The Dark Duke

by Landon, Laura

  Hadleigh stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. Unable to speak. Unable to think.

  “Then what did Lady Amanda do?” Haywood asked.

  “She grabbed her cloak, then pulled out the middle drawer to her writing desk and dumped the contents onto her bed.”

  “Do you know what she was hunting for, Nellie?” Haywood asked.

  “She put two items in her reticule. One was a pistol I didn’t know she had. I don’t know what the other gadget was. It was a strange looking tool. One I’d never seen before.”

  “Thank you, Nellie,” Hadleigh finally managed.

  “You’re going to bring the lady back, aren’t you, Your Grace?”

  “Yes, Nellie. I’m going to bring her back. If I don’t kill her first.”

  Hadleigh spun on his heel and headed for the study. “Barkley!” he bellowed.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Barkley answered as he ran into the foyer.

  “Have my carriage readied,” he ordered. He knew where she’d gone. He knew what she intended to do. And unfortunately, he knew why she’d gone without him. At least he thought he did.

  “Barkley, was the lady down any time in the last half hour?”

  “Yes, Your Grace. She asked if you were here. I said you were, but that you were in your study. And that you had a guest. I asked if I should announce her. She said that wasn’t necessary. That she’d announce herself.”

  “I see. Thank you, Barkley.”

  “Yes, Your Grace. Is the lady in danger, Your Grace?”

  “Yes, Barkley. The lady’s in danger. On more than one front.”

  CHAPTER 21

  The streetlamps allowed a brief glimmer of light to sneak through the carriage window as the carriage passed beneath them. But even that was too much intrusion of light into a world that had gone black with hopelessness.

  Amanda swiped at the tears that still streamed down her cheeks. She didn’t want to have to admit his words had affected her, but they had. In fact, they’d done more than affect her. They’d destroyed her. At least they’d destroyed her heart.

  “I would have done anything, including wrestle the devil himself if it provided me a way to get my sister back.”

  “Even spend countless hours with the one woman in the world you’ve never been able to tolerate?”

  “Even that.”

  It was difficult for her to admit how big a fool she’d been. It sickened her to remember how easily she’d accepted his lies, how eagerly she’d received his kisses. It repulsed her to remember how easily she’d welcomed him to her bed. And how completely she’d given herself to him.

  Celie made the right decision when she forced you to look after Amanda.

  …forced you to look after Amanda.

  …forced you…

  A heart-wrenching sob escaped from deep inside her and she clutched her fisted hand to her middle. She ached like she never had before. And she had no one to blame but herself.

  She’d always been infatuated with Hadleigh, and after he kissed her that first time, she allowed herself to believe he might feel the same about her.

  What a fool she’d been. What a hopeless, love-besotted fool. She deserved the agony she was experiencing. And better now than later.

  Better that she’d overheard Hadleigh admit his true feelings for her now, rather than later, when it would be too late. Better that she save herself the embarrassment of discovering that he only tolerated her because she was the means to getting Cecelia back now.

  Better that she knew now that he didn’t love her, rather than after she became his wife. Because he would ask her. He felt obligated to. That is what a perfect duke did.

  And she was so enamored of him she would accept his offer, and not realize until later in their marriage that he’d used her to make his way back into Celie’s good graces.

  Can you live with the decision you’ll be forced to make?”

  “I don’t see where I have a choice.

  She sucked in several deep gulps of air, then released them in slow, shuddering breaths. The thought of how totally she’d humiliated herself with him made her ill. She’d been so blinded by love that she hadn’t been able to see straight. And, all the while she’d thought of the change in their feelings for each other one of life’s blessings, he’d considered what was happening between them a death sentence.

  “I don’t see where I have a choice.

  Well, she’d give him back his choice. She’d go to Netfork Shipping, find proof that Lambert was involved in smuggling and human trafficking. Then, she’d take her proof to the authorities so she could have her life back. And that life would not include the Duke of Hadleigh.

