Page 84 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

“Oh, thank goodness,” stated Arthur. “Saved by the door. That should be the constable now to tell us that the matter is sorted, and then we can finally celebrate.”

“That doesn’t mean that you can get out of playing,” said Parker.

“I know, I know,” muttered Arthur as he and Margaret walked toward the entranceway. “Unless the trump is an eight, right? And then we don’t need to play. Was that the rule?”

“Very funny,” retorted Parker.

The door was answered but a commotion came after, and a woman burst into the corridor.

“Where is the duke!” she shouted over and over.

“What is going on!” shouted the duke back. “Who are you?”

“Are you the duke?” she asked, running straight up to him and grabbing him by the collar—all decorum had gone out the window.

“Please, calm down,” said Arthur. “What is going on?”

“He told me I had to come straight to you. Please, he has my sister, and he told me that he would only speak to you and that he would kill her if I spoke to the authorities. I didn’t know what to do, so I came straight here. Please, you have to stop him.”

“Lucy is your sister?” asked the duke.

“I don’t know why he came for her but he said you stole his wife and that you owe him money. He said to tell you he wasn’t going to jail after what you pulled, and he knows what you did and he can prove it.”

“Gerald,” spat Margaret.

“You did the right thing,” said the duke. The others had come from the card room and joined them in the hallway, all trying to work out what had gone on.

“I don’t know what else to do.”

“Stay here,” said the duke. “Margaret, take care of her.”

“I’m coming with you,” said Margaret. “This is my fault.”

“No,” stated the duke. “You are not to be put in any danger, and that man is dangerous. Besides, he asked for me, so I will go and deal with him.”

“But what if he does something to you, my love? I can’t bear the thought of that.”

“I will be fine. I am taking Parker with me just to be sure. He is an old man making a desperate last attempt at something. He will want money to disappear. If he is doing this, then he fears that your parents are going to take him down with them.”

“What if he means to harm Lucy?” asked Margaret.

“No, he would not. If he thought her the only witness, he might, but they know we have more. It would not accomplish anything, but he knows she is working with us, so he knows we care about her. If he wants money, he will get it, but he won’t leave the city with it.” Arthur turned to the butler. “Send word to the constabulary. They are to be ready, but they are to keep their distance until I give the word.”

The butler bowed curtly and marched off to attend to his duty.

“Come on,” said Arthur. “We don’t have a moment to lose.”

They took off, Arthur retrieving his own pistol on the way, just in case he needed it. He did not fear Lucy being harmed by Gerald, she was the only leverage he had, but he did fear him panicking if he saw anyone but Arthur.

A minute later, they were in the coach, but with Parker driving instead of the usual driver. It took ten minutes to get from the duke’s London residence to Lucy’s sister’s house, but it feels like an eternity. It was the longest ten minutes of the duke’s life.

When they got there, they parked the coach out front.

“When I go inside, go around the back and see if you can find another way in,” said Arthur.

Parker sat in the front of the coach and waited. Arthur went to the door and knocked. It was opened almost instantly by Gerald, but only a crack—it was enough for Arthur to see Lucy in his grasp. He could not see a weapon, but he was sure there was one.

“You are going to be fine,” said Arthur to Lucy. She was too terrified to even nod in reply.

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