AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Drake nodded. “Besides, it might not matter anyway. I’m quite certain she turned me down.”
Ness’s laughter didn’t stop. If anything, it grew louder. “She did?” he finally managed. Then he visibly made an effort to control his mirth. “I wouldn’t take it too personally. She probably knows how ostracized she’ll be, how horribly she’ll be treated by those in theton. I had the same concerns about marrying Jocelyn.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Drake mused, suddenly glad Ness had explained her actions from his perspective. If anyone would know how it felt to marry someone above their station, it would be Ness, who’d somehow seduced a countess. Drake himself had been guilty of assuming Ness had been after the status and money, but now that he’d seen Ness with his lovely bride, he had no doubt there was truly love between them.
“I’m sure O’Brien will feel better knowing you tried to do the right thing.” Ness leaned back in his chair, looking more relaxed than he’d been since they started the day.
“It reflects well upon him that he’s so concerned about his wife’s lady’s maid,” Drake said grudgingly.
“Heather is more than a lady’s maid to all of us,” Ness replied reproachfully. “She’s family.”
The wordfamilydug into Drake’s chest like a cocklebur because he didn’t think he’d ever truly experienced that, and he longed so desperately for it that it embarrassed him.
Drake pushed to his feet. “Well, I’m going to go find Pond and have him give me a full report. Send someone for me if you have any luck finding Lindon.”
Ness nodded, and Drake strode from the room, wondering why it had pained him so much to hear Ness speak about family. He supposed that it was because he’d felt that last night. That the rest of them were a sort of family and he wasn’t a part of it. He’d always felt like that, since his own family wasn’t really much of one at all. Amelia had spent most of her life with their aunt, Danbury was a monster who’d never done anything other than pick on Drake, and his father was a beast of a different kind. The marquess was a cold, cruel man who didn’t seem to care about anything but the title.
Perhaps that was why he’d proposed to Heather last night. He’d looked around and seen the warmth and love in the room and suddenly wanted that fiercely for himself.
Maybe he was just tired of being alone.
He hired a hack to take him to his house, realizing he still hadn’t found out what had happened to his carriage and driver. Ness had men looking for them, but he felt a personal responsibility to bring his driver home safely. Edgar had been with him for years, and although Drake didn’t know him well, he did know that he had an elderly mother who needed him. If the worst had happened, Drake needed to make certain the old woman was cared for.
Lindon had a lot to answer for when he found him.
Drake had the hack driver drop him off about a block away from his family townhome, then slowly walked down the street, his eyes peeled for Constable Pond. He found him half a block away, leaning in the shadows of a house across the street, his gaze sharp and focused.
“Constable Pond,” he called softly, coming up beside him. “How are you, lad?”
Randall Pond was a serious, eager young man with dark hair and deep, soulful brown eyes reminiscent of a puppy. O’Brien and Ness thought the world of him, and he’d done such a good job of keeping track of Danbury during the daylight hours that perhaps it was time for them to give him a little more responsibility.
Pond’s eyes lit up. “Sir! Very glad to see you! We’ve been worried about you.”
Drake smiled. The lad seemed completely sincere. “Thank you, Pond. Had a bit of a rough go of it, but I’m fine now. Have you anything to report?”
“I do, sir. Danbury seems to suddenly have a very keen interest in Burrow’s tailor shop. He’s been there five times in the last two weeks. And every time he goes, he pays close attention to the tailor’s wife, Mrs. Maria Burrow. She’s a lovely woman, quite a few years younger than her husband, Mr. Burrow.”
“Interesting,” Drake said with a frown. “Does he seem interested in her romantically?”
“That would be my guess,” Pond said with a nod. “But she seems loyal to her husband.”
“I think I’ll set someone else to watch her then,” Drake assured the younger man. “Good work, Pond.”
Pond beamed at the praise, and Drake clasped him on the shoulder before saying goodbye and then continuing on to his father’s majestic townhouse, which had frankly never felt like a home.
He paused on the front steps for a moment, deciding that he’d never come back here until he caught the bastard. He’d been remaining in residence the last few years mainly to keep an eye on Danbury, but it had taken a toll. Even before he’d known that his brother was The Viper, he’d feared what he might do. Though they rarely saw each other, it had been difficult to live under the same roof with such evil.
The door opened for him, and he nodded at the butler, Wheeler, as he entered the front hall. “Is Danbury around?” he asked, handing off his coat.
“I believe he’s in the study,” Wheeler replied.
Drake strode down the hall and entered the study without knocking. “Danbury,” he said curtly.
His brother looked up from some paperwork on the desk in front of him, frowning. “Drake,” he murmured. “To what do I owe this honor?” It always amazed Drake that Danbury looked so damned unassuming. He had the same dark eyes and hair as Drake but was much slimmer and dressed like a dandy. If one passed him on the street they’d never guess that the viscount’s favorite pastime was murdering young women.
Drake took a seat in the chair in front of the desk, trying not to show how much it disgusted him to even be in the same room with his brother now that he knew for certain what the bastard had done.
“I’m moving out,” Drake said abruptly. “Thought you should know.”
