“I saved your life.”
Maxwell pursed his lips. “I suppose that’s true. You have my eternal gratitude.”
I snorted. “Cute. I suppose that will do for now.”
I walked over to the water basin and wet a towel, running it over my knuckles to clean them of the stranger’s blood. If I’d known I was grappling with the men behind my exodus, I wouldn’t have shown them any mercy whatsoever. It only took one of them to point me toward the rest of their accomplices. The other, I would have unleashed my wrath upon. I would have torn the man’s throat out with these dull human teeth until I heard the sound of him gurgling, drowning in his own lifeblood.
I sighed as I brought a clean cloth over to Maxwell. “Hold still,” I ordered him, before I wiped the blood from the side of his mouth. “Does it hurt?”
Maxwell shook his head. “I bit the inside of my cheek. It’s nothing.”
I sat back, watching him momentarily before I crossed my arms. “Okay, out with it. Why did you approach me pretending to be some distant cousin?”
Maxwell avoided my eyes. “I needed to know I could trust you. From what Zachariah told me, I thought I could. He has good instincts about these things. And then you … saved me before you knew who I really was. You didn’t have to do that.”
“But don’t you think me a brute? I enjoyed that fight, I’ll have you know.”
He swallowed hard. “I think you’re a good man, Lucian Cross. That’s what I think.”
Shows what you know,I thought as I regarded this young man anew. The son of the duke. No wonder he’d been trying to ferret out my feelings for Ambrose. I hoped he’d managed to hear how most people in that room viewed his brother. “Wait. Who was standing with your family, greeting the guests?”
“An actual cousin who was only too happy to go along with the ruse. My family indulged me, but I had to fool everyone else. I have duties to fulfill, you know.”
I nodded slowly. “That’s why your mask was so cumbersome then. Okay. But why did you need to know if you could trust me? You mentioned Emmett? He’s the middle brother in your family, is he not? The missing brother?”
Maxwell let out a breath as he stood to pace. “Yes. He’s been gone for a fortnight. Ambrose wanted to call off the ball, but mother wouldn’t hear of it, what with father being so poorly. And anyway, she thinks that he’s gone off with a boy again.”
“Again?”
“Yes, he’s done it before, but not for more than a few days. The fact that it’s been so long … it worries me. No one has seen him. I’m afraid something untoward has happened to him.” Maxwell stopped in front of me, gazing at me earnestly. “I wasn’t sure before, but Zachariah thought you might be able to help us find him. Being a stranger here, you could ask questions. It would seem innocent for someone from out of town to seek information. Plus, the most prestigious families are all here. One of them must know something. Those men have to be in someone’s employ, after all. And now I can tell you’ve a keen mind. The way you handled those men just now makes me think you could truly be an asset.”
I held up a hand. “Is it possible that Emmett has, in fact, run off with a boy?”
Maxwell hesitated. “No. He wouldn’t leave me to worry like this. We’re close. He’s left me notes in the past. I can’t see him leaving without notice.”
“And these men who ambushed you today? You think they have something to do with his disappearance?”
“It can’t be a coincidence, right?”
I cursed, wishing I’d had this information sooner. There was no chance those men were still lingering nearby after our scuffle.
“I’m so worried,” Maxwell said, grabbing my hand. “Please say you’ll help, Lucian.”
My mind whirled with what he’d told me. Of course, I had to get to the bottom of just who those men were anyway, to meet Vrykolakas’s conditions. If they were somehow mixed up in this whole affair with Emmett, it would hardly be any extra effort. It would also, perhaps, give me access to some areas people wouldn’t want me looking. Plus, it might put me in good graces with the family and help me earn Ambrose’s esteem.
As if reading my mind, Maxwell’s eyes brightened. “If you do, I’ll make sure that Ambrose keeps you in the competition.”
I tilted my head. “Oh?”
“Yes, as the season goes on, fewer guests will be invited to stay in the house. In the end, there will be only one. If I put in a good word for you, Ambrose will keep you in the running, and you’ll have a better chance at securing his hand.”
I shook my head, smiling. “Tell me one thing, Maxwell: Is Ambrose worth the trouble? Will he make a good duke?”
Maxwell lifted his chin. “He’ll make a much better duke than the current one.”
I watched him for a moment, but he didn’t waver in his assertion. “Then I accept. I’ll help you find your brother. But I make no guarantees.”
“Nor do I.”
