Tomorrow, the hunt was on for Mr Cassiel.
The boy gave a wide-mouthed grin. “Aye, governor.”
“My lord,” Hastings corrected. “If you are to work here, you will address Lord Valentine with the respect befitting his station.”
“Right you are, milord.”
“Tell Sprocket to meet me outside with the carriage in five minutes.” If Miss Kendall had gone to the Westminster Pit, there was no telling what he might find. Amid the hustle and bustle of drunken aristocrats, Valentine would take comfort knowing his coachman was nearby.
While Hastings escorted the boy to the kitchen, Valentine dressed quickly and raced out of the front door. With his mind so distracted, he almost barged into the hulking figure of his friend Devlin Drake.
“Stone the crows, Drake.” Valentine clutched his hand to his heart and stepped back. “You scared me half to death.”
“I scared you?” Drake did not look at all pleased. “God’s teeth, Valentine. Have you no thought for your friends? I have not heard from you for days. I had every intention of returning to Blackwater, but your odd behaviour keeps me in town. Three times, I have called around and left a note. Either something is dreadfully amiss, or you need to dismiss your butler.”
“I haven’t time to talk now. I am needed across town.”
Drake frowned. “Now I know something is wrong. Never, in all the time I’ve known you, have I heard a thread of panic in your voice.” Drake glanced back over his shoulder at Valentine’s carriage. “I am coming with you. During the journey, you can explain what the hell is going on.”
“This is not your fight.”
It wasn’t Valentine’s fight, either. Yet he felt responsible for Miss Kendall. Perhaps it stemmed from a need to prove himself worthy. To give him a cause, a purpose. While he supported his friends in their quests for vengeance, it was too late to do anything about the devil haunting Valentine’s dreams. His father was dead.
“Your fight is my fight. Are we not as close as brothers?”
Valentine considered his friend’s broad shoulders and dark, devilish features. Only a fool would reject Drake’s offer of assistance. And if Miss Kendall had entered the Pit, heaven knows what trouble awaited them.
“Very well,” Valentine agreed. “I shall tell you everything on the way.”
They settled into the carriage and were soon rattling through town. After enquiring after Drake’s wife, Juliet, and giving a brief outline of events since the duel near Chalk Farm, Valentine said, “And so, I suspect Miss Kendall has dressed in gentlemen’s clothes with the intention of visiting the Pit. I can only assume she plans to accost her brother to prevent him from squandering his inheritance.”
“The Pit?” Drake’s tone conveyed shock and a hint of admiration. “The lady has courage in abundance.”
“Courage? She is oblivious to the dangers.” Indeed, one might consider her actions reckless if they did not stem from love and a sense of duty.
Drake folded his arms across his chest and relaxed back in the seat. “You seem to have spent an awful lot of time with Miss Kendall these last few days.”
“The lady is a close friend of my mother’s, and you know I will do anything to bring Honora peace.”
“Not quite anything.” Drake smirked. “Your mother wants you to marry the widow and yet you have had ample opportunity to make Lady Durrant an offer. One might believe you’re stalling.”
Valentine was about to construct a suitable reply, but Drake knew him better than anyone, and he was tired of pretending. “I have no desire to propose to Lady Durrant.”
The truth brought a sudden sense of calm.
“But did you not come home to prove to Lady Durrant that you are a man capable of commitment?”
“Partly.” He came home when he realised the nightmares of the past lived within him and no amount of miles could change that. “I also came home to assist you in your need for vengeance.”
Drake pursed his lips. “But you said you were determined to marry the widow.”
“Devil take it, Drake. I know what I said. But I spoke out of duty and certainly not from a place of love.”
This time Drake could not suppress a chuckle. “You don’t know how relieved I am to know you have abandoned all designs on Lady Durrant. The widow is no good for you. You need a woman who teases your mind as well as your—”
“Then wait until you meet Miss Kendall. The lady drives me to distraction in every regard.”
“Good. Someone had to bring chaos to your ordered life.”