“Hello, Daniel.” Her voice was a tiny bit wobbly, but she kept her head high, refusing to show fear.
“And here I thought Lady Miranda was merely your lover,” Lord Espy said. “Imagine my surprise and delight when I learned she was your new bride.”
Daniel thought his heart might stop at the sight of her. He’d planned everything to the utmost, but the sight of Espy holding his wife by the arm while brandishing a weapon gave him chills. But he had a part to play. He looked Miranda up and down. “Has he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Then may I say that you look as fetching in that dress as you did in the one earlier?” She had dispensed with his trousers and changed dresses. He smiled at her. “New frock?”
She nodded. “Your mother invited me to Sussex House for refreshments. I thought I should look my best …”
Daniel’s heart skipped another beat. “Is my mother … ?”
“I’m a gentleman,” Espy informed him. “I would never hurt your mother.”
“Yet you manhandle my wife,” Daniel growled.
“Only as a matter of business,” Espy said. “Your wife was leaving Sussex House as I arrived.”
Miranda glared at Espy. “Did you know that he and the duchess were keeping company?”
“I knew she had a gentleman friend,” Daniel admitted. “I didn’t know her taste in them was so deplorable.”
“You should stay home more,” Espy told him. “Then you’d know what is going on beneath your nose. You would know that I’ve been paying court to Her Grace for several weeks now. She is still a very lovely woman and a most generous companion.”
Daniel thought he might be ill at the thought of the companionship Espy and his mother had shared.
“At any rate, your wife made the mistake of exiting Sussex House and calling for her coach immediately after her driver recognized mine.” Lord Espy shrugged his shoulders. “Unfortunately, I was in the process of rendering her footman unconscious when she saw me.”
“I didn’t see Rupert,” Miranda told Daniel. “But Lord Espy swung his walking stick at Ned and hit him upon the side of the head, then left him lying on the street.”
“I was in a bit of a hurry. There was no time to waste,” Espy continued. “Your bride proved to be quite a handful. Naturally, I had no choice but to bring her along on the journey. Especially after she tried to emasculate me with her knee.”
“My men?” Daniel queried.
“Your driver is tied up inside your coach,” Espy replied. “And when we departed, your footman was still lying in the street.” He tightened his grip on Miranda’s arm.
She gasped as the pain shot up her arm, then kicked at Espy through her skirts. “You blackguard!”
“Enough!” Espy let go of Miranda’s arm long enough to grab hold of her waist, anchoring his arm around her from behind, waving his weapon around before calmly pointing it at her. “Give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want. Hurry,” he advised, staring at Daniel. “The clock is ticking.”
“Very well,” Daniel said calmly. “Give me my wife and I’ll give you the dispatches.” He reached back and Micah placed the leather pouches in his hand.
“And the spy,” Espy insisted, licking the drops of perspiration that beaded on his upper lip. “I need them both.”
“For what reason?”
“For money, of course,” Espy spat. “There are those who have more than enough, like you, Your Grace. And there are those who never have enough …”
“Like you.”
Espy nodded. “So I devised a way to get more of it.”
“In lieu of marrying my mother?”
Lord Espy chuckled. “You know the duchess. She would never marry a man of lower rank, no matter how good he is in bed.”
“So you decided on espionage and ransom,” Daniel guessed.