Page 12 of Code Name Duchess
To come upon her so unexpectedly, in this shack of all places, was quite shocking enough, but then to feel her so close to me, so close I felt her breath, her sweet breath, on my skin is most unsettling. What am I to do? I cannot very well refuse to join forces with her now when there’s undeniable evidence the disappearance of our siblings is connected. But she will distract me, and that could be deadly—I ought to know.
She handed the letter back and pressed her lips together. She surveyed the area before crossing her arms.
“We must go. We ought not to linger on the property for too long. It is not a good idea. There is a courtyard on the other side of St. Giles in the Field, we can sit there and speak.”
He was about to protest—she was not the one making the decisions here—but really, he had no reason to deny, her idea was a good one. The longer they lingered here, the likelier they’d be found out. He gave her a curt nod and indicated for her to proceed.
She rushed across the street as he followed. Seth already found himself distracted by the elegance of her stride and the sparkle of the sunshine upon her skin.
He groaned as he pushed the thoughts away. These kinds of feelings never led to anything good. He knew it.
She stopped in the courtyard next to the church and sat on the stone bench under the stained-glass windows of the beautiful old church. He sat beside her, leaving enough space not to make her uncomfortable or bring her reputation into unnecessary danger. Not that it mattered. Nobody in St. Giles knew them, the etiquette that governed the life of the aristocracy did not matter here. This was a different world, one so far removed from their lives it was difficult to accept that they were still in the same city.
“When did you find your letter?” Winnie asked the moment they sat down.
“Yesterday. I returned from Devon and found Rose had been gone for several days, almost two weeks. I didn’t find out until I got back as nobody thought it prudent to tell me.”
He realized from the way she shifted her head and narrowed her eyes that he ought to explain.
“Rose and I had a disagreement before she left. I suggested that it might be time for her to find a match, and she disagreed. I’d found what I thought was a great match with a fellow Duke, no less. Yet, she acted as though I’d suggested she marry Napoleon himself. The argument was not resolved before I left, and the servants assumed she’d come after me to set things right. She didn’t, of course. So when I returned and found her missing, I was frantic, as you can imagine.”
Winnie said nothing but stared ahead into the distance. She was aware, of course, that Seth and Rose were not truly close. It was well known among their friends and neighbors. They were agreeable. No, they were more than agreeable. Agreeable was a word he would use to describe Victoria and Winnifred. He loved Rose; she was, after all, his only family. They were simply not at all alike and thus not close. This fact might account for her reaction to his proposal.
He observed Winnifred. Her long, elegant neck turned from side to side as she considered his words.
“They must be together. Do you not agree?”
He nodded. “Given that Leo received the same letter as Rose, yes. I would assume they are.”
Winnie nodded again. Suddenly, her lips turned up into a small smile.
“Given what we’ve uncovered, do you not think we ought to work together? Our siblings disappeared on the same day and were taken presumably by the same people. Plus, someone blackmailed them. It is the most logical of approaches.”
Seth leaned his head back so far, his eyes looked directly at the bright summer sky. White, fluffy clouds moved slowly across the heavens. They were of the kind that would inspire creative minds to see shapes in them. Seth was not of a creative mind, his mind worked on logic. He loved numbers, charts, things that made sense. The abstract puzzled him.
“Seth, I know you are opposed to my helping you, but I will investigate this matter anyhow, and we are sure to come across one another just as we did today. So, why not join forces?”
His head snapped forward as he exhaled sharply.
“I suppose. But I will have you know, this is not child’s play. I will not rest until I’ve recovered my sister and Leo.”
She glared at him. “I did not think this child’s play. Leo is my brother, my best friend.”
Seth nodded. He knew how close Winnie and Leo were. Leo often spoke of Winnie as though she were his twin. He envied them their close relationship sometimes. The two were rather alike, which perhaps accounted for their closeness. While he loved Rose dearly, they were not alike in the least. Where he was tidy, organized, rigid even, she was disconcerted and free-spirited.
His mind insisted upon resurrecting images from his past, images from a time when he, too, had a best friend. Someone he shared everything with, someone who was as close to him as Winnie was to Leo. While he and Leo were close, and Leo knew some of his deepest secrets, there was always a distance between them, one of Seth’s creation.
He shook his head and chased the thoughts out of his mind. This was why he didn’t want to work with her. She distracted him without meaning to. She brought feelings and memories back to the surface he’d rather forget. Alas, it could not be helped. She was right. If they didn’t work together, their siblings would be lost, perhaps forever.
“Very well then, Winnie. What do you suggest we do about this gang?”
“Gang?” The surprise in her voice startled him. Did she not know that the house they’d just been in was the den of a gang? It was apparent to him from the moment he stepped foot into it.
“Yes… I thought you realized when you read the letter sent to Leo that a gang most likely took him.”
“A… A gang? Do you mean like bandits?”
“Yes, of course. I suspected my sister had run away when I first discovered she was missing, but when I saw this letter, it demanded money in exchange for silence. That is the way these gangs operate. And then to request a meeting here, in the rookery….”
