Spies and Secrets 02 - Daring the Duke

by Anne Mallory

  “Faye Kendrick is being held in a building about an hour outside of town.

  There were other men watching the place. I‘d guess they were Flanagan’s men. I decided not to delay my return. The girl is doing fine. They have her drugged and trussed, but from what I could see, no harm has been done. The number of men guarding her tripled, so I decided to come back for reinforcements.”

  Stephen raised a brow. “Getting soft, Roth?”

  “Yes, and cautious. If I don’t watch out, I might fall all the way to your level.”

  Stephen smiled, but his mind was already planning a rescue. “Audrey will be there. My guess is that she is supposed to exchange something for her sister.”

  Roth raised a brow. “Do you know the nature of what she is trying to exchange?”

  “A pocket watch.”

  Roth stilled, and Stephen nodded in answer to the unspoken question.

  “Yes, it is what you think it is. I let her steal the pocket watch that Brandon’s father gave me.”

  Roth gave him a cryptic look, but simply said, “Have you contacted James?”

  “Yes, he should be here anytime now.”

  “What are you going to do with the Kendrick sisters when this is through?”

  “l don’t know. It depends on Audrey’s answers.” He shook his head. “She doesn’t trust me.”

  “But you trust her. ” It was a statement.

  “It’s hard to maintain trust when it’s one-sided. But I do trust her in some weird manner. I knew she was going to take the piece. I’ve known it since I realized Travers was involved in this business. The watch has both monetary and sentimental value.”

  “Why didn’t you arrest him before?”

  “Not enough hard evidence. In addition, he made threats against Audrey and her sister. Retribution if anything happened to him. I thought it easier to let him muddle his way around and bury himself.”

  “And you didn’t want to scare off the bigger fish.”

  “No.” Stephen’s voice was soft. “I didn’t want to do that, but maybe I should have.”

  “Well, I took care of Travers’s men, so there will be no worry from that quarter. Not unless we put her in Newgate ourselves.” Roth raised a brow.

  “That is still up in the air,” Stephen bluffed.

  James walked through the door. “We ready?”

  Stephen pushed up from the desk. “Yes, let’s go.”

  But James didn’t move, almost as if he were fighting an internal battle.

  “What is it?”

  James exhaled, and he and Roth exchanged a glance. “I don’t know that I want to clutter your perspective, but fair is fair. Miss Kendrick returned the pin that she stole from Calliope the night of the Taylors’ ball.”

  Stephen tensed. “When?”

  “Today not more than an hour ago. Calliope didn’t tell me about the visit until the girl was safely out of the neighborhood.”

  Stephen absently played with a pen on his desk. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “Join the crowd,” Roth muttered.

  “What are you going to do about her?” James asked.

  Stephen didn’t answer.

  Chapter 23

  Audrey dismounted and led the horse she had borrowed from Flanagan into a copse of trees. She tied the mare to a small tree and set out on foot for the last mile trek through the woods. She was dressed in trousers, and this time carried two loaded pistols. One was strapped under her trousers on the inside of her left ankle and the other in her right pocket.

  A decrepit farmhouse sat at the edge of the property, a barn nearby. The house was unlit, but light peeked through the poorly placed boards in the barn walls. Audrey crept to the side and peered through one of the holes.

  Faye was trussed against one corner. Two guards hovered nearby and two others were playing cards. The sight of her sister lifted her spirits. She appeared to be knocked out or sleeping.

  Audrey crept around the structure. There were doors on both sides. Two escape routes.

  She walked to the horses and made shooing motions with her free hand.

  They nickered. She did it again, and one of the horses whinnied.

  She ran behind a nearby tree. A guard exited the barn with a gun in his hand. He approached the makeshift paddock, and as he walked by, she whacked him with a heavy stick. He slumped to the ground. She tucked his gun in her waistband and dashed behind a tree closer to the barn. She wasn’t strong enough to lift the fallen man.

