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One thing was certain to them, neither Lady Josephine nor Mr. Smith were still at Worthington Hall. They would have to seek word of them elsewhere.

* * *

The Duke of Clover was indeed treated well onThe Valiant. After a wait for fair tides, and then a short trip across the Channel to Calais, he was met by a comfortable coach that would take him to the capital. There, he was meeting with two traitors to Napoleon’s cause. Hopefully, some useful information would come out of it.

But the coach was hijacked at gunpoint on the road to Paris. The masked kidnappers waved the coach and coachman on.

“We have no quarrel with you, mon ami,” said one of the attackers. “It’s this one we want.” And they bound the Duke and took him away in a closed carriage. He tried to follow their French, but they spoke too softly for him to hear. He heard one name clearly, though. “Baron Roster.” His own nephew. How was the Baron involved in all this?

Coachman didn’t even put up a fight to help me. Bloody Frenchman.

* * *

All the way back from Lisbon, Ace occupied his mind by trying to untangle the mystery of the entail—or, in the case of the Clover family, the lack of an entail.

When the vicar had exposed young Ashton to some rudimentary Latin, he had included the famous quote from the poet Virgil,Cui bono?Which meant, “Whom does it benefit?” Follow the money, or whatever else is at stake. See who stands to gain by a scheme, and you’ll have your perpetrator.

He tried to apply that principle to the current problem.Let’s see. There is no entail on the Duke’s estate. The Duke has no son. So the title goes to the nearest male kin.

That’s Baron Roster. As His Grace’s nephew, he would become Duke upon the death of the current Duke. So if the current Duke died, Lord Alfred would be the one who benefited.

But because there’s no entail, the Baron would only get the title of Duke. He’d be, as the Lieutenant put it, one of these impoverished fellows running around with just a grand title.

Who would benefit as to the money and land, then? Lady Josephine, but only until she marries. Then her husband gets a massive dowry, and he’s the one who benefits.

Oh, my head aches,Ace thought.This is far too complicated for the likes of me.

But he wasn’t giving himself enough credit, for suddenly an explanation dawned on Ace.For the Baron to get everything, the Duke would have to die. But Josie also would have to die. Before her wedding. Which is in five weeks.After the wedding, the right to inherit the family fortune would have passed to her husband, and it would be too late for the Baron to benefit.

That meant the Duke was at risk—but Baron Roster could take his time with him. He would inherit the Duke’s title, no matter what. With Josie, however, the risk was much higher. The Baron had only five weeks left to claim any right to the Clover assets. And for the right price, he would have help from Johnny Shiemour and his thugs.

On the other side of the coin, the Earl had five weeks’ time to claim everything. So it was very much to his benefit to marry Lady Josephine, even if in his hatred he later arranged for harm to come to her.

I think I’ve figured it all out. Now, how do I stop it?Ace leaned forward and rapped on the coach box, urging the coachman to go faster.

* * *

“Don’t try to tell me you’re French!” the Duke railed at his captors. “I know you speak English! Where’s Baron Roster? Where’s my nephew?”

As if in answer to his questions, the Baron appeared at the door of the room where the Duke was being held. “I’d advise you to take a more civil tone with my friends, uncle,” said the Baron. “Everyone believes you to be abroad on a diplomatic mission. Should you die—and I just might kill you, you know—all your friends would blame Napoleon Bonaparte’s henchmen, not me.”

“But why, Alfred? I have no son. You know you’ll get the title when I die. What’s the rush? Is there some lady out there who insists on the title of duchess as a wedding present?” The Duke knew of his nephew’s taste in women—Lord Alfred liked greedy ones who could never get enough out of him.

“Close enough to the truth,” Lord Alfred said. “But a title isn’t enough for me anymore. I want everything that goes with it.”

“That’s my daughter’s birthright. And her husband’s right, once he weds her. I won’t take away what’s rightfully hers.”

“You’re giving it away to that obnoxious Earl of Worthington, which in my opinion is a terrible waste. I hate waste. Sign the rights to your inheritance over to me instead.”

“I can’t do that—you know it. There’s a marriage contract that’s already been signed. The courts would never let me breach it.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. I was hoping you’d see reason—I didn’t want things to go in this direction. But I’m afraid that in order to ensure I get my rightful inheritance, we’ll have to get rid of my little cousin too. Before any wedding takes place.

“It’s a pity. But frankly, I never really liked Josephine, even when she was a child. Always clamoring for attention—so entitled and spoiled! Oh, well. I suppose that makes what I have to do easier.”

The Duke considered trying to fight his way out of the room while the door stood open. But his nephew was considerably younger and more fit than he was. And besides, Alfred’s thugs were no doubt waiting right outside. He had to stay alive, to try and help Josephine.

* * *

What no one knew, much less counted upon, was that Paddy and Charley were in the town of Worthington. They had received no orders from Ace, so after several days, they went to Worthington Hall to inquire. The Clover party had left and were bound for London, a snobbish old butler told them.

“You stay here, Charley, in case there’s word. I’ll go to London and see if Ace is waiting for us there. Either way, I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

Paddy found that none of Ace’s acquaintances believed Ace had returned to London. No one had seen him, even Billy Snapper. Paddy checked at Clover House—seizing the excuse to see Mary for a few minutes. But no one there had seen Ace either.

Lady Hermione, their old acquaintance from Vauxhall Gardens, was staying as a guest at Clover House to keep Lady Seraphina company. She confided in Paddy that she was very worried. Not only had Ace gone missing at Worthington Hall, but Lady Josephine had also disappeared before they left. The Duke was abroad on urgent business, and so the ladies had no one to turn to.

“Even if they had eloped, she would have written to me secretly by now. I fear some harm has befallen them. That Earl of Worthington is evil, make no mistake.”

“My sentiments exactly, my lady. But don’t you worry,” Paddy said. “Charley and I are on the case now. We’ll sort this out, never fear.”

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