Page 78 of Secrets of a Duke's Daughter (The Duchess's Investigative Society 1)

He removed the vase from the nearby marbled console table, set it to the floor and dragged the furniture in front of the door. The door rattled and thudded against the heavy piece of wood.

“Luke!” Cassie cried.

His gut tightened and he hesitated but a moment. Shaking his head to himself, he strode out of the house. Once he found the man responsible for these threats, he could hand him over to the magistrates and there would be no need for him to be under the same roof as Cassie. He might even go to the country for the rest of the Season. Anything to put some distance between them.

Anton would be angry he had left Cassie, but it was far better than Luke creating a scandal and forcing Cassie into marriage with him. Anton would never accept it, he knew that much, and he would not blame him. Cassie’s curiosity would soon abate, leaving her with only regrets that she did not explore her options further. There were many, many more eligible men than him. Men with far less sordid pasts.

He walked for some time before spying a hack and he motioned for it to stop. “St. Saviour’s Dock,” he told the driver. He climbed in, sat and closed his eyes briefly. In all his years as a supposed rake, he’d never been more of a bastard, but for the first time in his life, he had good reason. Cassie deserved more.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Is Luke returned?”

Cassie pushed between her sisters and noted the console table that sat askew against the wall. That’s what he blocked the door with. Over an hour of banging on the door and no-one had heard her until one of her sisters walked past. Now all three of them and Aunt Sarah followed her as she searched the entrance way then the blue room.

Chastity took her arm. “What is happening, Cassie? And why were you shut in the drawing room?” Her sister glanced her over. “And wearing yesterday’s dress? Were you in thereallnight?”

Cassie ignored the final two questions. She moved past the four of them to search the blue room. “Have any of you seen Luke?”

Her stomach twisted in dread when she found room by room empty. She’d been trapped in that room for too long. Anything could have happened in that time. After all he said, he might not deserve her sympathy, but she could not help herself—she still loved him and did not wish to see him come to harm.

Eleanor stepped in front of her before she could continue her search. “Luke isn’t here, Cassie. Will you tell us what is happening? You are worrying us.”

She glanced into her sister’s gaze and noted the furrowed brow then looked to all her sisters. Even Aunt Sarah cradled Simon close, her brow knitted with concern.

“We discovered where the man who has been threatening us will be,” she admitted. “And Luke has gone after him. Alone.”

“You’ve still been investigating?” Chastity demanded.

“I could not let the matter drop, not when Eleanor nearly came to harm and someone hurt Betty.” Cassie glanced at the floor. “Besides, I could not let my first investigation be a failure.” She looked between them all. “Icould not be a failure,” she muttered.

“Oh, Cassie.” Demeter stepped forward. “You are not a failure, and we have all had investigations where we could not discover the answer.”

Cassie allowed herself to be tugged into her sister’s hold and tried not to be surprised by her usually reticent sister’s affection. She sank into the warm embrace and looked over Demeter’s shoulders at Eleanor who smiled.

“It is true,” Eleanor agreed. “We have all had cases we could not solve.”

“Even me,” added Aunt Sarah.

“Even me,” Chastity added with a grin. “But I do not understand why you did not simply tell us all this? We could have helped.”

“I wanted to do it alone. To prove I’m not just your little sister. You are always saying it—Little Cassie.”

Demeter released her and took a step back with a shake of her head. “We think of you as so much more.”

“Sometimes it does not feel like that,” she murmured.

“I’m sorry,” Chastity said. “I only say it because it is habit, but I shall stop.”

Cassie gave a tiny smile. “I suppose it is not that terrible.”

“So what exactly did you discover?” Eleanor demanded.

Cassie twined her fingers together. “Luke had someone following Mr. Harding. I thought him the person most likely to benefit from Theodore’s death and we were at a loss as to what to do next. But the investigator spotted a man following Mr. Harding. It was the man who...well, he followed me some time ago and was spotted watching the house by Luke.”

Chastity hissed out a breath. “Good Lord, Cassie.”

“I know, I know.” She held up a hand. “I should have told you, but I did not think the threat was real and it only made me more determined to discover what had happened to Jane’s brother.”

---