Page 86 of Project Duke

Please, let them not have Calliope! They’d never wanted him; they’d always tried to stop her.

Nathaniel jumped up from the chair, but one of them hit him in the face while two others darted to hold him down.

“Nathaniel, my boy,” the admiral said. “Respectfully, I must ask you to stop digging around the disappearance of the former Duke of Grandhampton.”

Nathaniel’s mind raced. He could ask why Langden was doing this, how he could betray Nathaniel like this, if the memory of Nathaniel’s father meant nothing to the man…

But he had a more important question on his mind.

“Where’s my wife?” he rasped.

“The beautiful, if bothersome, Duchess of Kelford is safe,” said the admiral. “For now. Her continued safety will depend on your cooperation today, friend.”

Nathaniel scoffed. “You attack me and threaten my wife and then demand my cooperation, friend?”

Langden’s face straightened into a serious mask, any traces of his usual kindness gone. “I never knew you would become entangled in any of this, Nathaniel!” he barked. “Were it anyone else and their wife, they’d long be dead.”

Nathaniel’s gut squeezed. Had he ever truly known this man? “Well, you certainly fooled me with your act.”

Langden sighed. “I’m doing you a favor, believe it or not. I’m asking you to cooperate, showing myself to you as the last resort. I have tried everything to persuade the duchess and yourself to stop…but nothing helped.”

He had tried everything… Nathaniel’s mind flew, remembering all the moments of terror as he saw the dried flowers being delivered to Calliope, the man with the knife attacking her and his sisters in the middle of the day in Mayfair, the thugs trying to harm Calliope in an alley at the docks, his sisters trying to fight off the intruders, someone watching his house for days, and finally Violet’s wound…

All Langden? He was not surprised or astonished anymore.

He was enraged. “You have known my sisters since they were born. Do you realize Violet could have been seriously hurt because of you? As it is, she will bear a scar.”

Langden sighed and shook his head mournfully. “I’m sorry for little Violet. Truly. This was never supposed to lead to such drastic consequences. It could all have been over with the flowers.”

Yes, it could have. If it was about any other woman but Calliope.

Calliope was a force of nature. A storm that may lead to devastation but also brought healing rain and nurtured the earth.

He felt an urge to growl. “All this to hide a duke’s press-ganging. Why? Why did you want Spencer gone in the first place?”

“That does not concern you. Like I said, stop asking questions and leave the matter alone.”

“You were the one that issued the press-gang order. But I don’t remember you owning a walking stick with a walrus-ivory emblem.”

The admiral’s jaws worked. “Nathaniel. What you don’t understand is that I’m on your side. If I wanted you or your wife dead, you would be. I’d like to resolve this so that you don’t have to die.”

To Nathaniel’s surprise, the admiral didn’t look like a victorious villain. He looked like a man who had a dirty job he didn’t want to do.

“And if you promise you will stop digging and stop your wife from digging, I will let you go and you can return to her.”

“Why are you doing this? I’ve never known you to get entangled in despicable business.”

The admiral swallowed hard, his nostrils flaring. “Sometimes you have no choice but to do what a powerful man asks of you.”

Nathaniel knew if he let this go, if he didn’t get answers, there would be no end to it. Calliope would never be free. They would always live under a shadow of fear and uncertainty.

“I know you don’t want to do this. You serve your country. You’re not the man to threaten an innocent lady only because she wants to find her brother.”

The admiral slowly walked to him, boot heels clicking slightly against the floor in the warehouse.

“I know you want to be free from whoever is forcing you to act, just as much as I want my wife to be safe. Who is that powerful man, Admiral?”

Langden swallowed hard, indecision behind his eyes. Then he looked at the thug who had stood by Nathaniel’s side and gave him a curt nod. The thug hit Nathaniel in the stomach, knocking the air out of him, pain bursting through his insides. Nathaniel doubled up, gasping for breath.