Page 74 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
“I daresay there is only one reason for it to be here,” David spat, whirling toward the house.
“NO!” Leonard’s voice was like thunder. “Do not approach him.”
“How can you say such a thing?” David demanded. “That was our purpose for coming! We wished to catch him and we have!”
“But we do not know where he is keeping Elizabeth. We cannot simply storm in there. We must watch him, follow him until he leads us to her.”
David considered his words carefully.
“Yes,” he conceded. “That is what we must do. I will take first watch.”
Leonard was inclined to argue with the boy but he knew he was best to be back at Brookside, waiting on word from the kidnappers and ensuring that Herbert had managed to get the money together.
Not that we will require it. We will catch Cooke with Elizabeth and this nightmare will be put to rest.
“Shall I stay with you?” Percival volunteered but David shook his head.
“You should remain with His Grace, lest the kidnappers call again. If I do not catch Lord Cooke, the ransom will still need to be paid.”
Leonard felt an unexpected spark of pride in the boy. There was a maturity in David which Leonard had never noticed before. The kidnapping of his sister had aged him, undoubtedly.
“Come along,” the Duke said quietly. “We must all make ourselves scarce now. We have already tempted fate long enough, huddled out here.”
Again, the men split apart, David stealing forth toward the manor house again while the Duke and Viscount moved back toward their horses which were tethered in the ravine.
“David,” Leonard hissed and the boy turned.
“Your Grace?”
“You must keep your wits about you, no matter what you may find. Am I clear?”
“I will do my best not to kill him,” David replied grimly and Leonard saw that was the most he could ask for, given the circumstances.
“I will return at dawn and relieve you,” Leonard promised.
“You will stay and learn of word on my sister,” David insisted. “Her return is paramount. You need not worry about me.”
There was a warmth in his voice which Leonard had never heard before and the Duke realized that the boy was developing a begrudging respect for him.
I suppose that is one benefit to this awful situation,Leonard mused.
“Your sister will return safely, David. I swear it to you.”
Their eyes met and David offered him a brief smile before spinning back to disappear into the darkness.
“I daresay, he is coming around,” Percival commented. “My word, Duke, you certainly do have a way with my family.”
Leonard cast him a sidelong look when they stopped at their horses.
“As I told you before, Lord Gordon, I am not like other men. I do not forsake what I long for.”
“I see that,” Percival chuckled. “How lucky my Liza is to have you—how lucky we all are.”
Leonard mounted his equine.
“I believe we make our own luck,” the Duke replied but he was not sure how much he still adhered to that theory. It was decidedly unlucky that Elizabeth had been kidnapped, something which was beyond his control. He despised that he was powerless to act, despite wanting to race back to the Cooke mansion and rip the earl from his bed and shake the life from him.
“She will be proud to know how much you have done to save her,” Percival told him after a long moment of silence. “I daresay, she is won over now.”
