The Lady and the Duke (11 page)

"You won't get far," he called, as the viscount reached the hall, hoping to stall him. "If you take my sister, I will use every one of the considerable resources at my fingertips to hunt you down like a maddened dog."

Fear flashed in Claremont's gaze, but his expression hardened with desperation, his grip on Lisle not loosening even a bit. "I don't have a choice."

"Let her go."

"I can't," whispered the viscount, his expression haunted, a bead of sweat rolling down his pasty face. "She has something of mine and I need it back. They'll kill me if I don't."

"And I will kill you if you take one more step with her."

Claremont shuddered as he raised the gun again, focusing on Will. "Not if you are already dead."

As the viscount squeezed the trigger, Will threw himself sideways off the bed, and prayed.

Chapter Twelve

Audrey's head jerked up at the sound of a woman's cry in the rooms above. The door to the kitchen slammed open and bounced against the wall, almost knocking the innkeeper off his feet as he rushed through.

"What's going on?" Audrey cried, but the man pushed past her, heading for the front door.

"I'll not have a trouble in my inn, I won't. Calling for the watch," he muttered, shoving open the door and disappearing into the night. Audrey swung back to regard the stairs.

Will had asked her to stay downstairs. He had made her promise she would stay out of the way. It was killing her not to know what was happening above.

The retort of a pistol upstairs had her sprinting toward the stairs, Will's directive irrelevant in the face of her fear. Heart slamming in her chest, she took the steps as quickly as she could hampered by her skirts, a refrain chanting within her over and over.

Please. Please not him.

Glancing around wildly as she reached the top of the stairs, Audrey  caught sight of a man edging out of one of the rooms, dragging a struggling blond woman with him. The woman screamed and thrashed, as she clawed at the man's arms and neck. He swore and shoved her away violently. The woman tripped, tangled in her dress, and fell into a heap at the viscount's feet.

Audrey crept forward, praying she didn't attract the man's notice as he stood facing away from her. Where was Will? Dear God, where was he?

"You stupid woman. You have no idea what you've meddled in. This is bigger than a few gold coins; it is empires and wars and death. Always death. And you and your foolish brother will not ruin it for me." The viscount was white with fury, spittle flying as he shouted. With a snarl, he raised the pistol, aiming into the room beyond Will's sister.

"Coward." Lisle spat at him, her thin hands gripping her skirts. "Leave him alone! He is already hurt, he cannot stop you. Just go."

At her words, time stopped for Audrey. Claremont shot Will. He could be lying in the room, bleeding,
dying
, at that very moment. She must reach him. She stared at the viscount's back as she silently moved closer, willing him to keep his back to her.

The man's laugh was ugly as he stared down at Will's sister and he pulled the hammer back on the pistol, the ominous clicking sound reverberating in Audrey's heart. He lowered the gun, until the barrel pointed directly at her face.

"Give me what I want, and I'll leave. You'll never see me again."

"You cannot have it, Rupert."

"You will take me to where you are keeping it."

"
You cannot have it
." Will's sister glared up at him defiantly. "I have sent it to my brother's solicitors, for I knew you would not be reasoned with."

The viscount's face was mottled with rage and the hand holding the gun shook. "No! You bi
—
"

Audrey rushed forward, determined to save Will's sister from being shot. She barreled into Claremont, causing his shot to go wide and plow into the wall instead. Unable to check her momentum, they went down in a flurry of arms and legs. His fist lashed out, catching Audrey in the ribs, knocking her breath out. She curled up, struggling to draw in air, as Claremont staggered to his knees. His leering face loomed over her as he raised his empty pistol to deal her a blow, then disappeared from her sight in a whirlwind of skirts and spitting mad woman as Lisle launched herself at him.

***

Will blinked, his head muzzy as he came to, lying on the floor next to the bed. He levered himself into a sitting position, the slow burn in his shoulder flashing white-hot as he put weight on his right hand.

"Shit." Reaching up gingerly, his fingers came away sticky with blood. Apparently he hadn't ducked fast enough. The bastard had shot him. And taken Lisle.

