Page 76 of Duke in Darkness

“Indeed. Sometimes as crotchety Nanny types…who confiscate weapons.”

“And water down gin,” Hobbs blurted, his cheeks reddening. “I swear I won’t do that to your best brandy, though.”

“You kept me alive in Kent.”

“You kept me alive in France.”

Gabriel’s eyes burned. Any more of this, and he’d be weeping like a dandy over a book of sonnets. “Quite.”

“Indeed.”

He cleared his throat. “So. How are things progressing with Aggie?”

Hobbs brightened, clearly equally relieved to change the subject, and began trimming Gabriel’s hair again. “Very well. It’s just like old times, except better. There is one thing frustrating me no end, though.”

“What is that?”

“She is not at all enthusiastic about the prospect of marriage. Doesn’t even like discussing it. Says she has her own funds, and is past childbearing years, so is quite happy for us to be close friends who…er, you know, rather than be properly wed.”

Torn between sympathy and laughter at his valet’s unexpectedly stuffy view, Gabriel nodded solemnly. Aggie’s stance made perfect sense, really. An older widow with her own money had infinitely more freedom than most wives. And if she’d endured an unpleasant first marriage, it stood to reason that she might not be eager to try it a second time. Some men were good husbands who stayed faithful, kept their fists to themselves, and worked hard to provide for their families. Some men were not. “Pestering her about it won’t help. If you were a woman…would you risk another Captain Taylor?”

“I am not another Captain Taylor,” said Hobbs, scowling. “I am valet to a duke. Even-tempered, quite respectable, and much better paid.”

“Wait. I pay you?”

His valet rolled his eyes, and expertly swished a razor against the back of Gabriel’s neck to complete the haircut. “Yes. In full and on time, which makes a nice change from the army. Although I swear there were less intrigues there than below stairs.”

Gabriel frowned. “What is happening now?”

“You’ll not believe this, but the missing ledger has been found.”

“What?”

Hobbs nodded sardonically as he patted a warm, damp cloth across the freshly shaved area. “Indeed. I overheard a few footmen talking about it while I fetched the hot water. I believe it’s been put back in your library.”

“In time for this morning’s meeting…with the lawyers. How convenient.”

“Precisely.”

Anger bubbled. He would place a large wager on the ledger not being at all in the condition it had been taken. And he very much looked forward to the explanation of how or where it had been found when the entire townhouse had been turned upside down looking for it. But he couldn’t go into the meeting angry. Not with those two vipers Ormsby and Jacobs slithering in. He needed all his wits about him. “Will you attend?”

Hobbs blinked. “Is Her Grace not free?”

“Lilian has her last modiste fitting today. And then we are meeting at some musicale. A crony of Lady Kingsford’s.”

The older man’s lips quirked. “A double punishment. Then I would be happy to act as your witness. I am inclined to think you have a strategy in mind.”

“Come now, Hobbs. We are military men. If not one step ahead…we are dead.”

“That is the truth.”

“I’ll ask you to follow my lead. Even if it seems out of character. More flies caught with honey…than vinegar, and all that.”

Hobbs saluted. “Yes sir.”

A half hour later they were seated in the library. The missing ledger had indeed been returned, or should he say, a ledger had been returned. A similar black leather cover, and just as full with numbers and information, but the pages were whiter, far crisper and without the slight curl that often-thumbed documents had. Some poor bloody clerk had been given the task of copying the entire thing. Sans certain entries.

Disgusted, Gabriel sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. If it weren’t for Fairlie and Lilian, he would never have even known about the fraud. In fact, if it weren’t for Lilian, he would still be in a dark, drunken haze, wearing ill-fitting shoes, and being fleeced by a collection of wretches. His wife had joined him in the ducal bed three nights in a row now, and while their torrid fucking may well have played a role in his ability to sleep without disturbance for a good four hours, just having her beside him helped quell the nightmares forever threatening to unleash.