She tensed, feeling a presence at her back.
“I believe you ought to leave Miss Mary alone, Mr. Heggerty. Surely your reputation will not fare well when gossip spreads about you harassing a lone woman in public.”
Sibyl almost collapsed at the sound of the Duke of Stonehelm’s voice.
He had found her. Buthow?
Her stomach sank to her feet, and she slowly turned around, finding his blazing, hard gaze on her.
“Mary.” He offered his hand, not to take but to pull her away from the manager.
Mary?
She frowned, only to realize that he had deliberately hidden her identity.
His eyes flicked back to the manager. “Mary is one of my maids. I sent her here to deliver a message, which she has done. So let her be, Mr. Heggerty.”
“Well, she has been?—”
“I understand, and she will be reprimanded.” The Duke’s voice lowered so the patrons could not hear.
Still, Sibyl felt the burn of shame when he glared at her in silent warning. Whether it was because she wouldbe reprimanded for sneaking out to search for her husband alone or because she should play along, she didn’t know.
“Here.” The Duke dug into his coat pocket and tossed Mr. Heggerty a handful of banknotes, which the man caught with ease. “For your trouble.”
At that, the manager’s face brightened, and his sneer turned into a pleasant smile. “Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace. We’ll be very happy to see you back at our establishment.”
With that, Sibyl’s wrist was grabbed discreetly but not painfully, and she was guided out of the Spindle.
As soon as the fresh night air hit her face, she whirled back to the door. “I must?—”
The next thing she knew, she was being pulled into an alley next to the gaming hell, her back hitting the stone wall.
The Duke loomed over her, his eyes dark in the dim light. Fear rose in her chest, too nauseating to think for a moment.
“What kind of fool do you take me for?” he hissed. “You snuck out alone. You deceived me. You risked getting discovered here,of all places.” His words came hard and fast. “Do you know what kind of men frequent these gaming hells? You were not safe in there tonight.”
She thought back to the offers she had received earlier, the men eager to look for Edmund with her, and shuddered. Still, her resolve did not waver.
“What other choice did I have?” she snapped. “I do not know you, yet you turned up on my doorstep, demanding to stay! I do not owe you an explanation, Your Grace, and I was managing in there?—”
“You were being eyed up like a damned prize horse,” he snarled.
Sibyl’s breath caught. “I could have handled it on my own.”
“Iknow men’s intentions.Iknow what they were thinking when they looked at you likethat.” He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “It was stupid of you.”
“You do not get to insult me,” Sibyl hissed, jabbing a finger into his chest before she thought better of it. “And, as a matter of fact, you had no right to follow me either.”
“You lied to me,” he accused. “For a woman who called me a vulture, you have lied to me. You knew exactly where to start looking for your husband.”
“I had an inkling,” she admitted defensively. “But I only came here for more answers. Answers I do not owe you.”
“You are reckless.” The Duke’s jaw was tight enough to cut. “You were not thinking rationally before coming here.”
“And you have no business ordering me around! Nor any business implying I should have stayed in my home, waiting up for my husband to return, for your own interest. You are a stranger, Your Grace. A stranger with a grievance against my husband.” She stepped forward, her own face tight with annoyance. “How does that not put my daughter and me in danger? I do not trust you, therefore I do not need to tell you anything.”
“You do when it concerns your husband,” he snapped. His jaw clenched even tighter. “And I would never, ever hurt you or your child.”