Will scrambled to his feet, the pain his shoulder forgotten at the thought, just in time to see the viscount backhand his sister across the hall. She skidded away from him, slamming into the wall with a cry. Will launched himself forward with a roar, colliding with the viscount as he gained his feet. The men struggled, for but a moment before Claremont punched him in the shoulder. Seeing starbursts as the pain sent him to his knees, Will grabbed the man's coat as he attempted to flee, refusing to let go. But the blood loss had weakened him enough for the viscount to pry his fingers loose and shove him away. Claremont laughed, an ugly sound, and began to turn to the stairs.

"I would not, were I you."

At the sound of Audrey's voice, Will closed his eyes in despair. He hadn't even realized she was in the hallway, so intent he had been on the viscount.

"What do you think you're going to do with that thing? Shoot me?"

At the undercurrent of fear running through Claremont's sarcasm, Will opened his eyes. Audrey stood just in front of him and Lisle, and to one side, the bow from his costume in her hands. Her stance was confident, bowstring drawn tight and the arrow fixed in place, her gaze narrowed on the viscount.

"Yes. If you try to run, that's exactly what I plan to do."

Claremont's lip peeled back and he started to turn away again. "Woman, you don't have the—"

With one smooth, swift motion, Audrey released the arrow. It flew straight and true, lodging itself in the viscount's calf. With a girlish scream, he dropped to the floor, clutching his leg.

"She shot me. She shot me!"

Will hauled himself to his feet, and stuck his hand out to help Lisle up. Once she had gained her feet, he stepped forward, unable to keep the grin from his face. Audrey glanced over at him as he stepped abreast of her, then they both stared down at the viscount as he shrieked and rolled on the hall floor.

Will scratched his jaw.

"Got him good."

Audrey shrugged, and handed him his bow. "I did warn him."

Laughter rolled out of him and Will threw his arm around her, hugging her close. "He should have known better than to cross a country lass, but I suppose he was more used to useless, elegant ladies that swan around Bond Street."

Audrey looked startled, then thoughtful, and finally an answering grin crept across her face.

"I suppose you are lucky you had me here then instead."

"Oh, I don't believe there's any 'suppose' about it," said Will softly, staring into her wide, velvet brown eyes.

There was a commotion on in the stairwell just then and a portly older gentleman appeared, followed closely by the innkeeper, his face pinched in distress. He darted past the fallen viscount, Will and the two women, into the room, where his outraged cry was heard.

"Your Grace. Your lady wife informed me that your sister had been assaulted and kidnapped." The magistrate arrived on the heels of the innkeeper, slightly breathless. He looked down at the viscount now whimpering at their feet, then at the bow in Will's grip with consideration. "I see the problem is well in hand, however."

"Yes," Will said dryly, keeping his arm firmly around Audrey as she tried to step away. He didn't give a fig for propriety at the moment.

"We will need this offal," he nudged Claremont with his foot and the man groaned again. "...carted off to a cell. I will pay to have his wound tended, right away. After I make a call at the offices of White Hall in the morning, I believe the King's men will come to collect him."

"Wait." Audrey stopped the magistrate before he could leave. "His grace needs to see the doctor first. He has been shot in the shoulder. Then the man may tend to the viscount."

"Very good, Your Grace."

Amusement washed over Will as Audrey blinked, then went pink, realizing the man was addressing her as such. He could not wait to make her his wife in truth. The way she had stood over him with that bow drawn taunt, her stance so strong and true, was burned in his memory, ensuring justice was to be done.

What a duchess she would be.

The magistrate gestured to the two footmen who had followed him up the stairs and they hauled the viscount to his feet, dragging him weakly protesting the whole way, behind them down the corridor. The magistrate shook his head in disgust and took his leave, descending after his men. The innkeeper followed, his voice high and irate as he listed the damages Claremont was responsible for.

As they disappeared, Lisle let out a little moan and slumped against the wall. Audrey slipped out from under Will's arm, rushing forward to help brace her. Speaking soothingly in a voice too low for Will to hear, her hand rubbed his sister's back as she steered her toward the steps. They all made it down the stairs without incident, the innkeeper hastening to help them into chairs and bring them warmed wine. He assured them the doctor was on his way, then vanished back into the kitchen.

