As she left, Lexie leaned back in her chair at the desk and prayed that her fate wasn’t sealed just yet.
Dominic was rousedby the sound of a slam of his office door at the Crown & Sceptre. His head shot up as his hand reached for the pistol on his desk where he’d finally passed out from a combination of drink and boredom.
He narrowed his eyes but when his focus became clear, heeased the grip on his gun. “Amos,” he grumbled. “Must you be so damned loud?”
“I have a missive for you from Miss Givenwald.”
Immediately, any last dregs of exhaustion faded as he snapped to his feet and took the letter that was handed to him. He ripped it open, expecting to read about a ransom note or something equally disturbing. As he scanned the few lines, he realized he wasn’t that far off the mark. “Bloody hell.”
“What is it?” Amos asked, concern lacing his tone. Dominic had to snort because it appeared that Lexie had already managed to sneak her way into Amos’s regard in a short amount of time, a feat that was near impossible for most.
“She requests that I attend a dinner at her aunt’s house this evening. It seems that her father will be in attendance, as will the Earl of Lindley, as a prospective bridegroom.”
Amos nodded. “Are you going to go?”
“How can I refuse under these circumstances?” He sank back down and shoved a hand through his hair. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time.” He looked at Amos. “I suppose since I wasn’t notified that nothing of import was discovered last night?”
“I’m afraid not. We have a few leads that the Blue Boys are looking into, but the man is good at covering his tracks.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m glad that you and Devon were able to keep yourselves entertained. I met him when I came in as he was stumbling out the door and holding his head and grumbling.”
“We were able to pass the time, yes,” Dominic said without any hesitation, but then he returned to the main topic at hand. Scrubbing a hand down his face, he added, “The last thing I wanted to do is cause more trouble for Alexandra and her family, but neither can I allow them to browbeat her into forcing her hand into marriage. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to investigate the sudden resurgence of the earl properly since I’ve been focusing all our efforts on our assailant. All I know is thatLindley’s father passed, he inherited the title, and came to London, apparently, to whisk Alexandra out from under me.”
Amos snorted. “I doubt that was his objective.” He lifted a brow. “But what happens if the decision comes to pass that she has to choose between you or him?”
“Then, of course, I shall win,” Dominic said firmly. “You know I don’t take defeat lightly when it is something I consider mine.” He frowned. “I will just have to ensure I am cautious this evening. Not only will I be taunting the criminal by returning to society, but that leaves everyone here vulnerable to attack should he decide to strike again.”
“There is no need to worry about us,” Amos said confidently. “I have things controlled here.”
Dominic walked over and clapped the other man on the shoulder. “I know you do. And once Devon is recovered, offer my apologies for the headache he will surely be nursing all morning.”
With that, he departed the pub, careful to take the long way to his current lodgings, where he grabbed a change of fashionable clothes that he’d stowed there. He normally waited until he returned to his townhouse to become the “duke” again, but he considered it best if he did so on the carriage ride there.
Careful to be more aware of his surroundings than before, Dominic hailed a hackney. By the time he arrived at his townhouse, he stepped down out of the hired conveyance and gained a surprised look from the driver. He tossed a guinea in his direction. “For your discretion.”
The man quickly tucked it away. “As ye wish, guvn’r.”
As the hackney rambled away, Dominic spied a man standing on the corner and recognized one of the Runners he’d hired to keep watch of his residence while he was away. Walking toward him now, Dominic saw the man straighten and incline his head respectfully. “Your Grace. Welcome back. I’m happy to report that there have been no changes. All has been quiet in your absence.”
Dominic decided to omit the part where he’d been shot at in Whitechapel. It was no wonder things had been calm back in Mayfair. “That is good to hear. Continue your vigilance. It is needed now more than ever now that I’ve returned.”
“Of course.”
Satisfied that he would be alerted to any sign of trouble, Dominic intended to check in with the Runners who were watching over Lexie’s residence that evening. Surely he could find an opportunity to slip away unnoticed at some point. Perhaps when he claimed to use the necessary.
Heading for his study and taking care of a few things that needed his attention, Dominic sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a time that he would have lived for this sort of danger, but there was too much at stake now. He was attempting to recover his ruined reputation, now more so than ever because he didn’t want to drag Lexie into the title of duchess where she would immediately face strife. She might believe that she could handle all of the whispers that came along with being the Duchess of Cuthbert, but his mother had faltered under the strain, which was why no one had seen her in public for nearly a decade. Although he vowed that he would not be the sort of wastrel that his father had been, he couldn’t pretend that his sire’s personality wouldn’t resurface now and then. It was bound to happen at some point or another because the same blood flowed through their veins. As much as he might not like it, Dominic had always known that. It was why he had allowed his baser urges to lead him for so long. Ironic that as soon as he’d made the decision to leave all his sordid past behind, it dug in those wicked clutches and refused to abate.
But he would prevail as he always had. He hadn’t become the leader of the Blue Boys by giving up and allowing defeat to reign supreme.
The same could be said for Alexandra and her family. He would prove that he was the man intended for her hand.
He isn’t coming.
Lexie paced the length of the front parlor as she waited for her aunt to tell her that the duke had sent his regrets. All afternoon she’d been on pins and needles, fearing that something terrible had befallen him or all the sweet promises he’d whispered to her had been fabricated. He would not be there to save her from her father’s harsh demands.
The Marquess of Singleton had yet to arrive, and Lexie had nearly convinced herself that she had been worrying for nothing, that her sire would decide it was too much of a nuisance to try to intervene, as he normally had when she was young and the governess had approached him with one complaint or another. From an early age, she had always been a troublesome child. Perhaps that is what she learned from being the result of an older woman who could not withstand a later in life child and a man who was weary of trying to father a son and when he was finally blessed with a baby, it was not what he’d been hoping for all those years.
That was another truth Lexie had grasped from a young age. She’d been a disappointment from the beginning because she had the wrong anatomy.
Her aunt slapped down the newsprint she had been attempting to read and said crossly, “Please stop that incessant pacing back and forth. You are making me dizzy.”