  Harry needed help and she intended to be there for him. She’d spent years making the decisions for the estate, and she’d continue doing so. She’d work at Harry’s side to make their estate prosperous and Harry would be the only family she needed. The Duke of Hadleigh would be the one person she would never see again.

  She looked out the window and was relieved that they’d arrived at the docks.

  “We’re here, my lady. We’re at Old Gravel Lane near Broad Street,” Jenkins said from above her. “Are you sure you should be here alone? His Grace said—”

  “I don’t give a damn what His Grace said, Jenkins, and I’d appreciate it if you never referred to him again in my presence.”

  “Yes, my lady. But—”

  “I’ll get out here, Jenkins. Come back for me in thirty minutes.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  Amanda stepped out of the carriage with Jenkins’s help, then quickly walked to the mouth of the alley before anyone saw her. She didn’t feel as brave as she had before when she’d come here. This is where she’d been shot—on Old Gravel Lane. That experience had instilled in her a greater sense of danger. A greater sense of her own mortality.

  When she reached the Netfork Shipping door, she reached into her reticule and extracted the lock pick, then inserted it into the lock and worked until the door opened. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

  The room was dark. Since no part of it faced Old Gravel Lane, no light reached its interior. Only darkness.

  She took out the candle she’d brought with her, and lit the wick. That provided her with enough light to find a small lamp. Once lit, she lifted it high to see the contents of the room.

  The room was sparsely furnished, with only a roughly hewn desk in the center and one small cupboard. She went to the cupboard first and pulled out the top drawer. It was empty. She pulled out the second drawer. It was empty, too. Obviously, Netfork Shipping didn’t do an overabundance of shipping. Or there were few records kept of its cargo.

  Amanda turned her concentration to the desk. She opened first one drawer, then another. She found a few papers, but nothing of significance. Nothing that mentioned the Calliope Anne, or any of its cargos. When she’d searched through the last drawer, she sat back and studied the desk. There had to be another drawer, a secret drawer. She pulled out each drawer and felt for anything that would indicate a hidden compartment.

  Just when she’d almost given up, she realized that one of the drawers was shallower than it appeared. She tapped on the wood at the base of the drawer and heard a hollow sound. After a certain amount of searching, she found a latch and turned it. The board lifted easily and she extracted the papers that were hidden beneath the panel.

  Amanda held the papers close to the lamp to read them. The arrival dates on the papers ran consecutively, each one approximately two weeks after the last one. The departure date was the morning following the ship’s arrival. The name of the ship—the Calliope Anne. Below was an itemized list of cargo for each date.

  Amanda gathered the incriminating evidence, then replaced the board that hid the secret compartment. When everything was as she’d found it, she rose from the desk.

  “Did you find what you were searching for?” a nasal voice said from behind her.

  Amanda gasped as she turned to see
who was there.

  The man who stood inside the door was slight in form. The three men who flanked him weren’t. The only phrase that came to mind when she searched for words to describe them was ugly giants. They were tall, broad-shouldered, and each sported several days’ worth of growth on their faces. They also had scars of varying lengths and grotesqueness.

  “Allow me to introduce myself,” the small man said as he entered the room.

  One of the three men closed the door behind them.

  Amanda backed up. She didn’t want to get anywhere close to him. Or to the three giants.

  “My name is Abernathy Fowler. I am the proprietor of Netfork Shipping.”

  “Which means you are employed by the Earl of Lambert.”

  His shoulders lifted and his chest puffed out. “I am not only employed by the earl,” he boasted. “I have become the earl.”

  The earl. This man was the earl she’d been searching for.

  “And you have used an honorable man’s money and his good name to run your own tainted business,” she stated. “A business that deals in smuggled goods and human trafficking.”

  Fowler smiled. “How astute. No one in all these years has connected the two businesses. You should be very pleased with yourself, my lady,” he said as he came even closer. “Of course, that also means you should be very frightened. I’m afraid I can’t allow anyone with such knowledge to live.”

