Page 101 of Winning Her Duke

“No one wants you.”

He was on his seventh or tenth glass of whisky when Hutchinson announced Julian, Graham, and Kit.

“We were heading to the club and saw you had returned. Do you want to join us?” Julian asked.

“Nay.” It was a small enough word, yet it didn’t come out clearly.

“What’s happened?” Kit came closer.

“Gia left. I don’t know where she is. She thinks I only asked to marry her to get the horses.”

Julian winced.

“I have to say, when I heard what was being offered, I almost thought to marry the chit myself,” Kit joked, but cleared his throat when both Julian and Hale glared at him.

“It was a jest, I swear it,” Kit said quickly when Hale took a step in his direction.

“You are in a bad way,” Graham said while putting a restraining hand on Hale’s chest. “Do you truly wish to marry her that badly?”

“Yes. I hadn’t realized how much until she was gone.”

“Isn’t that the way of most things?” Julian mused.

“Now it’s too late. Duncan told her I only wanted the dowry. She believed him. Why would she believe him? Why wouldn’t she wait and ask me?” Hale wasn’t certain if his friends understood anything he said since the words slurred together. But even in his drunken state, Hale thought he knew the answer to his own question.

Gia had left because she didn’t trust in his love, because he hadn’t told her he loved her.

“I dinna tell her. I was afraid she wouldn’t love me back. I never wanted a cold marriage, an arrangement made for convenience.”

“I can say this doesn’t seem convenient at all,” Kit joked again.

“You have to find her,” Julian said as if no one had considered this already.

“No one knows where she is. I’m expected to wait here until someone hears from her.” He waved his hand and only realized he was still holding his glass when whisky sloshed out onto his desk.

“How long do you think that might be, because if you keep waiting like this, you may not be fit to do anything about it when you find her,” Kit pointed out.

“I should go looking for her. I won’t stop until I’ve searched all of England.”

“That sounds quite time consuming.” Graham rubbed his chin. “Someone in the house has to know where she went. Her maid would have mentioned it to one of the other servants.”

Hale shook his head. “Lord Waverly and his new wife questioned the servants already. He was certain they dinna know.”

The fog of drunkenness kept him from forming an idea that hovered just outside his grasp. His friends must have helped him off to bed because Hale slept restlessly through the night still trying to piece together the puzzle.

The next morning, he thumped down the stairs to find them sitting in his breakfast room helping themselves to the sideboard.

“Good morning. How do you feel?” Kit asked, his voice too chipper.

“I feel as if the woman I love has run off and taken my heart with her. And I have no idea where she might be. I thought the rejection would be the worst part, but I find the worry that she could be in danger or need my help is nearly overwhelming.”

“Now that you’re in your right mind—or a bit closer at least—we wanted to offer our assistance. You said last night you planned to search all of England, but we will ensure you only have to search a third while we search the rest.”

“You are good friends.”

“We’re aware.” At another time, Hale might have called Kit out on his arrogance, but Hale felt he deserved to be smug. For the time being, at least.

Julian, Kit, and Graham had never left him.