Page 67 of Fit for a Duke
‘We know he has been very careful not to alter his routine,’ Godfrey said.
‘Do we? We hadn’t given any thought to the possibility of his involvement.’
‘Which is why he has been so clever,’ Clio said.
‘I agree. Go to the stables and make sure he’s there, Godfrey. If he’s found Miss Benton gone then his thoughts will turn to self-preservation and he will attempt to scarper, but we have unfinished business and I am not ready to let him escape.’ Ezra flexed his hands. ‘I have a score to settle with the arrogant cove.’
Godfrey acknowledged his orders and left the room.
‘What about me?’ Clio protested.
Ezra crouched in front of her and took her hand, running his fingers gently down the length of hers. ‘Stay here and let your maid take care of you. You can barely stand and I don’t want to put you in danger for a second time. God alone knows, when I think what could have happened to you, what he could have done to you out of spite, or whatever else it is that drives him, I feel ready to commit a few murders of my own. You are clearly not well enough to go down this evening, but I will return and tell you what I have discovered just as soon as I have had it out with Barnes.’
‘Don’t kill him,’ Clio replied, grasping his hand when he attempted to reclaim it. ‘That would make you no better than him. Hand him over to the authorities and let the law take its course.’
‘Very well, but only to oblige you.’ He sent her a sensual smile. ‘But I cannot guarantee that he will look quite as pretty as he does now by the time he is incarcerated. I cannot abide men who hit women.’
‘Surely your first cause for hatred is his propensity for murdering your own family.’
‘Perhaps it ought to be,’ he replied, squeezing her fingers and rising to his feet when her maid returned. ‘Make sure your mistress is comfortable and do not allow her to leave this room under any circumstances until I return,’ he instructed.
Daisy looked flustered but agreed. Clio looked furious.
‘I shall do as I please,’ she snapped.
Ezra laughed. ‘Defy me, my sweet, and you will not like the consequences.’
He left the room to the sound of her grunt of indignation ringing in his ears. There were still ten minutes before he needed to keep his engagement with his mother’s perfidious groom and so he stopped by the duchess’s room.
‘Did you find her?’ his mother asked, looking genuinely distressed.
‘She is safe.’
‘Thank God! What happened to her?’
‘What can you tell me about Barnes? How did he come to be in your service?’
‘Barnes?’ She seemed surprised by the question. ‘What is he to do with anything?’
‘Just answer the question, Mother. I am short of time.’
‘Well, your father engaged his services about five years ago. Seemed to think highly of him. I inherited Barnes when my old driver retired. That’s all I can tell you. I don’t know anything about his personal circumstances since I do not make a habit out of fraternizing with the hired help, but I can tell you that he has given exemplary service and I have had no reason to complain.’
‘Very well. Thank you. I will explain everything later but for now, oblige me by remaining in the house tonight. There is some small danger, so please resist the urge to make any trysts with Mr Brennan.’
His mother’s shoulders rippled with indignation and he expected a disdainful response. ‘Very well,’ she surprised him by saying instead, ‘but I shall hold you to your promise of an explanation.’
Satisfied that both his mother and Clio were safely out of Barnes’s reach, Ezra returned to his room to await Godfrey’s report. He didn’t imagine that Barnes would attempt to harm either of them. Even so, he knew nothing about the man’s motives and wasn’t prepared to take further chances with the life of his one remaining relative, nor with that of the female who was coming to mean so much to him and for whose protection he felt a burden of responsibility that he would never cede to another.
Ezra had paced the room a dozen times without managing to make sense of Barnes’s motives by the time Godfrey returned.
‘He’s right where he’s supposed to be, but finishing up,’ he reported. ‘He won’t have time to check on Miss Benton if he intends to be on time but it won’t occur to him that she might have been found, so I doubt whether he’ll make himself late by bothering.’
‘Right.’ Ezra firmed his jaw. ‘Let’s get to the meeting place then. A confrontation is long overdue.’
The two men strode side by side from the house and situated themselves in the orchard behind the stables as twilight gave way to a darkening sky and the sun, such as it was, finally set. An owl hooted and the sound of the horses in the stables nearby, shuffling their feet as they consumed their hay, reached Ezra’s ears. He remained alert and resolute when they heard Barnes’s footsteps approaching.
‘There you are, Barnes,’ Ezra said, almost choking with the effort it took him to speak affably.
