Page 58 of A Duke for Adela
Something about the entire incident did not feel right.
Octavian was now frowning at him. “Anything more I should know?”
Ambrose shook his head. “I’ll be meeting my Bow Street man later this evening. We’ll learn more from him. Will you come to the meeting with me?”
His brother nodded. “Absolutely.”
Julius nodded as well. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Me, too,” Adela blurted.
Which reminded Ambrose that she had not actually promised him she would stay put. “Are you going to promise me you’ll stay home tonight?”
She cast him that pinch-lipped look again. “No, I do not wish to lie to you.” But she sighed and shook her head. “I’ll agree to stay home but onlyafterwe’ve met with Mr. Barrow. How does that sound? I think it is a fair compromise. I will not get into harm while I am with you and your brothers. Mr. Barrow certainly is no threat to me. So let’s hear what he has to say, then take me home…and I promise to remain here the entire evening.”
He arched an eyebrow. “And your friends?”
Adela glanced at her partners in mischief, the young ladies she called Syd and Gory. “I will not involve them any further. I do not wish to see them hurt any worse than they already are.”
He now turned to her two friends. “I’ll have your promises, too.”
They glanced at Adela.
She nodded.
“All right,” Syd grumbled. “No more interference from us. Promise given.”
Gory muttered a reluctant agreement. “Promise.”
“I’ll take you both home after Dr. Farthingale tends to you,” Octavian said, looking upon them with genuine concern. But this was his brother’s nature, to be protective of those he considered weaker. In truth, all the Thorne men were fashioned this way.
Ambrose was frustrated as blazes over Adela and her stubborn independence. Not that he wished to stifle her, but she was no match for a man’s strength and had no training in battle tactics. She was fortunate that stranger had not done her serious harm.
“Give me a moment and I’ll change out of this gown into something more practical,” Adela said and hurried upstairs.
Her friends followed.
Julius chuckled. “Do you think they’re hatching new plots?”
Ambrose rubbed a hand across the nape of his neck. “I hope not.”
Octavian rolled his eyes. “How can you be so naive? Of course, they are.”
Eloise offered him and his brothers a cup of tea. “I hope you are mistaken, Octavian. Adela has given her word and I believe she will keep to it. I expect her friends will do the same. But you must not treat them as fragile flowers. They are clever and observant, and it sounds to me as though Adela’s quick action thwarted Runyon’s scheme.”
Ambrose settled his large frame in one of the chairs. “Possibly, but none of it makes sense yet. Where was Runyon in all this? I am worried he never meant for the exchange to occur with this particular man. Or rather, this man’s employer. Runyon was merely using them as a diversion, I suspect. Which raises the question, what was he doing in the meanwhile?”
Julius pursed his lips in thought. “Perhaps your Bow Street man will clear things up shortly. I must admit, I thought your Adela was brilliant. But you are right, she could have been badly hurt.”
The Duke of Lotheil cleared his throat. “I’ll see what I can do at my end, at the very least discover the identity of the sneak who warned Runyon of our decision.”
Eloise took a sip of her tea and then set the delicate cup down. “And Phoebe and I shall continue with the wedding plans since none of you seem to have put it as a priority. Honestly, Ambrose. Are we to have no input whatsoever from you or Adela? This is the most important day of your life and it seems to have slipped your mind completely.”
Octavian arched an eyebrow in surprise. “Men never think about such details. Those are a woman’s domain. Ambrose, are you sure she wants to marry you? I’ve never heard of a young lady not putting her heart and soul into wedding plans, especially when the man she is about to marry is a duke.”
Ambrose ground his teeth. “This is Adela we are speaking about. If it does not concern skulls, bones, or hideous mythical creatures exhumed from deepest recesses within the earth, then it rates low on her list of priorities. But she does wish to marry me, as I wish to marry her. Eloise, just get her to the church at the appointed hour.”
The dowager laughed. “She loves you, Ambrose. She will be there.”
