Page 77 of Dubious about the Duke (Second Sons of London 5)

The question was why she had done so.

He wheeled and saw Farmwell standing nearby. “Ready my carriage at once. I am going to Kingwood.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” his butler replied and hurried off.

Win left the foyer, throwing the front door open himself. He paced in front of the house as he waited for his carriage to appear. Questions filled him and yet he had no answers to them. Something was terribly wrong. Something he had done to force Sera to flee Woodbridge.

But what?

He racked his brain, going over the entire day. All he could think was that Sera had been unusually quiet during tea. He had thought it was to allow the boys to shine but now he wasn’t certain at all. In fact, he wasn’t certain of anything. Had she worried about their growing feelings and wished to put distance between them? He would soon find out.

The carriage rounded the corner of the house and paused in front of it. Win did not wait for the stairs to be placed down, yanking open the vehicle’s door and jumping inside it. He rapped loudly on its roof and the carriage started into motion.

It did not take long to reach Kingwood. When he arrived, he threw open the door before the carriage had even come to a complete halt. Win raced to the door and threw it open without knocking. A startled footman seated in the foyer leaped to his feet.

“Your Grace!” he called.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

By now, Bailey had appeared in the foyer. “How may I help you, Your Grace?” he asked calmly.

Win got control of his emotions and said, “I need to see Miss Nicholls at once.”

Bailey shook his head. “Miss Nicholls is not here, Your Grace.”

She had to be. Instead, he said, “Take me to my cousin then.”

“Lord and Lady Kingwood have retired for the evening, Your Grace. Perhaps you would care to call upon them tomorrow.”

Clenching his fists, he closed the gap between himself and Bailey and said, “I want to see my cousin. Now,” his tone deadly.

Win stepped away.

“If you will wait in the drawing room, Your Grace, I will see if Lord Kingwood wishes to see you.”

He did not wait for an escort and took the stairs two at a time. He entered the drawing room and paced the length of it numerous times until Percy appeared in his banyan.

Striding toward his cousin, he asked, “Where is she?”

Sympathy filled Percy’s eyes. “She is not here, Win.”

“Then where the bloody hell is she?”

“She is gone,” a voice said.

Turning, he saw Minta approaching, wearing her dressing gown.

“I’ll ask again. Where is Sera?”

Minta bit her lip. “Win, you need to allow Sera some time and space. She has some very important things to think about.”

Anguish filled him. “What things?”

“Things regarding her future.”

“Her future is with me,” he hissed.

Minta looked startled. “What do you mean?”

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