Evelyn felt a jolt of unease and took a step forward. “What do you know of Dimmick?”
“Who is he?” the duke asked her.
“He owned the club before Rafe,” she told him. “He’s supposed to be dead.”
“If he was, he rose from the grave,” Geoffrey said, his manner superior as though he relished the thought of knowing something she didn’t.
“What’s your association with him?” Lord Tristan asked, menace reverberating through his voice.
Geoffrey stepped back as though he were in danger. “I ... I borrowed some money from him.”
“How much?”
“Too much. He threatened to kill me. You must understand ... that’s why ...”
“Why what, Geoffrey?” she asked, marching forward until she stood toe to toe with him. “Does he have anything to do with you hurting Rafe?”
“I was supposed to kill him. Then my debt would have been forgiven.”
“You were going to kill him because of money owed?”
“It was either him or me. This Dimmick fellow is a nasty bit of business.”
“You bastard!” Without thought or planning, the anger roaring through her, she bundled her hand into a fist the way Rafe had taught her, brought it back, and plowed it into Geoffrey’s face. He landed like a felled tree, blood spurting from his nose.
Lord Tristan knelt beside Geoffrey. “Looks like you broke it, sweetheart.”
“What do we do now? How do we find Rafe?”
“We’ll take him with us back to the Rakehell Club. He might be able to give us some clue that Mick will understand.”
“Idon’t know where to find Dimmick, I don’t know how to get word to him. He just shows up out of the fog,” Geoffrey whined, sounding as though he were holding his nose. It was red and angry looking, and Evelyn could see his eyes were bruising. She thought she should have felt remorse. Instead she wanted to hit him again.
They were back at the club, in Rafe’s office. Geoffrey sat in a chair while Mick and Rafe’s two brothers glared at him.
“I’d heard rumors that Dimmick hadn’t died,” Mick said. “Didn’t want to believe they were true. He holds a grudge. Makes sense that he might be responsible for Rafe’s disappearance.”
“How are we going to find him?” Evelyn asked.
“Not to worry. Got the best ferreters in the world at my fingertips. This way, Miss Chambers, gentlemen.”
Leaving Geoffrey where he was, with a huge hulk of a man watching him from the doorway, Mick led them out of the office to the balcony where they’d been earlier. Reaching up, he jangled a bell. All activity below ceased. Everyone glanced up. “Gentlemen, I must ask you all to leave. We have a bit of cleaning up to do here. When we reopen you’ll find your accounts wiped clean of debt. But you must leave now, as quickly as possible.”
A bit of grumbling echoed over the floor, but soon the only ones standing about were those who worked for the club.
“All right, listen up,” Mick said. “Seems Mr. Easton has gone missing. Spread out through St. Giles, see what you can uncover. Let me know as soon as you hear any whisperings, especially if they involve a bloke named Dimmick. Many of you know him, some of you don’t. Be grateful you don’t. Let it be known that there is a five hundred pound reward to the man or woman who can tell us exactly where Mr. Easton might be found. Off with you now.”
Everyone began to scatter.
Mick turned back to them. “That should do it. I suspect we’ll have something before the night is done.”
“They’re all from St. Giles,” Evelyn said.
“Every last one of us. He always takes the hungriest, the filthiest, the worst off of the lot—gives us something better. Not a soul out there wouldn’t die for him.”
“You’ve known my brother for a long time,” the duke said, not really questioning, but affirming.
“Ever since I was a scrap of a lad, fighting to make my way about the streets. He had no patience for me, was constantly telling me to bugger off, to leave him be. But he was always there with a ready fist when the bullies began picking on me, taught me how to raise my own fists and deliver a good solid blow. When my belly was aching, he’d toss me something to eat, even if it was all he had. He has a heart surrounded by stone, your brother. But inside that stone is a far better man than even he knows he is. I’ll go down fighting for him, and if it is Dimmick who is responsible for you not being able to find him—God help your brother, then God help Dimmick once I get my hands on him.”
