If He's Dangerous (19 page)
Authors: Hannah Howell
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Argus frowned. “Lady Lorelei had no plans to go to the village.”
“Why are you not listening to me?” yelled Olwen. “She is in the village and she needs help. So does the man with the bread.”
“The baker,” said Max as he stepped up to them.
Argus had not even seen the man leave, but he had obviously gone somewhere and now held two small scraps of paper. He took them from the man's hand and read them before handing them to the duke, a cold knot of fear settling in his stomach. The baker, who was undoubtedly Olwen's bread man, had called Lorelei to the village claiming that his son was badly burned and the doctor could not be found.
“I think we had better go and see if the boy has a right to be upset,” said the duke as he marched past Argus and headed out of the house.
Ordering the boys to stay with Max, Argus hurried after the duke, who was already half the way to the stables, Iago, Leopold, Stefan, and Bened hard at his heels. It took him a moment to notice that Wynn was not with their horses, having a comfortable chat with the stable hands as was his habit. “I think she took Wynn with her,” he said as he watched the hands rushing to saddle five horses. “So she will be well guarded.”
“Then we will find her safe and she can be annoyed at us for racing around and interrupting her healing work.” The duke frowned. “The fact that the note said the doctor was not around troubles me. He is almost always around, for those outside the village most often go to him instead of having him ride out to them. There could be a troublesome birth he is attending, I suppose. Mabel Sears was due soon, but she never has trouble, not once with any of her eleven children.”
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Argus had no answer to that, so he just shrugged. It was a warning sign that all was not right, however. A moment later they were riding to the village. It could have been walked to, but he knew there might be a need to have horses. Better to have them right at hand than lose time by going back to get some.
When they reined in in front of the baker's, Argus knew there was trouble, that Olwen had not been confused by what he had seen. It was almost midday and the baker's shop was locked up tight. There was a small crowd of people gathered at the shop trying to see into the windows. They parted quickly when the duke stepped up to them.
Just as the duke began to ask if anyone had seen anything, a short, plump woman came running out from behind the shop. “I cannot rouse Millie,” she cried. “We was to go see the new cloth in the mercantile's and she ain't answering my rap at her door. Ain't seen them lads of hers either and they are near always about.”
The duke stared at the door to the shop and then looked at Bened, the largest of the Wherlocke group. “I know one can kick in a door, but I fear I have never learned the art.”
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“Allow me,” said Bened as he walked up to the door, flexed his arms much to the delight of the ladies, and then gave the door one powerful kick.
The moment the now-cracked door opened wide, the duke rushed inside. Argus began to follow but paused next to Bened. “Odd. You did all that muscle flexing of your arms and then used your foot,” he drawled.
Bened just grinned and winked before walking into the shop. Then he cursed and hurried over to Wynn, who was groaning and fighting to get up off the floor. The back of his coat was dark with blood. Since Wynn was still alive, and Bened was seeing to the man, Argus hurried to where the duke had crouched down behind the counter. The duke was releasing the baker from his bonds, and Argus knew before the man even spoke that Cornick had Lorelei.
“They took her, Your Grace,” the baker said as the duke helped him to his feet. “I am sorry, Your Grace, but they done tied up my wife and lads and said they would be cutting their throats if I did not do just what they said. What could I do? I do not even know if they left my wife and sons alive.”
“They are alive,” said Leopold. “Iago and I untied them, and your wife's friend is with them.”
The man nodded and wiped the tears from his face before looking toward Wynn. “He's alive, is he? I could hear him moaning but Iâ”
“Hush, Master Baker,” said the duke, patting the man's arm. “Your wife and children are alive, our Wynn is alive, and we will get my daughter back alive. You did what you had to do. You had to save your children. I understand that.”
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“She said you would, Your Grace,” he said. “I need to go an' see them.”
“Of course you do. Go on with you. We will deal with the matter now.”
The duke watched the men hurry into the back of the shop and then turned to face Argus. “This Cornick must be gotten rid of. He attacks my guests, my children, and now my people. And then he steals my Lolly. No, this is a man who must leave my lands one way or another.” He took a deep breath. “We had better get back to the house. Wynn needs care and I believe we will be sent some sort of ransom message soon.”
