“Down the street to the magistrate’s office,” he said, wrapping her arm in his.
She inhaled sharply. “Are you going to order the magistrate to conduct a search of the sister’s home?”
He nodded. “Mr. Barrow and his men will accompany him.”
“What about us?”
Ambrose shook his head. “No, we are returning to the Huntsford Academy to pick up my brothers and your friends for our dinner engagement.”
“But–” She stopped herself, now realizing she could no longer behave like an opinionated bluestocking who blurted her every thought. She had to start thinking like a duchess. “Yes, of course. Um, should you not let Mr. Barrow know where he can find us later? I’m sure he will have news to report as soon as his search has been conducted.”
Ambrose’s lips curved in the barest hint of a smile. “You will find us dining at the Wilton Hotel, Mr. Barrow. However, if the search takes longer than anticipated, report to me at my home. It does not matter the hour. I will instruct my staff to wake me.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“And what of me?” She turned pleading eyes on Ambrose. “I will instruct Watling to have me wakened no matter the hour. Will you send word to me if your book is found?”
Ambrose grinned. “Yes, for I doubt you will rest at all until the matter is put to rest one way or another.”
They all marched off to the magistrate’s office.
Adela marveled at how quickly Ambrose was shown into the magistrate’s office and how quickly the search warrant was issued. They could not have been there more than ten minutes before the magistrate, his constables, and the Bow Street runners were armed with warrant and ready to march off to the sister’s home. Yes, this is what it meant to be a duke, and why so many of them had elevated opinions of themselves.
It spoke well of Ambrose that he showed more of a level head than she had, for she was incensed and thirsting for Runyon’s blood. She would have enjoyed smashing her fist into that wretched man’s nose and hearing the crunch of cartilage. However, she was not truly bloodthirsty and would have felt ill if he were truly beaten up.
That Ambrose restrained himself and did not consider giving the man a thorough beating spoke volumes about the goodness of his heart. He had conducted himself in a more civilized fashion than she had.
They climbed back in his carriage to return to the Huntsford Academy and pick up the others. Ambrose settled across from her, easing back against the squabs and stretching his large frame so that he took up most of the seat.
He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, and this made her smile. “You seem confident they will find your book.”
He grinned at her, finally allowing his satisfaction to show. “Yes, it is the only place it can be. Your notes, too.”
“I hope so. It will be nice to have them back. But I will not fret if they are not among the items found. The knowledge is still up here.” She tapped a finger against her forehead. “I can reconstruct the research.”
She cleared her throat. “You handled this sad affair beautifully. Better than I ever could. It would have been so easy to beat the truth out of him. You could have gotten away with it, for your privilege of rank would have protected you. But you chose to act honorably, even if it was the most frustrating thing imaginable…well, it was to me. You were solid in your resolve and knew it would end in our favor eventually.”
“Nor was it easy for me. I wanted to pound that craven scoundrel to dust. But this is not what men go to war and fight for. We fight to live in a civil world where our loved ones know they will be safe. It may be imperfect and often frustrating, but no family should ever fear of a child or parent or sibling suddenly being hauled off to prison, being beaten or worse, perhaps never being heard from again. Some like Runyon think they are getting the better of us, but they are not. They always get caught in the end.”
“Well, he is not caught yet.”
“He will be. This is the breakthrough in the investigation we were all hoping for.”
She nodded. “I am very proud of you, Ambrose. I knew you were a man of valor, but did not realize how profoundly honorable and blessed with good sense you are. I will do my best to be a good duchess. Seems I have a lot to learn from you.”
“I am not perfect by any means, Adela.” He leaned forward to take her hand. “I know you wish me to say something about your declaration in the carriage earlier.”
“My blurting that I love you?” She shook her head. “You needn’t. I just wanted you to know my feelings. It is not something I ever expected to say to any man, quite frankly. I don’t know why I was compelled to tell you in that moment. The need bubbled up inside me and I did not want to keep it from you. But I know it is too soon for you to feel this way about me.”
She sighed and continued. “Perhaps you will never love me. We cannot force someone to love us, can we? Being the man you are, I know you will always be kind to me. Oh, here we are, back at the Huntsford Academy. I hope Syd and Octavian have not killed each other.”
Ambrose chuckled. “Julius is the youngest of us, but he has a good head on his shoulders. He will keep them from taking a hatchet to each other.”
“Well, Gory will not mind having their cadavers to study if Julius cannot stop them before they do each other in,” she said with a light laugh.
They entered and soon rounded up the four of them.
“Find anything of interest?” Ambrose asked.
