Page 70 of Only Scandal Will Do

“Perhaps we should have sent word of our change in plans, Duncan,” Katarina said. She glowed, with excitement, no doubt, at the prospect of their return. “Everyone will be shocked to see us.”

“I expect so, love.” Duncan assisted her from the carriage. “They will be surprised both at our early return and our insatiable lust for one another.” He leered at his wife, quite unabashed.

“Duncan!” She laughed and slapped his arm in pretended outrage. “Behave. We must send word immediately to Jack and Juliet. She is with your aunt?”

“Yes, and I daresay, already had enough of Aunt Phoebe and wishes herself back at Lady Honoria’s. But perhaps they have their heads together planning the wedding.” Juliet had become engaged to Mr. Sutton just before he and Katarina had sailed. “That would at least distract poor Juliet from Aunt Phoebe’s whining. She’s such a high stickler, we always hated having her visit.” He grinned as a flurry of activity began at the front door.

Grayson opened the door, his mouth dropping open in shock as his master and mistress strode in, arm and arm, laughing and talking together as though they had been happily married for years. Duncan tried to control a smirk. They would be a nine days wonder.

“My...my lord! You have returned? But how is that possible? The letter could not have reached you yet.” Grayson paled as though he thought a ghost stood before him.

“Letter?” Duncan assisted Katarina with the removal of her shawl, which revealed his wife’s plump breasts pushed high by her tight corset. His mouth dried and Grayson’s voice faded from hearing.

“Yes, my lord. The letter concerning Lady Juliet.”

“Lady Juliet?” He swung back to Grayson. “Why would you write to me about Juliet?”

“Because she is missing, my lord.”

The butler’s agitation now became clear. All pleasant thoughts of their homecoming vanished. He grasped Grayson by the shoulders. “Missing! What do you mean? How can my sister be missing?”

The man winced with pain.

“Duncan.” Katarina touched his arm, and he released his butler, who rubbed the injured area, glancing fearfully at him.

In an attempt to marshal a calmness he did not feel, Duncan clenched his fists at his sides. “Grayson, start at the beginning. Why do you say Lady Juliet is missing? Did she not go to stay with Lady Honoria Claypool the day after we left?”

“No, my lord. She did not.”

“Then tell me what happened, man!” he thundered. Juliet, abducted, held for ransom, taken to some God-forsaken house... Like Katarina. Abducted, thrown on the block at Madame Vestry’s and sold to the highest bidder. Oh God.

Duncan held still, concentrating only on breathing. The possibility Juliet had suffered a similar fate blotted out Katarina, Grayson, and the whole of the bustling foyer. The next thing he knew, he was sitting beside Katarina in Juliet’s parlor. A deep breath and his focus cleared-Juliet’s safety depended on his calm command of the situation--which enabled him to ask the most pertinent question. “How long ago?”

“The day after you left, my lord.”

“Christ!” An icy hand squeezed his heart. Katarina looked just as dazed at the news. Her bewilderment steadied him. “What has been done to recover her, Grayson?” Damn it, such neglect was unforgivable! This could mean his sister’s reputation, if not her life. “Tell me that you have contacted the watch, Bow Street...someone?”

“But, my lord...” Grayson’s normally unflinching voice was a slight, subdued whisper. “I did not think it necessary at the time.” The man blanched and looked as if he awaited certain death.

“And why in God’s name not?” Duncan leapt to his feet, making the pendant crystals in the foyer chandelier jangle discordantly in the vibrating air.

“Because she left with the gentleman voluntarily, my lord.”

Duncan lunged at the older man and only his servant’s hasty retreat to the chaise lounge saved him from certain mayhem at his hands. Why would Juliet willingly leave with a man? By Katarina’s shocked expression, she had no explanation for the bizarre statement either. He turned to the servant.

The butler had taken the brief interlude to put more distance between them to stand almost in the doorway.

With an effort, Duncan unclenched his fists. “Come here, Grayson.” The butler took a few grudging steps into the room.

“Tell me what happened, exactly what happened, that day.”

Some of the servant’s color returned as he began his explanation. “The morning after you and Lady Dalbury left, my lord, Lady Juliet breakfasted, then was to leave for Lady Honoria’s house before noon. Her trunks were packed and in the luggage cart. She’d just finished her tea, when someone rapped on the door. It was a gentleman I had never seen before. I supposed he had come to call on you and I was about to inform him of your departure, when he asked to see Lady Juliet.”

“By name?”

“Yes, my lord. Lady Juliet Ferrers. Those were his exact words.”

“Do you think it could have been Mr. Sutton, Duncan?” Katarina asked, hope stealing into her voice.