A Duke in the Night by Kelly Bowen

Author:Kelly Bowen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Your Grace!” The shout, accompanied by the sound of pounding hoofbeats, broke his thoughts. August looked up in the late-afternoon light to find Miss Baker flying toward him on a lathered horse, her short curls disheveled, her expression panicked.

August vaulted over the stone fence of the sheep enclosure, reaching for the reins of his own horse as Miss Baker reined hers to a sliding stop.

“YourGraceyouneedtocome.” Her words were breathless and hard to understand as her horse danced sideways.

“Steady, Miss Baker.” He caught hold of her horse’s reins in his free hand.

“There are soldiers at the Silver Swan,” she said, making a visible effort to speak more clearly. “They’re tearing it t’ pieces.”

“What?” August froze for a moment before he let go of Miss Baker’s animal and swung himself up into his own saddle. “Why?”

“They’re lookin’ for smuggled goods hidden there. They’re sayin’ they got anon—amenen—”

“Anonymous?”

She nodded her head, her eyes wide. “Anonymous information stating so.”

“What are they looking for?”

“They wouldn’t say. But they’re makin’ a terrible mess.”

August cursed under his breath as his horse surged forward, Miss Baker right behind him. Anonymous information his ass. He might not live on the coast of Kent, but he knew very well that almost every soul on its chalky edges was quite aware of the covert trading that went on all along the shores. And if they weren’t involved, either directly or indirectly, at the very least they certainly had a family member or a friend who was.

And there were very few who were willing to sabotage a system that often offered their only means of survival.

He had no idea why the Silver Swan had been targeted, but it didn’t matter. August urged his horse to greater speed. If he hadn’t already been spoiling for a fight with an officer who let his troops use children for target practice, he certainly was now.

It didn’t take them long to reach the town. He slowed his horse only enough to navigate the busy main road that ran parallel to the harbor. Within minutes he’d reached the Silver Swan, the commotion audible even before he pulled his winded horse to a stop in the chaotic stable yard. Soldiers milled about, boxes of supplies that had been dragged from the rear storehouses strewn across the yard. Near the stables two soldiers were bent over a large crate, tools being tossed carelessly from its confines. A third soldier stood in front of Miss Baker’s brothers, keeping them immobile against the exterior stable wall with the threat of his gun. From somewhere in the stables, a loud crash could be heard.

August dismounted, leaving the animal with Miss Baker, his fury rising with every passing second. Nearer the rear of the tavern, where the kitchens were accessible by large doors that led through an attached storage building, a cacophony of angry voices rose. He stalked forward and yanked the heavy door wide. And stared.

The interior of the kitchens was in shambles, much like the stable yard. Pots and pans

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