Argus watched as the man made his way through the growing crowd reassuring everyone. He knew the duke was not as calm as he sounded. He had seen the man's eyes and the promise that Cornick and anyone who had aided him would pay dearly for taking his daughter. The sweet, eccentric duke of Sundunmoor was furious, bloodthirsty furious. Argus felt the same way. He did not think he could stop to comfort worried villagers as the duke was doing. The only thing on his mind at that moment was a blind need to find Cornick and beat him to death.
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He did find the strength to stop by Bened, who stood in the doorway of the shop and watched a wagon move slowly toward the duke's palatial home. “You found a ride for Wynn?”
“It was offered,” answered Bened. “They all see Wynn as the duke's man for now, and the moment they saw we had a wounded man, several men rushed off to get a wagon for him. They do love their duke. Think I am seeing why. That man is seething, yet he stops to let them know that everything will be all right, accepts the concerns of the silly and the wise, and does not do what he really wants to do.”
“And what is that?”
“Same thing I am thinking you want to do, and that is get a horse and go and cut Cornick into ribbons. That sweet duke whom everyone thinks is so eccentric and so lost in his books has his very clever mind set on only one thing now, getting his daughter back and seeing that Cornick is dead.”
“Sounds like a very good plan to me.”
“It would, but I am hoping our very clever duke friend might be using this show of courtesy and mouthing of meaningless words to calm himself and clear his head. Once he has, he will have all of us beating our heads to come up with a plan that will give him what he wantsâCornick's head on a platter.”
“That is exactly what he is doing,” said Leopold as he joined them. “You can see the fury he walked out of here with, but now it is not as wild.” He looked at Argus. “The baker's family was fine. Scared witless but unharmed save for a few bruises.”
“He handed Lorelei over to them,” said Argus, knowing the man had no real choice but still angry with the baker for doing it.
“Cornick knew his weaknessâhis family. I have been listening to the people out there and many have said that the baker worships his little family. What troubles me is how Cornick knew that. Either he or one of his men has been keeping a close eye on the villagers, looking for weaknesses, ones who could be made to do exactly what they asked.”
“Disguises?” asked Argus.
“Possibly. He worked in a department that would have had access to many of them, for they liked to have the men make use of them when they went out to ferret out some information. Hellfire, we may have even passed him on the street. Him or one of his men.”
“Him. His men are huge thick-necked brutes and would be too easily noticed.”
His companions nodded and Argus started for his horse. He could no longer just stand there talking, not in the very place where Lorelei was taken. Argus was a little surprised that the moment the duke knew what had happened he had not just turned around and shot him. Cornick was here because of him, and Lorelei had been put in danger because of him.
He found Darius and Olwen sitting on the wide stone steps of the duke's manor when he rode up. They both looked hopeful for only a minute and then got a good look at his face. For a moment Argus thought Olwen was going to cry and wondered when his sons had become so attached to Lorelei. He dismounted, sat down between them, and put an arm around each boy.
“I was too late,” mumbled Olwen.
“Your warning has given us more time to plan on how to get her back,” said Argus.
“Does that man Cornick have her then?” asked Darius.
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“I fear so.” Fear was not a strong enough word for the emotions tearing through him at the moment, thought Argus. “The duke believes that we will hear something soon, that she has been taken because Cornick wants something from us in return.”
“He wants you,” Darius said.
“Well, he cannot have you,” said Olwen.
“I am not sure what he wants now, lads,” Argus said, not telling how much that uncertainty troubled him. “But do not forget that I would not be sitting here now if it was not for that woman. She saved me, took me out of the prison Cornick had stuck me in, tended my wounds, and kept me safely hidden until I could regain my strength. I owe it to her to do all in my power to see that she is returned to her father as safe and unharmed as possible.”
“And you must stay safe, too, Father,” said Olwen. “We need you to come back safe, too.”
“That is my plan, Olwen. Here comes the duke.”
“And Olympia and Stefan are coming, too.”
