Page 25 of A Duke in Pursuit of Passion
The look that passed between the two Scottish men immediately unnerved Nathaniel.
“Ye be lookin’ for trouble searching for the likes a man like ’e,” Vince declared, shaking his head. “Don’ know much ’bout he save for the bad.”
Nathaniel’s stomach clenched, and he could not stop from asking, “Is he dangerous?”
At that, the two men laughed aloud. Shaking their heads, looking as though they were close to tears with laughter, Vince finally calmed enough to say, “Giles not too much, but the men he be known to … well, they be quite dangerous. He be hidin’ ’bout this here Gretna Green. Come over from fair olde London, he did, come to hide.”
“Hide? From what?” Nathaniel asked, having forgotten that he had chosen for Mack to speak on their behalf. His sudden nerves at the thought of where Ella’s sister might be entirely overcame his rational thought.
“Couldna say, me lord.”
Nathaniel’s entire body tensed, his hands tightening into fists. A part of him wanted to fight for further information, but the look on Mack’s face suggested it would be better not to attempt it.
“Are you certain you know nothing else?” Mack asked, reaching into his pocket for the purse that Nathaniel had given him that morning to help with making his own enquiries about town. It most definitely looked lighter than it had when he had first given it to him, though Nathaniel trusted his man to have made the right choices on who and how much he paid.
Seeing the purse, the eyes of the two men lit up, and they looked at each other as if they were searching each other’s eyes for more information.
“Wish we could help ye more,” Finigan admitted finally with a shrug of his shoulders.
With a sigh, Mack took a couple of coins from his purse and flicked one each into the men’s hands.
Nathaniel and Mack had barely risen to their feet before Vince called the redhead harlot back over to sit on his lap once more. No doubt the coin had already been spent in the man’s mind the moment Nathaniel and Mack entered looking for them.
As they walked away, Mack whispered, “Sorry that couldn’t be more beneficial, My Lord.”
Nathaniel shook his head. “We know Mr Giles has at least been in town. It’s more than we knew this morning.”
“Should we tell Lady Ella?”
Nathaniel thought for only a moment before shaking his head. “We need more solid proof than the word of two drunkards before we get her hopes up.”
Chapter 15
After an exhaustion-induced sleep so deep she was unable to dream, Ella woke with a renewed determination to find her sister. Having heard from his aunt that Lord Rolfe had retired to his bed quite late the night before, she decided it best not to disturb the nobleman. Besides, she and Alice could search a few of the local markets so long as they could use Lady McGilligan's carriage and coachman, which she gracefully offered them.
"I am not so certain of this, My Lady," Alice admitted aloud for the first time when the carriage pulled out of the manor's forecourt. Ella knew from the look on her maid's face from the moment she first mentioned her plans that Alice was a little disturbed by the idea of their leaving alone.
"Alice, how many times did we go to market alone back home?" Ella asked, cocking her head a little and raising an eyebrow.
Alice sighed with reluctant agreement, then suggested, "Would it not have suited us more to have four pairs of eyes instead of two?"
"You and I are the only ones here in Scotland who know what my sister looks like," Ella pointed out. She hated the thought that they might need Lord Rolfe and his manservant any more than they already had. "Besides, we shall be staying in full view of the public eye. What harm could come to us? You know how my sister loves the bakery stalls and has always been like a magpie when it comes to colourful fabrics."
"Markets are her favourite place," Alice conceded, and her words gave Ella a fresh glimmer of hope. "She does love to spend money."
Their time in the market started out hopefully at first, with Ella asking the coachman to remain with the carriage nearby. But as they wandered about the stalls, pretending to peruse so as not to draw too much attention to themselves, Ella started to feel a little disheartened. With every stall they passed, searching every face only to come up empty-handed, she felt as though she were fighting a losing battle.
The world around her seemed to be growing larger and larger, more than it ever had been before, and her hopes for finding her sister were growing more and more impossible to hold onto.
Stopping at the far end of the market from where they had been dropped off, Ella gave a deep and exaggerated sigh.
"Don't worry, My Lady, we will find her."
Alice's words did little to comfort her, and she shook her head. "This is hopeless. We are out of options."
"Hey! Watch it!"
The screeching of a gentleman caught Ella's attention, and her eyes darted to the scene beyond Alice, where a woman dressed in a tattered gown was forcing her way through the crowd. The manic look on her face could not disguise her as she zipped right past them and continued into the nearest alleyway between two buildings.
