Page 109 of Miss Prim and the Duke of Wylde
Between them, Drago and Meg described their ill-fated excursion of the previous day.
The others asked questions, clarifying details.
Finally, Toby huffed. “Again, the placement of the branch at just that spot—leading into a steep dip—suggests someone who knows this place well.”
“Also,” Denton said, “that’s a regular visit paid by Mama in her role as duchess. For decades, she’s been going there—in the gig, along that track—on every fourth Monday of the month like clockwork, but as Meg is here and Mama isn’t, it was a good bet that Meg would have the gig out to take the hamper to the old dears.”
“Is it possible for someone to watch the stable yard to see if Meg was on her way?” Aidan asked.
Drago frowned. “Not the stable yard itself. If they’d been keeping watch on the yard, they would have seen I was with Meg. But they could easily have seen her walking alone from the house toward the stable yard, carrying the hamper.” He met Aidan’s eyes. “I’d gone to the stable earlier for another reason altogether. It was sheer luck I was there and saw the gig being prepared for Meg and decided to go with her.”
Toby fixed Drago with a level look. “One day, your luck will run out.”
Drago returned the look. “That’s why you’re here.”
Toby’s swift grin flashed, and he inclined his head.
Frowning, Denton summarized, “So we’re looking for a gentleman who knows the ins and outs and routines of this place very well, and he’s targeting Meg.” Denton looked at Drago. “Specifically Meg.”
Grimly, Drago nodded. “That, I think, is now beyond question. Whoever he was, he was lying in wait by the lane where he’d set his trap for the gig. When he realized I was with Meg, he took off.”
“Running.” Meg looked at Drago. “Now I think of it, he ran off very quickly.”
Drago thought back to the sound of fleeing footsteps and nodded. “Yes, he did. Which suggests—”
“That he’s someone you know,” Toby concluded. “Someone you would recognize. He didn’t want you to catch even a glimpse of him.”
Having envisioned the scene, Harry and George looked quietly horrified.
“If you hadn’t been there…” Harry said.
George shook himself. “That doesn’t bear thinking about.”
“Indeed.” Speaking more forcefully, Drago looked around the circle. “That’s why we need to bring this game—whatever it is—to an end.”
Toby nodded. “Casting your mind over all who would think that you wouldn’t go out on the lake, is there anyone among that apparently small number who are acting strangely?”
Drago considered the question, then glanced at Meg. “Hubert.”
Aidan frowned. “Who is Hubert?”
Between them, Meg, Drago, and Denton explained.
“And he’s been acting strangely how?” Toby asked.
That took a little longer to make clear, but eventually, everyone was nodding in understanding.
“So Hubert’s interference is all to do with stopping his sister, Alison, from marrying her chosen beau, who by anyone’s standards is perfectly acceptable,” Aidan said, “and Alison is the young lady Drago almost offered for before meeting Meg.”
Having successfully glossed over the facts of that meeting, Meg and Drago both nodded.
“Ah.” Evan leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “It seems pertinent to mention that I’ve spent a little time going over the wording of Drago’s father’s will more carefully, and if I’m reading the clause in question correctly—and I believe I am—then if Drago isn’t actually married on his thirty-fifth birthday, there might be an issue satisfying that clause and getting the funds released.”
When the others looked at him in confusion, Evan explained, “Even if Drago is married now, if he isn’t then, on his thirty-fifth birthday, then the way the clause is worded, it won’t be satisfied. In other words, there’s no mention of or allowance made for him being a widower.”
The information made them all sit back.
Eventually, Meg put their thoughts into words. “What you’re saying is that, even though Drago has married me, if I die now or at any time before his birthday in August, he’ll need to find another bride in a very short space of time.”
