The Duchess and the Duelist (Friendship Series Book 4)

by Julia Donner

  Ned told her he understood and fled to his house. Like a child with a new toy, Ned had invaded his ducal residence as soon as Archibald vacated. He kept footmen running between the residences with notes of updated alterations and requests for her advice.

  His tutor had only moderate success subduing Ned’s energy. They’d taken to riding in the parks twice a day, every time with Ned on a different mount. Discussions about his future education slid away to the delights of his present good fortune. Evangeline had no intentions of dampening his joy until matters got out of hand. She had gently redirected Ned from the impulse purchases he wanted to make at Tattersall’s, after seeing the performing horses at Astely’s Amphitheatre. He had no inkling of the horses he already owned on the estates in Scotland.

  She sensed Crimm waiting. “Yes, Mr. Crimm. Has Lady Asterly arrived?”

  “Not until evening, ma’am. Lord Asterly has ridden out to meet the coach part way.”

  A few moments passed and she realized that she’d again mentally wandered. “Has my son returned?”

  “Not yet, ma’am. There’s another matter that you would wish me to bring to your attention.”

  Evangeline crossed the room, meeting Crimm halfway. “You alarm me. Is everyone well?”

  “As of this moment, yes, but perhaps not by dawn tomorrow.”

  Evangeline searched his dour expression, her heart sinking. She shook her head. “He’s going through with it, then, the duel?”

  “From all I’ve heard, yes, but that is not my concern.”

  Evangeline tilted her head. “Not? I should think anything involving the discharging of a firearm at another person would be cause for concern.”

  “If I may be frank?”

  “Please, do so, Mr. Crimm. You have me disconcerted.”

  “Lord Grieves has triumphed too many times to count on the dueling field. No one is his equal. He strives to make the encounter as safe as possible for his opponent, while offering the opportunity to salvage dignity.”

  She kept her opinion of the foolishness involved to herself, since only moments before she’d nourished the idea of putting a period to Archibald’s life in the same manner. “You have said this before. What is the difficulty, Mr. Crimm?”

  “His opponent, Hardwicke-Baines, is not of sound personal character. I’ve ascertained information from his household staff. It’s been overheard that he plans to sabotage the duel.”

  “In what way?”

  “In the worst way imaginable. An unfair advantage to ensure Lord Grieves does not walk away from the meeting.”

  “Kill Grieves? That makes no sense. Why would he ruin himself? Such an action would force him to flee the country. That is no way to salvage the girl’s reputation. It has spread all over town how she was caught in a compromising situation.”

  “Neither of them are concerned about their reputations. Too young and spoiled to care. It’s the money. The couple intends to flee with the income that belongs to Grieves.”

  Alarm cleared away the stupor clouding her mind. “It is my understanding that the girl has nothing but the property that joined the estates.”

  Crimm bowed slight in agreement. “And the proceeds of the wool harvest and lamb sale. The mining property lease is on prime sheep pasture. Dowries and monies regarding annual harvest are part of the contract settlement. A tidy sum.”

  “Grieves has already voided the contract?”

  “And the stipend they would receive for use of the mine lease. Lord Grieves hasn’t made use of the lease since his father died. I’ve learned that there is a clause that states that ownership of the mines and the shearing income reverts to the Pendrylans in the event of an unexpected death of the present Lord Grieves.”

  “So, if he dies unexpectedly, everything goes back to the family?”

  “Exactly.”

  Evangeline twitched a shoulder. “Let them have it and leave, I say.”

  “If that is their aim, it’s the manner in which they will take the proceeds, ma’am.’

  “What do you mean?”

  “Hardwicke-Baines does intend to kill Grieves during the duel. I’ve not heard how he’ll accomplish this, considering he’s never stood up against another before this challenge. And one must consider that the shearing income is not enough to last the pair for long. It is also doubtful the mother would allow it to slip from her grasp.”

  Evangeline wrestled to calm a surge of alarm. Premonition’s icy chill slithered through her veins. “I still say that this makes no sense, Mr. Crimm. Hardwicke-Baines won’t live to flee with the girl. Sir Harry will shoot him down for foul play.”

