Page 27 of Gone With the Rogue
“Not hide, find,” she answered determinedly. She laid her plate on the table and cautiously looked around them again. “I need you to help me find something in the duke’s house.”
His eyes stayed tightly focused on her. “What kind of trouble are you in, Lady Kitson?”
Probably more right now than she actually realized if Mr. Stockton agreed to help her steal the duke’s documents, but she couldn’t back out now. She needed someone who would be as fearless as she had to be in order to outwit the duke and free herself from his unrelenting control. She believed Mr. Stockton was that man.
“It would take too long to explain everything right now. I’ll meet you at the back door at half past midnight and let you inside.”
“Wait.” He laid his plate on the table beside hers. A server approached with a tray of champagne but Mr. Stockton waved him away. “Let’s take this a little slower so I understand. You want me to slip into the duke’s house tonight and help you find and take something that belongs to him?”
Julia looked around again before saying, “I know it’s outrageous, not to mention dangerous, but yes. I need you to move the duke’s desk in his book room so I can see if he has a compartment hidden beneath it. I’ve tried. It’s simply too heavy for me to manage, and for obvious reasons I can’t ask his footman.”
Amusement slowly settled in his features. “So you think because I took grain from a foundering ship, I’ll help you steal something from the duke?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitating. “Documents. Very important ones about the company youand I discussed—where the explosion took place. I have reason to believe the duke secretly owned that company.”
He studied her so closely, she feared he was going to deny her.
“Why would he need to own anything in secret?”
“Because he’s not the honorable man everyone thinks he is, and I’m going to prove he isn’t. I know it’s a lot to ask, Mr. Stockton. Believe me, it’s more dangerous for me than it is for you. I would lose my son if you were discovered in his house, but I am running out of options. If I could trust anyone else not to alert the duke as to what I’m doing, I would ask them. But there’s no one. Will you do it?”
His gaze swept down her face and then back up to her eyes. “Of course. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me to help you.”
Julia sucked in a deep audible breath as her legs trembled with relief. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Lady Kitson, Mr. Stockton,” Lady Hallbury said as she sidled up between them and looked down at their plates. “Do tell me how were the pastries?”
Julia looked down at their plates, too. They were both empty. She quickly glanced over at the silver tray. To her horror, it was empty, too! They had stood there talking and had managed to eat every pastry on the table.
“My compliments, Lady Hallbury,” Mr. Stockton said with a nod. “In all my travels, I’ve never had more delicious sweets.”
Lady Hallbury beamed with a satisfied smile. “Don’t stop now. Move on to another table and have more. I’m quite delighted. I didn’t expect anyone to eat a morsel. They usually don’t. I do love surprises.”
Chapter 9
Apale shaft of moonlight shone from the one window near the back door. Julia trembled inside as she held her black velvet robe tightly under her chin. It wasn’t cold, but she felt chilled to the bone. If Mrs. Desford or Mr. Leeds should see Mr. Stockton in the house, there would be no hope they’d stay quiet. She must have wondered a thousand times why she’d asked the rogue to help her. Truly it was madness to sneak him into the duke’s home. There was no answer other than that she trusted him, and she was in dire need.
He’d saved her once. Maybe he could again. Without the deed to the company, she had no hope of getting out from under the duke’s strong hand.
She’d tried to think of every possibility that might come up. She had excuses ready if she were founddownstairs. It would be easy to say she was looking for yet another book to read. She’d made sure she was never without a book in her pocket or her hand so Mrs. Desford wouldn’t have reason to question the amount of reading she was doing should she find her in the book room in the middle of the night. When Julia slipped belowstairs earlier, she’d stopped by the book room and left a single candle burning on a small table.
There was no soft knock, as she’d expected, but she heard the door creak. Julia held her breath. Slowly it pushed open. Mr. Stockton stepped inside and gently closed the door behind him. She stifled an audible sigh as her heart pumped wildly with hope and fear of what could happen. “You came,” she whispered. “I wasn’t sure if you would.”
“I would never disappoint you, my lady.”
His words comforted her and she offered him a grateful smile. “Follow me.”
Julia led him down the darkened corridor toward the book room. A fine woolen carpet kept their footsteps silent. Once inside, she cautiously closed the door and turned the key with shaking hands before facing him. With only the one candle, it was dark but she could see enough of him to know she wanted to look at him at her leisure and drink in the sight of him. That was a foolish notion for now. She couldn’t waste a moment on such romantic matters. The less time he spent in the house, the better.
“Perhaps now is the time to tell me why you are interested in finding these documents you search for?”
“I believe they will give me freedom from the duke and force him to do what is right for the families who had loved ones killed or injured in that explosion. Ineed to find the deeds or something to show that the property or company was transferred into the duke’s name.”
“Freedom is something I can understand. What do you want to do first?”
“I’ve checked everywhere you suggested I look a few days ago—except under the desk and the top shelves of books.” She looked over at the two walls of books. “You should be able to reach those with ease and help me see if anything is behind them.”
He nodded. “You’ve looked carefully for a hidden space under the rest of the floor?”
