His eyebrows lifted all the way to his wig. “I beg your pardon, sir?”
“Send out the duke. Oh, never mind.” Ned backed off the step, avoiding the two men and stood where he could see the upper-floor windows. He called in his loudest voice, “Winderton, come out here.”
“Sir, you can’t do that,” the servant said.
“I am doing that,” Ned answered, opening his arms to show he had no tricks before raising his voice.“Winderton.”
The servant shut the door.
The racket caused the men on the step to rouse themselves. Sweeney stood to the side, gaping like an idiot. Ned picked up a stone and threw it at one of the windows. “Come out, Winderton.Come out here, youcoward.”
In truth, it would have been impossible for Ned to make the duke do his bidding. Except the wordcowardawakened the others to the duke’s defense.
“His Grace is not a coward,” Dawson mumbled.
“Then have him come out here.”
To Ned’s surprise, Dawson scrambled to his feet and went inside the house.
Mrs. Estep spoke, her voice almost urgent. “Mr. Thurlowe, have you gone mad?”
“No more mad than a woman who stands in the road tossing eggs at me.”
She made an impatient sound. “You’ve proven your point. Let us leave.”
“No, I haven’t proven my point yet.”
“Except I believe you.”
“I’m not here because of you,” he answered. And that was true. This was a reckoning. If Winderton was allowed to continue with his nonsense, Mrs. Estep would bear the brunt of most of it. And that made him unreasonably angry. Nor was he doing this just to bring the duke in line. He wanted themallto be brought to heel.“Winderton.”
The door opened.
The Duke of Winderton came out. He was inshirtsleeves, breeches, and boots. His hair went every which way as if he’d just been awakened. He hadn’t been shaved and his eyes were bloodshot. Dawson fell out behind him.
“Thurlowe, what are you doing here at this hour?”
“Challenging you.”
“What?”Now the duke was waking up. “You are being a fool, Thurlowe.” He turned to reenter the house.
“No, I’m stopping a fool. What happened last night to Mrs. Estep was not right.”
The duke paused. “Last night—? Ah, yes. Last night. DidGemmaenjoy our surprise?”
Dawson and Sweeney smirked.
“Come here and ask her,” Ned challenged.
The duke looked up sharply, finally noticing Mrs. Estep on Hippocrates. “Sorry, I don’t need to.” The duke would have closed his door, but Ned blocked his movement by slamming his hand on the wood.
“You are a coward, Your Grace, and a fool. It is a terrible combination. You can’t do whatever you want around here. Maidenshop is not London and you are not that entitled. Bad behavior has consequences. There was a time when I respected you. But you are changing, growing more selfish. I’m here to knock some sense into you.”
“You wouldknockme, Doctor? I doubt if you could.”
“Let us see.”
“Mr. Thurlowe, please,” Mrs. Estep said. “He admitted they put the chickens in my place. I believe you now.”
