Page 14 of His Duchess in Disguise
Chapter 11
Leo was not quite sure when he agreed to allow Captain Arnault to bivouac his troops and his newly acquired horses at Menhiransten. He should have remembered that Roger was like that. One moment you would be telling him that you really must get home, and the next you would be engaged in the most incredible adventures.
When he said as much to Hamilton, his secretary had the affrontery to laugh. “Surely you remember tavern crawling with him before we last sailed, Your Grace?”
“You are not going to bring that up, Hamilton. You simply are not!” Leo protested.
“Very well. I shall pretend it never happened. However, if you are planning to take the coach and go with the good captain and his contingent, I suggest having Jeffers pack very quickly. Are you bringing any other staff?”
“No, I will leave the townhouse staff in place as I will be back in two weeks, and I must accommodate Sir Draper, who will act as one of my seconds.”
“How did you ever get yourself in a position for Cleweme to challenge you to a duel?”
“It wasn’t hard. I caught him cheating at cards. I suspect that it is not the first time he has pulled the ace-up-the sleeve stunt; he was quite practiced at it. The real question is how will he try to cheat during the duel.”
“You have choice of weapons, I believe?”
“I do. I plan to use a saber. Swords have a smaller chance of missing or going off prematurely. Or misfiring or failing altogether.”
“I hear that he is a notable swordsman.”
“Not unless he has changed his ways. He is remarkably ham-handed, given to flourishes and fancy moves. Unless he has been practicing while attempting to take prize ships, I have no fear of being able to best him.”
“That is something of a comfort, Your Grace. With your permission, I’ll go now and pack up your office so that we have the traveling kit.”
“By all means, Hamilton, by all means. We shall be leaving within the hour.”
Their departure was closer to approaching two hours, and the carriage was forced to rattle along in the wake of the herd of horses. As they went, Leo kept an eye out for the young lady and her mare but was not favored by any sight of her.She must have turned off to wherever she was going, or perhaps she didn’t leave London after all. Spunky mite. I hope she manages to land on her feet.
Suddenly the horses ahead of them milled about and drew into a tight bunch, forcing the carriage to halt. The driver immediately began to blow on a horn, sounding the alarm. There was a popping sound, and the noise cut off abruptly.
As Leo stuck his head out the window, a figure on a tall horse rode up to them. The rider leaped off the horse, keeping a grip on the reins and shouted, “Stand and deliver!”
Leo obliging stepped out of the carriage and said, “I’m standing. Now, what is it you want me to deliver?”
“That fancy cane will do for starters,” said the masked man.
Leo tapped a button on the side of his cane and drew forth a slim blade, letting the casing fall on the ground. He flicked the narrow blade across the highwayman’s gun hand, causing the weapon to fall to the ground, where it promptly went off. The discharged bullet dug a furrow across the packed dirt of the roadway, narrowly missing the horse’s hooves. This made the horse dance about excitedly. With another flick of the blade, Leo cut the strings to the fellow’s mask, then nearly dropped his guard in surprise.
“Hey!” the highwayman shouted, “You weren’t supposed to do that!”
“Reginald? What the dickens are you doing working the toby-lay?”
“Aw, Admiral, I din’ know it wuz you. I’da never….”
“I should hope not. What happened to your prize money?”
“Well, there was this girl . . . I was going to rescue her from a life of sin . . .”
“Say no more. Call off your men and get in here. I want to talk to you. You’ll come a-cropper at this and wind up face down along the highway.”
“Uh…yessir.” The highwayman let out a weird ululating yell, and his men came riding up. “Take off the masks, boys, the jig is up.”
“Thomas, Winston, and Ben? Really? Gentlemen, I thought better of you. Disarm and give yourselves up.”
Captain Arnault came dashing up on horseback with his pistol cocked and at the ready.
“Stand down, Roger,” Leo said. “What we’ve got here is four idiots who lost their pay. You take these three, and I’ll have a word or six with Reggie. I am truly disgusted with you. Whatever would your mother say?”
