The Lady and the Duke Read online

  Audrey dared to take her eyes off the road for a moment and glanced up at him. "You're angry with me."

  It wasn't a question. It showed in the jerky movement of his walk, the tense grip on her elbow. Will let loose a short laugh and shook his head. She could barely see the shape of him, his hair silvered in the dim moonlight.

  He didn't spare her a look, keeping his attention on the road in front of them. "Did you truly think my character so low that you assumed I could only be using you? The discovery of your lack of faith in me stings more than a little."

  Audrey felt her face heat, glad there wasn't enough light for him to see her flush.

  "I'm sorry for that. I think..." She sighed, staring at the growing glow of the inn as they approached it. This was not a conversation she wanted to have.

  "These past two Seasons have been demoralizing. I'm not what most men in Town look for in a bride, for the same reasons I stated earlier today in the garden. It's been made very plain to me—"

  Damn that Beatrice Lettington and her nastiness for getting to her after all.

  "—that I am not society's ideal. I've tried not to let it affect me, I truly have, and for the most part it doesn't, but it's incredibly hard not to take some of that in."

  "Fools, the lot of them." Will growled, and she warmed at the anger in his voice, that he should be offended on her behalf.

  "I suppose they have been raised to expect one thing and I am something else entirely. And most of the time I am just fine with that. Which is why I had decided to either remain unmarried or go back to the country, and find some willing gentleman farmer I could find contentment with." His grip on her elbow shifted and she smiled as he slid one arm around her shoulders possessively, drawing her nearer to the heat of his body. She turned her nose into his shoulder and breathed in the spicy scent of his cologne. "Then you came along and made me want something more."

  "But you still didn't trust me."

  With a tug on his sleeve, Audrey halted them just outside the light cast by the inn's windows, and lowered her voice. "I was scared, Will. I didn't think I could be enough for you, that you would regret marrying me. That one day you would wake up and not want the country girl, but one of the elegant ladies swanning around Bond Street."

  "I would never—"

  "I know."

  She reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face. The coachman stopped a few feet away, and squinted off into the darkness, giving them a moment. Will drew one of her hands down, placing his mouth in the center of her palm, and Audrey shivered at the heat of him against her skin.

  "I know," she repeated, hoping her could hear the earnestness in her voice. "And I also know this isn't the time to hash this all out. After we rescue your sister, we'll talk."

  "Right," murmured Will against her palm, then he dropped it with a sigh. Stepping away, he gestured to John, who immediately joined them in the shadows of the building. "I have no idea what to expect. I don't know if they'll be in a room or the common area."

  He turned to the coachman. "I'd like you to go around back, make sure Claremont doesn't try to make a run for it that way." The man nodded and slipped around the corner of the inn silently. Will looked at Audrey for a long moment. "You can come with me but if they are in a private room, you will stay downstairs."

  She opened her mouth to protest and he held up a hand, forestalling her.

  "Audrey, your presence is distracting. It would divide my attention to have you there."

  "I can help."

  "Yes, you can. By staying downstairs and waiting to comfort my sister." Will ran his hands down her arms. "Please, love. I'm not used to compromising, but I'm trying."

  ***

  Will was relieved when Audrey finally nodded. He placed her hand on his arm and they mounted the steps to the inn. His heart was racing as he pulled open the heavy wooden door and ushered her inside. He must be mad to bring her along, knowing that Claremont was clearly in an unstable frame of mind, but what else could he do? She would just sneak along behind him if he had left her in the carriage. The woman was determined to be of some assistance, a martial light gleaming in her eye when he had suggested she stay back.

  A thump in one of the rooms upstairs drew Will's attention over their heads.

  Did Claremont think Will wouldn't realize who had taken his sister? The fury he had held at bay by concentrating on Audrey, and what had turned her from him, came rushing back. He usually detested using his consequence to get preferred treatment but when the innkeeper came rushing around the bar to greet them, Will drew himself up. producing his haughtiest mien.

