“And you are?” Anthony prompted after he dismissed his staff with a gesture.
“Darius. I was a friend of your father’s a long time ago.”
“A pirate friend?”
The stranger laughed and took a seat without invitation directly opposite Anthony. “At one stage of my life, yes.”
“What brings you by?” Anthony clenched his teeth; all this civility made him feel as though his skull would crack.
“My bosun was this morning given an interesting note to be carried to Scotland and put in the hands of Captain Richard Germaine.”
“And you’re here telling me this why? My father and I don’t communicate regularly so you can deliver the note yourself.”
“The note concerns Daniella. Is she here?”
Anthony shook his head, torn between keeping his sister’s unknown whereabouts a secret and sending a search party out for her, which would create yet another scandal. “She is indisposed.”
Darius narrowed his eyes and reclined against the back of the settee. “You’re sure about that?”
“Just what exactly is in that note? I take it you read it?” Pirates rarely observed even the most sacred niceties of postal etiquette.
“I did. Do you know the Marquess of Lasterton? A James Trelissick?”
“Not personally. I’ve heard of him but we haven’t yet crossed paths.”
“So you know of no reason he would kidnap your sister in order to initiate a trade of some sort?”
Anthony leaned forwards in his chair, his hands clenched on his knees. “The devil you say?”
“It says right here, right above the seal of said gentleman, that he has taken Daniella and will meet the captain at Gretna in two weeks and he had better have the marquess’s belongings or she will find herself in a lot more trouble than where he found her.”
Anthony’s head thumped as he closed his eyes. “What has she done now?”
“There was a whisper of a tale, a red-headed gentlewoman selling her virginity at an auction last night. Heard the news over my morning ale down at the docks. Of course I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in the man’s words, only he had more coin to throw about than he did sense to keep his mouth shut.”
She didn’t? She probably did. Anthony groaned.
“I can tell you that Daniella did not leave by boat. The marquess’s house is being closed up and the servants are remarkably tight-lipped. They’ll only say that the master heads for the country. His carriage isn’t in his stables but yours is.”
“My carriage? In his stable?” The effects of so much liquor and very little movement began to take a toll and the room spun violently. She would be the death of him. He knew she wanted to leave London, but with Lasterton? Anthony wasn’t even aware the two had been previously introduced. What would the Butcher want with his sister anyway? Her virginity, paid for? He almost snorted.
“So you’ll go after her? You know, after you retrieve your carriage that is,” Darius said.
Anthony shook his head. He couldn’t even chase a mouse around the room let alone a carriage across the countryside. “I can’t leave town. I’ll be called out. I won’t ever be able to return.”
“What are you talking about, man? She’s your sister.”
“Half-sister…” he replied with vague sentiment. “I’ve a suspected broken ankle and now a fiancée. Daniella got herself into this mess. She will have to get herself out. She’s a cunning bit of baggage; I’m sure she’ll be back by the end of the day with a great adventurous scandal to talk about and another black mark against her name. And mine.”
“So you would leave her to her fate?” Darius asked him.
Anthony nodded; his chest squeezed. “I have no choice, not this time. Lasterton is an army man, perhaps he will instil a measure of discipline into the girl.”
Darius laughed but it lacked humour and warmth. “That might not be all he instils in her.”
“If you care for my sister and call yourself a friend of my father’s, why do you not go after her yourself?”
“I’ve a ship and men to think about and a job to do in England. I didn’t come here planning to chase your sister God-knows-where.”
“No one ever plans when it comes to Daniella.”
Anthony almost winced when a thoughtful look crossed the other man’s face.
“If I do go after your sister and bring her back here—”
“Not here,” Anthony said firmly. “If you find her, take her to Father. She won’t be welcome back in London if even one whisper of this gets out amongst the ton.”
Darius nodded slowly. “If I set off after her, you will owe me a favour.”
Anthony narrowed his eyes, cursing when Darius’s form blurred before him. “What kind of favour? I don’t have funds to speak of and I’ll soon be either dead or married at the end of a pistol point. What could I possibly do for you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know yet but if I come to you, no matter the favour, you will say yes?”
“If it is within my power, then yes, damn you, the answer is yes.”
“Excellent.” The filthy pirate stood and rubbed his hands together.
It dawned on his very slow senses that Anthony had just been duped somehow. “You would have gone after her anyway, wouldn’t you?”
“Probably.” The grin that accompanied the words made Anthony want to grab the man by the neck, but he wasn’t a violent sort. Not usually.
He had a feeling that was all going to change in the coming months…
Chapter Six
By midafternoon, Daniella had had enough of the carriage. She’d had enough of Mrs McDougal’s incessant clicking as she knitted what appeared to be very large, coarse socks, and she’d had enough of the borrowed dress threatening to take more of her breath away. After their first stop, Lasterton had jumped down from the