The duke reached the steps first and Olwen moved to stand in front of him. “I am sorry, Your Grace,” he said. “I was too late with my warning.”
“You did your best, lad,” the duke said, “and that is all any man can do.”
Argus watched Olwen stand up a little straighter and nod. For that he could almost kiss the duke, but suspected all he would get if he got near the man now was a punch to the face. And that would be the least of what he deserved.
Olympia and Stefan were sent off to tend to Wynn. Argus quietly told the boys to go see the Sundun children and then followed the duke inside. Darius and Olwen quietly slipped away to the nursery, a massive room filled to the rafters with toys for all ages. Max waited, and when he saw the look on the duke's face, he patted him on the shoulder and led him into the library. Argus was a little startled when the door was shut, but he shrugged and went into the parlor to wait. It would be a while before Cornick sent word of what he wanted to trade for Lorelei, but Argus doubted it would be too long. It would just feel like it.
Roland slumped down into his chair and stared at his hands. “They took my Lolly, Max. Took my smiling little girl. I cannot bear it.”
Max handed him a brandy. “Drink. You will not help her if you grow melancholy. She needs your wits to be sharp and strong.”
“Do you think he will hurt her?” asked the duke after a deep drink of brandy.
“I do not know, but I think not. He has kept us running in circles for a long while. There is some intelligence there. It should tell him that, if his grand plans fail, it might be best for him if she remains unharmed. Without her he has no tool to bargain with, no shield to keep him alive until he flees, and nothing for stopping you from hunting him down like a rabid dog.”
“And you,” the duke said and gave Max a small smile. “He had best be more concerned with what you will do to him.”
“Very true. Or Sir Argus.”
“No need to look at me like that. I will not shoot the man, although the thought did scurry through my mind for a moment. It was quiet and safe here until he arrived.”
“Yes, but we have been long overdue for some trouble. And he did not do anything to the man to cause this troubleâno gambling debts, no seduced wives, just a man who can play tricks on a person's mind making them do what he wants them to do. Of course, it does not work with us for we are all very strong-minded.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Are you ready to face them all yet?”
Roland stood up and nodded. “And you feel no need to at least slap Sir Argus around the room a little?”
“A lot, but I have restrained my ire as it should not be directed at him anyway. When the mood strikes me to strike him, I just remind myself that it was your daughter who brought him here. He wanted to go to some relatives.”
The duke shook his head. “And instead, his relatives come here. Well, let us go and join the others and pray that Cornick does not make us wait too long.”
Chapter 16
“They say they will let her go if you give yourself up to them, Sir Argus.”
Argus looked at the duke but could not read the man's expression. The sweet, easily distracted gentleman he had come to know was gone. All softness had faded from the man's eyes. The Duke of Sundunmoor stood before him now.
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“Then that is what I will do,” he said and not just to please the duke whose daughter was now in danger because of him. He would willingly walk back into Cornick's brutal hands if it could save Lorelei, but he was not sure it would be that simple.
“The father in me aches to tell you to get on your horse and do exactly as this man says. The father in me wants to blame you for the danger my daughter now faces.”
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“And so you should. These men are my enemies. . . .” He fell silent when the duke held up one elegant, long-fingered hand.
“No. That would be wrong. Once I had my daughter back, the man in me would be appalled that I would so easily exchange one life for another. You did not ask Lorelei to come to your aid. You asked her to send word to your family. That was all. She stepped into this situation of her own free will. She also went to the village of her own free will. Yes, she took a guard with her, but it was still a dangerous thing to do. After all, these men tried to steal Darius while he was with me and ten other people, even if most of the ten were boys. And, I think, the moment she went after you to pull you from your prison, she set herself right in danger's path.
“It is quite noble of you to wish to trade yourself for her, but I believe it would be a useless sacrifice. She knows too much now. She is a threat to him. I do not believe he has any intention of releasing her. He is just using her to protect himself until he can get free, and then he will be rid of her. We must try to plan a rescue that protects her and us, and we have but an hour to do so as it will take close to an hour to get to the meeting place he has chosen. However, we have something on our side.”
“What could that be? They hold your daughter. Is that not the winning card?”