  "I am the Duke of Halford and this is my wife," announced Will, ignoring Audrey's jolt next to him. "We want your best rooms."

  Knowing Claremont, the man had demanded just the same. Once Will knew where the bastard was holding Lisle, he was going to strangle the viscount with his bare hands. It really didn't matter any longer why the man had done what he had. The idiot was living on borrowed time and had been from the moment he removed Will's sister from that ballroom.

  "Oh, ah, welcome, Your Grace." The man didn't blink at Will and Audrey's costumes, which confirmed they were not the first to show up that evening in fancy dress. His sister and the viscount were definitely here.

  The innkeeper looked a little panicked as he glanced at the stairs, calculation running across his face. He was probably wondering how to shuffle his two illustrious guests without offending either and losing business. "It will just be a few moments. The rooms are, uh, not quite ready. May I offer you supper? I still have some lamb and roasted potatoes."

  "For my wife, yes. I am not hungry." Will gestured for Audrey to seat herself at one of the tables. She rolled her eyes but complied. The innkeeper nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

  "I'm going to follow him. For the love of God, Audrey, please wait downstairs."

  "I said I would, and I am. Go. Rescue your sister. I will be waiting for you right here." She smiled up at him and swung her cloak off, placing it on the chair next to her. "I'll keep the food warm, in case he hasn't fed her."

  Will looked down at her, all glossy curls and seductive curves encased in warm brown velvet, and didn't care that there were several other people tucked into the corners of the room chatting quietly or snoring as the wall. He bent down and crushed his mouth to hers for one long moment before tearing himself away. With a grin, Will straightened as she glanced around with flushed cheeks in the most adorable manner.

  "I'd better go now, before I don't have the will to leave."

  Despite his teasing comment, he waited another moment . The innkeeper would have taken the back stairs to the floor above. Heading up the front staircase, Will took the steps two at a time. His calculations had been impeccable. As he reached the top of the staircase and rounded the corner, Will could see the innkeeper arguing softly with someone at the end of the hall.

  As he walked down the corridor, the man turned and started toward him. "Oh, Your Grace. I—"

  Claremont's startled gaze found Will from where he stood in the doorway of the room and he began to swing the door shut. Will leaped forward, shoving the inn's owner aside, managing to wedge his foot in the door. With a snarl, he slammed his shoulder against the wood, pushing as Claremont leaned against the other side, and slammed it open. The viscount tumbled back, scrambling to where Lisle sat by the cold fireplace, her hands tied in front of her, dried tear marks tracking down her face. At Will's abrupt entrance, she tried to stand but Claremont placed a hand on her shoulder and held her firmly in the chair as he scooted around behind her.

  "Using a woman as a shield? Even for you, Claremont, that's low." Will snarled softly, pulling his quiver over his head and tossing it, with the bow, into the corner of the room. He wanted his bare hands on the viscount.

  Will paced around the chair, his smirk firmly in place, hoping to provoke the worm into attacking. The viscount kept shuffling however, keeping Lisle between them. The innkeeper peere
d into the room, took one look at the scene and scuttled off—probably to call the magistrate.

  Will hoped the law didn't come too soon. He had a few issues with the viscount that needed addressing.

  "Now, Halford, this is between your sister and me. You should have kept your nose out of it." Claremont drew a pistol out of his coat pocket and Will stopped moving, a frisson of fear shooting through him at how near the gun was to his sister. The man stood too close to Lisle for comfort. Will's gaze was drawn to her as she made a distressed sound, her tired green eyes shimmering with tears.

  His hands in plain sight, Will kept his posture loose and easy, caution harnessing the urge to wrap his hands around Claremont's throat. No need to rile the man further. The viscount was wound so tight he twitched at every creak of the inn's floor.

  Claremont's smile was tight as he gestured with the hand that held the pistol. "Go sit on the bed."

  Will raised his eyebrows, but followed the man's directions. Hopefully Audrey would think to send her coachman above stairs. If not, he would just wait for his chance to wrestle the gun from Claremont. Surely it would be soon. There was nothing in the room to keep him down.