  “As unthinkable as all of this may be, I also believe that Sir Harry is in mortal danger. As second, he must not be allowed to interfere.”

  Evangeline absorbed the content of Crimm’s silent gaze. As impossible as it seemed, the duel had gone from a challenge to uphold a girl’s honor to a nefarious scheme, and a poorly conceived one at that.

  “Mr. Crimm, I must speak with Lord Asterly as soon as he and Lady Asterly arrive.”

  Chapter 29

  Evangeline took Asterly aside the moment he came through the door. “Where is Lady Asterly?”

  He handed off his hat, coat, and gloves and followed her lead as she moved across the vestibule to the staircase. “The twins became too weary to travel the rest of the way. They are staying at an inn until morning. I’ll ride out to meet them after an appointment I must keep tomorrow.”

  “Lord Asterly, may I borrow the pistols you recently lent to Grieves?”

  He stopped on the steps and turned to face her. “I beg your pardon, but did you just ask me for pistols?”

  “I assure you, sir, I do know how to use them.”

  “There is no doubt of that if you say so. Perhaps we should take this conversation to a more private area.”

  She rubbed her fingertips across the frown on her brow. “Of course, I am not myself and have grown too comfortable with the discretion of this household.”

  As soon as the bookroom door had closed, Evangeline turned to make a difficult explanation. “I apologize for the muddle I made of it on the steps. I am that overset.”

  “Then let us sit while you explain all.”

  By the time she had finished, Asterly’s brow was as creased as her own. “You were quite right to bring this to me. And not to worry. Harry told me where they will meet. I can put a stop to it.”

  He went to the door to say the footman standing in the passage, “Please find Crimm.”

  Evangeline couldn’t stay sitting and got up to pace the room. She caught herself wringing her hands and fisted her fingers to stop it. When Crimm came through, she had to curb the urge to clutch him to wring out a resolution or get them moving to help Grieves.

  Asterly spoke the moment the door was closed. “Have a closed carriage readied now. I’ll be going to the dueling site well before dawn.”

  Crimm replied, “Then, my lord, you shall have to depart now. The site has been changed.”

  Evangeline flew across the room, shot forward by worry. “What has happened? What caused this change?”

  Crimm replied, “The original site had been made known all across town. There would have been a veritable horde converging on the meadow. Both parties have already left for an alternative site well away from town.”

  Evangeline clutched Crimm’s sleeve. “Tell me you know where it is.”

  “I do, and there is more disconcerting news.” Crimm looked at Asterly. “One of my sources overheard talk at a tavern that the second for Hardwicke-Baines had hired men to act as outriders. They are not groomsmen, my lord, but common ruffians.” Crimm looked directly at Evangeline. “The second did the hiring in the company of Lord Archibald’s steward.”

  That revelation hung in the silence that followed. The words burst out of Evangeline, “Why do we stand here? Let us go now to stop them.”

  Asterly said, “I’ll leave immediately, but you can’t come. Surely you understand th
at.”

  Evangeline stepped up to Asterly, glaring up at the surprised glint in his eyes. “If you prefer that I follow you, that is your right, but I will be there. As I said, I have need of your pistols. This stupid affair has nothing to do with saving that girl’s name and everything to do with killing Grieves and Archibald’s hatred of me.”

  Crimm got a glare from Asterly when he agreed, “She is correct, my lord. It’s an altogether idiotic plot for financial retrenchment. Monies had to come from somewhere else. The Pendrylans are completely without funds. Lord Grieves made it clear that he plans to cut them off and retain the properties as compensation for the breach of contract and emotional hardship.”

  Asterly snorted a laugh. “Emotional hardship? That’s Freddy’s sense of humor. Get a carriage out front. Give the coachman the directions. We’ll leave as soon as I write a few notes.” He looked down at Evangeline. “You are certain of this?”

  As Crimm left, she gave Asterly a meaningful stare. “What do you think Lady Asterly would do?”