“Yes, in many ways it is, but I believe desperation has destroyed a great deal of the cunning they have revealed.”
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“Indeed,” said Leopold. “Telling us where they have been hiding, for one thing, with the choice of meeting place.”
“On the far western corner of my lands. A rough area. They are in the woodcutter's cottage there.” He sighed. “I suspect poor Old James is dead. If he was not, he would have come here and told me of this danger long ago. But, it is a place well surrounded by trees so that men could get very close before they would be seen. A mistake on their part that I want to make a costly one.”
“They have also allowed us time to plan,” said Leopold. “They think they have only given us an hour, but they badly misjudged how much attention would be drawn by a shop closed at a time when it should be open. And they did not know about Olwen. So that gave us time and now they have given us a little more. We have the people here familiar with the land and can make the trip to the woodcutter's cottage a little faster than they expect. There is also one thing that Cornick does not know. Chuffington has been arrested. Cornick gains nothing from this folly.”
“It might be best if he does not learn that,” said Argus. “It could make him desperate.”
“True, although I believe he already is. We will keep it in mind, however, because we may find a use for it in bargaining with him. As for desperate? As I just said, I believe he already is. The attack on Olympia, trying to run off with Darius when there were so many others with him?” Leopold shook his head. “Rash, dangerous actions. No real planning to them. In some ways, Cornick is trying to find a way out of a trap he has put himself in. He has to know that simply silencing you will no longer help him because he knows we are here, that you have told all of us everything. He may be fool enough to think Chuffington can still help him, but one would think that he would know differently. After all, he worked for the man for years and Chuffington was never known for his kindness.”
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“Very true,” agreed Argus. “I know of at least one time where he dithered and calculated until a man was in danger of his life and then he let him die.”
“Oh, I think there was more than one time and it might not have been his dithering as much as a calculated way of being rid of someone who outshone him or had more power.”
“The man should have been discharged when the first questions were raised,” said the duke. “At the very least he should have been moved to a position where nothing he did had an effect upon people's lives.”
“He should have been, but his uncle is quite powerful and got him the position,” Leopold replied and shrugged. “I fear there are many in the government who got their jobs because some relative made certain they did. Usually they are bunglers. Annoying but harmless, if one is not fool enough to allow them access to any secrets. Chuffington was dangerous.”
“Come and look at the map I have set out,” said the duke, and he led them all over to a large table. “We need to plan our approach.”
The map was enormous and very well drawn. Every rise and fall of the land, every building, was clearly depicted. It was pinned at each corner by a colorful rock. Gifts from the children, Argus thought.
“I began to sketch all the various parts of my lands when I was but sixteen. Max, my heir Theodore, and I would ride to a part of the estate and I would carefully sketch each piece of that plot of land. It took me almost ten years. Then I gave all my sketches to an artist and this is the result.” He pointed to a small cottage. “This is new and Lorelei draws the new additions in when she can. I will have to have it painted again soon, for we seem to have gained a number of new tenants and houses.” He tapped on another picture of a very small, rough cottage. “This is where James lived. A few trees may have fallen victim to a fierce storm or two since this was done, but it is almost exactly as it is depicted on this map.”
Leopold studied the map for several minutes. “I am surprised they settled themselves there. It will be very easy to get very close without being seen.”
“I suspect they just saw that it was remote and it only had one occupant,” said Argus.
Iago nodded. “Convenience not strategy.”
“If they understood strategy, convenience would never have mattered, for the man would have seen the possibilities for an enemy to reach him. Which amongst you is the best shot from a distance?” asked the duke, his gaze still fixed upon the map, but before anyone could reply they were interrupted.
“May we come in?” asked Olympia from the door, Stefan right behind her.
“Of course, m'lady,” said the duke and went to take her hand and lead her to the table. “You are looking much better than you did a short while ago.”
“Food and drink,” replied Stefan. “Fortunately, Wynn's wound was a bad one but a simple one. He will be healing on his own quite quickly now.”
The duke shook his head. “We really must talk about that wondrous gift of yours some time, but, now, tell me just how good you are with that knife.”
