The Forgiven Duke (A Forgotten Castles Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

side.
    They reached the hotel and dismounted. Gabriel walked over to Meade. “We’ll need to purchase a ship. Nothing fancy but something big enough to get us across the Atlantic to Iceland. Something fast. As fast as you can find. Also, hire a crew. Just enough men to handle a small craft but experienced. I mainly want an experienced captain, someone who enjoys a good race perhaps. Hint at an additional reward when we overtake the Achilles , which increases with the less time it takes to reach it.”
    Meade nodded his understanding, bowed, and turned to go.
    “Meade.” Gabriel stopped him. “Thank you.”
    Meade looked down a moment, his face turning red. Then he looked up at Gabriel. “My pleasure, Your Grace.”
    Now that Montague had inspired hope that Alexandria was not married yet and might care for him . . . nothing would stop Gabriel from telling her how he felt.
    After seeing that the horses were taken care of by one of his hired groomsmen, Gabriel hurried inside to his room. He had letters to write, had to make sure the regent knew he was still on Alexandria’s trail among other business, and his mother was complaining about his lengthy absence and all of the responsibilities he was neglecting at home. With renewed purpose he started up the grand staircase.
    “Your Grace, is that you?”
    Gabriel stopped, having nearly run the man down but thinking he’d read him correctly. Sudden recognition slammed into him. Wonderful. Just what I need.
    It was the soldier he’d left cooling his heels in Beal, the little village just outside of Holy Island, on a feigned mission of holding down the fort while the little troop, himself and Meade included, searched for the missing Lady Featherstone. It had been a ruse to rid himself of the captain and his men, and it had worked, up until now. It seemed the captain had tracked him down. What was the little man’s name?
    “Captain . . . so . . . good to see you. Have you found Lady Featherstone and tracked me down to tell me of it?” He watched the man’s lips very carefully. Without Meade’s presence, traversing the speaking world was a very different matter, and he hadn’t wanted the captain to ever know of his inability to hear. When last he’d seen the man, his hearing had been coming back. Now to reveal such a weakness was unthinkable. As annoying and incompetent as the short man was, he did have the prince regent’s orders and Gabriel needed to be able to fool him again.
    “You know I haven’t found her.” Gabriel thought he said with a sinking feeling. He continued but Gabriel only caught a few words here and there, words like regent and trouble and disobeyed .
    As he spoke the room began to fill with red-coated soldiers. More soldiers than they’d been traveling with to Holy Island to fetch Alexandria. Many, many more.
    Gabriel quickly deduced the situation without the benefit of hearing it explained to him. The captain had gone back to the prince regent at some point and been ordered, with reinforcements, to track Gabriel down. He gazed around at the soldiers’ faces. A few stared him square in the eyes with a cockiness that spoke volumes. They were enjoying seeing him being taken down a notch.
    Since he couldn’t make out much of what the captain said, Gabriel tried to stall for time, interrupting the man with a wave of his arm and a steely look. “Captain, I have pressing matters to attend to at the moment. When my secretary returns, we will meet in the hotel’s drawing room and discuss this. I must bid you good day.”
    He started to move around the man toward the stairs but felt a hand grasp his shoulder and then another on his arm, pulling him hard in the other direction. If he could only hear what was going on! He tried to turn and wrench free and then came face-to-face with the captain holding a pistol in his face.
    “What is the meaning of this?” Gabriel roared. “Unhand me this instant!”
    But they didn’t unhand him. They beat him and