Bound by Love (Russian Connection 2)

Not surprisingly, Edmond regarded him as if he feared that Stefan had taken leave of his senses. “You think the Countess Karkoff’s daughter is a common thief?”

Stefan snorted. “There is nothing common about her.”

“Have you discovered anything missing?” Edmond demanded. “The silver? Mother’s jewelry? The Van Dykes?”

Stefan shifted impatiently. He had Goodson searching the mansion, but thus far the butler’s meticulous gaze could detect nothing absent or mislaid.

That did not, however, ease the suspicion that clawed through him.

“No.”

Edmond studied him with a somber expression. “Stefan, you have behaved in a most peculiar manner since Miss Karkoff arrived in Surrey. Are you quite certain that your unwanted fascination with the woman has not convinced you to view her with suspicion?”

Stefan grimly shrugged aside his brother’s accusation. He could not deny his perverse fascination with Leonida Karkoff, but it had nothing to do with his distrust. She had brought that on herself.

“I view her with suspicion because she has devoted the past days to searching Meadowland as if she were on a treasure hunt,” he retorted. “She was most particularly interested in Mother’s chambers.”

“You are certain?”

“Absolutely.”

Edmond shook his head. “What could she have been searching for?”

“I would presume it has something to do with Mother’s connection to Russia, but the few belongings she brought from St. Petersburg are not excessively valuable.” Stefan’s jaw clenched. “At least, to no one beyond ourselves.”

Edmond scowled, as prickly as Stefan when it came to protecting their parents’ memories. “And now she has disappeared,” he said flatly.

“Yes.”

“What do you intend to do?”

Stefan did not hesitate, turning toward the carriage he had left in the stable yard. “Go after her.”

Grasping his arm in an iron grip, Edmond whirled him back to meet his concerned expression.

“Stefan, wait.”

“What is it?”

“You are the Duke of Huntley. You cannot simply leap on your horse and dash around the countryside.”

Stefan arched a brow at his brother’s absurd words. “A lecture on responsibility from you, Edmond?”

“I will admit that I have not always been renowned for my predictable nature,” Edmond conceded with a wry smile.

“You have been a rake, a gambler, and you have quite often disappeared for weeks on end without allowing anyone, including me, to know where you have gone.”

“All true, but I always had the assurance that my brother could be counted upon to rescue me from any difficulty. Just as so many others count upon you.”

Stefan impatiently jerked his arm free. “I know my duty.”

“Then you know you must remain at Meadowland. If you wish I can contact my associates in Russia—”

“No,” Stefan sharply interrupted.

A part of him realized he was behaving irrationally. He possessed a hundred servants he could send in pursuit of Leonida, not to mention a local militia who would be delighted to oblige the Duke of Huntley. A much greater part, however, refused to even contemplate allowing anyone but himself the pleasure of capturing the current bane of his existence.

He told himself that it was simply fury at her attempt to betray him, but he knew it was far more than that. Leonida…belonged to him. And until he was prepared to let her go, he would do whatever necessary to bring her back to where she belonged.