Ilona left the Inn after her talk with Pierce Vane and knew she needed to tell Ian about her decision to let some of the pirates return. He would likely be unhappy she hadn't discussed it with him first, but she really didn't have to. It was her crew, after all.
She rode back to the Adairs' stables and left her horse with a servant boy who looked in surprise between her and the empty stall her horse should have been in. Ilona smirked at him in amusement before heading for the house.
It probably wasn't a good sign for the Duke that his men hadn't noticed a horse going missing from his stables. Of course, it wasn't one of his horses, so maybe that was the reason. What did one horse matter if it belonged to a pirate?
Slipping through the front door, the butler was there and gave her a disapproving look.
"You should knock and wait to be allowed entrance," he said with a hint of scolding in his voice.