  A second guard called from the open door. “Fred?”

  Fred’s friend wasn’t too smart as he too walked down the same path and helpfully turned his back. He joined the unconscious Fred in the dirt.

  Audrey ran to the barn door. There would be no third opportunity. She dove into the building and fired at the guard nearest her. She caught him in the leg, and he dropped his gun as he screamed. The fourth guard turned to fire. Before Audrey could react a streak knocked the guard into the wall and began pounding the daylights out of the man.

  “Faye!”

  Faye looked up from the damage she was inflicting, even with her hands tied, and leaned unsteadily against the wall. “What took you so bloody long?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Dear Lord, sis, I would have been out of here myself tonight if you hadn’t finally decided to show.”

  Audrey freed Faye from her bonds and they hugged fiercely. Faye limped over to the other side of the bed in the corner and Audrey was surprised to see a man on the floor, his hands tied. He had been completely obscured from view. “Lucky for me they brought this one in. They only gave me half a dosage by accident.”

  Faye was fumbling with the man’s knots, and Audrey rushed to help. She put her gun down and untied the ropes. The man’s head lolled to the side.

  “What are we supposed to do with him? And who is he?”

  “Edward Logan, the Duke of Marston’s solicitor.”

  Audrey sat back on her heels. “Well, well. They can’t pin it on me after all.”

  “Well, well, pin what? No, on second thought tell me later. We can’t linger.”

  A new voice responded. “l agree. Lingering is unwise.”

  Audrey whipped around to see Travers standing in the doorway. She grabbed for the gun.

  “Please don’t do that, my dear. It will only make things messy. ” Travers looked nervous. He kept switching his gaze between them.

  Audrey removed her hand from the gun. “Fine. I have what you want. The watch for Faye, then we’ll be on our way. ”

  He walked to a spot where he could see Logan’s body and seemed satisfied by what he saw. He was gaining confidence. “I must commend you on the masterful job of stealing the watch.”

  “Let’s go, Faye.” `

  “Yes, Faye will be able to leave. You however are going to stay. I have a new job, but this time it’s for your sister. A little gambling hell to infiltrate. I hear she has uncommon luck at the tables.”

  Audrey didn’t look at Faye, but she could feel her tensing. Audrey placed a restraining hand on her arm. “Fine. Faye, you go.”

  Travers narrowed his eyes. “First, where is the watch?”

  “Faye goes free before I give it to you.”

  “Show me you have it first.”

  Audrey reached into her pocket. A cold steel blade and the heavy weight of gold pressed into her hand. The blade knicked her skin as she palmed it sloppily. She used her thumb to secure the piece on top.

  “Put it on the table, then step back.” His greedy eyes devoured the watch as if it were his salvation.

  “Faye, leave.”

  “I’m not leaving you h—”

  Audrey pierced her with a look. “Now.”

  A defiant expression came over her face, but she walked toward the door.

  Two steps from it Travers grabbed her and put the gun barrel to her throat.

  “I’m not going to ask again.
Put the piece on the table, then move away.”

  Audrey gripped the piece tightly but put it on the table. Having been caught

  unprepared, all of her bargaining chips had become useless.

  He motioned to one of the battered guards to retrieve it. Audrey moved the knife into a throwing position and bided her time.

  Travers crowed when he examined the treasure. “Get the ropes from my saddle,” he said to the guard.

  Faye had an opportunity to escape from Travers’s hold, but she was watching the doorway to her left as the guard disappeared. One of the guards Audrey had felled must have awakened for her sister to be so distracted. Audrey inwardly cursed. There were two guns trained on her already she didn’t need four.

  Travers chuckled again. “Well done, well done. I can’t wait to see if your sister manages half as well as you did. How I wish I could see the look on Chalmers’s face when he discovers the watch my father gave him is missing and realizes it was you who betrayed him. That watch is a family heirloom—and my father never went anywhere without it. Should have been mine. My blasted father didn’t even give it to my brother. No, he gave it to Chalmers to replace the heirloom that was stolen from Chalmers’s father when he was robbed and murdered.”

