Page 39 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke
Jane cut in quickly. “Please.”
Something in her tone must have shifted because the manager paused. He looked down at the ledger again.
“I remember the entry,” he said slowly. “A man. Alone. Well-dressed. Similar complexion to yours.”
Jane’s breath caught.
“He did not reveal the purpose of his visit,” the man continued. “Just the room. Paid in advance.”
The duke’s voice lowered. “Duration?”
“Short.”
“And?” the duke pressed.
The manager exhaled. “He waited. That is what I would say. He was clearly expecting someone.”
Jane’s fingers curled slightly.
The duke leaned forward. “Did someone come?”
The manager shook his head. “No.”
“He left at dawn,” he added. “Looked like a man who had been stood up.”
Silence settled over the room. Jane felt it sit heavily in her ribs. It was the same scenario as at the brothel. Almost word for word.
The duke closed the ledger with slow precision.
“Has he been here before?” he asked.
“No,” the manager said immediately. “Never.”
That was final. Jane glanced at the duke. He was already thinking ahead, his expression distant in that way she was beginning to recognize, where his mind left the room before his body did.
The duke placed more money on the desk.
“For your discretion,” he said.
The manager took it without hesitation. Everyone, it seemed, could be paid off.
“Of course,” he said.
Outside, the night air felt colder than it should have. Jane stepped into the street first, pulling her cloak tighter.
The noise of the gaming hell faded behind them, replaced by the damp silence of London’s narrower veins.
She stared at the building across from them without really seeing it.
The duke looked at her. “He was here to meet someone.”
Jane nodded slowly. “And they didn’t come. Again.”
The duke’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Which means he was either betrayed or watched.”
Jane’s throat tightened. “Or both.”
She turned toward him. “He wouldn’t use that word unless it mattered. Colin is careful with signals. Seeing it both places confirms that for me.”
