Page 90 of Honor Unbound

“It’s nothing, Rudduck,” Lady Mary said. “And the duchess?”

Rudduck clasped his hands behind his back. “Up with the other Lady Mary. I could see if she’s free to take tea….”

Their Lady Mary flapped her hand. “Don’t bother her. Can you tell my nephew that I called? Tell him it’s concerning Mr. Trent.”

“Of course.” The butler scratched his head. “Trent? That man who was stabbed?”

Lady Mary nodded.

“He came here once, you know,” Rudduck said. “Insisted on seeing His Grace. Almost tried pushing his way in.” He drew his shoulders back, showcasing just how futile such an action would have been.

Lady Mary stilled. “When was this?”

“When the little Lady Mary was quite ill. His Grace wasn’t seeing anyone, much less a man soliciting business. Salesmen going door to door should be illegal,” he muttered.

“He was trying to sell his tinned food to the duke?” Marie’s eyebrows drew together. She wouldn’t have thought showing up at a potential client’s home to annoy them was a sound business tactic.

“Mr. Trent mentioned his tinned food just before I shut the door in his face.” Rudduck tugged on the lapels of his coat. “We don’t hold with impertinence in His Grace’s household.”

Lady Mary’s hand slipped off her walking stick and she stumbled. “Oh my Lord. The letter.” She shook her head. “At which dock is the duke’s ship berthed?”

Brett picked up the stick and pressed it back into her hands, a deep furrow creasing his forehead.

Rudduck blinked. “I don’t know the exact number, but it’s off Broad Street.”

Lady Mary ran out the door.

Marie looked to Brett for explanation, but he shook his head. They hurried after her.

“ThePersephonewill be leaving soon,” Rudduck called from behind. “They go by the tides, you know…”

Lady Mary shouted directions to Ernest. She barely waited for the steps to come down before jumping into the carriage. “As quick as can be,” she called up. “Lives depend upon us meeting that ship.”

“What is going on?” Marie clutched at her bonnet as the carriage took off at a speed it wasn’t meant to experience. “What letter? Why do we need to get to the ship?”

“I was so stupid,” Lady Mary muttered. “It was never meant for me. It was meant for Montague.”

“What was?” Exasperation colored Marie’s voice.

Lady Mary poked her head out the window. “The letter. The bloody letter.”

Marie hissed air in between her teeth.

Lady Mary sat back down and frowned at her. “Not bloody in that meaning. I mean literally bloody. The letter Trent was holding covered in his blood. It was never meant for me. It was always for my nephew.”

Brett leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “But why? What was in the letter?’

Lady Mary leaned forward, as though she could make the carriage speed faster to its destination. “The reason why Mr. Trent was murdered.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Lady Mary

I’d been afool. A vain, self-centered fool.

I bobbed my foot up and down, willing the carriage to fly even faster. It was only human nature, I supposed. A letter lands on my doorstep with my initials. Why wouldn’t I assume it had been written to me?

Ernest took a turn at speed. The coach teetered on two wheels, and we all slid across the seats to the far wall. Marie at least had Burton to cushion her impact.