Page 71 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
“It is because of you that all of this has happened!” Lord Thornhill continued. “Our daughter is in this mess because she stayed in your house for a few days. My little girl!”
“Lord Thornhill, that is not—”
“Get out of my house, Your Grace!” Lord Thornhill fumed.
Everyone in the room cowered, but Axel stood his ground.
“I wish to help you find Lady Jasmine,” he insisted.
“I will be telling the constabulary that you are the first suspect,” the Earl said. “Now, get out of my house!”
Defeated, Axel turned on his heels and walked away. Lord Thornhill was an aggrieved man, and nothing Axel could say would change his mind. As Axel walked away, however, he remembered the letter he had received earlier in the day.
I want you to cut off whatever affair you have with your little lover, then come meet me at the river on the outskirts of the town by midnight. If I do not see you by midnight, then I can assume that you do not care if I release this information and ruin you and your little lover.
“Dorothy!” he gasped as he suddenly came to a realization.
What if Dorothy was behind Jasmine’s abduction?
Axel wanted to believe that Dorothy would never do anything so vile, but then he remembered that he had not thought her capable of blackmail until she threatened him.
“I need to go see her right away,” Axel decided. Fortunately, it was not midnight yet, so he could still make it to the outskirts of town before midnight.
At this moment, he could only pray that Dorothy had not done anything to Jasmine. Yet again, Axel was reminded that he had exposed her to danger by bringing Jasmine into his world.
I should never have gotten close to Jasmine.
Axel ran a hand through his hair in frustration, and he vowed in his mind that he would leave London and Jasmine’s life forever once he got Jasmine to safety.
“Take me to the outskirts of town,” he told his coachman as soon as he entered his carriage.
The carriage was just about to pull out when...
“Your Grace!” a voice yelled, and Axel peaked out to see William running toward his carriage as fast as his legs could carry him. Axel motioned for his coachman to stop, and he stepped out to meet William.
“Your Grace, I have to tell you something,” William said, out of his breath from the run.
“What is it about?” Axel asked.
“Earlier, you mentioned doing business with criminals and that this was usually the reason people get kidnapped,” William started.
“Indeed,” Axel replied.
“I…I have been doing business with a gaming hell owner, Lime,” William said, averting his gaze.
He looked ashamed of himself.
“Tell me more,” Axel prodded.
“It all started when I was introduced to gambling by my friends,” William said. “I, however, have a rather strong penchant for it, and I would spend most of my time gambling. Before long, I had surmounted debts. Since I did not have any real money of my own, I began to avoid Lime, and when Lime threatened me, I took the chance of our family trip to leave London for a while. But, of course, we had to come back to London for Jasmine. I suspect that it is Lime and his men that kidnapped Jasmine.”
Axel nodded as he listened to William. He could not exactly blame the young lad. Only too many young nobles had been known to be drawn into the life of debauchery in London. Instead of having clarity, however, Axel was even more confused at the new information that William gave him. Now, he was not sure if Dorothy had been the one who kidnapped Jasmine or the criminal William owed money to.
“You said the gaming hell owner’s name is Lime?” Axel asked.
William nodded.
“I will look into him,” Axel said before getting into his carriage.
