“Good luck to you, Madam.”
With that, the waitress vanished back inside the Spindle, leaving Sibyl waiting for the next instruction.
When the Duke only turned back to her instead of walking out of the alley, she stiffened.
“It is time to return to Kerrington House,” he declared.
She shook her head. “No,” she uttered. “I want to find Edmund tonight.”
“That would be pushing your luck. The night grows darker, and the waitress could be sending you into a trap.”
Sibyl paused, considering. The waitress had taken the money so quickly, but…
“There was such sincerity in her eyes, though,” she noted.
“And many people are good at feigning sincerity.”
The Duke’s pointed comment reminded her that neither of them trusted one another.
Gathering herself, Sibyl lifted her chin. “Then I can go without you. I believe her, and I am not stopping until I find Edmund.”
She turned to leave the alley when the Duke’s hand shot out, bracing against the stone wall and forming a barrier. She shot him a glare.
But he was already shaking his head in a slow, clearno.“You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met,” he growled.
“At least you know I wouldn’t go to all this trouble just to cover for Edmund,” she countered, annoyed at his insistence on delaying her search.
“Lady Kerrington.” His voice was thin, impatient. “I cannot let you run headfirst into unknown territory, and alone at that, simply because you are too stubborn to wait another night. You claim you have waited four nights?—”
“It is not a claim. It’s the truth.”
“—then you can wait another night,” he finished, ignoring her protests.
When she said nothing, he raised an expectant eyebrow, as if to ask,Well? I am right, no?
Yet, Sibyl’s protests didn’t stop. She couldn’t let them, not when her safety was on the line. Not when Edmund seemed to have a mound of secrets that could end up putting her life and that of her baby in jeopardy.
“It is for my daughter’s sake, Your Grace, that I must be this stubborn in my search. You think I keep lying, but I would not willingly leave my daughter to investigate my husband’s absence. I would not go to a gaming hell alone, were it not worth the risk. Itis,and I will not stop arguing with you about it. Iwillcontinue my search. If not for my own sake, then for my daughter’s.”
The Duke’s face softened unexpectedly, his arrogant confidence turning into considerate pensiveness. He paused, looking towards the mouth of the alley and into the night shadows.
It felt like an eternity when he finally nodded. “Very well. We will take my carriage.” He jerked his head in the direction of a black carriage emblazoned with a silver stone arch.
At once, Sibyl marched towards it without a backward glance.
Turned out Thomas Farley’s office was not far from the Spindle.
Gabriel Redford, the Duke of Stonehelm, peered out at the building, both annoyed by this endless hunt and irked by the presence of the lady sitting next to him.
Why could she not have just gone back home? What ladywishedto put herself into the jaws of danger and see if she would walk back out?
Gabriel’s eyes slid to Lady Kerrington.
This one, apparently.
Already, her husband was proving to be far more trouble than he was worth, and she was just the topping on the cake Gabriel hadn’t asked to eat.
Turning his attention back to the accountant’s office, he noticed the light in one of the more central windows. Clearly, somebody was inside, and that made Gabriel want to exhale in relief.
