Page 10 of My Dearest Duke

She wrinkled her nose.

Was such a thing even possible?

Perhaps she ought to have hired a Bow Street Runner rather than rely upon the incompetent Mr. Dobkin.

Vanessa gave the maid and footman each a stern look, though the inside of the coach was so dark, she doubted either could see her face. A flush heated her cheeks when she considered how they’d likely pass the time until her return.

“Oh, Miss Vanessa. Do be careful, won’t you?” Daisy all but pleaded, her voice ringing with worry and the husky hint of tears.

“Are you sure I cannot escort you to the door, at least?” Gaines asked.

“No.” Vanessa shook her head. “Just follow me, and if something untoward occurs, then you may approach.”

He carried a loaded pistol tucked into his waistband, so while Vanessa didn’t feel safe exactly, she wasn’t concerned with being attacked either.

With a determined tilt of her chin, she opened the door and hopped down. Attired entirely in black except for her undergarments, she hoped to pass as a widow and not garner unwanted male attention. Her mourning weeds made that subterfuge feasible.

She’d even piled her almost white hair beneath a black lace cap.

Glancing at the sooty night sky, Vanessa wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or annoyed that no moon was visible. The streetlamps provided sufficient illumination as she made for Fortuna. Ears pricked, she listened for footfalls, even as she fingered the small gun in her cloak pocket.

In a matter of days, upon her third-and-twentieth birthday, she’d come into her full inheritance. Then, she meant to expunge her stepbrother from her life, once and for all.

“It’s time for your comeuppance, Owen Elligon,” she said as she knocked upon the door to the ladies’ entrance.

The door swung open, and light spilled out onto the street, illuminating her.

Too late to turn back now.