Page 16 of The Duke's Lesson in Love

“Your Grace?” Sadie shoved the thick, black drapes used for privacy aside.

Gill stumbled at the sight of her in stays. Her chest and arms were bare for his view. “Get dressed,” he said thickly as he handed Edwin to her.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone tried to take Edwin,” he shouted, running in the direction of the storeroom. The shopkeeper and the assistant who had helped Edwin were outside, peering down the alley.

“They broke the lock,” Jacques said, touching the splintered wood on the door frame. “I am sorry Monsieur, nothing like this has ever happened before.”

But it had.

Taking a few coins from his pocket, he gave them to the assistant. “I need a basket packed with sandwiches, fruit, pastries, and several water jugs.” He added another coin to the coins in her hand. “You will find my driver at the livery. Tell him to hire a capable lad to ride with him in the box.

With a nod, she took off to do his bidding. He planned to push on to Berwick, stopping only to change horses and to spend two nights in an inn because his companions were not used to long journeys. He had no intention of lingering outside the walls of his estate any longer than necessary.

If he had any doubt that someone wanted his son, it was gone. Except for the boy’s mother, his lawyer, Mrs. Headly, and the women at the orphanage, no one knew about Edwin. His blood chilled. He trusted his lawyer and Mrs. Headly. Layra Simpson, the woman who broke his heart all those years ago, the mother of his child, was another matter.

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