  Audrey’s heart dropped. It had been in his personal compartment, so she shouldn’t be surprised at its sentimental value, but she knew Stephen would never forgive her now.

  Travers continued to crow. “Oh yes, I wish I could see the look on his face.”

  “You can see it now if you’d like.”

  Audrey jerked her attention to the door to see Stephen casually leaning against the jamb, pistol in hand. Roth slipped inside and was removing the pistol from the remaining guard’s hand, while his own was shoved against the man’s neck.

  Travers stiffened, and his pistol dug deeply into Faye’s chin as he positioned her in front of him. Audrey nearly stopped breathing.

  “Surprise. Surprise. Your contacts really are superb, Chalmers. Not that someone like you would do with less than the best, eh?” He sneered at Stephen. “Come to steal my watch again, Chalmers? Disappointed in our little Audrey?”

  Travers turned so that Faye remained a shield in front of him. His back was to an empty wall.

  Audrey coiled herself to move. Travers was keeping them all in view, but he knew he had lost, and that made him extremely dangerous. Travers wasn’t going down without a fight, and Audrey knew that he was going to take Faye or Stephen with him.

  Stephen caught her eye. “It would have made things so much easier if Audrey had fully trusted me, no matter what you threatened her with. But she’s done nothing that can’t be rectified.”

  He was asking her to trust him now. She looked at the barrel lodged in Faye’s chin, then back to Stephen. He was asking her to trust him with Faye’s life.

  Audrey nodded and saw some of the tension around his eyes relax. He regained a negligent air and waved his pistol around in a deceptively carefree manner. “How about we make a deal, Travers? You give me the watch and all of the papers and information that Audrey went to such trouble to gather, and I will leave you with the ladies?”

  “I know you, you bloody saint. You won’t let me take the girls or get away. Damn sense of justice.” Travers inclined his head in Audrey’s direction. “You should join forces with me and take out your lover, Audrey dear. He’ll just throw you to the hangman. Ask him.”

  Stephen waved his pistol. “Quite possible.”

  Roth had the guard in front of him and was inching forward toward Travers. Travers saw the motion and yanked Faye backward. Audrey saw the glint in her eye. Oh, dear.

  Stephen must have seen it too because he was moving forward and shouting. “Get down.”

  She followed his command without question.

  Four things happened in quick succession. Faye knocked Travers’s hand away and elbowed him in the throat. Roth pulled the guard back so as not to interfere. Stephen reached Travers and wrestled the gun from his hand, and the Marquess of Angelford appeared and made quick work of tying his hands.

  Audrey ran to Faye, who was staring wide-eyed at the three dangerous-looking men. Faye whispered from the side of her mouth, “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure we aren’t in worse trouble now. ”

  Before Audrey could explain the situation, Faye fell forward. “Oh thank you, gentlemen. My poor sister and I were kidnapped by these awful monsters. You saved us.” Audrey tried to stop her, but Faye was already dabbing at fake tears and grasping Lord Roth’s sleeve.

  Faye gave Roth a watery smile and thanked him as she backed toward the door. “Thank you again. Come sis, we must be off while these wonderful saviors take care of these villains. Mum is probably beside herself.” Faye sent a tearful glance her way, but kept backing through the door. Roth’s eyebrows lost none of their height, and he looked almost amused.

  Faye sent her a meaningful glance meant to hurry her along, but Audrey was rooted in place. Stephen was squatting with his arms resting on his knees. He was staring at her.

  Faye had reached the door. She peered out, sent another smile Roth’s way, and walked determinedly to Audrey, clasping her arm and dragging her forward. “My sister seems to be having a spell. No worries, she will be fine.”

  They hadn’t gone but a few steps when Stephen cleared his throat. “Roth, take Icarus outside.”

