The presence of a weapon reassured Duke as he moved around the front of the building and found the door. The faintest glimmer of light beckoned him in, guiding him toward a lone lamp, propped upon an empty barrel. He could make out the outlines of piles of wooden crates and though he had not had an opportunity to research the ownership of the building, he would wager his entire inheritance that Doyle owned the building and likely smuggled goods out of it. A man willing to go to such lengths was into more than hiring children as pickpockets.
He twisted at the sound of footsteps. No sign of his father. Not that he was surprised.
The two men stalking toward him were big—almost bigger than Roman—and well-built. The quality of their clothing did not match the scars and pockmarks upon their faces. They might be clothed like gentlemen, but Duke had no doubt these men were born in the gutters or workhouses. He’d have to tread extremely carefully.
“Where’s my father?” he demanded.
The lamplight flickered over the features of the nearest man. Duke gritted his teeth. He recognized the uneven smile as the light caught on a golden tooth. A man likely well looked after by his boss with such a fixing in his mouth.
A man willing to do anything for the Doyles.
A man who had beaten him and left him almost for dead. If he was not careful, tonight would be a repeat of that.
Chapter Eighteen
“I’m going to kill him.”
Violet eyed Clementine’s firmly set jaw and bunched fists. She’d never put much stock in the idea that redheads had a more fiery temper than others but, at present, she did not much envy Roman. Her sister might change her mind about killing her husband, however, once Violet informed her that strange men had been spotted on the grounds.
Violet pressed her lips together. It was far better to believe Roman and Duke had gone off on their own rather than having been taken.
Clementine’s face paled and she peered up at Violet from her position upon the bed. Violet instantly regretted waking her sister to see if Roman had seen Duke but now it seemed both men were missing.
“Unless...you do not think those men took them? Kidnapped them like they did Duke’s father?”
Violet eyed the Persian rug underfoot and twined her hands together.
Clementine sank onto her bed. “Oh Lord...”
“No. It’s impossible.” Violet clasped her sister’s shoulders. “Two men of Duke and Roman’s size kidnapped? It’s practically laughable.”
“Yes,” she replied softly. “Laughable.” She gave a strained smile. “I cannot believe I slept through him leaving. Usually I wake at the slightest of movement.” Thunder sounded in the distance and Clementine made a vague gesture. “I even slept through the storm.” She wrapped both arms around herself.
Violet forced herself to unclench her jaw. If Roman was indeed not kidnapped and Duke had persuaded him to go who knew where with him, she’d kill both men herself for worrying Clementine like this. Her sister might be married and grown but that did not stop her being her little sister.
“I’m sure they have just gone...somewhere,” Violet said vaguely.
“In this storm?”
“When have men ever done anything that makes sense?” Violet snatched a nightrail from the nearby chair and held it out. “But for now, we must gather in one room. There may still be intruders on the grounds.”
“Is the house secure?”
Violet nodded. “The footmen are checking now.”
“And is anyone else missing?”
“No.”
Clementine blew out a long breath, rose, and shoved her arms into the nightrail. Violet helped her sister cinch it around her waist and gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I was thinking—”
Violet whirled when the bedroom door burst open, fists lifted. She blinked a few times and put a hand to her chest at the sight of her aunt, gray spiraling about her shoulders, her expression determined.
“Aunt Sarah, good Lord, you startled us.” Violet resisted the need to rub her eyes when she spied the sword clasped in Aunt Sarah’s hands. “Why, um, do you have a sword?”
“The footman who awoke me said there had been intruders sighted. I’m here to protect you.”
Clementine swung a glance Violet’s way. “Where did you even get the sword?”