When Darius felt as though he was suitably dressed and well armed, a knife strapped to his ankle and a pistol in a holster beneath his coat, he tripped lightly down the stairs and into the green salon. “Ah, brother, there you are. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Harold frowned ever so slightly when addressed as his relation but then the lines between his eyes smoothed out and he greeted Darius with a forced smile, though he did not rise from the settee. “I have come on urgent business.”
“Business? With me? Can I dare hope that you are now flush and have come to repay Father’s debts?”
Harold shook his head, his eyes darkening with fury. “Why should I have to cover his letters? He is a grown man, an earl no less.”
“You cannot tell me you didn’t assist with the gaming, Harold. I have my sources and they tell me you enjoy the turn of the card just as much as he.”
“What else do these sources tell you?”
Was that fear skating across his face? Darius made a mental note to investigate his brother more thoroughly than he already had. He knew Harold was taken by the gambling high and he knew he was in debt to some very bad men. Amongst their names, a Mr Smith had popped up, but it might pay to discover just how deep it ran. “They tell me a great many things but there is only one missing piece to the puzzle here and that is the location of our ship.”
“Our ship? You mean Montrose’s ship.”
“Ah, so you have heard of it then? The ship that conveniently disappeared was to be half mine. Her crew were my friends, Montrose’s family. Did you all just think it could vanish into the fog and no one would come to ask questions?”
“I had nothing to do with any ship nor with the cargo it delivered.”
“You’re lying.”
“If you could prove there even was a ship, we wouldn’t be discussing this right here and now. You would have had the Runners arrest us all weeks ago.”
Darius gave a slow inclination of his head but didn’t confirm nor deny that there was evidence or not. “You said you had business and I have much to do so state what you came for and then you can run back to Daddy and report in.”
Harold’s cheeks pinkened and he began to fidget. “Father doesn’t actually know I am here.”
“How very mercenary of you. Have you come to throw him to the wolves to save your own skin?”
“Now see here, you have no idea what it is like to live with that man, how he throws away money to beyond excess.”
“You could have left,” Darius pointed out. “You could have tried harder to catch the money he threw away.”
He sent him a frustrated glare. “I am to be an earl. What would you have me do? Where would you have me go?”
“State your case, Harold. Throwing around titles and stalling helps no man.”
“I want Eliza.”
Darius hesitated. Let the words sink in. Tried to order thoughts suddenly jumping to all sorts of awful conclusions. “Want her? For what?”
“If you give me the girl, I’ll take her to Gretna today, marry her and then we can share her dowry tomorrow.”
A smile split Darius’s lips but inside, fury burned. “And what do you think the lady would say about this?”
“Stubborn chit has no idea the way of things. She’ll come around.”
“And her father? He should be back any day now.”
Harold relaxed back against the cushions. “I’m sure when he discovers his daughters are living under the roof of a bastard, he’ll see I did what was necessary. If he does indeed return. Where did you say he was?”
“I didn’t. Say, that is. He wishes for peace while he recovers from ill health.”
“How do we know he hasn’t met with foul play and lies in a ditch on the roadside? Eliza would be safe with me. You have my word as a gentleman.”
Darius threw his head back and roared with forced laughter. “Your word? As a gentleman? I’d as soon as kill her myself right now to save her from your toxic presence.”
“I’m offering you a way to get some of the money Father owes you. You would be far better off with something rather than nothing. Just give me Eliza and we shall work the rest out.”
Clenching his fingers in his lap, Darius fought the urge to wrap his hands around Harold’s throat and squeeze the life from the beggar. “I’m afraid that just isn’t possible. She cannot go anywhere without her father’s permission.”
This time it was Harold who laughed. “Must we continue this game? You and I both know the Duke of Penfold ran out of words some time back. There is no declining health, no recovery to be had, certainly no permissions to be given.”
The hair on Darius’s nape stood on end and the fury in his gut turned to dread but outwardly he displayed no emotion or reaction at all. Those who were close to him, who really knew him, would know this was the precise moment to up and run. “Oh?”
Harold raised a brow and then leaned forward looking about the room to make sure no one eavesdropped. “I saw what you did yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” he repeated, his brain ticking like a rusty old grandfather clock racing to catch
