Page 66 of Wicked Is the Duke
"I...I need to go. It, uh, was nice to see you again, Lady Blackmont."
The young woman scurried away, heading in the direction of the inn. Anna watched after her, wondering if where they were staying was a ruse. She'd ask Blackmont.
Well drat, she wasn't finished, but something had Lady Caroline spooked. She wasn't the sort to simply walk away from a confrontation. What was really going on?
She signaled her footman and began walking down the street, looking into shop windows. Lady Caroline had indeed gone inside The Unicorn. She couldn't go inside, not without her husband, and asking her footman to find out precious information was also not proper. He'd stand out the moment he stepped inside.
Blackmont had men he could send, men who wouldn't raise suspicion. Once she told him Lady Caroline and Carlisle were in town, and the unusual way she had acted, she was sure he'd want to look into the matter.
Upon returning home, she found her husband had just returned from a ride. His hair was tousled from having ridden without a hat. He never did. He loved spending his days outside, not stuffed in some study or library.
He was in his study, standing in front of the fire, warming himself up from the chilly wind of the afternoon. In his hand was a glass of whiskey. He turned at the sound of the door closing behind her.
"You went to the village?" he asked.
"Yes. I needed a journal to write things down as I photograph them. Notes and such."
"And did you find what you were after?"
She nodded. "Did you have a good ride?"
"Yes, and I came back to see if you wanted to join me, but your maid said you'd gone into the village."
"I didn't think you'd mind," she replied.
"Not at all. As long as you have a footman or your maid with you, I'm glad to see you making yourself at home."
She sat down in one of the sturdy leather chairs which seemed to be in every man's study. "Do you know if Carlisle has property in Yorkshire?"
"I believe his family seat is somewhere near there. Why?"
"I ran into Lady Caroline while I was in a shop. She mentioned they were spending some time with friends of Carlisle before heading to Yorkshire."
He seemed genuinely surprised, cocking a brow. "Interesting. What else did she say?"
"Nothing really. It was more her actions. She seemed almost afraid to be talking to me once we exited the shop."
"How so?"
"She kept glancing down the street, toward The Unicorn. In fact, that's where she headed."
"That's not the sort of place I would expect her to visit, unless she and Carlisle are really staying there and not at his supposed friends’," he replied. He swallowed the remaining whiskey and set the glass down on a table in between the chairs facing the fire. He sat in the empty chair and stared into the flames.
"You don't think it's a coincidence they're here?"
"I'm not sure," he replied. "Do you think she's in some sort of danger?"
"Perhaps. She was acting nervously, like she didn't want to be seen."
Henry turned to face her. "I'll send a man to see if they're indeed staying there and anything else he can find out. In the meantime, I don't want you going anywhere alone."
"Of course. It was all rather odd, Henry. When she first saw me, she was quite her normal insulting self. As soon as we were out on the street, her entire mannerisms changed."
“Don’t worry yourself about this.”
He doubted the story about Carlisle having friends nearby. Nothing the earl seemed to do was true. He had a motive for everything and kept popping up in their lives. Yes, indeed he would find out what was going on. Or try to. He needed to make sure Lady Caroline was in no inanimate danger. He owed his friend, and her brother, Trent that much.
