Page 81 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
There were no questions—yet—and Aaron was grateful for that but he knew that eventually they would be asked.
“You too,” Lady Darcy nudged his own untouched cup to him. “Then we’ll see about rooms.”
Tea would hardly calm the anxiety in his stomach but he was not going to disrespect Lady Darcy, so he drank. A quick check to his timepiece told him it was nearly one o’clock in the morning.
“I tried to escape and he locked me in my room for four days,” Eleanor said quietly. Her head was down into her tea and her fingers were tracing the rim. “I had to run and I am so glad you came for me but, Aaron, you need to go home tonight. If he gets there and you are not there, he will know that you are with me somewhere.”
Shifting on his chair, Aaron tried to disagree but she was making sense, “You’re right but I hate leaving you. I know you’ll be safe here” he gave Julius a warning look, “But, I can’t help to feel that I need to be here.”
“You should do exactly what Lady Eleanor says,” Julius said with a clap to Aaron’s back, “Brisdane will come after you with all the hounds of hell with him. I’ll hold down the castle and our fair maidens inside it.”
“You’d better,” Aaron threatened, “or I will have your head. But it is sensible, I should go.” He looked at Lady Darcy and Julius. “Thank you. I know this was unexpected, but you two are the only ones I can count on to keep my love safe.”
Reaching over, he took Eleanor’s hands and kissed it, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Her answer was both a smile that wavered at the edges and a hushed, “Thank you.”
“Julius,” Aaron stood. “Will you accompany me to the carriage? I need a word with you.”
The cold air of a moonless night was too still. It hung over Aaron like a thick, muggy blanket and felt dead. Julius was in step with him to the carriage and at the doorway stopped. “What is it?”
“Wyndrake,” Aaron said, “I went to see the manager of the warehouse where my goods are being kept before distribution and found that Mercer is under the dragon’s clutches. He is a step away from clink prison, Wilcox, and to pay off his debt, he is undermining me. My suspicions about him sending men to kill you were in doubt for a moment but they have come back in full force now. You need to watch your back. And now, with Brisdane added to our troubles, I cannot in good conscience get you in more trouble. As soon as I can, I will be moving Eleanor. I just need to figure out what to do next.”
Julius' mouth had thinned, “Oberton, when you repeated that story to me, the one you heard from the child Maria, didn’t you mention Lady’s Brisdane’s father was in business with His Grace from before they were married?”
“Aye,” Aaron affirmed with a tilt of his head, “Why?”
“Do you think he can shed some light on this matter?” Julius suggested.
“I…I had not thought of that,” Aaron admitted. “It is a possibility but I was told he is somewhere in France. To find him would be tiring and to get him back—while keeping it all a secret—would be arduous.”
“But if we cannot find anything this side of the pond…” Julius said, his words deliberately trailing off.
“Then he will be our last resort,” Aaron finished while reaching up to open the door. “You are right. We’ll put out feelers and then, if needs be, make a plan to retrieve him while I have to navigate the minefield left by two monsters. If all goes well, I—and we by extension—will come out unscathed.”
“We can only pray,” Julius said as Aaron’s worrying glance back at the house and the flickering lights inside it. The constable traced his eyes and then went back to him. “She will be safe—I swear on my life.”
Aaron was still not completely easy but he nodded, “I know. Thank you, Wilcox.”
With his goodbyes said and the door closed, Aaron settled into the carriage and gave the order to go home by three swift raps on the ceiling. He had to prepare for Brisdane’s arrival tomorrow. God help them both to come out without a gunshot wound.
* * *
Darcy was about to fill her cup once more, but Eleanor stopped her. She had enough tea and she felt Aaron’s absence acutely. She sat back in the chaise lounge and let her hands drop to her lap.
A warm hand closed over her wrist, “Eleanor, you don’t need to say a word to me. I cannot tell you that I understand what you are feeling, but I can lend you my ear if you need to tell me anything or privacy if you need to cry.”
“But you already know why I am here,” Eleanor replied. “Don’t you?”
Her suspicions were confirmed when Lady Darcy nodded. “I do.”
Standing up, Eleanor gravitated to the window and spotted the shadowed figures of Aaron and Mr. Wilcox talking.
“I do not know what I am going to do to prove my suspicions,” Eleanor said. “If I am wrong and all this falls apart, not only will I be truly disgraced, but I will be bringing Aaron down with me. I would hate it if he suffers because of my hairbrained theories.”
Lady Darcy came to stand by her, “Eleanor, Oberton is stubborn as an ox. If he did not see the merit in what you had to say he would have never put himself in the middle of it. He does not bow to anyone or anything if it does not make sense and he will go to the ends of the earth to prove a point. He once stood went out in the middle of a snowstorm to prove that he was not bothered by the cold.”
Twisting her head, Eleanor arched an eyebrow, “I can see that.”