  Claremont waited until he was settled on the bed, then grabbed Lisle by the hair and hauled her to her feet.

  "Rupert, don't do this—" Lisle's plea was cut off when the man gave her a hard shake.

  "Shut up, you. It's your fault I'm in this mess," snapped the viscount. Will started to leap off the bed when she yelped with pain but Claremont shoved the gun into her ribs, and Will froze. Blood boiling but unable to do anything while the pistol was positioned where it was, he resettled himself on the mattress as the viscount glared at him, his intention to escape clear in his eyes.

  As soon as he was able to, Will was going to take this pathetic excuse of a man apart, piece by piece, and he made sure it was in his eyes. The viscount paled a little, cursing as he backed up toward the hall. Watching with impotent fury as Claremont inched toward the open door, dragging Lisle with him, Will waited for his chance.

  "You won't get far," he called, as the viscount reached the hall, hoping to stall him. "If you take my sister, I will use every one of the considerable resources at my fingertips to hunt you down like a maddened dog."

  Fear flashed in Claremont's gaze, but his expression hardened with desperation, his grip on Lisle not loosening even a bit. "I don't have a choice."

  "Let her go."

  "I can't," whispered the viscount, his expression haunted, a bead of sweat rolling down his pasty face. "She has something of mine and I need it back. They'll kill me if I don't."

  "And I will kill you if you take one more step with her."

  Claremont shuddered as he raised the gun again, focusing on Will. "Not if you are already dead."

  As the viscount squeezed the trigger, Will threw himself sideways off the bed, and prayed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Audrey's head jerked up at the sound of a woman's cry in the rooms above. The door to the kitchen slammed open and bounced against the wall, almost knocking the innkeeper off his feet as he rushed through.

  "What's going on?" Audrey cried, but the man pushed past her, heading for the front door.

  "I'll not have a trouble in my inn, I won't. Calling for the watch," he muttered, shoving open the door and disappearing into the night. Audrey swung back to regard the stairs.

  Will had asked her to stay downstairs. He had made her promise she would stay out of the way. It was killing her not to know what was happening above.

  The retort of a pistol upstairs had her sprinting toward the stairs, Will's directive irrelevant in the face of her fear. Heart slamming in her chest, she took the steps as quickly as she could hampered by her skirts, a refrain chanting within her over and over.

  Please. Please not him.

  Glancing around wildly as she reached the top of the stairs, Audrey caught sight of a man edging out of one of the rooms, dragging a struggling blond woman with him. The woman screamed and thrashed, as she clawed at the man's arms and neck. He swore and shoved her away violently. The woman tripped, tangled in her dress, and fell into a heap at the viscount's feet.

  Audrey crept forward, praying she didn't attract the man's notice as he stood facing away from her. Where was Will? Dear God, where was he?

  "You stupid woman. You have no idea what you've meddled in. This is bigger than a few gold coins; it is empires and wars and death. Always death. And you and your foolish brother will not ruin it for me." The viscount was white with fury, spittle flying as he shouted. With a snarl, he raised the pistol, aiming into the room beyond Will's sister.

  "Coward." Lisle spat at him, her thin hands gripping her skirts. "Leave him alone! He is already hurt, he cannot stop you. Just go."

  At her words, time stopped for Audrey. Claremont shot Will. He could be lying in the room, bleeding, dying, at that very moment. She must reach him. She stared at the viscount's back as she silently moved closer, willing him to keep his back to her.

  The man's laugh was ugly as he stared down at Will's sister and he pulled the hammer back on the pistol, the ominous clicking sound reverberating in Audrey's heart. He lowered the gun, until the barrel pointed directly at her face.

  "Give me what I want, and I'll leave. You'll never see me again."

  "You cannot have it, Rupert."

  "You will take me to where you are keeping it."

  "You cannot have it." Will's sister glared up at him defiantly. "I have sent it to my brother's solicitors, for I knew you would not be reasoned with."

