“Well,” Eden said. “I’ll follow her to make sure she doesn’t make a run for it and escape.”
Warwick poured more brandy.
“I will get Mr. Brown and Mr. Spriggot to look into who is responsible for both kidnapping attempts,” James said. “We will also start asking questions. Between us we have the ears and eyes of many.”
They all nodded.
“The blackmail is a bit more sensitive,” Max said.
“I would trust Mr. Spriggot and Mr. Brown with that information,” James said.
Warwick agreed. Both men had been helping them deal with investigations for many years and knew much about their family already. They could be trusted.
“Could this blackmail attempt be a hoax?” Gus asked. “Fabricated to extort money from Samantha? Would the late duke really have done what those documents state?”
“You are not serious? They are a notoriously power hungry lot and get away with a great many evil deeds, and that particular duke could have been Satan’s son.”
“Yes, thank you for that glowing recommendation, Cam,” James drawled.
“You did well, little brother,” Dev said. “You have saved Samantha twice now.”
“I did what any of us would have done and had Wolf and Ash with me.” Warwick did not feel comfortable discussing this. Sinclairs saved Ravens, it was true, but when his family did that, they then went on to marry them.
“We were not there the first time or when you helped her off the boat with her maid,” Nicholas said. “You’ve rescued her three times, really.”
Warwick had been staring into his glass of brandy, but at those words, he looked up.
All eyes were on him.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Cam said quickly. Far too quickly.
“I am not marrying her. We are like siblings.” He went for the direct approach, as only that would work now. This, whatever this was, must be nipped in the bud, even if he had started to feel something different for her. That was between Warwick and Samantha, not a room full of relatives.
“Destiny will decide,” Ash said cryptically to no one, but his eyes were on Warwick.
He ignored him.
“I do worry for our children if this got out.” James tapped the papers on his desk that Gus was still studying.
“Do you believe, knowing what you do of this family, that society will turn against us, or that we will care?” Wolf asked. “We have walked the line of what is correct in the eyes of our peers for years, and as yet we have not been shunned.”
“But treason, Wolf—” James was clearly disturbed over what he’d learned, and justifiably so. “It sickens me to think men have lost their lives because of him.”
“You have a marquis and baron at your back to start with. And both men are powerful for that if nothing else. We are strong together, and those without titles hold power. We have more wealth than this family will ever need. We, as one, are powerful, but there are others who have our backs. Lord Ryder, his brother the Duke. The Earl of Raine. I could go on, but I think you understand. If some shun us, then so be it, we will survive,” Wolf said.
Warwick knew Wolf was right. They would survive, but none of that mattered at the moment. What mattered was keeping Samantha safe.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
It was decided after a great deal of arguing and teeth gnashing that Samantha would take a hackney to the Duck and Goose again, because someone could be watching her. She had listened to endless instructions over and over about what she had to do. James had asked her to repeat them until she had memorized them word-perfect.
As she’d pointed out several times, she’d done it once before on her own. That did not sit well with anyone, so she’d shut up, sat, and listened to her family talking at her. She knew they were scared, so she allowed it.
Pulling the hood up of her cloak, Samantha headed down the street with a cool breeze ruffling her hem. London had dipped into cooler weather in the space of two days, and she was happy with the thickness of her cloak. As she reached the end, where another road started, she saw Rory.
He was slouched on the ground, appearing inebriated or sleeping—she couldn’t tell which. He did not look at her as she passed him by, but she felt his hand tweak her skirts gently to let her know he was there. Had anyone been watching, they would not have seen the gesture, but she felt it and was comforted by it. Her brother was close.