  They shared the silent memory of how Asterly had been rescued by his wife, who had fearlessly led the Eligibles on a raid to retrieve her captured husband. Evangeline had not gone with them, but she had arranged for Lady Asterly’s disguise and kept the secret.

  Asterly shook his head. “Lizzie might have my head for allowing it, but if I don’t, you’ll find a way to follow me, won’t you?”

  She answered with a tight smile, and he ended the subject with a decisive nod. “Meet me downstairs in twenty minutes.”

  They rolled away from Cavendish just after midnight. Evangeline didn’t ask where they were going and vaguely registered that they headed north. Getting there was not the problem. Finding the inn where Grieves and Sir Harry stayed would take time. The one advantage they had was Sir Harry’s reputation. He was known everywhere, a living legend. If the taprooms at the inns had men drinking and gossiping late into the night, they could ask for Sir Harry. They stopped at every inn on the post road north, rousting innkeepers out of bed. No one had seen Sir Harry.

  Every nerve in Evangeline’s body felt raw and on the edge of unraveling. The premonition she’d felt days before kept swelling inside her chest, filling her being with dark dread.

  Lack of sleep and desperation kept Evangeline’s fists clenched in a constant grip of terror. She felt if she released them, she’d also let out the wailing fear and fury she must hold inside. On the seat across from hers, Asterly and Crimm sat in silence, tending to their own frustrations.

  According to Asterly’s timepiece, dawn was less than an hour away. The horizon had not yet started to lighten. When the sun rose, the most common time for a duel to commence, it would be too late to stop the trap.

  Asterly lowered a window when an outrider rode up to the carriage door. “My lord, we’ve found the inn. Up the road, not a quarter hour from here.”

  Asterly said, “Lead the way. Spring the horses.”

  Evangeline unclenched stiff fingers and grabbed the strap by her head. She concentrated on moving with the increased rocking motion of the well-sprung carriage to keep herself from weeping. There was so little time left.

  Another outrider appeared and loped his horse beside the carriage. “We know where they’re meeting.”

  “Take us there directly.”

  Dawn’s murky light filtered through the trees when the carriage came to a stop on a weedy country lane. Evangeline reached for the door handle but Asterly stopped her hand. He leaped out first and swung her down to the frost-covered turf.

  Crimm followed, pausing to study the surrounding forest. “This ground is too uneven. I’d hazard a guess that there’s grazing land beyond the trees.” He pointed. “There’s a cattle path.”

  The birds they had silenced when they drove up the lane began to chirp and sing again. Another conveyance waited farther down the road. The lone coachman up on the phaeton’s box held the reins of a relaxed team. No one stood at the horse’s heads. No outriders stood by the boot. A curricle waited at the end of the lane, the horses shifting, looking ready to bolt.

  Asterly murmured, gesturing with a nod of his head, “That’s Harry’s curricle at the gate. It’s not like him or his tiger to leave his cattle unattended.” He quietly said to the nearest rider, “Go get their heads before they run off. Look around for Jesse.”

  He reached into the carriage and opened the pistol case. He handed her a loaded and primed double-barreled pistol. “Make them count.”

  Then he said to his coachman, “Go to the end of the lane where we entered. Block the road. Don’t come back until you receive word from someone you know.”

  Another rider came back from speaking with the phaeton’s driver. “Your lordship, yon coachman is hired. So is the coach. He doesn’t know the names of the fellows who rented the phaeton, but they came with four others and two more rode the back.”

  “Did you see Sir Harry’s tiger?”

  “He’s down, your lordship. Behind the fence, bleedin’ bad from the head but breathing.”

  Asterly said, “Tie down the cattle. Be quick about it. You and Jem take that side of the woods. I’ll start on this side. Remember what I told you before we left.”

  The rider nodded and trotted across the road, hailing Jem with a hand wave, as Asterly said, “Crimm, will you see to Jesse?”

  Evangeline shifted the pistol’s heavy weight to her left hand, watching Crimm as he headed to the end of the lane to tend the injured tiger. “Asterly, may I have your knife?”

  He didn’t take the time to argue, or ask how she knew, and removed a stiletto from the side of his right boot. “I have another. Wait here.”