  The viscount's face was mottled with rage and the hand holding the gun shook. "No! You bi—"

  Audrey rushed forward, determined to save Will's sister from being shot. She barreled into Claremont, causing his shot to go wide and plow into the wall instead. Unable to check her momentum, they went down in a flurry of arms and legs. His fist lashed out, catching Audrey in the ribs, knocking her breath out. She curled up, struggling to draw in air, as Claremont staggered to his knees. His leering face loomed over her as he raised his empty pistol to deal her a blow, then disappeared from her sight in a whirlwind of skirts and spitting mad woman as Lisle launched herself at him.

  ***

  Will blinked, his head muzzy as he came to, lying on the floor next to the bed. He levered himself into a sitting position, the slow burn in his shoulder flashing white-hot as he put weight on his right hand.

  "Shit." Reaching up gingerly, his fingers came away sticky with blood. Apparently he hadn't ducked fast enough. The bastard had shot him. And taken Lisle.

  Will scrambled to his feet, the pain his shoulder forgotten at the thought, just in time to see the viscount backhand his sister across the hall. She skidded away from him, slamming into the wall with a cry. Will launched himself forward with a roar, colliding with the viscount as he gained his feet. The men struggled, for but a moment before Claremont punched him in the shoulder. Seeing starbursts as the pain sent him to his knees, Will grabbed the man's coat as he attempted to flee, refusing to let go. But the blood loss had weakened him enough for the viscount to pry his fingers loose and shove him away. Claremont laughed, an ugly sound, and began to turn to the stairs.

  "I would not, were I you."

  At the sound of Audrey's voice, Will closed his eyes in despair. He hadn't even realized she was in the hallway, so intent he had been on the viscount.

  "What do you think you're going to do with that thing? Shoot me?"

  At the undercurrent of fear running through Claremont's sarcasm, Will opened his eyes. Audrey stood just in front of him and Lisle, and to one side, the bow from his costume in her hands. Her stance was confident, bowstring drawn tight and the arrow fixed in place, her gaze narrowed on the viscount.

  "Yes. If you try to run, that's exactly what I plan to do."

  Claremont's lip peeled back and he started to turn away again. "Woman, you don't have the—"

  With one smooth, swift motion, Audrey released the arrow. I
t flew straight and true, lodging itself in the viscount's calf. With a girlish scream, he dropped to the floor, clutching his leg.

  "She shot me. She shot me!"

  Will hauled himself to his feet, and stuck his hand out to help Lisle up. Once she had gained her feet, he stepped forward, unable to keep the grin from his face. Audrey glanced over at him as he stepped abreast of her, then they both stared down at the viscount as he shrieked and rolled on the hall floor.

  Will scratched his jaw.

  "Got him good."

  Audrey shrugged, and handed him his bow. "I did warn him."

  Laughter rolled out of him and Will threw his arm around her, hugging her close. "He should have known better than to cross a country lass, but I suppose he was more used to useless, elegant ladies that swan around Bond Street."

  Audrey looked startled, then thoughtful, and finally an answering grin crept across her face.

  "I suppose you are lucky you had me here then instead."

  "Oh, I don't believe there's any 'suppose' about it," said Will softly, staring into her wide, velvet brown eyes.

  There was a commotion on in the stairwell just then and a portly older gentleman appeared, followed closely by the innkeeper, his face pinched in distress. He darted past the fallen viscount, Will and the two women, into the room, where his outraged cry was heard.

  "Your Grace. Your lady wife informed me that your sister had been assaulted and kidnapped." The magistrate arrived on the heels of the innkeeper, slightly breathless. He looked down at the viscount now whimpering at their feet, then at the bow in Will's grip with consideration. "I see the problem is well in hand, however."

  "Yes," Will said dryly, keeping his arm firmly around Audrey as she tried to step away. He didn't give a fig for propriety at the moment.

  "We will need this offal," he nudged Claremont with his foot and the man groaned again. "...carted off to a cell. I will pay to have his wound tended, right away. After I make a call at the offices of White Hall in the morning, I believe the King's men will come to collect him."