“You weren’t better off with him. You ought to stay well clear of him.”
“And you ought not to concern yourself with whatladsdo with their spare time.”
He laughed. “You think not? You’re out of your depth here,boy. Go home.”
He turned and headed for the bar he’d left.
Caroline watched him go, stunned at his rudeness.
Why her sister would voluntarily choose to spend any time at all in a place like this was something she didn’t think she would understand as long as she lived. But she knew one thing for sure—she would never come back. And she would be just as happy if she never saw that man again.
CHAPTER 2
Caroline hardly slept a wink that night. When the sun shone through her bedroom window, she wasn’t sure whether it had woken her or if she had been awake the whole time.
I didn’t find her.
That was all she could think about.
She hadn’t found her sister in spite of her best efforts. And Prudence had not returned before the family had gone to bed last night. Unless she had come back under the cover of darkness, she was still missing.
Caroline felt sick. She should have stayed out and kept looking for her sister, but she hadn’t been able to think of where else to look. And then there was the encounter she’d had at the tavern. It lingered with her, troubling her even though she was sure shewould never see that rake of a man again—whatever his name might be. At least, she hoped she wouldn’t.
Climbing out of bed, she dressed quickly and went down to the breakfast table. It would be good to get something to eat. And with luck, Prudencewouldbe back.
But as soon as she reached the dining room, she knew it wasn’t so. Her father was pacing back and forth, an un-drunk glass of wine in his hand, even though it was early in the day. Her mother and Bridget sat at the table, but neither had touched the food laid out there. And Prudence was nowhere to be found.
“What are we going to do about this?” Caroline’s father raged. “The duke says he wishes to marry hertomorrow!”
“We may have to tell him,” Caroline’s mother said softly.
“Oh, don’t be foolish! Of course we aren’t going to tell him! Can you imagine what he would say if we did? He’d be sure to withdraw his proposal. No one wants to marry a girl who’s going to run off like this. I wouldn’t even blame him for it.”
A footman came into the room. “Begging your pardon, my lord—the Duke of Mowbray is here.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake…” Her father set down his glass of wine with such force that some spilled onto the table. “I don’t know what we’re going to say to him! Show him into the sitting room, I suppose, and tell him the family will be right with him. Carolineand Bridget, you’re going to have to join us in speaking to him so he doesn’t feel as though no one at all was here to greet him.”
“He’s still going to notice that Prudence isn’t here,” Caroline said. “We should probably tell him what’s happened. His resources are far greater than ours. He could help us to find her.”
“And why should he do that?” her father snapped. “He bears no responsibility for your sister yet, and if he discovers how willful she is, he won’t try to help, he’ll turn and walk away. Ouronlyhope is that she cares enough for this family to return before we are disgraced. Come, we’re going to have to face the man—we can’t keep him waiting.”
He beckoned, and his wife, Bridget, and Caroline followed him to the sitting room without a word.
A gentleman who Caroline supposed must be the Duke of Mowbray stood with his back to them, staring out the window. Caroline had all but forgotten the fact that she had never had a conversation with him before. It seemed wrong for that to be happening for the first time today, of all days. It should have been a happy occasion instead of one where the family was trying to cover up a problem.
Then he turned away from the window and faced them, and Caroline had to struggle to hold back a gasp as her problems suddenly grew much larger.
She knew that face—it washim.
The man from the tavern. The rake whose name she had never learned.
Hewas the Duke of Mowbray?
But how could he be? He had eyed her in that tavern as if he had every right to look at her. He had spoken about the ladies there beingfun, and there hadn’t been a doubt in her mind as to the kind of fun he meant. He was supposed to be engaged to her sister, but he certainly hadn’t been acting like a man who was engaged to anyone at all.
But what could she say?
If she revealed that she had met him at the tavern, the next question would be about whatshehad been doing there. She would have to reveal that she had gone there in hopes of finding Prudence. And then she would be asked why she’d believed Prudence would be in a place like that.
