you hostage will gain them leverage over your father and brother.”
Her eyes widened. “But it isn’t so.”
Deklan had not meant to add to her worries, but she wanted the truth and here it was. Best she know of all potential dangers. How else was she ever to trust him? “All the more reason why you need me to guard you.”
“All the more reason why I must talk to my father right away. Will you allow me to talk to him, Your Grace?”
“Yes, Miss Montford,” he said, obviously unhappy about his decision. “I suppose we have little choice but to trust you for now.”
“And will I be allowed to speak to him alone?”
“Yes.” The duke breathed a resigned sigh. “Only this one time. Mr. Quinton will remain with you at all other times. Understood? If you dare attempt to elude him, I will have you locked up.”
Deklan did not like the rough manner with which the duke spoke to Grace, however, she seemed to handle the threat well enough. “I have no intention of escaping his company. In truth, I was thinking I ought to have more guards on me.”
