The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

Before sunrise, August carried out his plan and had the entire consignment removed from the stable before Varek could arrive to collect it.

When Varek reached the location with the men he had hired, he expected to find the boxes waiting exactly where Davis had instructed him to look. Instead, one of the men hurried out of the stable and called to him.

”Sir, there’s nothing inside!”

Varek stared at him in disbelief. ”What are you talking about? How is that possible?”

Pushing past the men, he rushed inside and searched the stable himself. The place was completely empty. Not a single box remained where the consignment had been stored. Refusing to accept what he was seeing, he hurried upstairs and searched the rooms there as well, but found nothing.

”How could this happen?” he muttered, his face tightening with frustration.

He descended the stairs and strode outside, trying to make sense of the situation. The consignment had been secured here, and no one was supposed to know about its location. Yet someone had managed to remove everything before he arrived.

”Stay here,” he ordered the men. ”I’ll speak to Sir Davis and find out what happened.”

Without waiting for a reply, Varek mounted his horse and rode straight to Davis’s estate. He reached the gates a short while later and pulled the reins, bringing his horse to a halt.

”Please inform Sir Davis that I need to see him immediately,” he told the guards. One of the guards hurried inside the estate to inform his master. A few minutes later, he returned with Davis, who had wrapped his fur coat tightly around himself to shield against the cold air.

”What happened, Varek?” Davis asked in a low voice, his brows drawing together as he studied the man standing before him.

”There is no consignment left, my lord,” Varek reported anxiously. ”I searched the entire horse stable, but it was completely empty. Not a single box remained. Did you perhaps send someone else to collect it without informing me?”

”What are you talking about?” Davis exclaimed, his expression changing at once. ”I didn’t send anyone to collect it!”

Varek fell silent, unable to offer an explanation for the disappearance.

Davis tightened his grip on his coat, his mind racing as he considered the possible consequences. The consignment was too valuable for him to dismiss its disappearance as a simple mistake.

”Come with me,” he ordered sharply. ”Let’s go there and see for ourselves.”

Without wasting another moment, Davis headed toward his horse, expecting Varek to follow. He needed to see the empty stable with his own eyes before he could determine what had gone wrong.

However, when Davis entered the large stable room and saw the empty space where the boxes had been stored, he froze.

He looked around in disbelief, as though expecting the consignment to appear if he searched hard enough.

Yet there was nothing. Every last box had disappeared.

”Where did the consignment go?” Davis demanded, turning sharply toward Varek. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. ”Did you have something to do with this? Did you remove the boxes yourself?”

Varek stared at him, taken aback by the accusation.

”My lord, how can you suspect me of such a thing?” he protested. ”I brought these workers here to collect the boxes, just as we agreed. Why would I go to all that trouble only to make them disappear? I’ve been working for you for years. Surely, you know better than to question my loyalty without reason.”

”Then explain where the boxes went!” Davis snapped, his voice rising. ”You and I were the only ones who knew about this place. No outsider should have known that the consignment was stored here, let alone when it was supposed to be moved!”

He paced across the stable, running a hand through his hair as he struggled to think. The consignment had been worth a considerable sum, and its disappearance threatened far more than his immediate profit. If the goods had fallen into the wrong hands, the consequences could be disastrous.

Suddenly, the sound of marching footsteps echoed through the stable, growing louder with each passing moment. Davis and Varek turned toward the entrance, their conversation coming to an abrupt halt.

Before either man could understand what was happening, a group of soldiers marched into the stable, their weapons secured at their sides. Their commander stood at the front, his expression stern as he surveyed the men gathered inside.

Davis stared at them in confusion. ”What is the meaning of this?”

Commander Ronald stepped forward, fixing his gaze on Davis.

”Davis, you are under arrest for possessing and concealing illicit goods,” he announced in a firm voice that carried throughout the stable. ”By the command of Prince August, the military has taken charge of this investigation. You will come with us and answer for your crimes.”

Davis’s face paled as he struggled to comprehend what was happening. He had not expected the military to arrive so quickly, and now he could barely think of a way to escape the situation.

Before he could gather his thoughts, Varek suddenly turned and attempted to flee through the opposite entrance. However, two soldiers noticed his movement and rushed after him. One seized him by the arm while the other struck his legs, forcing him to lose his balance and fall heavily to the ground.

”Don’t let him escape!” Commander Ronald ordered.

The soldiers hauled Varek to his feet and restrained him before he could attempt to run again.

Meanwhile, Davis turned toward the commander, his composure crumbling under the weight of the accusations.

”Commander, I—I haven’t done anything wrong,” he stammered, attempting to deny his involvement. ”There must be some misunderstanding. Please, allow me to explain.”

Ronald did not even bother to entertain his excuses.

”Put him in handcuffs,” he instructed the soldiers.

Before Davis could utter another word, two soldiers seized his arms and bound his wrists in iron cuffs. They then dragged him toward the entrance, ignoring his desperate attempts to resist.

Moments later, both Davis and Varek were shoved into a barred carriage meant for prisoners. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving the two men trapped inside.

”Commander, please! Just listen to me once!” Davis shouted, gripping the bars as Ronald turned away.

But his pleas fell on deaf ears.