Page 10 of The Moonstone Pirate
Well, Parrot would be safe enough, since he was familiar with the property. Draco had even taken him down to the pirate caves several times during their walks, although they had not gone inside to explore. He would attend to that chore over the next few days.
He ran toward Driscoll’s friends and stopped them before they could climb into their carriages. “Where is he?”
They appeared…agitated? Scared?
“We don’t know what you are talking about,” one of them retorted.
“Driscoll, of course,” Draco growled. “Where is he?”
“How should we know?” another of his sniveling friends replied.
“He went off with a young woman,” a third said. “I’m sure it was with the little butterfly you were so keen on earlier.”
Draco wanted to punch the man.
He had just left Imogen with his uncle and cousin, so he knew she was safe. But had Driscoll accosted some other unsuspecting young woman? “Get out of here, all of you. I never want to see any of you near Moonstone Landing again.”
One of them laughed.
“Find it funny, Middleton?”
The coward held up his hands in supplication.
“That goes for the rest of you. Get out and never show your faces here on pain of death.”
Another of them passed a lewd remark about Imogen.
Draco grabbed him by the nape and shoved him against his carriage, one hand on the stunned lord’s throat. “Have you anything else to say, Hawes?”
The question was met with silence.
Well, he did have his hand around the man’s throat. But he wasn’t cutting off all breath. The wretch could have managed a strangled answer.
“Right, I thought so.” He would not care if those fools hurled insults at him, but that they should speak so crudely about Imogen left him raw and aching. “All of you, get out of here right now.”
He watched as they scrambled into their carriages. The conveyances rattled down the long drive and disappeared into the darkness. Draco hurried toward the cliff walk and picked up the sound of Parrot’s furious barking. “Parrot! Where are you, fella?”
Those barks definitely came from somewhere near the pirate caves at the foot of the cliff walk.
Draco kept tight hold of his torch and scampered down the steps. The tide would soon come in, and the waves had intensified, pounding upon the rocks like soft cannon bursts. They came one after the other and sprayed him with their spume as he reached the mouth of the largest cave and saw his dog standing there. “Parrot, what are you doing here? Come along, boy. Don’t you know it’s dangerous? A rogue wave can wash you out to sea.”
The dog did not move, just resumed barking at something beside him on the rocks.
Draco edged closer. “Bloody blazes.”
That “something” was Driscoll’s body.
“What happened, Parrot? Did he fall? Or did one of his idiot friends accidentally push him off the cliff?”
But as Draco turned the body over, he saw a knife protruding from Driscoll’s chest. “So, it wasn’t a fall that did him in.”
He raked a hand through his hair.
There was a murderer on the loose.
No wonder Driscoll’s companions had fled like scared rabbits. Had they killed their friend? He did not think any of them had the bollocks to do the foul deed. But had they seen something?
Of all the bad luck.
