The Forgiven Duke (A Forgotten Castles Novel) Read Free

stampeding horses enough to circle back to the shore.
    “Meade!” Gabriel waved to gain his attention.
    Meade saw him and motioned to the men to follow him over. Thank God. If he was to search out the identity of Lemon, Gabriel would need Meade’s ability to speak in such a way that made it easier for Gabriel to read his lips. The fact that he was deaf still gave him moments of intense despair, embarrassment like he’d never imagined, and a forced humility that still fit like a bad coat. But he was beyond thankful for his secretary. Meade was the person who made his affliction bearable, who made it possible for him to even attempt chasing down Alexandria Featherstone.
    “Your Grace! I can’t believe you’re still here. Did you find the ship? Did you find Alexandria?”
    “I watched the Achilles sail away, but it was too late. I saw her, though. She was on the deck. Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Tears threatened at the memory of finally seeing her. Long, dark hair pulled back from a lovely face. Sky blue eyes staring into his. Even at such a distance, he had locked on to those eyes, as if he could pull her back to shore with the intensity of his gaze alone. He’d waited so long, and he couldn’t begin to describe how he’d felt when he finally saw her—broken to his core and flooded with emotions: protecting, loving, possessive emotions.
    Meade mumbled something as a flush filled his face. He developed a sudden stutter and inability to put two coherent words together when having anything to do with beautiful women.
    Gabriel sighed. “Never mind. There was a man with her. He acted very familiar, putting his arm around her waist in a way that said he knows her well. I’ve just come from the shipping office and seen the passenger list. There was no mention of Alexandria Featherstone, but there was an Alexandria Lemon along with a Lord John Lemon. We have to discover who he is and what he is doing with Alexandria.”
    “That doesn’t sound good. Where do we begin?” Meade asked, brows raised.
    “Remember that giant of a man with the cart blocking the street? The one who startled the horses? He knows something. That was no accident, I assure you.”
    Meade nodded.
    “Let’s spread out. See if we can find him. Send the men in all directions. You and I will head back to the street where we last saw him. His size will be to our advantage, but tell the men to use whatever means necessary to convince the man to come with them. Tell everyone to meet back at the hotel in a few hours. Hopefully, one of us will have him.”
    “Very good, Your Grace.”
    Gabriel trotted up and down the quay while Meade dispersed Gabriel’s hired outriders and soldiers. He’d hired them to make a big show of his power upon coming to Dublin; now he was glad to put them to good use. They were trained soldiers with experience. If any one of them found him, Gabriel was reasonably certain his men would be able to handle a bumbling giant.
    A few minutes later, he and Meade galloped into the street where they’d last seen him. It turned out to be ridiculously easy. The man was sitting right where they had left him, blocking the road, perched on the seat of the cart and crying like a giant redheaded baby. Gabriel and Meade stopped and stared in disbelief for a moment and then dismounted and hurried over to the man.
    “Sir, have you gone daft? What is the meaning of this?” Gabriel demanded in a loud bark.
    The man looked up from his hands and, upon seeing them, burst into another wail, his wide face scrunching up into a ball of flesh with a giant nose in the center.
    “Meade, talk some sense into the man. Get him down from there.”
    Meade’s eyes widened at the order but he turned and began to talk . . . and talk . . . and talk. Finally, the giant pulled out an enormous white handkerchief, took a deep breath, and blew his nose into it several times. Gabriel gritted his teeth and slapped his gloves against his thigh waiting for him to