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Chapter Twenty-Four
It was an hour after he had gone to the blacksmith, and Byron still didn’t see any signs of the Duke of Winnett. After going to the blacksmith, he had returned to the inn. Then he snuck out a side exit and made his way to the place where the carriages were kept. The small window along the wall gave him an ideal view of the front of the inn and the window of the room Eleanor was in.
There were people milling about. About six had gone into the inn. Byron made sure to hide himself whenever the coachmen and innkeeper’s staff put the carriages in this building. The horses went to the livery stable. This building was the ideal place to wait for the Duke of Winnett since, for the most part, it was free of people.
Unfortunately, a hiding spot did no good if Byron wasn’t able to catch the person he wanted. He resisted the urge to utter a curse word. It was possible this was a waste of time. Maybe the duke hadn’t followed him and Eleanor out of London. Maybe the duke had already turned his attention to some other lady.
Byron rubbed the back of his neck. If he had to spend a significant amount of time keeping watch over the duke when he got back to London, he was going to have to take another loan from Eris to cover food and rent until he could take a paying job. He just could not, in all good conscience, allow the duke to roam free. If the duke was allowed to get away with the incidents he pulled on Eleanor, there was no telling what he’d do to someone else.
Something splintered then cracked in one of the carriages. Without thinking, Byron turned in the direction of the sound. His eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed like that sound came from his carriage. He gave another glance out the window. Nothing of interest was happening out there. He didn’t see any signs of the Duke of Winnett. His gaze swept the building he was in. It was cluttered with carriages. It was possible he wasn’t alone.
Byron softly made his way over to the carriage he and Eleanor had been using. He had inspected the carriage earlier that day, and he remembered that all of the wheels had been in good shape. Now he saw that the front right wheel was cracked. The crack started at the top and went to the center. Byron frowned. Someone had tampered with this wheel after he and Eleanor checked into the inn. And he bet he knew exactly who had done it.
He stopped walking around the carriage and glanced around. What if the duke wasn’t after Eleanor? What if the duke was after him? Up to now, Byron had been so worried about Eleanor that he had neglected to consider that, by being betrothed to Eleanor, he had put himself in harm’s way. The duke might still want to kidnap her, but he maybe intended to frame it as a rescue.
With Byron alone in this building, the duke could come up with any story he wanted. And Byron and the duke both knew that Eleanor’s father wouldn’t believe her. Her father would believe whatever story the duke came up with.
Byron was too exposed. He was between his carriage and another one. That left him closer to the middle of the building than was safe. The safest place was along the wall or, perhaps, inside a carriage. No doubt, the duke was somewhere that was hard to find. Since Byron couldn’t look in all directions at once, that put him at a disadvantage. The duke knew where he was, but Byron didn’t know where the duke was.
Byron gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe he had been stupid enough to fall for this trap. After sixteen years of being a Runner, he should know better than to run over to a carriage just because he heard a sound come from it. He glanced in windows of the carriages on his left and right. No one was in them. The carriages weren’t exactly close to each other, but they did give him some cover. It was the only reason why the duke hadn’t come at him yet.
Byron felt like a fool. The duke had figured out what he was doing all along, and he realized Byron was going to come out here to wait for him to go to the inn. Byron took a moment to gather his bearings. This wasn’t over yet. The duke was in here, and that gave Byron a chance to get him. He just needed to anticipate the duke’s next move. If he was the duke, where would he be hiding?
The carriages weren’t lined up in any sort of order, but their arrangement wasn’t haphazard, either. The staff had put each carriage in a position where any of them could be retrieved without having to move another carriage out of its way. That left a sort of maze. So really, any direction was open to the duke.
However…
While the average criminal might hide behind a carriage, hidingunderone would be a move most people wouldn’t expect.
Byron looked down just in time to see a hand reach out from the carriage on his left. He lifted his foot before the duke could grab his ankle. Then he dropped to his knees and peered under the carriage. The duke grunted and moved back so that he was no longer under the carriage.
Byron jumped to his feet and ran around the carriage. The duke was just making it to his feet. Byron knocked the knife out of the duke’s hand. Before the duke had time to grab the weapon, Byron leapt at him. The two went toppling into another carriage. The duke made an attempt to punch Byron. Byron dodged his fist.
The duke might be skilled when it came to planning things, but, thankfully, he wasn’t adept at physical combat. And that gave Byron the advantage. Byron grabbed the duke by the lapels of his jacket and threw him to the ground. Byron pinned him to the ground so he couldn’t get away and then forced him onto his stomach. The duke tried to wiggle out from under him, but Byron used the bulk of his weight on the man’s back so his efforts were in vain.
Byron waited until the duke stopped fighting before he retrieved the handcuffs from his pocket. He grabbed the duke’s hands and cuffed them together. Out of breath, he rose to his feet then helped the duke up.
“It’s just my luck you’re as good as they said,” the duke grumbled.
Byron supposed he should enjoy the compliment, but he was too relieved to acknowledge it. The only thing he cared about was that he had finally caught the duke. And now the duke wouldn’t pose a threat to anyone, especially Eleanor, ever again. Releasing his breath, he led the duke out of the building.
***
“We were shocked when we heard the news of your elopement with Byron,” Tara said as she picked up her cup of tea. “But the greatest shock came when we heard that the Duke of Winnett followed you two to Gretna Green and tried to kill Byron so he could marry you.”
Eleanor took a sip of her tea. She and Byron had only been back in London for a day. The last thing she expected was for Tara, Stacey, and Heather to pay her a visit. She had assumed they wouldn’t want to associate with her anymore since her financial and social position had gone down considerably. Not that she minded it. She preferred her newfound love with Byron. She now had a place where she belonged, and he was turning out to be an attentive husband. Just that morning before he went to a judge to discuss the situation with the Duke of Winnett, he had brought her some flowers and some parchment so she could write if she got bored.
As soon as she received a request from Tara to visit, she was too nervous to do anything beyond tidy up the place. The flowers Byron had given her in Gretna Green were hanging upside down in the bedroom. They were almost dried out completely. Once done, she planned to put them out in the main room in a vase. Her gaze went to the fresh flowers on the center of the table before she turned her attention back to the three ladies, who were looking expectantly at her.
“The Duke of Winnett didn’t love me,” Eleanor finally said. “He only wanted my father’s money.”
“We know,” Heather spoke up. “Word is that you had calling cards from gentlemen that got intercepted by someone the duke hired. We don’t know the man’s name, but we heard he’s with the judge giving his confession.”
Stacey nodded. “It turned out that the Duchess of Ashbourne’s lessons paid off. Are you sorry you didn’t get a chance to marry someone with a title or money?”
Eleanor shook her head. “No, I’m very happy with Byron. I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else.”
“That’s wonderful,” Heather replied. “We ought to all have love matches.”
