Page 13 of Last Night with the Duke
“Waved?” Griffin questioned skeptically.
“It may have been a bit more than a wave,” Rath admitted rather sheepishly, wiping droplets of rain from the side of his face. “I didn’t mean to scare the daylights out of the poor man. It doesn’t appear there was harm to the horses.”
“You best be glad of that,” Griffin said, as he picked up his hat from the floor and laid it on the cushion beside him once again.
“He is,” Hawk agreed, and then quickly added, “I meanweare. But that aside for now, we’ve been searching for you for almost two hours.”
“You are a difficult man to find,” Rath added.
“Since when? I have one home in St. James and another in Mayfair and belong to only two clubs.” Griffin rolled his shoulders and settled back into his seat once again. “I can usually be found at one of those four places when residing in London.”
“We have been to all four,” Rath answered dryly.
“And we were on our way back to your house in St. James when we saw your coach. Perhaps we should have followed you rather than stop your driver.”
“Perhaps so,” Griffin agreed, glad there was no mishap and not really upset with his friends.
“We needed to talk to you,” Hawk said. “We’ve heard a rumor we thought we should let you know about as soon as possible.”
Griffin looked at the serious expressions on the faces of the two men and knew they’d also heard about the possibility of someone seeking revenge on his sisters. He’d suspected it would only be a matter of time before the rumor was spread around Town and he was right. This was just the sort of gossip thetonrelished and loved to chew on.
He’d known Hawk since their early days at Eton, and Rath since Oxford. Rath was a year younger than Griffin and Hawk when he entered Oxford, but he’d been an easy fit into their friendship. He was more reckless than the two of them, and proved it every day by suggesting one daring escapade after another that always ended up with the three of them in trouble with the headmaster and sometimes their fathers too.
Unlike Rath, Hawk’s clothing and hair were always presentable. Like Griffin, Hawk was studious, organized, and somewhat sensible—most of the time. Rath was the opposite. His dark eyes and shoulder-length black hair made him look more Greek than English, though he was a British aristocrat through and through. His hair always looked as if he’d just crawled out of bed and needed a brush. His neckcloth was never properly tied and his coat didn’t always match his waistcoat and trousers. He cared little for fashion and it showed. His casual appearance had never bothered any of the ladies. In fact, from what Griffin could tell, they all were drawn to him because of it.
It was an anomaly that England had three unwed dukes all relatively close to the same age. That by itself was enough to make the scandal sheets light up with rumors when they all started attending the Season almost ten years ago, and the gossip hadn’t stopped since.
The rakes didn’t see as much of each other as they once had now that they were older. All the responsibilities that came with such noble titles kept the three busy with their estates as well as matters before parliament and London’s elite. There were endless numbers of people who wanted a moment of their time for a favor, a business deal, or a night of entertaining in their homes.
Both Hawk and Rath were tall, broad-shouldered men with faces most ladies would consider handsome. And like Griffin, they had stayed away from most of the social gatherings of Polite Society for the past few years, attending only a few well-chosen events.
This year had to be different for Griffin.
“Your sisters might be at risk for pranks or mischief during the Season,” Hawk said.
Griffin nodded. “I was made aware of the rumor last night.”
Rath frowned. “And you didn’t think it important enough to find us and tell us about it?”
“My first priority was to determine if the rumor was credible.”
“And did you?”
“Yes. I was on my way to St. James when I noticed the—” Griffin stopped, realizing he didn’t want to mention Miss Swift and his unscheduled stop at the employment agency to his friends. That was none of their concern. “As soon as I arrived back home, I was going to send a message asking that you both come over later today. Tell me what you heard and from whom.”
“I was told Sir Welby overheard some gentlemen discussing the fact your sisters were making their debut,” Hawk said. “One of the men said something to the effect that the Rakes of St. James always get away with everything. They’ve never had to pay a price for their scandalous behavior years ago and it was time they did.”
“Another said they needed to be brought down a peg or two and wouldn’t it be fitting if something happened to ruin one of the Duke of Griffin’s sisters’ first Season,” Rath finished for him.
“That’s precisely what I heard,” Griffin mumbled under his breath, once again damning Miss Honora Truth for resurrecting their prank from the past. He had no doubt that her scandal sheet started this line of thinking when she reminded the whole of London about the wager that ruined the Season almost ten years ago.
“Apparently someone thinks turnabout is the clever thing to do,” Rath added. “And your sisters are fair game now that they’re ready to make their debut in Society.”
Griffin would move heaven and hell to see that didn’t happen. The twins had nothing to do with what the three of them did, and he would protect his sisters from this mischief at all cost.
“I know Sir Welby is almost blind,” Hawk offered, “but I don’t understand him not recognizing any of the men. Not one. Seems unbelievable to me. He said it was late afternoon and the lamps hadn’t been lit.”
“White’s doesn’t have the best of lighting even when they are,” Griffin added. “I talked with Sir Welby, and he assured me he wouldn’t recognize the blades again if they walked right in front of him.”
