The Duke Conspiracy (34 page)

“So then you are going to kill me, aren't
you?” Rose concluded.

“What makes you say that?”

Rose could see that her outward calm was
disconcerting to her captor. It gave her a strange sense of
satisfaction, but she could not keep the tremble completely out of
her chin as she answered the creepy man. “I cannot imagine you wish
to go to the trouble of keeping me locked up for the rest of my
days, but if you let me go you cannot be certain that I will not
broadcast your dastardly deeds to everyone who will listen.”

Broderick looked steadily at his captive,
surprise flickering in his wicked eyes. “You don't seem overly
troubled by the prospect.”

“I refuse to entertain you with my hand
wringing,” she replied frostily, as she also thought to herself,
and I refuse to beg you to do otherwise
. Turning her head
toward the window, Rose set herself to the task of ignoring the
despicable man. She wished fervently that she could tell where they
were going.

As the carriage began to slow, she was unsure
if she was happy or not that her wish was about to be granted. Not
that she had any idea where they were, but she was about to find
out what type of destination they had been bound for. She had lost
track of time so she was unsure how far they had traveled, but as
she took a deep breath the scent of brackish water led her to
believe they were near the River.

“Are you taking me out of the country?” she
gasped with fear.

Broderick's diabolically amused grin did not
reassure Rose but he finally responded directly to her question. “I
have no current plans of taking you, or having you taken, out of
the country. I am quite sure you can be convinced to behave
properly so that we shan't have to go to such extremes as that, nor
of killing you as you previously suggested. I have a lovely little
place near here that will do quite nicely for keeping you out of
the way for the time being.”

As the carriage came to a stop, Rose gathered
her wits thinking she might be able to make a break for it somehow.
She had no idea of where she was nor of how she could find her way
home, but for a moment she thought anything would be preferable to
being in Broderick's clutches.

Her intentions must have been written upon
her features as evidenced by the knight's next words. “Do not do
anything so foolish as to try to get away, my dear. I know you do
not relish my company, but I can assure you that you will be far
safer with me than you will be wandering about the stews on your
own at this time of the night. Or at any time, for that matter.
This neighborhood is not accustomed to the presence of one such as
you, and I will not vouch for your safety if you venture
abroad.”

Rose gulped down the knot of fear his words
had brought to her throat. She was well aware that he was trying to
terrify her, but she also knew quite well that there was truth in
his words. Although she was supposed to be a sheltered society
debutante, as a diplomat's daughter she was privy to some of the
tales of the darker sides of city life. She was not safe whichever
way she turned. Resolving to do her best to stay alive and whole
until morning, when it would be safer to endeavor to escape, she
forced herself to look steadily at her captor.

“So what now, my lord?”

Broderick stared back at her coldly, clearly
displeased with her lack of obvious fear. Rose remembered Lady
Yorkleigh's veiled warnings about the knight's rumored
entertainments and felt a shiver of dread drift down her spine.
Valiantly suppressing her fears, Rose lifted her chin proudly and
returned Broderick's cold stare.

“Now, Miss Smythe, you are going to get down
from this carriage, slow and steady like, and then you are going to
follow my friend, Squint, into that building just yonder. You
aren't going to do anything so foolish as to try to run and you
certainly aren't going to draw any attention to the presence of
such a pretty young thing being in the vicinity by screaming.”

Rose could feel her blood turn to ice in her
veins at his words, but she did not give in to the fear coursing
through her. As the door opened she could see the henchman with the
disfiguring scar next to his eye, unsurprised that the despicable
knight would refer to the disfigurement in the man's nickname.
Ignoring his offered hand, Rose gathered her skirts and stepped
delicately down. She was followed by Broderick's voice.

“I will be right behind you, Miss, and will
not hesitate to give chase or use force if you do not behave
yourself.”