  Her heart raced faster than before. She understood how dire her situation was. And she berated herself for allowing her anger with Hadleigh to impede her judgment of coming to the docks without bringing someone along. She’d promised him, after all, that she wouldn’t come here alone. But what good were promises made to someone she didn’t intend to ever see again.

  “I’m not the only person who knows what you are doing, Mr. Fowler.”

  “Are you referring to your brother, Lady Amanda?”

  “No, not just my brother. But others. The Duke of Hadleigh. The Earl of Haywood. And no doubt Lord Lambert by now. I’m simply the first to search for evidence.”

  Fowler’s features turned angry. “You’re going to regret interfering, my lady. You’ve ruined a very lucrative business venture for me, and I don’t take what you’ve done lightly.”

  “What do you want us to do with her, Boss? If the lady’s telling the truth, it won’t be long before others come. We need to get out of here.”

  “Your friend is right, Mr. Fowler. If you’re wise, you’ll let me go. Perhaps you’ll have time to salvage what you can before the authorities arrive.”

  “Let you go?” he said. “Do you honestly think I intend to let you go knowing what you know?”

  Amanda looked around the room for a way to escape. There was none. A painful knot tightened in the pit of her stomach. “Harming me will do you no good. It will only cause the authorities to search for you more diligently.”

  “But it will provide me with a great amount of satisfaction when I remember the lucrative business you stole from me.”

  “Your lucrative business is illegal, Mr. Fowler. And immoral.”

  “That’s why the profits are so high.” Fowler turned his attention to the three men guarding the door. “Take her to the Calliope Anne.”

  The three men stepped forward.

  Amanda tried to dodge their grabbing fingers, but her attempt to escape them was futile. There was no place for her to go. As a last resort, she reached into her reticule and wrapped her fingers around the pistol she’d brought with her. It wouldn’t stop all four of the men, but maybe it would provide her a way to escape.

  “Stop,” she ordered. She pulled the gun from her reticule and pointed it at Fowler.

  Abernathy Fowler stared at the weapon in her hand with a malevolent grin on his face. “Well, well, well,” he said. “What have we here?”

  “The means to blow a hole in your gut, Mr. Fowler. And I will take great pleasure in watching you die.”

  Abernathy Fowler’s grin faded.

  “Now, instruct your men to step away from the door,” she said, keeping her pistol pointed at the small man.

  “You can’t kill all of us, you know. There are four of us and you only have one bullet.”

  Amanda struggled to find every ounce of courage available to her. “Yes, but I only intend to kill one of you, Mr. Fowler. And although you are not the largest target in the room, my aim happens to be quite accurate.” She paused for a moment to make sure he understood her meaning. “I can hardly miss when you are this close.”

  “What you want us to do, boss?” one of the burly men asked.

  A long silence stretched as she waited for Abernathy Fowler’s answer. The pistol in her hand suddenly seemed terribly heavy. The realization that she may be forced to kill another human became a weight too heavy to carry. Her hand trembled.

  “Seize her!” Fowler bellowed.

  The three men rushed toward her and she reacted in the only way left to her. She pulled the trigger.

  The gun made a loud popping sound that echoed in the small room. The lurch of the pistol as it exploded pushed her off balance, and before she could regain her equilibrium, two of the large men grabbed her. The third pulled the pistol out of her grasp.

  “Damn you, you bitch!”

  Amanda stared at the raging fury on Abernathy Fowler’s face, then lowered her gaze to the red spot growing at his waist.

  Her shot had hit its mark. Not perfectly enough to cause his death, but perfect enough that she was pleased with her efforts to stop him.

  He clutched his hand at his waist as he stumbled toward her. “You bloody bitch,” he bellowed, then swung his fist toward her.

