Two Brides and a Duke: A Steamy Regency Romance (Parvenues & Paramours, Book 4) by Tessa Candle

Author:Tessa Candle [Candle, Tessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Winding Path Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

No matter how he once enjoyed the gambling establishments and the fine dining, Delville came to realize that he had not missed London in the least. He had no time to take in any amusements, and the relentlessly cold, grey weather had made the weeks of searching, intelligence gathering and ferreting out new locations especially arduous. One by one he had uncovered possible addresses on the street that Lucy Delight had named, only to discover they had nothing to do with Red Martha.

He shivered and flexed his hands as he stood before the door of the most recent place, then selected an iron pick from his satchel. The days were warming up slightly, but the nights were still bitter, and it had been a long ruddy wait, surveying the building to be certain there was no one within. But there had been little activity on the street for over an hour. All was dark and quiet.

It took a few minutes of twisting and feeling, but at last the lock succumbed. Inside it was pitch black, which is just how he wanted things. He fished a small lamp and matches out of his satchel and lit a half candle, fitting it into the holder and pulling the shade around it. A set of mirrors produced directional light out of one side of the lamp, permitting him to illuminate small areas, while avoiding lighting up the whole chamber in an obvious way. The place did not have a lot of windows, but an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.

He scanned the environment for anything that looked office-like. A few coats and umbrellas hung on the west wall, but nothing of interest presented itself. He went to feel around in pockets and shake the folds of fabric. An unattended pocket was a potential treasure trove for a spy.

However, he found nothing. He had little hope as he felt the last pocket, but smiled as his fingers encountered a key. Delville slipped into the hallway to continue his search through the several rooms that exited off the hallway, finding nothing of interest.

Finally he came to a room that was locked, which seemed promising. The key he had lifted was too small for the lock, so he went about picking it, but as the mechanism was giving way, he heard the main door open, and the voices of grumbling men.

He silently cursed his luck and slipped into the dark room, casting his light around in search of somewhere to hide. A desk stood in the corner and his fingers twitched to search it, but there was no time.

The voices drew nearer in the hallway as his light illuminated a wardrobe. He opened it and plunged inside, closing the shade of his lantern as he went. It was a cramped space for a man of his dimensions, but thankfully it was empty, and he was able to close the door behind him. Only moments later, he heard the heavy footfalls of the men entering the room.

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