  “No. I shall take the middle section. I agree with Mr. Crimm. This area is too exposed and the ground unsuitable. There must be a pasture with better footing beyond the copse.”

  “Then that’s where we shall meet. There’s no time to argue,” He strode away.

  The sun had risen, high enough now to drench the dense stand of trees with muted light. Fog whitened and blurred the landscape. Patches of snow lingered on the leaf-littered ground as she stepped carefully to avoid sticks. She heard a scuffle and shout somewhere off to her left. Then shots rang out, sending her rushing toward the echoes. More shots on her right. Between the trees, she saw open ground ahead. The sight she came upon in the field melted the strength from her legs. Then rage swiftly replaced the brief weakness of shock.

  Grieves had been shot down, but struggled to get up. Sir Harry bled from a crease wound to his head but had a man in a throat-throttle. Another man she guessed was Hardwicke-Baines fumbled to reload his pistol from an opened gun case set up on a folding table.

  Evangeline slid the stiletto into her waistband shifted the pistol to her right hand. She advanced out of the tree cover, pointing at the man reloading, then she saw a flicker of movement in the woods directly ahead. The glint of metal flashed in the brightening sunlight.

  The distance was too far for accuracy, the ground underfoot too uneven. She grabbed a handful of skirts and moved steadily forward, closing the gap between her and the unknown assailant with a pistol aimed at Grieves. She’d have a second ball left at close range for the coward who would put a shot in an already wounded opponent.

  Chapter 30

  Freddy fought the pull of unconsciousness. His heart thudded against his ribs. Pain radiated across his right shoulder and down his arm. He focused on that to reorient. Frozen grass under his spine chilled his back, but something hard, a rock or his pistol pressed into his left hip.

  Muffled voices lurked just out of reach of comprehension, then clarity returned. Evangeline had come out of the copse, aiming a pistol, not at Hardwicke-Baines, but at the trees behind him. Her shot had brought him around.

  He tried again to get up. Vicious pressure applied to his shoulder loosened the groan lodged in his throat and got him to open heavy eyelids to a blurry world.

  “Lord Grieves, can you hear me?”

  The man’s voic
e sounded familiar. “Crimm?”

  Then Asterly said, “Freddy, you’re going to be all right. Stay lying down. We have to keep this compress on the wound.”

  Close to his head, Evangeline said, “We must get him back to Cavendish. Ollie will know what to do.”

  “Where are you going?” Asterly demanded.

  “Back to fetch your coach. I will tell him to drive it as close as possible. Mr. Crimm, strong drink of some sort is usually kept for these occasions, is it not?”

  “Why, yes, Your Grace. There is a drawer under the seat.”

  The talking and vision receded, but worry lingered. He rose out of the darkness when they lifted him off the ground. He came fully awake as they maneuvered him into a carriage.

  White-hot pain ripped down his right side and arm. He cursed a blistering streak until he remembered Evangeline. His eyes flew open. Asterly sat in the seat across from him, the front of his jacket and hands smeared with blood. Freddy got dizzy for a moment when he realized it was his own. Had the idiot nicked an important vessel?

  Then he remembered the reason for his worry. He’d been distracted on the field by a vaguely familiar face in his opponent’s party. Before Hardwicke-Baines took his shot too early, he recognized McInnlay’s steward.

  Crimm stood outside the open carriage door. Freddy heard the panic in his tone when he asked, “Where is she?” When Crimm looked at Asterly, Freddy demanded, “Peregrine, where is she?”

  “She’s fine but she nearly fainted earlier. Ill from all the blood.”

  Freddy hoisted himself into a sitting position. “Thought she was tougher than that.”

  “Apparently, she is, and sends her apologies. She isn’t able to look at your blood. Be careful not to disturb that pad on your shoulder.”

  “Hurts like a bloody beast. Can’t feel the fingers in my right hand.”

  “The jewelry case in your breast pocket deflected the shot. We think it’s lodged against your shoulder bone. Evangeline is right. Olivia will know how to take care of it.”

  “Where’s that demmed surgeon?”