Rose kept her chin firm and steadily ignored
the hateful man, hurrying to follow Squint through the gloom of the
dockyards to a dilapidated building. Fearing it might fall down
around her, Rose kept darting her eyes around looking for different
ways to escape. It was little more than an overgrown shed, from
what she could see in the dim light cast by the shuttered lantern
the knight's partner was carrying. Rose was certain she would be
able to break free so long as she was left alone come daylight. She
comforted herself with that thought as Broderick drew near.

Grabbing her arm and tugging her to a chair
near the corner of the room, Sir Broderick pushed her down and
pulled her arms behind to tie them. Rose began to struggle in fear
at being thus confined. He struck her with a stunning blow.

Blinking the black spots from her eyes, Rose
managed to retain her consciousness, but had not been able to
contain the squeal of pain the back of his hand had inflicted upon
her cheekbone. As her vision cleared she could see him grinning at
her. Rose scowled. “You are despicable. Do you really think to get
away with this?” she demanded, not bothering with polite
address.

“I absolutely do. Now that you are all
trussed up, I can be on my way. See that you behave yourself or
Squint here will be happy to crack you for your troubles.”

Rose eyed them both with distaste as she
pulled on the ropes Broderick had deftly tightened around her
wrists while she had been briefly stunned by his blow. She
struggled against the despair rising in her chest at the thought
that her own rescue depended upon her wits and resources. The two
men walked away, leaving her in the dark. Rose strained against the
ropes at the same time as she frantically listened to the silence,
wondering if anyone would return to watch over her or what might be
hiding in the dark near her. She did not think she would be able to
tolerate with equanimity the presence of any rodents at the moment.
Hopefully they were otherwise occupied she thought, nearing
hysteria.

Before long, she was regretting her wish for
light as Squint returned with his lantern and his eerie presence.
She had not yet heard him speak. Rose wondered if she should plead
with him for her release, calculating how much she should offer to
pay him for safely returning her to her home. Her frantic thoughts
were soon put to an end as her rough looking captor spoke for the
first time.

“Don't be bothering to have yerself any
ideas, Miss, I ain't listening to you. Jest sit yourself in your
chair and wait until his lordship comes back and tells us what
we're doing next.”

Rose did not bother offering a reply, sitting
in stony silence. She hoped the night would pass quickly.

****

Alex stood on the street at the bottom of the
stairs which led to the Smythe residence. It was taking him an
inordinate amount of time to gather his gumption to go and knock on
the door. He did not even know for sure if Lord Smythe was at home,
but the duke was dreading the upcoming conversation. Chastising
himself for being such a lily-livered ninny, he forced himself to
climb the stairs and knock on the door.

The well-trained butler did not reveal his
shock at discovering the Duke of Wrentham on the doorstep, merely
ushering him into the receiving room with the promise of returning
shortly with the information if milord was at home to company.

Alex cooled his heels in the elegantly
appointed room, gazing about at the ivory wall hangings, wondering
if Rose enjoyed this room. He rather thought she might hate it.
Ivory did not seem to be the type of color his Rose would enjoy
overmuch. He was interrupted in his mental ramblings by the arrival
of the diplomat baron himself.

Not bothering with the formality of the
butler's presence, Lord Smythe barged in. “You have a rather high
level of audacity coming here like this, Wrentham,” he almost
snarled. “To what do I owe the displeasure?”

Alex almost smiled at the older man's choice
of words, but managed to contain his ill-timed amusement. “Please
accept my sincere apologies, my lord. I am well aware that I am not
a welcomed guest in your home and I do not bring glad tidings. I
will not waste your time with social niceties, as you do not wish
to suffer my presence for any longer than necessary.”

His words seemed to pacify the irate baron.
He seemed a little less growly as he asked Alex to sit down. “You
might as well have a seat if you have something you need to say. It
cannot be anything good if it has made you come here. Do you need a
glass of something before you get to the details?”

Alex could not contain his smile at his
host's words. “That would be very much appreciated, my lord, thank
you very much.”