When Stefan just blushed and started to stutter out a humble response, Argus said, “There is none better. He has the eye for putting it just where he wants it. For some reason that eye goes blind when you hand him a gun.” He smiled gently at Stefan.
“Is there any objection to his going with us on this venture?”
“None.”
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“What can I do to help?” asked Olympia.
“Stay here with the children,” replied the duke, fixing his gaze back on the map.
When Olympia's eyes widened, Argus noticed that all his cousins echoed the wince he could not hide. Olympia did not like being delegated to the female chores. She did them, but she did not like it when a man ordered her to do so. He glanced at the duke and saw the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
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“I can shoot a gun,” she said.
“I would prefer it if you did not practice on the children.”
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Olympia crossed her arms over her chest, and Argus was about to remind her that she was facing a duke, when the duke looked at her, all signs of that touch of humor gone. “Lady Olympia, if I could go to these men and settle this all by myself I would. I do not wish to put anyone else in danger. Since I have seen this lad use that knife and face that brute who tried to steal Darius, I know he has a soldier's instincts and we could have need of the silence of his knife. I will not, however, order a woman into the field.”
“But . . .”
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“I am the duke and I intend to pull rank on you. You stay here and keep the children safe. Between you and Max and the servants I believe you could hold off an army here.”
Argus could see that Olympia really wished to argue, but she saw something in the man's eyes that silenced her. She went and sat down, intending to listen to all their plans, however. Argus fleetingly wondered if he could learn that look. Unfortunately, he would never be able to play the duke with a duke's power.
“Now, who is the best at shooting something from a distance?” the duke asked again.
“Iago actually,” replied Leopold. “And Bened”âhe nodded at the big manâ“is also very good. Nearly as good as Iago.”
“Then we should be sure to supply them with rifles.”
For a while the duke and Leopold discussed various approaches to the woodcutter's cottage. Argus joined in now and then, but the duke was proving as good at strategy as Leopold. He finally poured himself a drink, sat down next to Iago, and watched the two men argue congenially over which was the best path to take to the cabin.
“There is nothing you need to feel guilty about, you know,” Iago said and smiled at the scowl Argus sent him. “Her own father says so.”
“That helps only a little. Cornick has taken Lorelei to get to me.”
“Mayhap he took her because he thought you would do your best to rescue a duke's daughter.”
“No, I think he somehow found out that she meant something to me. What I do not understand is why he is still after me. I am no longer the only one who knows who he is, knows what he has done. Why is he not just getting himself out of the country?”
“Because he has no money,” said the duke. “When you go to trade yourself for Lorelei, you are to carry ten thousand pounds with you. A pittance for my daughter's life, but then this man, for all the spying he managed to do, appears to know very little about me.”
“Ten thousand pounds?” Olympia shook her head. “Do you actually have that kind of money on hand?”
“Oh, yes, as I need to pay everyone wages, buy supplies, and I had intended to give a generous gift to the new grandchild my eldest daughter just bore. I was thinking I could put some money on top of the bag we take to Cornick and something else beneath, but he will surely look for such a trick and that will only add to the danger.”
“Money? This is all for money?”
“I believe that was Cornick's interest from the start. Although, as matters began to go wrong he may have gained a need to make Sir Argus pay for that.”
Leopold nodded. “Chuffington undoubtedly offered him money to get Argus. Cornick knows that will be impossible to get now. He needs it, however, to get out of the country and hide.” He glanced at the duke. “And he obviously wants to do his hiding in some style.”
“It could even have been no more than an afterthought,” said the duke. “Best we make our final plans. We can at least be certain to some degree that the man has no one watching us. He only has one man left and will want to keep him close to hand.”
“Aye,” said Argus. “Cornick will know he will need someone to watch his back even if he manages to get out of this alive. He must know he will never be safe if he harms her.”
“No, he will not be. And that is where he made his greatest mistake. He did not study me very carefully or he would know that there is not a place in this world where he can hide safely if he harms my daughter.”
It was quietly spoken, only the faintest hint of anger behind the words, but Argus recognized avow when he heard one.
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