Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“My lady…” the voice hissed.
With that, Jane turned sharply. The duke stood a few paces away, half in shadow. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
His gaze moved over her, and something unreadable flickered across his face. Not anger, exactly. Something more complicated. Like disbelief tangled with confusion.
Jane lifted her chin immediately, reclaiming composure she did not entirely feel.
“That question,” she said evenly, “seems rather unfair coming from you.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “You followed me.”
It was not a question.
Jane’s pulse beat harder, but she refused to let it show. “I was already in the area.”
“That is a remarkable coincidence,” the duke said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“I am not in the habit of explaining myself to men who refuse to explain anything to me,” she said. “Especially not when my brother’s life is involved.”
At that, something in his expression shifted, and he stepped forward just slightly. “Lady Jane,” he said, voice controlled, “this is not a place for you.”
Jane almost laughed. “And yet, here you are.”
His jaw tightened. “That is not the same.”
Jane was suddenly very aware of how close he was. Of how little light separated them. Of the fact that she was alone here with a man she barely knew, in a part of London she had no business entering.
“You need to leave,” he said quietly.
“I need answers,” she replied.
“You will not find them here,” he said.
Jane bristled. “And you expect me to believe that? That a man like you came to seek… to seek certain services… all the way out here?”
He raised an eyebrow, “A man like me?”
“I meant a peer,” she huffed. “I may be unwed, but I am not completely oblivious to what men of the ton choose to do at night, Your Grace. My brother was very clear to me about that.”
Before he could respond, a faint sound echoed from deeper in the alley. Footsteps and distant voices.
The duke’s attention shifted instantly. Jane followed his gaze instinctively.
“What?” she began.
“Quiet,” he said sharply.
She stopped. The sound grew closer. And, in that moment, Jane realized with sudden clarity that whatever this place was, and whatever the reasons for his being here might be, things were not as straightforward as they seemed.
The voices at the end of the alley faded just as quickly as they had appeared, swallowed again by the murmur of the city beyond. But the tension they left behind did not leave with them. It clung to the narrow space between her and the duke, sharp as wire.
He watched her. As if he had not just caught her following him into one of the worst parts of London like a reckless fool with no sense of danger.
Jane lifted her chin before he could speak again. “I went to Bow Street,” she said.
The duke’s gaze sharpened slightly. “And?”
“They were useless,” she replied, too quickly to disguise her frustration. “They told me to be patient.”
Something almost like disdain crossed his face, but he did not interrupt.
Jane pressed on, the words spilling out now that she had started. “They spoke as if Colin were misplaced luggage. As if I should simply… wait for him to be returned.” Her hands curled into fists at her sides. “I will not wait.”
The duke studied her for a moment longer than was comfortable. “You should go home,” he said at last.
Jane let out a short, humorless breath. “I need to find Colin,” she said more quietly, forcing control back into her voice. “Quicker than the authorities intend to move. I need help to do that.”
The duke’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You came here looking for me to provide it.”
Jane hesitated, then nodded once. “Yes.”
His gaze flicked over her face, like he was measuring something she could not see. “And you decided following me into a brothel alley was the appropriate method of request?”
Jane’s cheeks warmed at the reminder of where she was standing. “I didn’t follow you into the… brothel,” she replied, the last word becoming somewhat difficult to articulate. “I followed your carriage.”
“Which led you here,” the duke said.
“That is not the same thing,” Jane said.
The duke exhaled slowly through his nose, like he was restraining a comment that would not be polite. Then he said, “Go home.”
Jane’s jaw tightened. “No.”
His gaze locked onto hers, and Jane became suddenly aware of how close he was standing.
Too close for propriety. Too close for sense. Too close for a man she was meant to distrust entirely. And yet she did not move. Propriety had gone out of the window some time ago.
“You are very determined,” he said quietly.
“I am desperate,” she corrected.
His jaw clenched. “I might be able to use that. You are a woman in possession of information to which I do not have access.”
Jane stiffened. “And what information would that be?”
“Access to your brother’s world,” he said. “His habits. His acquaintances. His patterns.”
Jane scoffed. “You think Colin has a ‘world’ you can simply decode?”
“I think every man does,” the duke replied evenly. “Including your brother.”
