Page 68 of Fit for a Duke
‘I told you to come al…’ He stopped dead in his tracks and looked as though he was about to reach for a weapon. ‘How did you know?’
‘That it was you?’ Ezra stepped forward, a good half-a-head taller than the muscular groom. He reached out and relieved him of the dagger he had just withdrawn from his boot. ‘You are not as clever as you think you are.’
‘And you will never see your doxy again now that you’ve declined to obey simple instructions.’
‘If by doxy you are referring to me, then you quite mistake the matter.’
Ezra groaned inwardly as Clio wandered into sight, impeccably attired, her sore wrists hidden by the lace cuffs that hung over her hands. The injury to her face wasn’t visible in the semi-darkness either. Ezra expected Barnes to capitulate, but instead he appeared ready to fight. Ezra moved to stand beside and slightly in front of Clio, frowning at her as he attempted to protect her person from Barnes’s line of sight.
‘We are most interested to know why you felt it necessary to kill off the duke’s family,’ Clio said conversationally, ‘and to drag me into the affair, for that matter. It seems to me that they provided you with a comfortable position. There is a certain cachet attaching to a man who can claim to drive for a duchess, one assumes.’
A rumbling growl echoed in the back of Merlin’s throat. Barnes stared at the dog, who had also taken up a position in protection of Clio, and Ezra wondered if he would attempt to run. Or to fight. Instead, he did the last thing that Ezra had expected and threw back his head and laughed.
‘You have absolutely no idea who I am, do you, little brother?’
‘Brother? What are you talking…?’ Ezra paused mid-sentence. ‘You are one of the pater’s by-blows, I assume, and have developed ideas above your station.’
‘You assume rightly,’ Barnes said. ‘Ourfather acknowledged myself and my siblings as his offspring but did precious little else for us.’
The cogs turned in Ezra’s brain and everything fell neatly into place. ‘If we were all dead then you would have a claim on the pater’s personal estate,’ he said.
Barnes clapped in a sarcastic manner. ‘And they say the aristocracy don’t have two brain cells to rub together.’
‘I rather think it’s the opposite way round,’ Ezra said calmly.
‘I beg to differ. No one had the least idea that our father’s death was a result of anything other than natural causes. You were away playing at soldiers at the time, and our dear brother Richard was so keen to step into the old man’s shoes that he had him six feet under in the blink of an eye. Far too quickly for any questions to be asked.’
‘And then you killed him, too.’
‘Didn’t intend to, not so soon after the old man, in case questions were asked. But he caught me going through the duke’s papers one day and I had to admit to my identity. I suggested that if he saw me right, as he had a duty to do, I would quietly go away.’ He gave a gruff laugh. ‘The arrogant fool tried to dismiss me for my insolence! Instead, he signed his own death warrant and no one suspected a thing.’
‘Why did my father give you employment?’
‘Because I went to him cap in hand, all obedience and willingness to oblige. He used to lap it up when people grovelled. His mistake was in acknowledging us and then leaving us to our own devices once our mother died. If it became public knowledge, it would have made him look unfeeling and we both know how self-aware, how conscious of his precious reputation he was. He couldn’t deny the connection because he is named on our birth certificates and he would have disliked it if I’d created a scandal. I have a way with horses, so he gave me a senior position in return for my silence, and expected me to be grateful.’
‘But that wasn’t enough for you and you saw an opportunity to feather your own nest. Having killed my father and brother, you assumed the war would do for me. When it did not, you had already developed a taste for murder and decided to see me off,’ Ezra said.
‘I was willing to bide my time, to work on the old lady first and see if we could reach an accommodation. After all, I knew all about her trysts with Brennan and she wouldn’t want them to be made public knowledge. But then we came here and I could see which way the wind blew,’ he said, fixing Clio with a significant glance. ‘I couldn’t risk the possibility of a quick marriage that might produce a legitimate heir, not after all the trouble I’d taken. You must see that.’
‘So you went back to the picnic,’ Ezra said.
‘I did, once the duchess was tucked away with Brennan. I knew she wouldn’t want me for ages. I intended to take a shot at you and then disappear again,’ he added, glaring at Ezra. ‘Since I wasn’t there and the duchess would have to confirm the fact if necessary, there was no danger of any fingers being pointed in my direction. Then that blasted storm caused chaos and I had to think on my feet.’ He shrugged, sounding pleased with himself. ‘The enticing Miss Benton appeared in front of my eyes and it seemed like providence. So…’ He spread his hands. ‘And I would have got away with it. Us servants are invisible to you lot.’
‘Not so very invisible. You will answer for your crimes in a court of law and pay the ultimate price.’
‘Nah!’ He flapped a dismissive hand, still supremely self-confident. ‘You won’t do that and risk your family’s scandals being played out in public.’
That assumption explained why he’d been so willing to boast about his crimes when Ezra couldn’t actually prove that he had done anything other than abduct Clio.
‘You mistake me for my father,’ he replied calmly.
‘No, listen, we can work this out, I am absolutely sure of it,’ Barnes said, showing the first signs of alarm when he realised that Ezra could not be swayed.
Barnes moved with astonishing agility and made a grab for Clio. Before he could touch her, Merlin sprang into action and sank his teeth into Barnes’s outstretched hand, causing the man to howl with pain.
Ezra called Merlin off, then turned to face Barnes. ‘This is for presuming to lay a finger on Miss Benton,’ he said. He drew back his fist and punched Barnes squarely on the nose, sending him toppling to the floor to the accompaniment of the sound of crunching bone as blood spurted from his broken nose.
‘Pick him up, lock him in the cellar and send for the local magistrate,’ Ezra said, flexing his hand and using the uninjured one to take Clio’s arm and escort her back to the house.
