Dawn of the Duchess

39. The Mastermind

He smirked. "You are most welcome, Your Ladyship."

"You! You did this! And it all started because you caught those bloody fools at that orphanage? I should have just burned it to the ground!"

"Orphanage?"

The soft murmur interrupted the two's verbal duel. Both looked over to where it had come from. Or rather, whom.

"Orphanage?" Lady Henrietta repeated. "My orphanage? Children? Snatched?" With every single word, her voice grew colder and colder. It was clear from the expression on her face that she still didn't really understand what was going on. But it was equally clear that she didn't really need to. Someone had endangered her children. That was enough.

Right now, Lord Patrick Day felt really glad she was his mother.

"You...you...!" Eyes blazing, Her Ladyship the Dowager Duchess took a step forward. "You abducted children?"

"Abducted. Caged. Sold." The beast in the form of a woman raised an eyebrow at Lord Patrick. "What, you haven't told her what you've been up to over the last few months? Tut, tut. There should always be perfect trust between mother and son. Especially since, if you'd told her, I would have found out it was you who was ruining my operations so much earlier. Then maybe we could have avoided this..." She shifted the blade of her knife. "...unpleasant situation."

A growl erupted from Patrick's throat. Before he could stop himself, he had taken a step forward, fists raised.

"Ah, ah!" The knife pressed more firmly into Amy's throat. "None of that, or this helpless little lady gets it!"

Instantly, Lord Patrick froze. Although not for the reason most people were probably suspecting.

Helpless little lady?

Unnoticed by anyone, one corner of his mouth twitched.

"Now," the villainess continued her monologue, unaware that Lord Patrick wasn't really paying attention to her anymore. "This girl and I are going to take a little walk outside. When I release her—or rather if—I had better not see a single sign of you following me. Understood?" She gently patted Amy's shoulder. "We wouldn't want any harm to come to this poor, innocent girl."

"You...!" Patrick stared at the woman.

She just cocked an eyebrow. "What? Angry? Helpless? Desperate to save your damsel in distress?"

Not really.

"You'll never get away with this!" he informed her. After all, it was only reasonable to give fair warning to people about to commit suicide. "You will pay!"

Her eyes narrowed. "You are in no position to threaten me."

Me? No. But...

His eyes flicked to where Amy was held by the old lady, knife at her throat.

Amy was smiling.

Lord Patrick dragged in a deep breath. "Let her go."

"What?" His mother exclaimed. "But—"

"No buts!" he cut her off. "Let. Her. Go."

"Smart move." The woman who had been his mother's friend smirked, slowly starting to edge towards the front door. "Now, be good and stay put."

They reached the door.

"You there!" she barked at the pale-as-a-ghost butler. "Open the door!"

"I..." Swallowing, the butler glanced over at Patrick and company. Lady Gwendolyn did not seem to appreciate that.