There was something infuriatingly certain in his tone. Jane shook her head. “Colin is not like your brother. And your brother is not like mine.”
The duke’s gaze darkened slightly at that. “That remains to be seen.”
Jane took another step forward now, closing the space between them without thinking. “This is about my brother,” she said, her voice low. “Not yours. Mine.”
The duke did not move away. Instead, his gaze dropped briefly to her mouth. Then back to her eyes. Jane felt it like a physical pull in her chest.
“And I want to find him just as much as you want to find yours,” she added sharply, forcing herself to keep her tone steady.
He said, “If your brother is not found…”
Jane held still.
“He will be found,” she stated. “He must be. Otherwise…”
She stopped. The duke was a stranger. She couldn’t reveal the hardship she and her mother were facing just because they shared a goal.
“Otherwise?” the duke prompted.
For a moment, something instinctive rose in her throat, her truth, sharp and unguarded. But she swallowed it down before it could surface.
“It is not relevant,” she said instead.
His brow furrowed slightly. “It is relevant if I am going to help you.”
“Your Grace. Let us focus on the search, all right? That is what matters now,” she replied.
Then, unexpectedly, the duke stepped back. Just slightly. Enough to re-establish a sliver of distance between them. Jane did not know whether to feel relieved or irritated by it. He glanced past her toward the alley’s exit, then back to her.
“Very well. I came here for my own investigation,” he said. “This establishment is a rather… sought-after destination amongst wealthier men in London.”
Jane blinked. “This place?”
His gaze flicked to her, mildly unimpressed. “Yes. This place.”
Jane’s face tightened. “Colin did not frequent… establishments like this.”
The duke looked at her as if she had just said something na?ve. “He is a man,” he said simply.
Jane stiffened. “That does not mean—”
“That means exactly what it means,” he interrupted. “If you intend to follow me into this investigation, you should understand that places like this are exactly where information is exchanged.”
Jane lifted her chin. “I understand that perfectly.”
“Do you?”
Jane straightened. “Yes.”
The duke studied her for a long moment. Then he said, “Very well.”
Jane blinked. “Very well?”
“I will show you,” he said simply.
Then, as if testing her, he tilted his head slightly toward the alley’s exit. “And, Lady Jane,” he added, his voice lower now, “if you are truly as curious as you claim, you may find that this place reveals more than just information about your brother.”
Jane’s throat tightened slightly at the implication, although she refused to show it. “I am not easily shocked,” she said.
The faintest hint of something like amusement crossed his face. “We shall see,” he replied.
And then he turned, gesturing for her to follow him toward the building’s entrance.
Jane hesitated for only a fraction of a second. Then, lifting her chin as if she belonged there far more than she felt she did, she stepped forward beside him.
“Lead the way,” she said coolly.
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer than necessary. Then he turned toward the door.
“Come then,” he said.
They stepped inside. The change was immediate. The noise of the alley vanished behind them as the door shut, replaced by a muffled hush that felt almost unreal after the roughness outside.
The interior was dimly lit, but not dark. Lamplight softened the edges of velvet curtains, polished wood, and figures moving with quiet efficiency.
Jane kept her cloak pulled tightly over her head. It felt ridiculous and necessary at the same time.
The duke did not look back to check on her. He simply walked forward.
A man near the front desk looked up as they approached. His gaze flicked over the duke first, then paused briefly on Jane, just long enough to make her acutely aware of every choice she had made that evening.
The duke’s voice was calm. “I need to speak with the madam.”
The clerk did not question him. He simply nodded once and gestured toward a corridor. “This way.”
Jane followed silently, her steps careful on the carpeted floor.
She kept slightly behind the duke, although she was not sure whether that was intentional or instinctive.
Either way, she found herself noticing how he always moved just slightly ahead of her, as if positioning himself between her and the world without acknowledging it.
They were led to a heavy door at the end of the corridor. The clerk knocked once, then opened it and stepped aside. The duke entered first. Jane followed.
The room inside was warmer and more private. A desk stood near the center. On it, papers were neatly arranged, and a small fire burned low in the hearth. The air smelled faintly of perfume and ink.
A woman sat behind the desk.
She did not stand immediately. Instead, she studied them with slow, deliberate attention, as though she had all the time in the world and intended to use it.