Lord Smythe made short work of pouring them
each a glass of brandy. He seated himself across from the duke and
took a big gulp of the strong spirits. After releasing his breath,
he prompted the young man before him. “Well, you had best get on
with it. It isn't going to get any easier the longer you put off
telling me whatever was so urgent as to bring you to my door.”

“No, you are quite correct, my lord, and time
is of the essence.” He took a quick sip from his glass and another
deep breath before he finally launched into his tale. “I have
reason to believe Sir Jason Broderick has abducted your daughter
from the Rotherham Ball.”

Lord Smythe nearly blew brandy through his
nostrils as he exhaled in his shock over Wrentham's words. After a
chocking cough he demanded, “What are you yammering about,
Wrentham? What possible reason could Broderick have for abducting
my Rosamund and what would cause you to come to such a daft
conclusion?”

“Did Rose tell you about Broderick and his
schemes?”

“I cannot say why you think this is any of
your business, you rapscallion, but yes, just today Rose told me
what she had overheard at the Yorkleigh musicale.”

“Well, it would seem Broderick has become
aware of her interference in his affairs and he has decided to make
off with her.”

“What has led you to this conclusion? I am
quite certain you are being ridiculously foolish, Your Grace. The
girl is probably right this moment dancing a hole in her slippers
at the ball she was to attend this evening.” He glanced at the
clock on the mantle. “At this late hour, she should actually be
winding her way home at some point soon.”

“Her friend, Lady Elizabeth, saw her speaking
with Broderick at the ball. Since then she cannot be found. The
only logical conclusion is that he has taken her.”

“But why on earth would he take her? It
doesn't make a stitch of sense.” Alex could see that Lord Smythe
could not conceive of anyone threatening his darling daughter. His
instinctive fear for her safety was clouding his usual formidable
logic.

“It is possible that he might know of her
involvement in trying to thwart whatever schemes he has gotten up
to.”

Lord Smythe had finally marshalled his logic
and looked at the duke with a cold, assessing stare. “How does it
come to pass that you have knowledge of this situation and that you
are the one who is coming to me with these suspicions of my
daughter's absence? Perhaps it is you who has made off with her.
Are you trying to perpetrate another Smythe tragedy at the hands of
a Wrentham?”

Alex could feel the anger rising in the back
of his throat at the baron's words. Making every effort to reign in
his temper, he repeatedly reminded himself that getting into a
brawl with the older man would solve nothing, even if it would
relieve some of his pent up frustrations.

Through his gritted teeth, Alex tried to
speak as respectfully as possible as he said, “It was not my
brother's fault that your son was killed in battle, my lord.”
Seeing the baron was about to protest hotly, the duke hastened to
continue. “In any case, that is far from the point of my visit. I
can assure you that I would never do anything to harm your
daughter. Rosamund was my dearest friend before our mutual
tragedies. Despite the estrangement, I would still never
intentionally hurt any lady, let alone her. I would do anything in
my power to ensure her safety, which is exactly why I have bothered
coming here to tell you about my concerns. If you do not wish to
listen to what I have to say, that is your prerogative, my lord,
and I will leave you to your own devices. But as soon as I leave
here, I have every intention of searching for her. I will tear
apart this entire city if I have to, but I will ensure the safe
return of your daughter.”

The duke's impassioned declaration had
arrested the baron's attention and he was once again eyeing his
guest speculatively. “I am once again prompted to ask why you are
so very concerned about this matter. She may have been your best
friend once upon a time, but that is surely no longer the
case.”

Alex did not want to get into the details of
the meetings he and Rose had been having with her father. “I feel
as though I am partially responsible for her predicament as her
interference with Broderick was somewhat motivated by her concerns
for my welfare.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Lord
Smythe demanded.

Alex could feel the heat rising in his cheeks
but he tried to avoid the subject. Making as if to rise he began,
“If you do not wish my presence in your home, I will be glad to
take my leave. I merely came by to tell you that I am very much
afraid for your daughter's safety.”