Page 65 of A Duke for Adela
Well, she supposed a betrothed couple about to be married were allowed such liberties. How else was he to calm her when she had threatened to turn into a watering pot in his carriage? He must have been worried she would do the same in Mr. Barrow’s office.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Swift,” said the Bow Street man who looked like a street tough with his bulbous, red nose and big, portly body. However, there was no mistaking his spry, physical strength or his very intelligent eyes that she expected missed nothing when on assignment. Even here, she had no doubt the man was thoroughly assessing her. Not in a lascivious way, not at all. He seemed to be peering into her soul to determine whether she was worthy to marry this duke.
“Thank you, Mr. Barrow. His Grace speaks very highly of you. Can you give us any information on Mr. Runyon’s whereabouts today?”
They each exchanged bits of information, taking care to recount every detail. Having met this Bow Street man, Adela now felt more reassured that the Jovian book would be found. “What about those bank notes? What do you make of those?”
He nodded. “They are forgeries, Miss Swift.”
Ambrose had suggested as much earlier, but her eyes still widened in surprise. “How can that be? They looked quite real.”
“Yes, but all a hoax. I believe the man in custody was also duped. He thought he was working for someone other than Runyon. But I have one of my runners well placed in the bank and he quickly confirmed this was all a ruse.”
Adela glanced at Ambrose and suddenly gasped. “Of course, this is why he went to see Hollingsworth in Oxford. This is where he got those fraudulent notes, and I’m sure he took more than one thousand pounds worth of forgeries. He has probably been paying his landlord and the tavern keepers with them, as well as teasing us. I told you these relic hunters were an unsavory lot and not above treachery in any form. Oh, how it galls me those thieves are admitted into the Royal Society while honest, intelligent ladies are not. But why go to all the trouble? Just to have us running wildly in every direction?”
She shook her head, for her mind was now awhirl with questions. “Mr. Barrow, you have mentioned you searched The Red Drake and Mr. Runyon’s residence several times and found nothing, not my notes or the book. And again today, you seem convinced those articles were never at The Red Drake. So it is obvious he must have made another stop within those few hours after running off with them. If not his home or the tavern, then the Royal Society seems the most likely place he would have gone.”
“The Duke of Lotheil has permitted us to search there as well. Believe me, Miss Swift, we have left no stone unturned. It is possible he immediately sent everything off by post to some location where he could later retrieve it. I have a man investigating the possibility now.”
Adela pursed her lips in thought. “I do not believe he would do this, hand off that precious book and worry someone might open the package before he got there to claim it. Or that it somehow might be lost. No, he is not one to let go of a thing. So, he must have stopped elsewhere. But where? I don’t suppose we can abduct him and hold him prisoner until he divulges the hiding place?”
Ambrose gave her hand a light squeeze. “No, Adela. As tempting as it is, it will not work. The magistrate has already brought him in for questioning. Runyon knows I have Bow Street runners following him. He also knows the Duke of Lotheil is onto him. It cannot have escaped his notice that we have searched all his known haunts and are breathing down his neck.”
“And he mocks us for it. You are playing by gentlemen’s rules, something he would never do. He is not scared of any of us. Indeed, he thinks we are all fools for not using more sinister means to get at the truth.”
“What do you suggest we do? Beat the information out of him? I would not rule it out if lives were at stake, but they are not.”
Adela knew he was right, but the situation was still frustrating beyond belief. “I know, but it still galls me he has that priceless book. Are you sure there is nothing more the authorities can do?”
“Miss Swift, the magistrate held him for hours beyond his questioning at my request,” Mr. Barrow said. “This was done as a favor to me. The only evidence we have is your word against his, and he is a Fellow in the Royal Society.”
“So it is presumed he must be honorable? Which he is not,” she said with a huff.
Ambrose sighed. “Lotheil will have him kicked out soon enough. But that still leaves us right where we started. Not a clue what he did with your notes and the book. Keep on it, Mr. Barrow. He may have been clever in hiding those items, but he has to retrieve them at some point. We’ll have him then.”
They were about to leave when one of Mr. Barrow’s confederates hurried in. “Oh, I beg yer pardon. I did not realize ye had company.”
Mr. Barrow rose to greet him and his eyes suddenly glittered in expectation. “Stay, Mick. This is His Grace, the Duke of Huntsford, and his betrothed, Miss Swift.” He turned to her and Ambrose. “Mick is my best man and I’ve had him on this case from the start. What have you found for us?”
Adela held her breath.
Could this Bow Street runner be bringing news they were longing to hear?
“Runyon has a sister living in London. I left George and Wills to watch her residence, one of them will follow her if she leaves holding a bundle. Of course, they will report back at once if Runyon turns up there.”
“And will follow him when he leaves?” Adela asked, her heart leaping into her throat. This had to be where the wretched sneak had gone after stealing her notes and the book.
“I already have two good men on him to follow his every movement,” Mr. Barrow said.
Adela glanced at Ambrose, for it must be costing him a small fortune to keep all of those men to the task night and day.
Ambrose’s face was stoic, nothing but steel in his expression and in his eyes. “You see, Adela. We have just put the noose around his neck. All it required was a little patience.”
And a deep pocket, which he had. But she was not about to point this out to him, for it would only offend him.
He rose and held a hand out to her. “Do you wish to wait here or join us?”
She hopped to her feet. “Join you, of course. Where are we going?”