  He made contact with her jaw. The moment his fist met her face, she experienced a mind-numbing pain that stole her breath. She cried out, but before she could recover, he backhanded her with another stunning blow.

  “What are we going to do with her, Boss?” one of the giants holding her asked.

  Anthony Fowler braced an outstretched arm against the corner of the desk. “We’re going to get rid of her.”

  “You want us to dump her in the river?”

  Fowler shook his head. “No. We’re going to ship her out on the Calliope Anne. Tell Captain Raines that he’ll have another passenger, and to take extra care with this one. She’ll probably be more trouble than any we’ve ever sent, but the price she’ll bring will more than make up for it.”

  Amanda blinked to clear her head. “You won’t get away with this,” she started to say, but Fowler backhanded her again and she wisely said no more.

  She needed to reserve her strength. She had to escape before they forced her aboard the Calliope Anne. Once aboard, they’d no doubt lock her in a cabin and there’d be no way to escape.

  Maybe Harry would realize she was gone. Maybe Hadleigh would, although he probably wouldn’t care. He’d probably be glad to be rid of her—

  She revised her thoughts. No, he wouldn’t be glad. He’d come after her, if for no other reason than to save her because Celie had forced him to look after her. Hadn’t she overheard him say he’d have done anything, including wrestle the devil himself if it provided him a way to get his sister back? Yes, Hadleigh would come after her. If he discovered in time that she’d left him.

  Amanda stumbled through the darkness as the two giants pulled her from the Netfork Shipping office, then down the boardwalk that led to the docks. She didn’t struggle, but waited for an opportunity when she’d have a better chance to escape.

  “You all right, Boss?” the man leading the way asked. The two men holding her slowed.

  Abernathy Fowler had fallen behind. The dark spot at his waist had grown and he clutched his side. “Of course I’m not all right, you fool. I’ve been shot! The bitch shot me!”

  “You want me to go for a doctor?” the giant in front of them asked.

  “No. I want to see the bitch locked aboard the Calliope Anne and know she’ll get what she deserves.”

  “So far, y
ou’re the only one who’s gotten what he deserves,” Amanda said, knowing her words would only anger Fowler. “And this is only the beginning.”

  “Shut her up!” he bellowed.

  The large man in front of them turned, then slammed his fist against her jaw.

  Fowler’s blows had been hard, but his henchmen’s blow was a thousand times worse.

  Amanda’s head jerked to the side and her mouth filled with blood. Her legs gave out beneath her and she’d have fallen to the ground if the two men hadn’t tightened their grasps.

  The giant who’d struck her squeezed her jaw between his thumb and forefinger. “You’d best hold your tongue, bitch, if you don’t want me to repeat what I just done. The earl don’t want none of your sass.”

  Amanda wanted to show defiance, but she couldn’t. She hurt too badly. Instead, she stumbled as they pulled her along between them.

  It was still the middle of the night and the docks were, if not deserted, at least not bustling with activity as they would be in a few hours. Thankfully, the Calliope Anne wasn’t too far down the line. When they arrived where a ship was moored, Amanda noticed several seamen scurrying up and down the gangplank, toting bundles of contraband. She didn’t know what was in the packages, but watched the men load them onto wagons waiting to carry them away.

  “Take your last look at London, bitch,” Fowler said when he caught up with them. “You’ll never see it again.”

  “You won’t escape the authorities, Fowler,” she said, startled that her words didn’t come out as clearly as she intended. Her tongue and the right side of her mouth were numb and swollen. And when she tried to focus on Fowler, she saw him only out of one eye.

  He wasn’t a robust man to begin with, but looked less so now. Perspiration covered his face. Pain etched the glare in his eyes. And he seemed pale beneath the filtered light that shone through the dense fog that shifted around the streetlamps. He’d obviously lost a great deal of blood. The wound must be more severe than Fowler allowed himself to consider.

  “Get the captain,” Fowler ordered, clutching his hand to his side as he sank onto a nearby stack of wooden boxes.