Will slumped into his chair, exhausted, his shoulder throbbing. What a night. He could hear the murmur of the two women as Audrey used a borrowed knife to cut through the rags that still bound Lisle's wrists together.

His sister was safe from Claremont. The man's unhinged actions had certainly shown to that. The courts couldn't sentence the viscount to death for kidnapping, and even attacking Will, since he was a peer himself. But they could, and probably would, banish him from the country. In fact, Will would make damn sure of it. It would be a relief to never see him again.

"Lisle, what was that
really
all about?" The women stopped talking at his quiet question, his sister going still. She didn't say anything for a moment, fiddling with her sleeve, then let out a long, weary sigh.

"I don't know...exactly," she said haltingly. Will raised an eyebrow and she straightened, her eyes narrowing. "Don't look at me so. I know very little."

"Tell us what you do know, then."

Lisle sat back in her chair, her gaze wandering to the fireplace, where the flames leapt and crackled, taking the chill out of the summer night. She cleared her throat.

"Well, you know that Rupert and I became, um, close earlier this year." Will nodded quickly, not wanting to hear any details. He wasn't a prude, but this was his sister, for Christ's sake. Lisle merely folded her hands in her lap and continued.

"I was taken in by his charm, and refused to see his dark, selfish side. He is not the man I had thought him to be, or I would have never sullied John's memory in that way." His sister's voice broke and Audrey made a sympathetic sound, reaching out to grip her hand. Lisle sent her a tremulous smile and drew in a deep breath. "But I was lonely, and blind. However, this spring I could no longer ignore the hints that he was involved in something nefarious. Unexplained disappearances for days on end, lavish spending sprees like never before and a manner that became more and more snappish and paranoid."

She shifted in her seat and met Will's gaze, flushing. "So I waited until he had left me in his townhome alone one evening and rifled through his things."

"If you think I'll condemn you, think again." Will snorted. "You were the one who told me, at age eight, that I should always listen to my instincts."

"Well, being with Rupert had twisted my sense of self and made me doubt my instincts. It took far too long to hear the warning bell tolling," Lisle replied bitterly. "Long story made short, I found evidence that he is indeed involved in some sort of double dealing against England. In a locked drawer in desk that I managed to open—"

Will whistled in admiration.

"—I found a sheaf of papers with some sort of codes and coordinates. After studying them for a few moments, I realized they were warship movements, projections for where they should be at certain times." Lisle leaned forward, her voice low and urgent. "Do you recall last autumn, when England lost three warships in the dead of night, in three separate instances? The ships were blown to pieces and the weapons never recovered, thought to be stolen by France."

A rush of appreciation warmed Will at his clever sister. "I didn't realize you kept up with the newspapers."

"Of course I do. It's my country, after all." She rolled her eyes, and Audrey bit her lip, her gaze sparkling as it met Will's. Of course she would find that admirable. She probably did the same thing. Between the two women, he would never be able to say his life was boring again.

But his sister was speaking once more.

"The point is, the three ships that had been blown to smithereens? These papers that Rupert had so secretly stowed away in his desk held their predicted movements."

All amusement fled as the implications hit Will. "He is a traitor."

Audrey sucked in a breath as Lisle nodded, her expression solemn. "I think this is so."

"My God." Will started to lean forward, wincing at the twinge in his shoulder. "I've got to get this news to the War Office. What happened to the evidence?"

"She cleverly sent it to your own solicitors before coming to London." Audrey smiled at Lisle, giving her hand a squeeze. "All you need to do is visit them on the morrow and retrieve it."

Will raised his eyebrows at his sister and confirmed it with a nod.

"Good. Then that is what I shall do first thing." He started to sit back in his chair and paused as a thought occurred to him. "What was he holding over your head for the return of the papers?"

Lisle passed a weary hand over her eyes. "Even though our affair only began a year ago, Rupert threatened to spread the rumor that we had been together before John's death, and that Malcolm was not my husband's but his."