  Faye stumbled at the name, and Audrey automatically reached to steady her. “I’ll explain later. Go with Lord Roth.”

  Faye looked stunned, and Roth seemed to find it funny that now Faye was on the other end of being dragged through the door.

  Moments later Audrey and Stephen were alone. “How did you find us?”

  “All along Roth was searching for Faye.”

  She nodded mechanically Of course he had been. She shouldn’t have expected anything less.

  Audrey extended her hands in front of her. “I suppose you mean to arrest me, Your Grace.”

  “For which crime would I arrest you?”

  “I stole from you and betrayed you in so doing.”

  Stephen didn’t move. “I would have given the pocket watch to you had you but asked,” he said softly.

  Yes, he would have given it to her. He was the one man she really could trust. She had given him all of herself last night, the surest sign she trusted him. But she hadn’t trusted herself. And now surely neither would he.

  “I know.” Her voice broke.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I could have said something. I wanted you to turn to me on your own, but it was too early I rushed your fences in every way. ”

  “No, I just wasn’t willing to let you have that much power over me.”

  “I know, but I lusted for it.”

  “Travers told me that his partner would kill Faye if I confided in you. He was terrified of his partner, and that frightened me.”

  He shook his head in a distracted manner. “I should have told you what I knew. We could have taken down Travers and Logan days ago.”

  Audrey’s heart stopped. She felt the terrified sensation wash through her.

  “Oh Lord, Stephen, what did you say?”

  “He said you could have taken me down days ago, dear girl. Surely you aren’t deaf?”

  Stephen’s head whipped up to stare at the man holding Audrey’s discarded pistol. “What rock did you crawl out from under?”

  Logan laughed unpleasantly. “I’ve been here the entire time, enjoying the show. Travers showed an uncommon amount of nerve, kidnapping me this afternoon.”

  He sent a sardonic look in Audrey’s direction. “I think he actually might feel something for you. I told him you all had to die. In a gloriously tragic manner, of course,” he said flippantly. “But Travers cold feet. Oh, he was ready to use you for his own ends, yes, but kill you? No, he refused to do so. I misjudged him.”

  Logan shrugged and moved forward.

  Audrey was in such shock
she had forgotten she was still holding her knife. She worked it forward in her palm. “Did Travers throw us in prison on your orders?”

  He sniffed. “l, Travers was already setting up his petty shipping schemes when I approached him. Of course, he latched right on to my plans. I had all the contacts he needed, and the foresight to carry the plans through. He would have gotten nowhere without me. The shipping scheme was amusing, but I just did it to further my own ends. And if Travers really did end up in a powerful position like Exchequer or Prime Minister, all the better for me in the future. Travers was willing to go along with everything for a bit of power. And he quite hates Chalmers,”

  he said cheerfully, turning to Stephen. “So I used my connections at the docks to hire some thugs who wanted a bit of revenge on you anyway.

  You have no trouble making enemies. I picked a few men that already had a past with Audrey here, just in case I needed to use her as a scapegoat.”

  He shrugged. “I just used everyone who might want revenge on you.

  Made the whole thing much easier. Alas, no one could do the job properly. So it falls back on me.”

  Stephen looked bored. “All of this for a few extra pounds, Logan?”

  “No, you fool. I did it all for the dukedom.”

  “The dukedom was doing fine by itself ”

  “Vernon was ruining the dukedom,” he shrieked. “It would have really been in the ruinous state I showed you had he stayed in control. He was a stupid man, but I underestimated him. He caught on to me; he started hiding the books, hiring other men. Somehow he guessed that I was skimming from the top.”

  The quality of his voice changed. “Mind you. It was just enough to be comfortable. I deserved it after all those years kowtowing to the idiots who were always in power.”

  “You murdered Vernon.”

  “Of course I did. He deserved it.”

  Audrey’s mouth dropped open, but Stephen didn’t seem surprised. He must have already known.

  “And Thomas?”