Jilting the Duke (34 page)

Garrulous Mary noticed all the men in the stable yard, and it was easy to learn anything she noticed. Ox hadn't spoken to any at the inn, save for calling for a new horse. He hadn't even haggled the price, Mary had added with surprise.

Lucy placed the last dish in the drying rack. She let the water drain from the sink as she wiped her hands on a rag. Perhaps she should stay another week.

From the hook beside the garden door, she lifted a long, black knit shawl Nell had loaned her for her evening walks in the kitchen garden and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Behind her from the dining hall, she could hear raised voices and shouts, then footsteps ran toward the kitchen. Alarmed, she stepped outside, pulling the door quietly shut behind her. She put her ear to the door, hearing muttered curses, and the kitchen being searched. She pulled the shawl over her head and slipped to the side a few feet—into a darkened corner where the garden wall met the house. There a trellis covered with roses climbed the face of the wall, creating a small declivity where she could step out of sight. She had found it weeks ago when she'd examined the house and yard, looking for places to hide should she need them.

The door opened, the light from the kitchen creating a tall shadow on the ground. She remained very still.

“Lucy!” one of Nell's sons called into the garden from inside the house. “Lucy! Alice!”

She did not move or answer. She would not show herself until she knew why she was wanted and by whom.

“What are you doing, boy?” Alice's voice joined Ned's. “Lucy's done for the night. Leave her be.”

“B-b-but there's a lord in the yard. His carriage was attacked by highwaymen,” Ned stammered. “Ma said to find you and Lucy.”

Not Ox or her cousin. Lucy stepped out from beneath the roses and returned to the kitchen, as if responding to Ned's call. If there were wounded, she might be of use.

Rachael Miles
has always loved a good romance, especially one with a bit of suspense and preferably a ghost. She is also a professor of book history and nineteenth-century literature whose students frequently find themselves reading the novels of Ann Radcliffe and other gothic tales. Rachael lives in her home state of Texas with her indulgent husband, three rescued dogs, and an ancient cat.

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ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-4086-6
ISBN-10: 1-4201-4086-8

ISBN: 978-1-5831-4086-4