Page 70 of Charity

“Excellent. And her breath?”

“Quite fine, too.”

“Well.” The duke returned his attention to the abbess. “I’ll take her now, and Redding will deliver the funds this evening. I cannot wait to begin her education.”

The duke seemed almost giddy with glee. He swung about, his hand falling to the binding on her ankle.

The abbess put a staying hand on his arm. “Half now to secure her. Half later. You can take her once you’ve paid me.”

The duke’s smile fell. “I so hoped you would indulge me, Mrs. Leyton. Redding?”

Redding stood and put his hand behind his back. But Agatha could see what the abbess couldn’t. Something bulky hid beneath Redding’s clothes. “Yes, Your Grace?”

“The abbess strikes a hard bargain, but requires payment before we can take the girl. Do be a dear fellow and pay her. You know I loathe handling money.”

“With pleasure, Your Grace.”

Redding hurried forward, removing a pistol from the back of his trousers.

The duke lunged for the abbess at the same time and slapped a hand over her mouth. “You should have been kinder to me, Mrs. Leyton. I do not like being thwarted.”

Mrs. Leyton squawked behind the duke’s hand, her eyes round as saucers. Unfortunately, they closed to slits after a moment. Her eyes darted around the chamber in a way that made Agatha afraid.

Redding hurried to close the door then turned to Agatha. He tore his coat from his shoulders and placed it gently over her. “Oscar sent us.”

Agatha closed her eyes. Despite her best efforts, tears squeezed out. Redding untied her hands and feet and drew her upright. She clutched his coat tightly about her and looked for her own dark gown. But it was gone. Nowhere within sight.

Redding and the duke glanced at the abbess. Redding stared at Mrs. Leyton, his jaw clenching and unclenching in a disturbing way. “I think I will enjoy this.”

“Oh, no, Redding,” the duke countered. “The joy will be all mine. Come muzzle her while I do the honors.”

While Mrs. Leyton struggled and squirmed, the duke stripped her of her gown and held it out to Agatha to slip on. Then, while Agatha was contending with the larger garment and her shaking hands, the pair of them forced Mrs. Leyton into the exact same predicament in which they’d found Agatha, but with one additional detail—they gagged her so she couldn’t cry out.

Redding approached. “May I finish dressing you, Miss Birkenstock?”

Numbly, she nodded. Everything had changed so fast, but why were this duke and his servant rescuing her on Oscar’s behalf? She didn’t know either of them, and couldn’t remember Oscar mentioning this duke either. Redding buttoned her as fast as any maid she’d ever had, and when he was done, he led her to the duke’s side.

The duke held his arm out to her.

Puzzled, she frowned at him. “Who are you?’

He grinned rather impishly and wound her arm through his. “Someone who really shouldn’t be crossed.” He looked sadly at the woman twisting violently on the bed. “Mrs. Leyton would do well to remember this incident for future reference. I look after my own. Don’t get involved with my family affairs again—or I will crush you out of business. Is that understood?”

Mrs. Leyton’s gaze flew to Agatha and a small sound, a muffled whimper, escaped her throat.

Family? Agatha looked up at the duke as he patted her hand.

“Come along, my dear. We have nicer environs to frequent. You must come to dinner soon.”

The duke swept her from the room and down the main staircase as if he made the short journey every day.

But at the bottom, a shot rang out and Redding fell. He slumped to the ground with a groan. His pistol bounced uselessly across the floor.

When Agatha looked around, she spied Lady Prewitt standing between her and the door—pistol pointed directly at Agatha’s head.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Oscar thumped the side of the carriage and glared at the groom blocking the door. “It’s taking too long. What could be keeping them?”